Acoustic Design, Construction Review & Compliance Testing

• Kulap Primary School – Clyde
• Gamadji Primary School – Craigieburn
• Biyala Primary School – Armstrong Creek
• Umarkoo Primary School – Wollert
• Birranga College – Clyde North

Octave Acoustics provided specialist acoustic consultancy services for the Victorian School Building Authority’s New Schools 2026 program, supporting the delivery of five new government schools across metropolitan and regional Victoria.

The program comprised four new primary schools and one new secondary school, delivered across greenfield growth areas and designed to meet the Department of Education’s contemporary learning, inclusion and wellbeing objectives. As part of the Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms, the primary schools in Craigieburn and Wollert incorporate government‑owned and operated Early Learning and Childcare Centres, providing education and care from infancy through to four‑year‑old kindergarten. The primary schools in Clyde and Armstrong Creek each include a co‑located three‑ and four‑year‑old kindergarten, integrated within the broader school campus.

Octave Acoustics was engaged to provide acoustic design input, construction‑phase review and post‑construction compliance testing to support delivery in accordance with the Building Quality Standards Handbook (BQSH) across the full suite of education and early learning facilities.

Our role spanned multiple stages of the program, including review of architectural and building services documentation, development of project‑specific acoustic criteria, and advice on construction detailing to achieve appropriate levels of sound insulation, reverberation control and internal noise performance across teaching spaces, staff areas, specialist facilities and early learning environments.

During construction, Octave Acoustics undertook site inspections across the program to review the installation of acoustically rated partitions, doors, ceilings and junction detailing. Where required, targeted advice was provided to address observed issues and reduce the risk of performance shortfalls at commissioning.

Upon completion of the works, Octave Acoustics carried out comprehensive in‑situ acoustic testing at representative buildings within the program. This included airborne sound insulation testing and reverberation time measurements to verify that the completed facilities achieved compliance with BQSH performance requirements once furnished and occupied.

The New Schools 2026 program demonstrates Octave Acoustics’ experience delivering acoustic services across large, multi‑site education programs, requiring consistency of outcomes, detailed coordination with design and construction teams, and a strong understanding of Department of Education standards and delivery processes.

Octave Acoustics’ scope included:

• Acoustic design advice for primary, secondary and early learning facilities
• Review of architectural and services documentation against BQSH requirements
• Development and application of project‑specific acoustic criteria
• Construction‑phase site inspections and technical advice
• Review of acoustically rated walls, doors, ceilings and penetrations
• Airborne sound insulation field testing (DnT,w)
• Reverberation time measurements within teaching, learning and early years spaces
• Preparation of acoustic compliance reports to support project close‑out