Project Scheduling in Melbourne

Project scheduling services for Melbourne projects

We develop tender programs with the contract baseline in mind, carrying the bid’s logic and assumptions forward and recording agreed changes after award, then keep the program current through delivery.

• Tender programs: sequence, procurement windows, Indirects and resource demand, prepared for the tender submission with the Basis of Schedule and Methodology.

• Baseline programs: the agreed reference program established in accordance with the contract, with subsequent baseline changes controlled and recorded.

• Program updates: actual progress and remaining-work forecasts recorded in the current program, compared with the baseline, with variance reporting and an archived record of each update.

• Shutdown and turnaround planning: outage programs planned in hours, with the critical path, resourcing and methodology for work on operating plant.

• Schedule recovery: a recovery program built from actual progress, with options tested, costed and agreed with the delivery team.

• Schedule risk analysis: completion dates at chosen confidence levels, with contingency sized from the analysis.

• Forensic delay analysis: extension of time and delay claims built on contemporaneous project records.

Victorian experience

Our capability draws on Victorian project experience including:

• Boral plasterboard factory upgrade

• Deer Park Quarry

• Landfill gas-to-energy plant

That experience informs how we schedule upgrades within operating manufacturing facilities, staging and access at working quarries, and commissioning of energy plant.

Victorian conditions built into the program

• Weather matched to the site and method. We use Bureau of Meteorology records relevant to the project location, identify weather-sensitive activities and record the assumptions used for the affected work. Rainfall totals and rain-day counts inform the assessment; they are not treated as an automatic number of lost shifts.

• Working calendars checked against the location. Victoria has its own public holidays, including the Friday before the AFL Grand Final and Melbourne Cup Day, and some regional areas observe Melbourne Cup on a different day. A Melbourne calendar is not automatically right for a regional Victorian site. We distinguish public holidays from agreed shutdowns and rostered days off, and use separate calendars where site crews, suppliers and approval activities have different working days and availability.

• Operating-plant interfaces made explicit. For upgrades within operating facilities, we link construction activities to agreed production and shutdown windows, including applicable access, isolation, tie-in, commissioning and handback requirements.

Victorian project pipeline

The 2026-27 Victorian Budget projects government infrastructure investment averaging $16.5 billion a year from 2026-27 to 2029-30, with $19.4 billion in 2026-27.

What the pipeline means for a Melbourne program

• Capacity varies by trade and project scale. RLB’s September 2026 report describes a steady Melbourne market with a softer Victorian labour market and competitive tendering, alongside shortages in selected skilled and specialist trades and a relatively limited Tier 1 subcontractor pool. A growing data centre pipeline is increasing demand for specialist labour, equipment and subcontractor capacity.

• Tender prices are forecast to keep rising. RLB forecasts Melbourne tender price escalation of 4.0% in 2026, 4.25% in 2027 and 4.5% in each of 2028 and 2029.

• Labour is short nationally. Infrastructure Australia’s November 2025 report estimated a shortage of 141,000 workers on public infrastructure works in October 2025, forecast to peak above 300,000 in mid-2027.

• Major transport projects remain in delivery. North East Link is planned to open in 2028, and Suburban Rail Loop East is under construction, with trains planned to run by 2035.

We make procurement and resource assumptions explicit and identify when subcontractor, crew and supplier availability needs confirming.

Victorian approvals in the program

Working with the project’s planning and approvals advisers, we identify the approvals pathway and distinguish assessment activities, information requests, permit conditions and subsequent approvals. We link decisions, condition discharge and other approval prerequisites to the work packages they release, recording timing assumptions and responsibilities.

Where an Environment Effects Statement is required, we distinguish the environmental assessment from the statutory approvals it informs. Where applicable, planning permit and EPA development licence applications are coordinated with EES exhibition. A required Cultural Heritage Management Plan is typically prepared in parallel, while relevant approval decisions take account of the Minister’s assessment. We show these interfaces and decision dependencies separately in the program.

Where Commonwealth environmental approval is also required, an accredited Victorian assessment process may be used to avoid duplicate assessment. The Commonwealth still makes a separate approval decision. Working with the project’s advisers, we identify the decisions and conditions that control the release of affected work. Our article on scheduling project approvals explains the method.

Frequently asked questions

Do you provide project scheduling for Melbourne projects?

Yes. We provide Primavera P6 project scheduling for infrastructure, energy and industrial projects in Melbourne and across Victoria, from tender and baseline programs through progress updates, recovery and delay analysis.

How do you set working calendars for Victorian projects?

We check public holidays against the actual site location, including regional Melbourne Cup substitutions, and distinguish them from agreed shutdowns and rostered days off. Separate calendars are used where site crews, suppliers and approval activities have different working days and availability.

How do you handle Victorian approvals in the program?

Working with the project’s planning and approvals advisers, we identify the approvals pathway, record timing assumptions and responsibilities, and link decisions, condition discharge and other approval prerequisites to the work packages they release.

Can you work to Melbourne hours?

Yes. We work Melbourne time for Melbourne projects, including progress meetings, tender deadlines and program submissions.