The Challenge
A 12-kilometre motorway bypass of Coffs Harbour — including three separate tunnels, associated plant rooms, and a backup control centre — required a physical security risk assessment and derived security requirements under TfNSW contractual obligations. Tunnelled motorways concentrate risk in enclosed, operationally complex environments where trespass, vandalism, self-harm, and insider threats each demand different treatment strategies. The security analysis had to produce requirements that designers across architectural, electrical, civil, communications, and structural disciplines could act on directly.
Our Approach
Core42 adapted a structured threat assessment methodology for the Australian motorway context, making evidence-based determinations of which threat scenarios were credible and which were not — avoiding the common failure of over-treating low-probability threats while under-treating the more probable ones. The security requirements report was structured not as a compliance appendix but as a strategy document for designers: requirements were allocated to specific disciplines with an “Expected Evidence” column specifying the design output required. Security zoning layouts were produced as overlays on architectural drawings, making spatial application explicit.
What We Delivered
A physical security risk assessment covering 21 risks across multiple threat categories, all treated to a defensible SFAIRP position. A security requirements report translating 17 strategic controls into over 70 derived requirements across four categories — CPTED, physical security, electronic security, and operational/procedural security — with security zoning layouts for all three tunnels and the operations facility.
Why It Matters
This project demonstrates Core42’s ability to operate as an embedded security advisor within a Tier-1 design and construct contractor environment, translating risk analysis into discipline-specific design requirements that bridge the gap between a security report and actual design documentation. Directly relevant to tunnelled road or rail infrastructure, transport precincts, and government-owned operational facilities delivered under D&C contracts.