Project Management Consultancy in Sydney
Full-Service Client-Side Project Management That Gives You Certainty
APM Services is a Sydney-based client-side project management consultancy. We come in before the architect is briefed, run the development feasibility and represent your interests from that point through to project completion.
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Comprehensive development feasibilities before any consultant is engaged
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We sit between you and the consultant team and hold them to your brief
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We control the baseline schedule, cost and change from day one
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We manage the DA for cost and buildability, not just approval
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We represent you. Not the builder or the design team
$580m delivered in built form across Sydney
Trusted by
COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT & DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
We Protect Your Timeline & Budget
Through our 15+ years of experience, we see the same issues holding projects up
The feasibility was done on the back of a napkin
The numbers looked fine until someone actually verified them. We run detailed feasibilities so clients know exactly where they stand before committing.
Consultants are setting the agenda
If there is no experienced PM holding the client brief, consultants will run the project their way. Architects design buildings & don't factor in material costs. Engineers run up fees because nobody is managing scope.
A builder dispute has escalated.
Builders are operating on tight margins and disputes move fast. We have helped clients through adjudication mid-project, representing their interests without stopping delivery.
No governance and no real visibility.
No Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies log. No steering committee. Status updates via email once a month. Risks compound until they become crises. We set up the governance framework early on so decisions get made with the right information.
Exceptional Project Delivery Across Complex Sites
10+ years of senior construction and development experience. $580M+ in built form delivered across Sydney. Every engagement is led directly by APM's Managing Director, Simon Kassis.
DELIVERY ASSURANCE
The DA is approved, but it cannot be built
Anyone can get a DA. Getting one that is cost-effective, structurally coordinated and buildable is challenging. Most consultants do the services and structure coordination after the DA, which causes modifications and delays. We coordinate this upfront which erodes risk.
The PM is brought in too late
By the time some clients call us, the design is locked, the budget has blown and change control does not exist. There is still work we can do but were in damage control. The earlier we are engaged, the more we can proactively drive outcomes.
If any of these sound familiar, organise a complimentary feasibility consult
Most developers who reach out have already experienced at least one of these problems. The earlier we talk, the more we can do about it.
Development Feasibility, Budget Management and Advisory
We analyse the site, calculate the Feasibility, model the full development cost including land, build, stamp duty, holding costs, consultant fees and delays, and tell you whether the project stacks up. This is the capability most client-side project management firms in Sydney do not have.
A standard PM firm will go straight to the architect. We run the financial modelling and design due diligence first, so you know the outcome before any money is spent on design.
Services include:
Site analysis and feasibility review, financial modelling, development feasibility, business case validation, design due diligence.
Development and Project Delivery Management
We manage the full process from DA through construction certificate, tender and construction to practical completion. That means managing the consultant team, controlling costs, maintaining the baseline schedule and representing our client at every milestone and builder meeting.
For clients running multiple developments at the same time, we provide programme management and portfolio-level governance and executive reporting.
Services include:
DA management, milestone management, critical path control, change control, cost control, RAID log management, stakeholder management, vendor management, KPI reporting, forecasting.
Construction Quality Assurance and Compliance Management
Quality is not something that can be inspected into a project at completion. It must be planned, monitored and verified throughout delivery.
APM provides independent quality assurance and construction oversight throughout all stages of the build, ensuring works are delivered in accordance with the approved design, statutory requirements, consultant documentation, relevant Australian Standards and contractual quality obligations.
Our team develops and implements project-specific inspection and test plans (ITPs), witness points and hold points, coordinates consultant inspections, and verifies that critical construction elements are reviewed before they become inaccessible…
APM coordinates and manages inspections by architects, structural engineers, waterproofing consultants, façade consultants, fire engineers and other specialist consultants to ensure compliance is independently verified throughout construction.
We maintain comprehensive quality registers, defect registers and compliance tracking systems, ensuring all non-conformances are identified, rectified and closed out before practical completion.
Services include:
Quality management planning, inspection and test plan reviews, consultant inspections, hold point verification, waterproofing inspections, façade inspections and testing, structural inspections, compliance audits, defect management, commissioning oversight, practical completion inspections and defects liability period management.
APM Services Provides Assurance Throughout All Stages Of Delivery
Our engagements range from a single feasibility review through to full project management (Site acquisition to practical completion)
We match the scope to where you are in the project and what it actually needs.
Project Assurance and Recovery
For projects already underway, we carry out an independent project health check, re-baseline the schedule, tighten scope management and put the right governance in place. For distressed projects, we can have a clear recovery plan in days.
Services include:
Project health check, project recovery planning, delivery assurance, risk management, dependency management, scope management, requirements management, issue management, baseline schedule review.
Particular focus is placed on high-risk and defect-prone trades including:
Structural works, reinforcement inspections and concrete pours.
Waterproofing systems including wet areas, roofs, balconies, basements and podiums.
Building façade systems including glazing, cladding, waterproofing interfaces and façade testing.
Fire and life safety systems including passive fire protection and penetration sealing.
Building services installations including hydraulic, mechanical, electrical and fire services.
Architectural finishes, joinery and defect management.
Commissioning, integrated systems testing and operational readiness.
$580M
delivered in built form
10+
years experience
100%
client-side
Common Misconceptions Holding Developers Back
"I don't need a PM until construction starts"
The decisions that determine whether a project makes money happen long before a builder is on site. By the time construction starts, the design is locked, the budget is set and the consultant fees are committed. If we are not there for those decisions, we cannot change them.
"I already have an architect and a consultant team"
Having consultants is not the same as having someone managing them on your behalf. Without a PM holding the client brief, consultants run the project in the direction that suits them and there is no financial control. We sit between you and the design team, control the costs and make sure what gets designed can actually be built and afforded.
"I can manage the project and consultants myself"
Some developers can. Most find it becomes a full-time role on top of running their business. There is also what you do not know you are missing. Without construction experience on the client side, it is hard to know when an architect is over-designing or when a DA is heading toward a modification that costs six figures to resolve. We know. Because we have been on both sides of that table.
A Delivery Partner That Makes Project Outcomes Predictable
Projects blow out early because nobody was managing costs, consultants and programme from the start. Our unique end-to-end approach gives you confidence. We advocate for you & remove the day-to-day headaches of managing a project. This allows you to do your best work & focus on the big needle movers.
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Project controls and a live baseline schedule go in from day one. Milestones are tracked and dependencies managed so slippage is caught early, not reported after the fact.
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Built on real construction numbers across residential, hotel, commercial and heritage projects. Not what looked reasonable on a feasibility spreadsheet twelve months ago.
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Risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies tracked and acted on throughout delivery. Used to make decisions, not filed away between meetings.
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Vendor management and scope control from the start. Architects and engineers perform differently when an experienced PM is representing the client brief and controlling the scope.
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KPI reporting and governance matched to your delivery cadence. Clear escalation paths and real visibility across the project, not a status update email once a month.
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Full financial modelling across land, build cost, stamp duty, holding costs and consultant fees. Your ROI is confirmed before any money is committed to design.
Our Simple Engagement Process That Minimises Disruption
Step 1: Discovery
We understand your site, intent, project status, budget and timeline. You leave the call with a recommended approach.
Step 2: Feasibility
For new sites, we produce a high-level planning report covering what you can build, the setbacks, FSI and development type options. For active projects, we review the plan, governance, risk and delivery capability.
Step 3: Engagement
We agree scope, deliverables, delivery cadence and escalation paths. The commercial model is transparent and roles are defined from day one.
Step 4: Delivery
We manage the full process through to handover. Governance and reporting are in place from the start.
Note
For urgent situations, a project health check, recovery action plan and re-baselined scope. Ongoing support is available as an interim project manager, senior project manager or programme manager depending on what the project requires.
The Experience Behind APM Services
Simon Kassis started as a cadet at Built Construction before spending six years leading the project team at Toga Group. That included delivering A by Adina, 280 George Street, a 194-key hotel on a 500sqm site in Sydney CBD, built during active light rail construction on George Street.
From there, he moved into client-side project management, managing projects including the Canva Sydney headquarters DA and 333 Kent Street.
Completed projects include 280 George Street ($100M, Sydney CBD), Merchant House at 333 Kent St ($100m), a number of residential projects, commercial fitouts, industrial and the like.
Documented methods across all engagements: RAID logs, stage-gate governance, baseline schedule management, change control registers and KPI reporting.
This conversation could change your entire project outcome
We turned a zero-profit 21-apartment site into a 28-apartment project, returning $5 million. It started with a feasibility and a willingness to look at the problem differently.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The honest answer is as early as possible. The ideal time is when you have a site and you are still deciding what to do with it. We run a high-level desktop feasibility, look at the planning controls, model the development costs and tell you whether the project stacks up before you spend anything on design. If you already have a DA or you are mid-construction and things have gone sideways, we can still help. But the earlier the engagement, the more options you have.
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Most client-side PM firms in Sydney are brought in after the architect has already been briefed. They manage the process from that point forward. We run the development feasibility before anyone picks up a pencil. That means we can design for yield, control consultant costs from day one and make sure the DA produces something that can actually be built within the client's budget. That capability is not common in client-side project management. It comes from having construction, engineering and development experience under the same roof.
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We work on projects from around $1M through to $250M.
The majority of our clients are private developers, family businesses and individual site owners across the residential sector, retail sector, hotels sector, commercial and mixed-use development in Sydney and Greater NSW.
Our clients value direct access to the MD and a PM who is genuinely invested in the outcome.
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We tell you. Telling a client their site does not work is not a failure of the process. It is the process working correctly.
The alternative is spending two or three years designing and approving a project that was never going to be viable, which is a far more expensive outcome.
In most cases where the initial numbers do not stack up, there is a redesign path. We have taken projects from zero return to a $5M development profit by rethinking the yield within the same building footprint.
A negative feasibility is the beginning of the conversation, not the end.
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Yes. Project recovery is one of our core services. If your project is mid-DA or mid-construction and something has gone wrong, whether it is a budget blowout, a builder dispute, a design that cannot be afforded or governance that has broken down, we can come in, assess the situation and produce a recovery plan fast.
We have helped clients through adjudication, redesigns and complete re-baselines. The situation does not have to be as far gone as you think before we can turn it around.
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The consultation runs via Microsoft Teams and is reviewed and scheduled personally by our managing director, Simon Kassis.
Before the call, it helps to have a rough idea of the site location, the project size or intent, your timeline and where you are in the process. FSI information is useful if you have it but not essential.
The goal of the first call is to understand your situation and give you a clear recommended approach before the call ends. You do not need to have everything figured out. Most clients who reach out are at the stage where they are not sure what to do next. That is exactly the right time to talk.
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