Quality Green Group handed over the keys on Wednesday after doing a major upgrade of the 5,700m2 space that will bring a greater number of paid and volunteer personnel together. The SES has completely outgrown a site it had occupied for 25 years but the regional operation at Coniston remains in that location.

Daniel Grozdanov, of Quality Green Group, said considerable work was done preparing the building for the SES’s unique requirements. “We have refitted the whole building to an A Grade standard and upgraded all the equipment to achieve a 5 Star NatHERS rating. This is an exciting day for our group. This is a great building for the SES to service the entire state,” he said.

Acting commissioner Greg Newton said the former Australian Taxation Office building on the corner of Burelli and Atchison Streets will be a modern home for SES. It not only meets the emergency service’s requirements but is itself resistant to natural disasters.

The move essentially consolidates the people presently working in the Regent and Crown Street offices. It will incorporate a major training facility for volunteers across NSW. That means more SES training is likely to be done in Wollongong.

The fit-out taking place over the next 12 months will include the installation of considerable operational technology to make sure it is a state-of-the-art headquarters that will also feature a media room where updates and important information can be relayed everywhere during times of emergency.

“This new building will provide many modern and improved facilities including a re-designed Operations Centre which will help with the coordination of our response to all kinds of natural disasters and emergencies,” Mr Newton said.

The new HQ will also create greater access to the community. There will be a museum and coffee shop near reception where the history of the SES will be displayed and information available for anyone interested in becoming a volunteer.

The signing of the 12-year lease coincided with the 60th anniversary of the SES in a year that involved more than 45,000 responses across NSW. 

Emergency Services minister David Elliott said it was a significant milestone in the service’s history. He said NSW Government funding being spent on the fit-out also represented an investment in the Illawarra. “This building will be home to around 200 members, allowing them to provide support to the 9000 volunteers who serve their communities”.