HMES00051 Service Provider
Providing effective repairs and maintenance across remote areas of the Northern Territory across systems such as water, power, septic as well as grounds maintenance and waste disposal.
NT Government Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities
Services
Plumbing Repairs and Maintenance
Overview
Challenge
Delivering projects in various remote Northern Territory communities means facing vast distances, harsh climates, limited infrastructure, long travel times, seasonal access restrictions, tight budgets, and the need for strong cultural engagement. These factors make logistics, resource allocation, and stakeholder coordination highly complex.
What we faced:
Delivering In Isolated Locations: Working in remote communities in the Northern Territory means extreme distances, harsh climate, limited infrastructure, long travel times and restricted access during the wet season.
Budget Limitations: Working within a restricted budget requires careful planning to ensure funds are directed toward the most critical repairs and essential services without compromising safety, compliance or project goals.
Sourcing Skilled Workforce: Attracting and retaining skilled tradespeople in remote Northern Territory regions presents unique challenges, with limited local availability and high turnover.
Remote Management: Managing subcontractors in remote locations can be difficult due to distance, limited oversight, and variable access to resources and communication channels.
Respectful Community Engagement: Working in remote communities requires strong stakeholder engagement and cultural awareness to ensure projects align with local expectations and minimise disruption.
Solution
We address these challenges through detailed planning, local supplier partnerships, flexible scheduling, and fully equipped teams to ensure continuity. Careful budgeting prioritises critical repairs, while investment in training and apprenticeships builds local capacity alongside a reliable core team. Clear communication, trusted subcontractor relationships, and early consultation with community leaders and Traditional Owners ensure safe, timely, and culturally respectful delivery with lasting benefits.
What we delivered?
Operational Excellence: We plan each project with detailed logistics mapping, local supplier partnerships, and flexible scheduling to minimise travel delays. Our teams are equipped with everything need to do the job, such as tools, equipment, and spare parts. Ensuring seamless delivery even in the most remote areas and challenging terrain.
Focused Spending: We collaborate with the Community TO’s to assess priorities, focusing resources on emergency works and vital infrastructure first, while scheduling non-urgent tasks for future stages as funding allows.
Building Local Capability: We invest in local training, apprenticeships, and community partnerships, while maintaining a core team of experienced tradespeople who rotate through remote projects to ensure reliability and continuity.
Connected & Trusted Teams: We engage reliable subcontractor's familiar with remote work, maintain regular communication and progress checks, and provide clear expectations to ensure quality, safety, and timely delivery across all project stages.
Partnering With Leaders: We prioritise early consultation, clear communication, and collaboration with community leaders and Traditional Owners. Building trust and ensuring our work delivers long-term benefits for the people we serve.
"Owning a Tennant Creek property and living interstate doesn’t have to be stressful or a concern when you have the right people on your team. We use Irish and the beautiful Sarah from Barkly Plumbing to manage our plumbing maintenance needs and we are extremely satisfied with the results."
Together, with community, government and industry, we’re building the water and gas infrastructure the Northern Territory depends on.
