The National Gallery of Australia was progressing a significant capital works program alongside a review of its non-art storage services. Early planning activities identified a need to reduce risk before major construction commenced, improve coordination across facilities and curatorial teams, and ensure decisions were well-sequenced and evidence-based.

At the same time, the Gallery sought to market-test and redesign its non-art storage arrangements. Requirements were spread across multiple portfolios, and the procurement needed to balance operational continuity, budget constraints, and long-term flexibility.

The Gallery required experienced, pragmatic support to strengthen readiness, manage complexity, and enable confident decision-making.

Our Approach

Holan provided senior project management and procurement expertise, working closely with Gallery stakeholders to address risk early and create clarity where complexity existed.

1. Capital Works Pre-Planning and Early Works

We supported early remediation planning for priority property and site issues, focusing on reducing downstream risk before construction and refurbishment activities commenced.

This included close engagement with facilities, curatorial teams, and external advisers to align requirements, manage impacts on operations and collections, and ensure issues were addressed in the right sequence.

We contributed to the development of early works plans, schedules, and reporting to support governance, readiness, and informed oversight of the broader capital program.

2. Strategic Procurement for Non-Art Storage

We led a discrete procurement project to market-test and redesign the Gallery’s non-art storage services.

This involved aggregating requirements across portfolios, finalising and releasing the RFT, and managing the evaluation process to ensure it was fit-for-purpose, defensible, and aligned to operational needs.

We supported governance and stakeholder forums, managed integrated project plans and reporting, and contributed to transition planning to maintain continuity of services, including decant and disposal activities.

Outcomes

The Gallery strengthened its readiness for major capital works through early risk identification, remediation planning, and improved stakeholder alignment. Decisions were better sequenced, risks were clearer, and the foundations were laid for lower-risk delivery in later phases.

The procurement activity delivered a robust, transparent market engagement process and a clear pathway for implementation and continuous improvement of non-art storage services. Stakeholders had confidence in the process, the outcomes, and the decisions made.

Across both streams, the work reduced uncertainty, improved coordination, and enabled the Gallery to move forward with clarity and confidence — without unnecessary complexity.