RAAF College East Sale, VIC

To allow relocation of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Officer Training School (OTS) from Point Cook to East Sale, over 20,000 m2 of new floor space including new teaching, office, living-in accommodation and a new mess hall were required to accommodate up to 300 OTS students per year.

The new 3,500 m2 combined mess building is a new model for combined messes within Defence. Traditionally mess buildings are individual rank buildings in disparate locations on the base. The new model combines four ranks of Officer, SNCO, students and airmen within one building whilst providing physical and visual segregation between ranks. This new model creates a central focal point for the base community.

The project was delivered under a collaborative contract model, the first of its kind in Australia, which required the Managing Contractor to partner with the Department of Defence from the outset of the project, assisting with the development of a Detailed Business Case and participating in a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works Hearing.

The new facilities also serve the base’s existing personnel including the School of Air warfare, the School of Air Traffic Control, the Roulettes aerobatic team and the 32 Squadron.