Palm Island Barge Ramp Upgrades – Pre-Construction Engineering and Detailed Design

Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council (Council) is seeking a suitably qualified multidisciplinary engineering consultant to undertake the pre-construction engineering, investigations and detailed design required for the upgrade of the existing Palm Island Barge Ramp.

The Services are intended to progress the project from the currently identified infrastructure deficiencies through investigations, options assessment, design development and detailed design to a complete, coordinated and RPEQ-certified construction-ready documentation package suitable for future construction procurement and funding.

The Services must consider repair, extension, widening and/or reconfiguration of the existing ramp, as appropriate, including opportunities to improve tidal accessibility, accommodate larger and wider barges, increase operational capacity and facilitate concurrent barge operations where technically and operationally practicable.

The Services include all investigations, surveys, engineering assessments, stakeholder and approvals coordination, cost estimation, technical specifications and other pre-construction activities reasonably necessary to achieve this outcome.

Background information / Compatibility requirements

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): The objectives of the Services are to:

(a) investigate and verify the existing condition, geometry, seabed characteristics and operational constraints of the Palm Island Barge Ramp;

(b) determine the engineering solution required to repair, extend, widen and/or otherwise reconfigure the existing barge ramp, as appropriate, to improve tidal accessibility, accommodate larger and wider barges where practicable, improve operational capacity and reliability, and assess opportunities for concurrent use by more than one barge;

(c) address the approximately 500 mm level difference currently identified between the ramp toe and adjoining seabed, together with other defects or deficiencies identified through the investigations;

(d) develop and assess technically appropriate, durable, constructible and low-maintenance options for the proposed works;

(e) consult with Council, relevant marine operators, TMR, Maritime Safety Queensland and other relevant stakeholders and authorities to confirm operational, technical and regulatory requirements;

(f) identify applicable environmental, cultural heritage, Native Title, planning, marine and other statutory approval requirements and prepare the technical information required to support those processes;

(g) prepare a complete detailed engineering design suitable for future construction procurement;

(h) prepare technical specifications, quantities, detailed construction cost estimates and other tender-ready documentation;

(i) consider constructability, marine operations, construction staging, remote-area logistics, tides, weather and maintenance requirements in the design; and

(j) provide RPEQ certification and a fit-for-purpose statement for the completed design.

Updates made to this request:

Please find below the details for the information session scheduled for 10:00 am on 9 September 2026.

Microsoft Teams Meeting

Join:

https: //teams.microsoft.com/meet/440560224611177?p=qqWFEG6of7DtGM33nA

Meeting ID: 440 560 224 611 177

Passcode: wH3ip2hL

Buyer: Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council

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

VendorPanel reference: VP524167

Buyer's reference: PIASC-BARGE-2026-01

Opens: Friday 04 September 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Closes: Wednesday 30 September 2026 02:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time)

Supplier query cut-off: Wednesday 30 September 2026 02:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time)

Expected decision: Friday 02 October 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Categories: Engineering & Research & Technical Based Services; 1: Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Survey; 2: Drafting Services; 3: Earth Science Services; 4: Engineering Consulting Services; 5: Environmental & Sustainability Services; 6: Geotechnical Services; 7: Inspection Services; 8: Material Testing Services; 9: Project Management; 10: Quantity Surveying; 11: Transport Planning & Traffic Engineering; Environmental & Heritage Services; 1: Environmental Impact Assessments; 2: Environmental Management; 3: Environmental Monitoring & Audit; 4: Environmental Testing Services; 5: Erosion Control; 6: Flora & Fauna Survey & Management Services; 7: Heritage Advisory Services; 8: Site Remediation; 9: Water Resources Management 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; Western Australia; 1: Perth; All Regions of Service locations are within Australia.

Tender documents: 13

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