The Project

The Osborne North Development was one of the most significant and complex sovereign defence infrastructure programmes ever undertaken in Australia — the construction of a purpose-built submarine manufacturing yard at the Osborne Naval Shipbuilding Precinct in South Australia, where Australia's fleet of 12 future submarines was to be built.

Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI), established by the Commonwealth to own and manage the naval shipbuilding infrastructure, appointed the Managing Contractor following a competitive tender in November 2018. The programme sat at the centre of Australia's $90 billion commitment to naval capability — part of a broader national shipbuilding enterprise that included the concurrent redevelopment of the Osborne South yard for the Future Frigates programme.

The stakes were significant. This was not simply a construction project. It was the foundation of Australia's sovereign submarine manufacturing capability.

What was delivered

The programme spanned contract award, design development, approvals, procurement, and construction — progressing through site establishment, earthworks, and piling for the new facilities as the first phase of a staged development plan. The yard was designed to Naval Group's functional specifications, approved by Defence, with the Combat System Physical Integration Facility specified by Lockheed Martin Australia.

The complexity of the programme was substantial. Infrastructure design was running in parallel with an undefined submarine design, an evolving manufacturing process, and testing regimes that had not yet been finalised. Every decision made on the ground had to accommodate a future state that was still being determined — requiring a highly adaptive approach to programme management, design coordination, and Commonwealth stakeholder engagement.

The programme championed digital innovation, social procurement, and a one-team partnering culture across design consultants, trade contractors, and client representatives — establishing the collaborative framework needed to deliver a programme of this scale and sensitivity.

The outcome

The programme achieved all key milestones through the planning and early construction phases before being terminated following Australia's decision in 2021 to enter the AUKUS partnership and pursue nuclear-powered submarines — a sovereign policy decision that reflected the strategic significance of the work that had been undertaken and the capability platform that had been established.

Our role

Brad Eathorne served as Contractor's Representative for the Managing Contractor — the primary point of contact for Australian Naval Infrastructure and key Commonwealth stakeholders, with responsibility for programme leadership, design coordination, stakeholder management, and delivery across the full scope of the engagement.