Austunnel Pty Ltd

Founded in Brisbane in 2008, Austunnel began its journey by providing tunnel boring machine (TBM) technical support for the North South Bypass Tunnel (CLEM7). This project, aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Brisbane, was a significant addition to the city’s infrastructure and served as Austunnel’s initial proving ground. In 2010, Austunnel expanded its operations by securing contracts for the Airport Link tunnel in Brisbane. The work involved refurbishing gantries for a 12.5-meter Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) TBM. Austunnel’s team provided maintenance personnel for TBM and smoke duct gantry assembly, arch formwork assembly, cross-passage excavation plant maintenance, and mechanical/electrical fit-out tasks. From 2011 to 2015, Austunnel played a crucial role in the Legacy Way Tunnel project in Brisbane, supporting the Transcity joint venture (Acciona, Ghella, BMD). The scope of work included TBM assembly/disassembly, cross-passage excavation plant maintenance, electrical installation works, conveyor assembly and maintenance, back-end works, and TBM production operations. As Brisbane’s tunnelling projects neared completion, Austunnel opened a new facility in Lane Cove, Sydney, in 2014 to meet the demands of Sydney’s ongoing tunnelling workload. Since then, Austunnel has been involved in major New South Wales projects, including the Sydney Metro Northwest Tunnels, Sydney Metro Skytrain, WestConnex M4 East, New M5 tunnels, Sydney Metro City and Southwest, and Snowy Hydro 2.0. While managing projects in New South Wales and Queensland, Austunnel also expanded into Victoria with a support office in Melbourne. With the opening of the Sydney office, between 2014 and present, Austunnel became heavily involved in various large tunnelling projects in New South Wales including the construction of Sydney Metro North West Tunnels, Sydney Metro Skytrain (pictured), WestConnex M4 East and New M5 tunnels, Sydney Metro City and South West and later Snowy Hydro 2.0. While works were ongoing across multiple projects in New South Wales and Queensland, Austunnel expanded into Victoria by founding a support office in Melbourne. The Melbourne office was established in 2017 to oversee Victorian projects, with Austunnel securing contracts for the Metro Tunnel Melbourne and the West Gate Tunnel early on and more recently work on both the Hobsons Bay sewer upgrade and North East Link Tunnel. Today, Austunnel supports Australia’s Tier 1 tunnel and mining contractors from its headquarters in Melbourne. The company’s growing range of services—including TBM operations, maintenance, and electrical/mechanical works—ensures it can handle key project milestones. In late 2021, Austunnel rebranded to align with its position as a leading tunnel and mining services business in Australia.