Comprehensive Scoring Analysis

The federal government will sell off $3bn in defence properties around the country, after a major audit of land holding…

Defence sites – including Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – will be sold after the multi-year audit…

Some could be used for new housing developments, after sales managed by the department of finance.

Public servants will be relocated to modern office spaces, while some heritage sites – including the cabinet rooms used…

The defence minister, Richard Marles, released the audit of the 3 million-hectare defence estate on Wednesday, agreeing…

A longtime target for remediation, it could fit 6,000 new homes.

Golf courses, airbases, warehouses, training facilities and vacant land are all earmarked for sell-off, as well as RAAF…

Sign up: AU Breaking News After relocation costs and other expenses, net proceeds of about $1.

About $100m a year is expected to be saved from upkeep of disused and run-down properties.

View image in fullscreen Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour, used to store munitions during the first and second world …

Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian Labor wants to boost take-up of modern office spaces, including Defence Plaza i…

Sydney’s Defence Plaza runs at 60% capacity.

4bn is expected to be raised from the sale of 26 major metropolitan sites, saving about $3bn in upkeep and security cos…

These include sites in Randwick, Sydney; Sandringham and St Kilda in Melbourne; Petrie Terrace in Brisbane; and Fremant…

Labor is expected to face a backlash over the sell-off of property central to the country’s defence history.

The audit was completed in 2023.

The Victoria Barracks sales are expected to raise $1.

3bn, given their prime locations in the biggest capital cities.

Redevelopment opportunities are expected to be limited by heritage rules.

Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour, used to store munitions during the first and second world wars, will be sold, after…

HMAS Penguin at Balmoral will be partly retained for a defence diving facility.

Air force base Williams at Laverton in Victoria and the Warradale Barracks in South Australia will also be partially so…

Marles said every dollar raised would be reinvested back into defence capability, including ahead of major changes spar…

“In order for the Australian defence force to protect our nation and keep Australians safe, it must have a defence esta…

“For many years this has not been the case, with many defence sites vacant, decaying, under utilised and costing millio…

” Marles said the objective of the audit was not about identifying land for new housing development, but some sites inc…

The audit found underutilised sites are “draining resources from higher priority needs” for defence.

“Defence is constrained by the weight of its past when it comes to management of the estate,” it said.

“Today’s estate footprint comprises numerous legacy sites without a clear ongoing link to current or future capabilitie…

Urgent interventions are needed to correct the unsustainable trajectory that has resulted from decades of deferred deci…

” View image in fullscreen Divestment sites in Victoria.

Illustration: Australian Government Department of Defence View image in fullscreen Divestment sites in NSW.

Illustration: Australian Government Department of Defence View image in fullscreen Divestment sites in Queensland.

Illustration: Australian Government Department of Defence Authors Jan Mason and Jim Miller said the management of major…

“It is clear that maintaining the status quo is not an option.

” Housing Now Alliance chair David Borger welcomed plans for land sales in inner Sydney and Parramatta.

“This is about giving some of our most significant historic sites a new chapter,” he said.

“By sensitively opening these places up, we honour the service and sacrifice they represent, while ensuring they contin…