Our work › Current projects
BriefEzy
Quick and easy climate-ready briefs that save councils time and money
Funding:
Council subscriptions
Pays for the yearly review, with no software company taking a margin
In use since:
2013
Councils:
11 councils
in Victoria and New South Wales
Status:
In progress
The challenge
Councils adopt sustainability and climate targets, but those goals often don’t make it into the tender documents for their own buildings and infrastructure. Each project starts from a blank page, requirements get cut during design and construction, and nobody checks them at handover. Rating schemes such as BESS and Green Star only apply to larger projects, so most of a council’s capital works program sits below them.
What we’re doing
BriefEzy helps councils write clear sustainability and climate resilience requirements into the tender brief for every capital works project, from a toilet block to an aquatic centre, then keeps a record of what was delivered.
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A library of 360 requirements
Tender-ready clauses for Buildings (242 clauses, 12 facility types) and Civil Infrastructure (118 clauses, 25 types, including roads, drainage, car parks, paths, playgrounds and sports fields).
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A brief in about fifteen minutes
An officer answers a few drop-down questions and chooses an aspiration level (Essential, Best Practice or Leading). Questions cover the project budget, facility type and size, how it will be used, recycled water and climate zone. The result is a dated brief ready for the tender pack.
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A record of what was delivered
The Tracker records what the contractor delivered against each requirement. Benchmarks show what the sustainability scope added on similar projects, and an annual report to council is produced from the record.
Who owns and guides it
SECCCA’s member councils own the content and review it every year through the annual update. WSP provides technical expertise on the clauses, and Allens provides legal expertise on climate governance.
What councils get
A tender-ready brief in about fifteen minutes, from one officer instead of a meeting of three or four
One shared clause library, reviewed every year and kept in line with the National Construction Code
A record of what was delivered, with evidence, feeding an annual report to council
Evidence on cost: Cardinia Shire measured about 3% added capital cost at Best Practice level
For Victorian councils, an Essential-level building brief supports a design that meets or beats a BESS pass mark.
Why it matters for communities
Arena Child and Family Centre in Cardinia Shire saves $10,164 a year in energy and water costs, avoids 64 tonnes of CO₂e and saves 94 kL of water a year, compared with a similar centre built to code.
Progress
2013 BriefEzy begins at Cardinia Shire
2018 SECCCA and WSP extend it to a shared clause library
2026 web platform in beta testing with member councils
Every year Member councils review the library through the annual update
Resources
Features, packages and pricing, a case study, a sample brief and FAQs will be on the BriefEzy website (coming soon).
Member councils only
BriefEzy workspace
The BriefEzy web platform is in beta testing. Member council officers can ask about joining.
