Proof Committee Hansard

Page 6 House of Representatives Friday, 10 February 2017
Mr Mapletoft: It was possibly not a preferred option for this particular requirement, as it would still be
located in Russell, which does not necessarily support close proximity to ICT industry and the airport.
Brig. Beutel: I think it would have also been very difficult to try and compartmentalise R9 because, again, it
was an ASIO building. To try to get separation such as we are proposing at Brindabella Park, where there are two
separate buildings with that air gap, within that existing shell—to try to re-engineer that within the existing
footprint and the structure of the building would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Mr Mapletoft: Also, part of the assessment was driven by broader Defence. Outside of this particular project
it was being examined as a potential option for other areas within the Defence department. That exercise
determined that the building would require approximately $60 million of rework to the base building.
Brig. Beutel: So that is base building, before we even start to do the fit-out.
CHAIR: So $60 million compared to this $34 million project?
Mr Mapletoft: That is correct.
Brig. Beutel: Again, we can provide some purview, but the $60 million was just the base building works.
CHAIR: That is right; you said that.
Mr Mapletoft: It was simply a value-for-money exercise. You could spend $60 million on the building and
wind up with a building that is still approximately 40 years old and was designed for another purpose, so it would
still require additional investment on a suitable fit-out. By the time you have done a value-for-money assessment
it does not stack up as a viable option. On your second point, on possible buildings, we had some considerations
such as proximity to the rest of the Australian Signals Directorate to facilitate communications and movement
between locations, so we tried to stay roughly locally in the neighbourhood, which led us to examine options at
Majura Park, Brindabella Park, Fairbairn and Russell. Russell, with the exception of R9, is full. We have
discussed R9. Majura Park was briefly considered but currently Defence does not have a presence there, to my
knowledge, so they would be going to another location. Fairbairn we looked at, but there was not a suitable
building that was large enough. So Brindabella Park was the ultimate consideration.
Senator GALLACHER: How old is Brindabella Park? How old is the building you are going into?
Brig. Beutel: BP1416 was built in 2003.
Senator GALLACHER: There is no issue with cables and all that sort of thing? It is fit for purpose?
Mr Mapletoft: The building is fit for purpose. In relation to cables, that is part of the fit-out work we will be
delivering under this project.
Brig. Beutel: But there is no requirement for workplace health and safety upgrades in relation to this building.
It is predominantly the fit-out for the office accommodation and the fit-out to support the operations of the centre,
and also there are the security aspects of it and also the passive ICT.
Senator GALLACHER: Who was in it before?
Brig. Beutel: BP14 and 16?
Mr Mapletoft: Employment and Workplace Relations, I believe.
Brig. Beutel: It is currently vacant.
Senator GALLACHER: So you do not have to sweep it and check it for bugs or anything?
Mr Rees: As is par for the course on doing the security assessments on any building that is being repurposed,
those will be done prior to the Commonwealth actively putting in ICT equipment and signing it off as fit for
purpose.
Senator GALLACHER: Is that part of the cost in this project?
Brig. Beutel: Yes. For any of our high-security facilities, in addition to building certification we also do a
security certification, a formal accreditation, of all those high-level facilities.
ACTING CHAIR: Mr Scotton, you mentioned the United Kingdom experience. What other lessons are we
taking from the United Kingdom cybersecurity centre to inform this project or other elements of the government's
cybersecurity framework?
Mr Scotton: We continue to agree closely with our UK partners. The centre itself was only stood up in
October last year, so they are still very much in the early days. We stay in touch, but at the moment it is probably
too early to draw any conclusions from that.
Senator GALLACHER: Who did you say the previous tenants were?
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE