Design and Construction (D&C) of New Social Housing – Palm Island

Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council (Council) is seeking to engage one or more suitably qualified and experienced Contractors to undertake the Design and Construction (D&C) of 22 new social housing dwellings across multiple sites on Palm Island, Queensland, together with an optional additional Package comprising two (2) dwellings.

The core Works are divided into five (5) Packages, comprising 22 dwellings and 86 bedrooms. An additional Optional Package 6 comprises two (2) dwellings and eight (8) bedrooms. Tenderers may submit a Tender Response for one, several or all Packages, subject to their demonstrated capacity to deliver the Packages tendered.

The Contract is intended to provide Council with a turnkey delivery solution, under which the Contractor is responsible for all investigations, design development, engineering, certification, building approvals, procurement, manufacture where applicable, transportation, mobilisation, construction, site and infrastructure works, utility connections, testing, commissioning, statutory certification, documentation and handover necessary to provide completed, compliant and fully operational dwellings ready for occupation and handover to the Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW), except for matters expressly identified as Council responsibilities.

Council's objective is for all dwellings to achieve Practical Completion and be ready for handover to DHPW by 31 December 2027.

Council will provide Reference Designs establishing the design intent and minimum functional and performance requirements. The Contractor will be responsible for developing and completing the design and may propose design optimisation, including prefabricated, modular, panelised or other off-site construction methodologies, subject to satisfying the requirements of this Specification, the Principal's Requirements and DHPW requirements.

Background information / Compatibility requirements

Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council is delivering a program of new social housing on Palm Island in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW).

This procurement comprises the design and construction of 22 new social housing dwellings, providing a total of 86 bedrooms across five (5) Packages and multiple sites on Palm Island.

Package 6 (2 new social housing) is optional. Council may, in its absolute discretion, elect whether or not to proceed with and award Package 6.

Palm Island, also known as Great Palm Island, or by the Aboriginal name Bwgcolman, is the largest of twelve tropical Islands in the Palm Island Group. The settlement is named variously Palm Island, the Mission, Palm Island Settlement or Palm Community.

The group of Islands is less than 20 kilometres from the nearest point on the mainland (Lucinda) and is 65 kilometres north of Townsville over sea. The Islands are serviced by a 20 minute plane ride or one and a half hour ferry ride from Townsville and a one hour barge trip from Lucinda.

Palm Island consists of small bays, sandy beaches, fringing reefs, beautiful freshwater streams and steep forested mountains rising to the highest peak of 548 metres at Bentley Ridge. Other islands in the chain, such as Orpheus and North Palm have globally renowned resorts and marine research stations. Situated in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the surrounding reefs are as good as any on the outer reef, presenting wonderful fishing and diving opportunities and are used extensively by locals for hunting and gathering and other cultural purposes.

Palm Island is the largest discreet Indigenous community in Australia with approximately 4,000 people residing on Palm Island. There is high mobility between Palm Island and the mainland, and the population can increase to over 5,000 people during festivals and events. There are seven suburbs on the Island, running from Butler Bay in the south to Wallaby Point in the north, with the main, central settlement area, The Mission having the mall, shops, service centres, police station, motel, hospital and health service and Council chambers. Critical services infrastructure, including the Council’s works depots, waste and recycling facility, (Ergon) power station, water and sewer treatment plants, and two water supply reservoirs are at The Farm area, Solomon and Wallaby Point.

Desired Outcomes ('Nice to haves', Conditions & Warranties, SLA's, Project benefits): Council's objectives for the Contract are to:

(a) deliver the core scope of 22 completed, compliant, durable and fit-for-purpose social housing dwellings, together with the two additional dwellings comprising Optional Package 6 if awarded by Council;

(b) achieve Practical Completion and readiness for handover to DHPW for all dwellings by 31 December 2027;

(c) achieve compliance with applicable legislation, codes, Australian Standards, building requirements and DHPW housing standards and requirements;

(d) provide housing suited to the climatic, environmental, cultural and operational conditions of Palm Island, with particular emphasis on durability, maintainability, resilience and whole-of-life performance;

(e) allocate design responsibility to the Contractor while allowing appropriate design optimisation and innovation, including prefabricated, modular, panelised and other off-site construction methodologies;

(f) achieve value for money through efficient design, procurement, manufacture, transportation, mobilisation and construction;

(g) minimise defects and achieve an orderly and complete handover to Council and DHPW; and

(h) maximise opportunities for local Indigenous employment, training, subcontracting and economic participation in delivery of the Works.

Updates made to this request:

Please note: The following addenda have been recently added.

1. Added: (Addendum) 20. Mandatory Design Inclusions for Remote Housing.pdf

2. Added: (Addendum) 21. Product Standards Social Housing Dwellings.pdf

Please consider these addenda when responding.

Buyer: Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council

Buyer location: 1 Main St, Palm Island, Queensland 4816, Australia

VendorPanel reference: VP528544

Buyer's reference: PIASC-HOUSING-2026-27

Opens: Wednesday 07 October 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Closes: Friday 13 November 2026 02:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time)

Supplier query cut-off: Friday 06 November 2026 02:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time)

Expected decision: Friday 27 November 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Categories: Architecture & Urban Design & Planning Services; 1: Architecture; Construction & Operation; 1: Building Construction Materials & Services; Engineering & Research & Technical Based Services; 1: Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Survey; 2: Drafting Services; 3: Engineering Consulting Services; 4: Environmental & Sustainability Services; 5: Geotechnical Services; 6: Inspection Services; 7: Land Surveys; 8: Material Testing Services; 9: Project Management; Utilities; 1: Utility Connection Services Regions of service: Australian Capital Territory; 1: ACT (all other areas); New South Wales; 1: Sydney; Northern Territory; 1: Darwin; Queensland; 1: Brisbane; 2: Gold Coast; 3: Northern; 4: Sunshine Coast; South Australia; 1: Adelaide; Tasmania; 1: Greater Hobart; Victoria; 1: Melbourne; All Regions of Service locations are within Australia.

Tender documents: 21

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