Corporate Property Strategies in the Federal Public Sector

The procurement of corporate property has undergone significant change as a result of economic reform at the end of the 1990’s. The changing economic climate led business and governments to focus on their property assets. Many governments globally adopted a market driven approach, subjecting non-core service delivery to competitive tendering and contracting with many services outsourced to the private sector. Australia readily adopted the new market approach. The Federal Government undertook a major property strategy review implementing a user pays market system followed by a comprehensive outsourcing of office property. This paper examines the property evaluation process and critically reviews the disposal processes adopted. It illustrates where lack of forward strategic planning led to a significant loss of value to the public purse. The paper concludes with the recommendation that the public sector should establish a clear long term strategic approach.