The Federal Government’s ‘Building the Education Revolution’ (BER) program will see over $1 billion invested in maintenance and new capital works for nearly 800 Western Australian Government schools within the next two years.
The ‘Building the Education Revolution’ program has three elements:
- Primary Schools for the 21st century to build new facilities such as libraries, covered areas and multipurpose facilities as well as upgrades of existing facilities at primary schools.
- Science and Language Centres for 21st Century Secondary Schools to build or refurbish science laboratories and language learning centres in secondary schools.
- National School Pride Program to fund maintenance and minor capital works projects at all primary and secondary schools.
Through the BER program, the Commonwealth aims to:
- Provide economic stimulus through the rapid construction and refurbishment of school infrastructure.
- Build learning environments to help children, families and communities participate in activities that will support achievement, develop learning potential and bring communities together.
The delivery of the BER program - including procurement, project management and construction - is being managed by the Department of Treasury and Finance’s Building Management and Works (BMW) business.
The BER program will involve approximately 1500 projects across Western Australia, with the delivery of these projects being fast tracked.
Tender activities
Please see the Tendering Activities page for list of Tender Awards.
Private sector involvement in the BER program
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICES
During March 2009 the BER Taskforce requested firms from BMW’s relevant consultancy panels to indicate their capacity and interest in participating in the BER program. Following two briefing sessions held 6th and 11th March, seven project management firms and 49 architectural practices were subsequently engaged.
The project management firms have been appointed to assist in the delivery of the BER program. These project managers have been allocated specific Department of Education and Training Education Districts, totalling approximately 100 schools each. Their role includes overseeing the delivery of the BER program at each school in their district, including managing the architectural consultants’ performance in scoping, contract documentation and construction of BER projects within the time and budget constraints of the BER Program.
The project managers will also assist in the tender assessment process and awarding of maintenance and construction tenders. They will collate and report to the BMW BER Taskforce on all key project aspects and controls for their allocated projects for the duration of the BER Program. The project managers are also the Superintendents to the construction contracts.
The consultancies and regions are:
Arup Pty Ltd: Canning district
Coffey Projects (Australia) Pty Ltd: West Coast district
GHD Pty Ltd: Goldfields, Esperance, Kimberley and Pilbara districts
Incoll Management Pty Ltd: Swan district
NS Projects Pty Ltd: Fremantle-Peel district
Sinclair Knight Merz: Albany, Bunbury, Narrogin and Warren-Blackwood districts
Thinc Projects: Mid West and Midlands districts
The 49 architectural consultants, comprising more than 200 individuals, are currently in the process of visiting every Government school in the state to liaise with the school principals on their BER projects for Element 1 and Element 3. These school visits must be completed by 3 April 2009.
Following contract documentation and tendering, these architects will administer the building contracts, including the role of Superintendent’s Representative.
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The BER program is a stimulus package that is being fast tracked by the BER Taskforce and we are keen to commence awarding tenders as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The BER Taskforce encourages the construction industry to participate in the delivery of the BER program. If you haven’t previously undertaken Government projects, the BER program is an excellent opportunity for you to expand into this area.
The National School Pride Program will be comprised of an estimated total of $100 million of BER funding across approximately 800 primary and secondary schools, with each school receiving between $50,000 and $200,000 of BER funding. All projects are to be completed by January 2010. Tenders for maintenance and minor works projects were advertised on 15 April 2009. (See the Tendering Acivities page).
Refer to request no. BMW1009709 on the Advertised Requests page at TendersWA www.tenders.wa.gov.au. Pre-qualification for these tenders is not required.
Primary Schools for the 21st Century will be comprised of an estimated total $1 billion of BER funding across approximately 650 primary schools, with each primary school receiving between $250,000 and $3 million of BER funding. The first tenders are scheduled to commence by mid May, with all projects to be completed by March 2011.
Registration of Interest: To gauge the construction industry’s capacity, the BER Taskforce will be asking builders to register their interest to participate in this element of the BER Program.
Science and Language Centres for 21st Century Secondary Schools. The Federal Government is expected to announce which projects will receive funding under this element in June 2009, at which time a schedule of tendering of these works will be determined.
Further information about the ‘Building the Education Revolution’ program can be found at the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website.
View a fact sheet about the ‘Building the Education Revolution’ program at the Federal Treasurer’s website.
See also the ‘Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan’ website.
Questions and answers
We will regularly update the website with your questions and answers.
For a prompt response to your questions, please direct them to our email BER.Taskforce@bmw.wa.gov.au.
This website will be updated as the Building the Education Revolution program evolves. Please check back regularly.
