60 Years

“Perth’s skyline has changed significantly since I first started at Multiplex over 41 years ago, and I’ve had the privilege of working on some of the city’s most iconic projects in that time.

“There’s three particular projects that still stand out to me – the Subicao Railway Tunnel in 1998, the Fremantle Maritime Museum in 2001, and WA Museum Boola Bardip in 2020. All had a major impact on Perth and our culture. The railway tunnel particularly was central to the urban renewal of Subiaco and included some significant works, including a five-day shutdown to connect the train line to Fremantle line. We joked it was the equivalent of digging out the Suez Canal – no easy feat! The entire Multiplex team was down there with all hands on-deck to make sure we could re-open the rail line in time.

“When I look back, what I remember is the good times - of which there are many. It’s the laughs and the fun times that one tends to hold onto. They are associated with working with incredibly talented Multiplex staff over the years, both past and present.”

When I first started in 1996, we had just won the contract to deliver Stadium Australia for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

One of my first jobs was making sure this huge suite of documents was right, and part of that was counting the number of seats across every piece of documentation, as it kept changing as the design got finalised. It was a painstaking task, but it was such an exciting time to be at Multiplex. That idea that when you came to a game, and sat down in your seat, you knew the history of how the whole stadium had come together, where the seats had come from, and which subcontractors had installed them.

I remember going to the opening ceremony with the rest of the Multiplex team. There was that heart stopping moment, I think all of Australia had it, when the torch ramp sort of stalled. But I knew that if something went wrong, we were going to fix it because we had people everywhere. It was just a great sense of excitement and pride.

114,714 seats by the way.

Our responsibility as contractors has grown over 60 years - and our opportunity to make a positive and material impact on the world around us is greater than ever before.

We have a really clear purpose to construct a better future, and that is driving us to do more across our environment; people; communities; business performance; and governance.

Our global ESG update, outlines where we will concentrate our efforts for the greatest impact. A lot of that will be about tackling climate change, and specifically carbon. We have nothing without our planet.

Making that change will be about leading with our own actions, and also influencing our networks to expand our impact.

For more information please see our Responsible Business page.

It’s been really rewarding to be part of the evolution of safety in construction over the years. Site safety remains an absolute priority for Multiplex, but supporting our psychological safety and mental health has also taken a front seat.

Sometimes we’ve got to open up and say “this I where I am”; even if it’s just a small thing, talking helps. Globally, we have trained over 220 mental health first aiders in how to talk to people, spot changes in behavior, and support colleagues when they’re going through a tough time.

What we really want now is for our mental health first aiders to disseminate that information out to our subcontractors, so that we’re getting that message out to everybody.

I honestly believe Multiplex is one of the front-runners when it comes to safety. Multiplex has a team together that really wants to make a difference.

As a student I heard nothing but good things about Multiplex, and they were all true.

Multiplex gives you as much as you can take and as many opportunities for growth as you can handle. One of the most appealing things is you are doing work on the edge of your capability - it's fast-paced but every day is rewarding.

I began my career with Multiplex as a co-op student, before securing a full-time position as Site Coordinator. I'm now an Assistant Superintendent and recently transferred to Multiplex UK to live and work in Scotland.

Multiplex gives you access to invaluable experiences that you won't get anywhere else.

People are often surprised when I tell them I am an engineer. I remember walking around a project with a new male graduate. A subcontractor’s site supervisor was asking questions about the temporary works but directing them to the graduate. The graduate looked back at the subcontractor, pointed at me, and said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about, you need to ask her, she’s the engineer.” The site supervisor did look pretty shocked, apologised to me, and redirected his questions.

I have seen a shift in mindsets in the younger generation of construction professionals who are less accepting of society’s inequalities. We’ve come a long way since I started my career but we still have a long way to go.

The outdated view of construction as a career just for men is something we are working hard to change. Multiplex has made great strides engaging with schools, colleges, and universities to showcase the opportunities and career options available within construction.