As climate events increase in frequency and intensity, communities across Australia and New Zealand continue to rely on rapid, coordinated support. Downer plays a vital role in supporting customers and communities through these events, including extreme weather driven by changing climatic conditions.
In FY25, our teams in both Australia and New Zealand demonstrated the value of adaptive response, collaboration
New Zealand: Connecting communities after Cyclone Tam
In April 2025, Downer’s Telecommunications team in New Zealand mobilised swiftly to restore essential network services following the impact of Tropical Cyclone Tam, which affected more than 120 telecommunications sites across Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
More than 60 Downer and subcontractor personnel worked across the Easter long weekend to deploy generators, conduct emergency repairs, and provide uninterrupted connectivity for customers including OneNZ, Spark, and RCG.
“It was an enormous effort over the four-day weekend — a massive response from our crews,” General Manager, Telco NZ, David Wallis said.
Australia: Cyclone Alfred preparation and response
In February 2025, as Cyclone Alfred approached South East Queensland, Downer’s Sustainable Road Resource Centre in Brendale helped support flood preparedness efforts, operating around the clock for three days to supply recycled sand for use in local sandbagging stations.
This was instrumental in enabling communities to reduce their flood risk. In total, 2,335 tonnes of sand were supplied — the equivalent of 116,000 sandbags — with more than 160 truckloads dispatched in a 72-hour period.
Then, once the cyclone passed, our Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) team rapidly mobilised to restore essential transport infrastructure across the Gold Coast and Moreton Bay regions. The cyclone impacted more than 500 ITS assets, including 250 sets of traffic lights, with the team working around the clock to restore operations safely and efficiently.
