Secora establishes Darwin presence

Secora has formalised its presence in the Northern Territory (NT) with the recent relocation of Secora’s Executive Director – Operations, Paul Sheather, and the opening of an office in Smith Street Mall.

Secora has a long-standing relationship with the NT, having worked on the RAN patrol boats, based at Coonawarra, for many years. Since 2021, activity in the North has intensified and Secora has been working with the NT government on the creation of the virtual twin of Darwin Harbour, which has evolved to include the majority of Australia’s ‘Top End’.

Managing Director, John Grout, has also been engaged in an advisory capacity on defence industry matters over the past 18 months, with a focus on supporting regional economic growth and the creation of skilled employment. As the northern parts of Australia grow in strategic significance in terms of both defence and infrastructure projects, Secora will be on the ground working with local organisations and government to offer its specialist expertise, capability and resources to help the NT economy grow.

“We decided to put our money where our mouth is with respect to investing in the NT and creating local jobs, and that’s why we have opened an office and re-located one of our top people to Darwin” said John Grout, MD of Secora. 

Paul’s relocation to the Territory as a member of Secora’s senior leadership team, will help the business to understand the challenges and opportunities present in the territory, as this unique part of Australia continues to play a key role in not only Australia’s, but also our regional security.

“This is just the start of a long-term commitment to the NT, not only in the defence space but also infrastructure and offering asset optimisation and improvement in key sectors. We want to use our skills and resources to be an enabler for industry in the Northern Territory, and also look to build partnerships with local industry, working from our proven model of collaboration”, Paul Sheather stated.

Over the coming months Paul will focus on the resource requirements for Secora’s collaborative projects supporting northern Australia’s defence, infrastructure and resource sectors. The team will also be seeking to hire local talent to help it achieve success.

Additionally, one of the key models of Secora’s operations is the ability to access and deploy expertise on short notice from across the country. “While the team will have an office and base here in the Territory, and we will look to recruit and develop a locally based team, we will also be able to get the right people on the ground at the right time for key projects and operations as required,” Paul said.

Why the Northern Territory is important for Defence

The NT government’s Economic Development Framework identifies Defence and its support industries as one of five growth sectors for the territory. As the regional hub for defence and national security activity in the north, the Northern Territory is committed to supporting the Australian Government in fulfilling its national security objectives.

The Northern Territory’s value for the US and other partners is its capability to effectively train, sustain, and coordinate allied and partner nation military forces in a secure, yet geostrategic location.

Growing state of the art ranges; port facilities; high-speed, reduced latency, secure communications; ever increasing cyber capabilities and partnerships; a growing space capability; and a growing industrial base make the Australian north a key piece of the strategic geography of the Indo-Pacific. It will also make it increasingly important to the emerging Australia-India-Japan-US Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

The Australian government’s Defence Strategic Review will be delivered early next year and is expected to prioritise the estate, infrastructure, disposition, logistics and security investments required to provide Australia with the Defence force posture required by 2032-33. The Northern Territory is going to play an even more pivotal role.

The NT Virtual Twin: Raising the profile of Digital Capability in the Territory

Choosing an ambitious solution and timeframe, and with the support of the NT Government, Secora rapidly assembled an expert team to build a virtual twin of key strategic areas of the Top End within six weeks at low-cost.

The Northern Territory Virtual Twin is a digital planning tool that identifies efficiencies to be gained for infrastructure projects, saving the NT taxpayer money. It also accelerates the planning cycle to enable projects to be delivered faster than using traditional methods.

For the ADF, the Virtual Twin platform can support and enable the ADF and its allies to plan its requirements for defence infrastructure supply chains – including fuel and other logistics - across the Territory.

Harnessing the power of data, the Virtual Twin can be used to explore scenarios through simulation to optimise planning, logistics, training and asset management programs.

The virtual twin of Darwin Harbour is now being used to support engagement with the Australian and US governments.

The Darwin Harbour virtual twin aids in determining:

• Potential facility locations that account for proximity to services, geographic conditions and strategic considerations;

• The design and configuration of infrastructure to best meet the needs of the NT government, as well as the domestic and international users of Darwin Harbour; and

• Planning options for potential future applications and users for Darwin Harbour.

The project was developed through a strategic partnership between the NT government, Secora, Dassault Systemes and AMC Search. This partnership brought together three organisations with specific expertise across digital innovation, critical infrastructure, and defence.

Initially focused on Darwin Harbour, the Virtual Twin has now been expanded to multiple locations of strategic significance including the Gove Peninsula, which also has an accompanying Virtual Reality experience.

However, the Virtual Twin has broader applications outside of Defence and is relevant for the civil sector. Its power can be applied to the oil and gas, agricultural, mining and other sectors that are all critical parts of the Northern Territory’s economy.