Boyd Scirkovich, PAE NZ board member, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies, and Citycare acting chief executive Lee Gardiner at the contract signing at Defence House. Image supplied.
The New Zealand Defence Force has selected New Zealand owned and operated companies Citycare and PAE New Zealand to provide facilities maintenance services across the Defence Estate from mid-2026.
According to the 14 April announcement, the new contracts represent an investment of around $1 billion over 10 years and will see New Zealand businesses maintaining and supporting one of the country’s largest and most complex property portfolios.
Head of Defence Estate and Infrastructure, Mark Brunton, said the decision reflects a strong focus on value for money, resilience and building New Zealand capability.
“These contracts back local companies to do complex, essential work in highly specialised environments. They support jobs in our regions, grow skills here at home, and ensure the Defence Force has the infrastructure it needs to keep New Zealand secure.”
“These contracts focus on core maintenance that directly supports the operational readiness of Defence personnel, including preventative and reactive maintenance, grounds services and minor works.”
The Defence Estate includes nine camps and bases, and associated sites across the country, covering more than 81,000 hectares and supporting more than 15,000 personnel. The camps and bases function similarly to small towns, with residential, training, industrial, aviation, port and logistics infrastructure, as well as large weapons training areas.
The procurement was the first by the NZDF to apply the 5th edition of the Government Procurement Rules, which includes local economic benefit as a weighted evaluation criterion.
This enabled the NZDF to test the ability of suppliers to enhance local economic activity through their provision of services.
Above image: (L-R) Wally Butt (NZDF General Manager Estate Delivery), Dr Taku Parai ONZM (PAE NZ); Boyd Scirkovich (PAE NZ); Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies, Bill Bayfield (Citycare) and Lee Gardner (Citycare). Image supplied.
The New Zealand Defence Force has selected New Zealand owned and operated companies Citycare and PAE New Zealand to provide facilities maintenance services across the Defence Estate from mid-2026.
From left, Wally Butt (NZDF General Manager Estate Delivey); Dr Taku Parai ONZM (PAE); Boyd Scirkovich (PAE); Chief of Defence Force AM Tony Davies; Bill Bayfield (Citycare) and Lee Gardner (Citycare).
Both Citycare and PAE NZ will establish site‑based delivery teams across New Zealand, supported by local call centres and New Zealand‑based leadership and management roles.
The companies have also committed to training and upskilling local workers, strengthening the skills pipeline in the facilities management and engineering sectors.
“Maintaining the Defence Estate is complex, continuous work carried out in high security and operational environments,” said Mr Brunton. “Everything from residential accommodation and training facilities through to operational airfields, ports and heavy-maintenance facilities needs to function reliably, every day,” he said.
“These contracts focus on core maintenance that directly supports the operational readiness of Defence personnel, including preventative and reactive maintenance, grounds services and minor works.
“This critical support gives the NZDF the flexibility to respond to changing operational demands.”
The new facilities maintenance services contracts will commence progressively between July and November 2026 as existing contracts expire.