Dubbo South Public School Fire Rebuild
School Infrastructure NSW engaged our team to provide project management services for the Dubbo South Public School fire rebuild in regional New South Wales.
The insurance-funded project was established to replace school buildings lost or damaged in a December 2021 fire. The rebuild consolidated the affected teaching, staff and special program areas into new facilities designed and delivered to current Education Facilities Standards and Guidelines.
Our role commenced in February 2023 and covered planning, design, statutory approvals, procurement and delivery support. This included managing consultants, supporting the tender for a design and construct contractor, and providing project management services through detailed design, construction, commissioning and handover.
The challenge
Dubbo South Public School needed permanent replacement facilities after a fire damaged several buildings, including teaching spaces, staff areas and special program rooms. The original buildings had been constructed decades earlier, so the project was not simply a like-for-like rebuild. The replacement facilities needed to respond to current standards while restoring the school’s functional learning and staff spaces.
The project also had to align with the budgeting, reporting and funding requirements of the government insurer and loss adjuster. Scope decisions, approvals, cost control and reporting therefore needed to be clear, defensible and well coordinated.
As with many school infrastructure projects, works also needed to be planned around the needs of an operating school community. This required careful stakeholder communication, practical sequencing and strong project controls to support safety, continuity and confidence through planning and delivery.
Our approach
Our project managers provided client-side project management services across the planning, design and delivery pathway. This included procuring and managing consultants, coordinating inputs required for statutory approvals, and supporting School Infrastructure NSW through tendering for a design and construct contractor.
We managed the project in line with School Infrastructure NSW development processes and guidelines, helping integrate stakeholder inputs while maintaining focus on time, cost, quality and program requirements.
A key part of the role was maintaining clear communication between School Infrastructure NSW, the school, consultants, the contractor and insurance stakeholders. By keeping scope, approvals, reporting and delivery requirements aligned, our team helped support a controlled path from recovery planning through to delivery.
The result
The main upgrade works to replace the fire-damaged buildings at Dubbo South Public School are now complete. The project delivered a new consolidated building with five classrooms, a practical activities area, two special program rooms, a staff study area, and staff lounge facilities with amenities, meeting space and storage.
Exterior works included tiered seating, covered walkways, access ramps, carpark resurfacing and landscaping. Other completed works included information and communication technology infrastructure upgrades, repairs to the covered outdoor learning area, new play equipment, replacement synthetic turf on the quadrangle and repair of damaged boundary fencing.
For School Infrastructure NSW, our support helped manage a complex fire rebuild through planning, approvals, procurement, delivery and commissioning requirements. For Dubbo South Public School, the completed project restores permanent, modern learning and staff facilities for students, teachers and the wider school community.
