BARPA CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

Smoking ceremony at a Barpa site.

Trailblazing an Indigenous stake in construction

Barpa Construction Services is a dynamic Victorian construction company that has become a model for Indigenous entrepreneurship, empowerment and business development. With their vision to “empower Indigenous people and businesses through building Australian infrastructure”, Barpa’s goal differentiates it from industry competitors. Barpa, a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning “to build”, launched in mid-2014 as a joint venture between majority owners, the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations and Cockram Construction, creating a synergy between the world’s oldest living culture and Australia’s oldest building firm. The Federation is a not-for-profit peak body that represents more than 4000 members of five Traditional Owner groups across Victoria, and Cockram, which merged with Icon.co in 2018 to form Icon, one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest construction providers. Barpa was the realisation of an ambitious plan by the Federation to create a business that would focus on employing and empowering Indigenous people, not only in Victoria, but across the nation. “One of the key aims of Barpa is to be a catalyst and to provide opportunities for other Traditional Owner groups to generate income in their own sectors,” Graham Atkinson, Barpa Chairman and Dja Dja Wurrung Elder said.

The Barpa journey

Following Barpa’s launch, the company invested heavily in business development from its Melbourne office. “We got all the licences in place, along with the third-party pre-qualifications in environmental management, health and safety and quality. Then it was all about trying to secure some work,” Michael Read, Barpa Executive Manager said. In 2015, Barpa had a breakthrough and won its first tender, a small refurbishment project for the Department of Finance. It was completed safely and on time and gave the company the traction it needed in the building industry. Four months later, the company delivered a range of building works for the Department of Defence at Puckapunyal in central Victoria. It was through this project that Barpa was able to gain

One of Barpa’s Victorian projects for Defence Science and Technology.

further accreditations, which opened the door to larger opportunities nationally. In 2016, the company opened an office in Darwin, joining outposts in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Geelong. With increasing capability and national coverage, Barpa was soon able to win more contracts with Defence and other government departments. Barpa has since gone on to secure a total of 75 projects, including 60 for Defence, and completed construction projects in every Australian state and territory for a variety of clients. These projects have included the construction of new buildings and facilities, commercial fit-outs, refurbishments, heritage works and infrastructure. Due to its success, Barpa has been able to deliver on its vision and recruit, develop and retain Indigenous staff through its Pathways to Construction program, providing mentoring and support and offering university scholarships. It also uses Indigenous subcontractors and suppliers where possible and supports the local communities where it works through respectful engagement, its sponsorship program and providing voluntary labour to community projects.

Barpa is a joint venture between majority owners, the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations and Icon.