ABAB November 2025 Communiqué: Building Momentum for Digital Transformation

On 25 November 2025, the Australasian BIM Advisory Board (ABAB) concluded its 2025 program with a hybrid meeting that brought together representatives from across Australia and New Zealand, with Queensland BIM representatives gathering in person. As the final meeting of the year, it provided an opportunity to both celebrate progress and sharpen focus on the priorities that will define 2026.

The meeting opened with updates that demonstrated real momentum across jurisdictions. Our hosts in Queensland reported significant advances. At a pilot Correctional Precinct, a flagship project is pioneering digital-driven facilities management, demonstrating how using these tools can transform the entire lifecycle of public assets.
A centrepiece of the meeting was the review of ABAB’s draft position paper on driving productivity through digital transformation. The discussion explored the strategic value of grounding recommendations in international standards, including ISO 19650 and ISO 55000, which provide a common language for asset information management and support cross-jurisdictional collaboration. The paper, set for release in 2026, will make a clear case for digital enablement as a productivity driver.

The Board also heard a compelling presentation from Quinton Cooper of Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), who detailed BAC’s BIM journey. Cooper outlined how the organisation has implemented robust quality control processes, integrated automation strategies, and adopted open-source tools to streamline data entry, automate asset registers, and improve contractor compliance. It was a practical demonstration of return on investment, showing how early investment in digital processes delivers ongoing efficiency gains.

The Industry Collaboration Group reported on technical priorities including digital maturity pathways and the critical need for standardised asset classification. The group called for continued collaboration into 2026, recognising that industry and government must move forward together if digital enablement is to scale effectively.

As 2025 draws to a close, ABAB reflected on a year of strengthened partnerships, best practice forums, the re-endorsement of the Asset Information Requirements Guide, and meaningful progress on digitalisation for decarbonisation. Looking ahead to 2026, the priorities are clear: embedding digitalisation across procurement and delivery, advocating for the value of data, promoting harmonisation and standardisation, and addressing the budget constraints that often limit ambition. The need for stronger advocacy and more systematic sharing of best practices, both among agencies and with consultants, was emphasised throughout the discussion.

What defines ABAB is its capacity to connect technical expertise with strategic vision. As Australasia navigates fiscal pressure, rising infrastructure demand and emerging technologies, digital enablement offers a pathway to do more with less, to deliver assets that perform better over their lifetimes, and to build the data foundations that will support decarbonisation and resilience.

Our thanks to the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning for hosting, and to our Chair Andrew Curthoys and the ABAB Executive for their continued support throughout the year.