Govt land sell-off: $3 billion in prime properties up for grabs
Australian Army soldiers from the Australian Defence Force contingent rehearse at Randwick Barracks, Sydney, in this file image of one of the prime sites up for sale. Picture: Defence
The largest military property sell-off in Australian history is underway, after the Albanese government agreed to put 64 ‘vacant, decaying’ Defence sites – estimated to be worth as much as $3 billion – on the market.
Some of Australia’s most valuable and historically significant military landholdings are now up for grabs, including Victoria Barracks in Sydney’s exclusive Paddington and its Melbourne counterpart, along with dozens of inner-city training depots and barracks across the country.
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Minister for Defence Richard Marles (L) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R) arriving in the House of Representatives at Parliament House on Tuesday.Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles has announced a sweeping sell-off of government land.Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images.)
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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles confirmed Wednesday that the Government accepted all 20 recommendations from the Defence Estate Audit, paving the way for the wholesale disposal of what the audit found were “vacant, decaying, underutilised” properties costing millions of dollars to maintain.
Mr Marles said the reforms were necessary despite being “significant and challenging” because many Defence sites had been vacant and decaying for years.
“We are clear-eyed and committed to seeing it through, because it is the right thing to do in the national interest,” he said.
The Department of Finance is now seeking expressions of interest from developers and investors for the portfolio, which spans all states and territories and includes 46 owned properties and 12 leased sites.
Three properties have already been sold since the audit was commissioned in 2023: Magnetic Island in Queensland, Haberfield Training Depot in NSW, and Garbutt in Queensland.
Property developers are expected to circle the portfolio with keen interest, particularly for inner-city sites in established suburbs with strong infrastructure connections that could be transformed into residential, commercial or mixed-use developments.
In WA Leeuwin Barracks in East Fremantle is for sale. Picture: Richard Hatherly
NSW
In New South Wales alone, 11 sites are on the chopping block including Randwick Barracks, Lancer Barracks, Spectacle Island, and multiple training depots at Banksmeadow, Bathurst and Penrith. Victoria Barracks Sydney, one of the city’s most historic military sites, will be wholly divested.
VIC
Victoria is losing 15 Defence properties including Fort Queenscliff, Carlton Training Depot, St Kilda Training Depot, Sandringham Training Depot and Victoria Barracks Melbourne. Even the golf courses at HMAS Cerberus and Swan Island are being sold off.
QLD
Queensland will see nine sites go under the hammer including Kokoda Barracks, Victoria Barracks Brisbane, and rifle ranges at Atherton, Purga, Wangetti and Mount Isa. St Lucia Training Depot is also on the list.
WA
Western Australia’s property bonanza includes Irwin Barracks in Karrakatta and Leeuwin Barracks in East Fremantle – both prime Perth locations – plus rifle ranges at Coolilup and Karratha-Dampier.
TAS
Tasmania faces the biggest clear-out with 15 sites earmarked for sale, including multiple Naval Reserve training ships, training depots at Burnie, Youngtown and Bridgewater, and military training areas at Buckland and Stony Head.
SA
South Australia will lose four sites including Edinburgh Parks, Hampstead Barracks and Woodside Barracks, while Warradale Barracks faces partial divestment with some portions retained.
NT
The Northern Territory’s three sites on the block are Defence Establishment Berrimah, Kowandi North and Stokes Hill Fuel Installation.
ACT
Even the nation’s capital isn’t immune, with the Fairbairn Golf Course and Pialligo South in the ACT both up for sale.
Three high-value sites will only be partially sold. HMAS Penguin at Balmoral in Sydney will retain its defence diving facility and medical school while selling off other portions. RAAF Williams at Laverton in Victoria and Warradale Barracks in Adelaide will also see partial divestment.
Only one site identified in the audit – Pittwater Annex in NSW – will be retained in full.
The independent audit, led by Jan Mason and Jim Miller, found Defence had been “constrained by the weight of its past” with an estate footprint comprising “numerous legacy sites without a clear ongoing link to current or future capabilities”.
“Urgent interventions are needed to correct the unsustainable trajectory that has resulted from decades of deferred decisions on contentious estate issues,” the audit concluded after visiting 70 Defence locations.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said sites would be sold at market value with careful consideration of remediation, heritage and community impacts.
“The Department of Finance has the expertise to manage the large-scale Defence estate divestment program,” she said.
All proceeds from the sales will be retained within the Defence portfolio and reinvested in National Defence Strategy priorities, including upgrading and strengthening northern bases.
The Government has committed to preserving public access to historically significant sites so Australians can continue to celebrate the nation’s military history.
The audit was received at the end of 2023, and the impact of the findings assessed for two years before the process began.
