Overview
Freehills is at the forefront of public private partnership developments in Australia, both in establishing government policy frameworks, understanding legal and industry developments and in project evaluation and delivery.
Our advice is not limited to specific projects, having been appointed by both national and international government departments to provide training services in connection with the implementation of public private partnership policies, the development and delivery of public private partnership projects and technical guidance on public private partnership material.
This means that we can offer our clients a one-stop legal service for all facets of public private partnership projects with access to a truly multidisciplinary team of advisers, both in Australia and offshore.
Our team comprises partners and senior lawyers, all with extensive Australian and international infrastructure and public private partnership project experience. We advise on projects across all the sectors including:
- social infrastructure (including health, education, correctional and courts, science, defence, housing and industrial projects)
- transport
- water and waste management, and
- sporting and entertainment infrastructure.
By drawing on the national capability of our team, we are able to provide clients with a dedicated and experienced team of legal advisers with a truly multidisciplinary approach.
This includes:
- management of complex tender processes
- project and contract structuring
- project delivery
- risk analysis and management
- preparation of project documentation and contract negotiation
- transaction and project due diligence
- planning, environment and native title advice
- construction
- facilities management
- industrial relations and employment
- project financing
- equity investment
- dispute resolution and litigation advice when required.
Experience
Examples of our recent experience include:
Transport
- Peninsula Bypass, Victoria
- EastLink (Mitcham to Frankston Freeway), Victoria
- Melbourne CityLink, Victoria
- Western Sydney Orbital (Westlink M7 Project), New South Wales
- Lane Cove Tunnel, New South Wales
- Cross City Tunnel, New South Wales
- RailCorp rolling stock, New South Wales
- Chatswood Transport Interchange, New South Wales
- North South Bypass Tunnel, Queensland
- Brisbane Airport Link toll road, Queensland
- Airtrain Project, Queensland
Our international toll road experience includes advice on greenfield and brownfield bids for the following:
- Northwest Parkway toll road, USA
- Indiana Toll Road project, USA
- Capital Beltway project, USA
- Pocahontas Parkway project, USA
- Pennsylvania Turnpike project, USA
- Trans-Texas Corridor project, USA
- Interstate 635 (I-635) toll road, USA
- Cikarang-Tanjung Priok toll road, Indonesia
- Incheon Grand Bridge project, Korea
- Paris-Rhine-Rhône toll road, France
- Lower Thames Gateway Bridge, UK
Social Infrastructure
Education
- New South Wales Schools Project (1 and 2)
- Victorian Schools Project
- South-East Queensland Schools Project
- South Australian Schools Project
- Southbank Education and Training Precinct, Queensland
- Biosciences Research Centre, Victoria
- Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West project, Singapore
Hospitals
- Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia
- Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Queensland
- Fiona Stanley Hospital, Western Australia
- Joondalup Health Campus, Western Australia
- Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria
- Royal Women’s Hospital, Victoria
- Royal North Shore Hospital, New South Wales
- Newcastle Mater Hospital redevelopment, New South Wales
- Orange Hospital, New South Wales
- Casey Community Hospital, Victoria
- Berwick Community Hospital, Victoria
Prisons & courts
- Ararat Prison project, Victoria
- South Australian prisons project
- Long Bay Prison and Forensic Hospital, New South Wales
- Correctional facilities project, Victoria
- County Court project, Victoria
Water infrastructure
- Wonthaggi Desalination Plant, Victoria
- Camellia Recycled Water Scheme project, New South Wales
- Tuas Seawater Desalination Plant, Singapore
- Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant, Singapore
- Changi NEWater Plant, Singapore
- Industrial effluent treatment plant, United Arab Emirates
- Coliban and Yan Yean Water Treatment Plants, Victoria
- various water treatment plant BOOT projects, Victoria
Other infrastructure projects
- Defence Single LEAP Phase I and II, nationwide
- Defence Headquarters Joint Operation Command, New South Wales / ACT
- Spencer Street / Southern Cross Station redevelopment, Victoria
- Melbourne Convention Centre, Victoria
- Darwin City Waterfront and Convention Centre project, Northern Territory
- Perth Convention Exhibition Centre project, Western Australia
- Mindarie Regional Council resource recovery facility project, Western Australia
- various university accommodation BOOT projects, nationwide
- Al Ain Industrial City project, United Arab Emirates
- Industrial City of Abu Dhabi Stage II, United Arab Emirates
- Industrial City of Abu Dhabi Stage III, United Arab Emirates
- Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore
- NUS University Town, Singapore
Working with you
The mounting pressure on governments around Australia to deliver improved services to taxpayers means that they are increasingly looking towards the role that the private sector can play in delivering important public infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, road and rail links.
Successful projects in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have shown that value for money can be achieved through public private partnership projects when they are well defined from the outset through the carrying out of robust business case assessments. It is critical for governments to ensure that the project structure and contractual arrangements which underpin any public private partnership project presented to the market protect government’s interests, are attractive to investors and offer legal clarity with respect to the obligations and risks borne by each party.
Freehills offers clients involved in public private partnership projects a track record of providing innovative and commercially astute advice across a range of industries and issues.
