{"id":924687,"date":"2026-10-11T22:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T22:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924687\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T22:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T22:02:14","slug":"this-national-security-office-precinct-will-cost-more-than-1-billion-what-do-we-know-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924687\/","title":{"rendered":"This National Security Office Precinct will cost more than $1 billion. What do we know about it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A stone’s throw from Parliament House, six giant cranes have been working on the biggest Commonwealth construction project in Canberra in almost 40 years.<\/p>\n

The development of a National Security Office Precinct has been heralded by the federal government as a solution to “critical accommodation and capability requirements” of several agencies.<\/p>\n

Despite the huge scale of the project, many of the details have been kept secret.<\/p>\n

Here’s what we know.<\/p>\n

Who will use the precinct?<\/p>\n

We know the precinct in Barton will be utilised by a range of Commonwealth entities.<\/p>\n

That includes the Office of National Intelligence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).<\/p>\n

In Senate estimates in May, we heard some details that there may be more to come.<\/p>\n

\"Workers<\/p>\n

Construction of the National Security Office Precinct in Canberra continues. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

“We are engaging with other agencies as part of the development for the precinct going forward,” Nick McClintock of the Department of Finance, which is leading the development, said.<\/p>\n

Next to the main buildings, there will also be hospitality and retail venues, servicing both the wider public and workers in the precinct.<\/p>\n

Up to 5,000 workers are expected to be based at the precinct.<\/p>\n

Why is it needed?<\/p>\n

At the sod turning for the project, Finance Minister and ACT Senator Katy Gallagher said a “purpose built” and “specifically designed” building was needed to allow the national intelligence community “to do the work they need to do in a changing world”.<\/p>\n

“This is going to be a building of national significance,” she said.<\/p>\n

“[It’s] clearly needed in terms of our national security agencies being able to work in a facility that actually allows them to do their job properly.”<\/p>\n

\"Katie<\/p>\n

Senator Katy Gallagher says the up-coming building will be more secure. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n

She said the precinct would be “more appropriate” and “more secure” than existing buildings, with several government agencies reaching, or at, capacity.<\/p>\n

How much will it cost?<\/p>\n

The project’s price tag has not been revealed because of “commercial-in-confidence and national security sensitivities”.<\/p>\n

But, we know it will cost at least $1 billion.<\/p>\n

“It is the most significant investment we’ve seen in the territory in a long time,” Senator Gallagher said in 2023.<\/p>\n

“It will have a ‘b’ in front of it but we’re not confirming the size.”\"Construction<\/p>\n

The total cost of the precinct is expected to be revealed publicly once it’s completed. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

She also told Senate estimates: “it is a very significant infrastructure spend” and has also described it as a “multi-year billion-dollar investment”.<\/p>\n

The final cost is expected to be revealed publicly, but only after construction is completed.<\/p>\n

The precinct is the biggest Commonwealth construction project in Canberra since the development of the new Parliament House, which opened in 1988.<\/p>\n

Senator Gallagher has previously rejected claims Canberra had missed out on its fair share in recent federal budgets, pointing to the precinct as an example of spending in the territory.<\/p>\n

When will it be ready?<\/p>\n

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, with the precinct starting to be occupied from 2029.<\/p>\n

The federal government has said the project will support more than 10,000 jobs over the construction period, which commenced in late 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Department<\/p>\n

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is consolidating its presence in the ACT into two new buildings. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

Due to the “security requirements” of the project, it was exempt from needing the green light of the public works committee, which scrutinises major public capital expenditure projects.<\/p>\n

We also haven’t seen any artist impressions or plans for the precinct, which means we won’t know exactly what it will look like for a while yet.<\/p>\n

The precinct is being built on the site of a former car park.<\/p>\n

What happens to the buildings after agencies move out?<\/p>\n

A Department of Finance spokesperson said as existing buildings were “privately owned commercial properties”, their future use is a commercial decision for the landlords.<\/p>\n

We know DFAT is consolidating its presence in the ACT into two new buildings \u2014 the precinct and another new building also being built in Barton.<\/p>\n

\"Pillar<\/p>\n

The head office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be vacated. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

It means its current head office, the RG Casey building, will be vacated.<\/p>\n

The lease is due to run out in 2031, and as noted by the department, its future after that will be up to the private landlord.<\/p>\n

It was revealed in Senate estimates in June that staff will be moved into the new precinct as soon as they are “reasonably able to”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A stone’s throw from Parliament House, six giant cranes have been working on the biggest Commonwealth construction project…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[492419,2666,64,63,44029,2667,16489,11758,41262,160153,27620,2668,492417,44,492418,43016,4206],"class_list":["post-924687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-1-billion","tag-act","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-barton","tag-canberra","tag-commonwealth","tag-construction","tag-cost","tag-department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade","tag-intelligence","tag-local-stories","tag-national-security-office-precinct","tag-news","tag-office-of-national-intelligence","tag-parliament-house","tag-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}