Our Story

The Q H & M Birt Story

Delivering the industry’s most reliable construction work for over 50 years

The QBirt Story is one of deep history, rich experience, and consistent reliability.

We’ve been providing the professionalism and services of a sophisticated, top-tier contractor, with the competitiveness and intimacy and honest values of a family-owned business since our story began in 1973.

Our History

1973

Awarded first contract which was a carpark at Moorooka for $10,000. The fleet delivering this project was a Ford Falcon station wagon and a wheelbarrow.

1973

1974

Contract for University of Queensland St Lucia, building a new road on the campus for $11,000. The successful delivery of this project led to ongoing work for another 8 years.

1974

1977

Awarded highest level of prequalification with the Department of Main Roads Queensland.

1977

1980

Contract for BHP at Riverside Mine leading to the purchase of a Cat D10 dozer and three Cat 651 Scrapers, the first in the fleet.

1980

1983

Secured a major roadbuilding contract in Canberra which led to the construction of the Point Hut Dam.

1983

1985

Acquired the lease for the Hinchinbrook Island resort. Which went on to win awards for the Best Tourism Development in Australia in 1991 and Australia’s Best Eco Resort in 1992.

1985

1985

Awarded one of four packages for the construction of the new Gateway Arterial Road from Eight Mile Plains to Old Cleveland Road. This was the first State Government-funded project in Queensland that used Quality Assurance systems.

1985

1985

Constructed the last section of bitumen road linking the east coast of QLD with central Australia, the road was opened in Kynuna, known for its links with Banjo Paterson and the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ poem.

1985

1989

Contract for Comalco (now Rio Tinto) at their Weipa bauxite processing facility. The successful delivery of this project led to ongoing work in Weipa for 28 years.

1989

1991

Reconstruction of Boundary road including the pink retaining walls adjacent to Government House in Brisbane’s inner west.

1991

1997

In a period of 6 months constructed 60km of fully sealed, bitumen road including several large box culverts at Gregory for Century Zinc.

1997

2003

Awarded the contract for the construction of a new tailings dam at Andoom, Weipa, which led to ongoing work there for the next 15 years.

2003

2007

Mobilised a small fleet to Groote Eylandt, NT to assist with rehabilitation works. This led to an ongoing presence on the island to this day.

2007

2008

Engaged by Alcan (now Rio Tinto) to complete the rehabilitation of a residue disposal pond in Gove, Northern Territory. This led to ongoing work in Gove for the next 8 years.

2008

2010

Completed our first project in the Pilbara, Western Australia for Fortescue Metals Group (FMG).

2010

2014

Awarded a three-year program of works performing tailings dam wall raises for Rio Tinto at their Yarwun residue disposal area. This meant that QBirt were simultaneously performing work for Rio Tinto in all of their bauxite assets. 500,000 manhours completed injury free.

2014

2015

Awarded the bulk earthworks contract for the Pacific Highway between Warrell Creek and Nambucca Heads, NSW

2015

2016

Contract for the construction of the Hey River Road for Rio Tinto. 40km of fully-sealed road was complete within 8 months. The successful completion of these works resulted in QBirt being awarded the $150M Amrun Bulk Earthworks contract, the largest contract undertaken by QBirt at that time.

2016

2017

Contract for Nexus Delivery delivering a challenging section of the Toowoomba second range crossing.

2017

2020

Contracts awarded for: construction of a new tailings dam for BHP at Olympic Dam, SA and a construction new rail corridor for FMG in the Pilbara WA. Both contracts, with a combined value of $230M were delivered ahead of schedule despite the profound impacts of COVID.

2020

2021

Arrival of our new CAT 6020B Excavator. At over 200T it easily held the mantle of QBirts largest machine until 2023 and the purchase of our 340T Komatsu PC3400-11 Excavator!

2021

2022

Awarded our first-ever mining contract for South 32 on Groote Eylandt, NT. This would ultimately lead to our second mining contract a year later, in 2023, for CMOC in Parkes, NSW.

2022

A word from our founder & director

Quentin Birt

“I commenced contracting in 1973 and have witnessed significant advancement in all aspects of the industry. In my first job as a Cadet Engineer with Queensland Railway, I was required to do considerable survey work, so this is an area where the present technology is of particular interest, being light years from the rudimentary equipment available then.

My first contract was a carpark at Moorooka for Australia Post, and the equipment was a Falcon station wagon, wheelbarrow and square-mouth shovel, not dissimilar to the fleet of present-day Tier 1 contractors. I hired relevant equipment and intended to continue that process. However, I was obliged to re-evaluate that method over time and purchased machinery to the present level of almost 300 major items of plant. As mentioned above, this is against the trend to the point that we are a rarity in owning almost all the equipment that presents on our contracts.

We have carried out work in almost every corner of Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory and the A.C.T.

Some of the important indicators in the industry are time, cost and safety, and these are quantifiable. We have reason to be proud of figures in these areas, but the relevant role of quality is not so easily measured. We attach great importance to this factor and operate under the belief that the “perfect” job will be even better next time around.

Earthworks can be complicated sometimes due to uncertainty about the nature of the material and the numerous ways in which that material can be handled. However, it remains a simple discipline as evidenced by the number of sand pits in pre-schools. An appreciation of the need for an effective combination of the principle and practice is a desired trait in all our staff. Thus, the magnitude of the task presented by a restrictive schedule may be met with a question “yes, but where do we put the excavator for the first load?”

It would be no surprise that after a lifetime in the industry, at some point I realised that it, i.e. our survival and process, was about people, particularly our people but also those employed by our clients. In the care of the latter we endeavour to afford total respect to their position. It has been exciting for many years to see our staff try, sometimes stumble but rarely fail to achieve outcomes which I, as an individual, could only dream about.”

Proven track record

Q H & M Birt today

In the last decade we’ve successfully delivered over $3B of work. We’ve worked on some of the biggest civil construction projects in Australia, like the Amrun Project for Bechtel and Rio Tinto and the Tootoomba Second Range Crossing Project for Nexus Delivery.

Our team is proud of the diverse range of projects we’ve completed throughout Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

We’ve saved our clients millions by value engineering on projects, as a value-add to the amazing work we do.

Our track record of successful project delivery is excellent, and more than half of our business is repeat business as a result.

We own the biggest civil construction fleet in Australia and the most scrapers in the southern hemisphere.

We employ all of our own people directly, with more than 400 employees, from managers and project engineers to operators, machinists and administration officers.

We employ the best, and we deliver the best.

Why work with us

Our values and principles

How we deliver

Our outcomes

Our team, our equipment and our expertise in our industry sees us consistently deliver our projects:

Our greatest asset

Our team

Our people are our greatest assets, and that is something that we have never forgotten in our company’s long history.

We attract the best, and we’re proud to have such an incredible team of passionate, loyal, honest and dedicated people behind us.

We highly value the contribution that every single member of the Q H & M Birt family makes to the projects that we deliver.

What it’s like to work with us

Working with us

From our safety culture, to our diversity, to our open and democratic environment and the amazing projects we work on, we’re proud that our team is proud to work with us.

At Q H & M Birt, we highly value quality, great work, and passion, and you’ll receive the recognition and reward you deserve, working with us.

Get in touch with our leading civil construction team today

Whether you’re a professional in our field looking to embark on a truly rewarding career, an existing client who wants to get started on a new project or you’re a potential client looking to learn more — get in touch with our team today. We’d love to hear from you.