Decobu is a multidisciplinary engineering design firm with offices in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Manila.
We design the systems that keep spaces running, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and fire. Our work shows up in the details: in comfortable air, reliable power, safe systems, and designs that make sense from the first sketch to the final sign-off.
We work on everything from residential builds to major commercial developments. Our goal is simple: do the work properly, make the process clear, and deliver designs that hold up in the real world. We’re the people behind the scenes, making sure the systems you rely on just work. You might not see it, but you’ll feel it when it does.
At Decobu, we take pride in being dependable and straightforward. You won’t find unnecessary jargon or big promises here, just a focus on what needs to be done and doing it well.
Our team brings a mix of trade experience and technical knowledge, which means we design with the end user in mind. We know how drawings translate on site, and we make sure our designs are clear, compliant, and coordinated from day one.
We work with developers, builders, architects, project managers, certifiers, and other consultants, anyone who has a hand in bringing a project together. Collaboration isn’t just a word on the wall here; it’s how we operate. We value honesty, clarity, and being easy to work with. That’s why clients stay with us, because they know what to expect: communication that’s open, advice that’s practical, and a team that always follows through.
No slogans. No spin. Just a reputation built on doing good work, properly. We work across sectors including multi-residential, commercial, aged care, education, and community developments. Each project is different, but our approach doesn’t change:
We focus on the fundamentals, accuracy, compliance, and coordination.
Decobu’s story, in its current form, began in 2019.
In that year, Dale Foster acquired a controlling stake in an established building services engineering consultancy, with a clear intent to bring estimating and engineering design together under one structure.
Alongside an existing specialist estimating business, the vision was to connect estimating, design, and delivery — reducing fragmentation, improving buildability, and creating a consultancy grounded in how projects are actually delivered.
The objective was to build something more aligned, more practical, and more valuable to clients.
Not long after the acquisition, the business faced its first major test.
The engineering consultancy was already under pressure, with corporate and commercial challenges to resolve. Then COVID arrived — bringing uncertainty, disrupted projects, shifting client behaviour, and a sudden need to stabilise people, pipeline, and cashflow at the same time.
What had been a transformation initiative quickly became a survival effort.
2020 became a year focused on fundamentals: protecting the team, securing work, restructuring operations, and rebuilding confidence internally and externally. It required faster decisions, tougher conversations, and a deeper understanding of what the business needed to become in order to survive — and ultimately grow.
Those lessons went on to shape Decobu’s culture and leadership approach.
Post-COVID, the business entered a period of reflection and reset.
With both estimating and design operating side by side, evolving teams, and legacy business names still in place, it became clear the structure — and the way the business presented to the market — had become confusing. Clients and partners didn’t always understand where Decobu’s core value sat. A sharper identity and clearer structure were needed.
This period focused on stabilising operations, strengthening culture, and reassessing how the business could deliver the greatest long-term value.
It was during this time that the foundations for Decobu’s future direction were set. The businesses were brought together under a new unified brand — not as a cosmetic change, but as a strategic reset. The goal was to align the organisation, simplify the message to market, and create a platform for what the business was going to become.
By 2023, a pivotal decision was made.
The original vision to integrate estimating and engineering design was built on strong logic — tighter alignment between pricing, design, and delivery. And while the model delivered valuable internal insight, it became clear that it did not align with how the industries Decobu worked within actually engaged with consultants.
In practice, there was minimal cross-pollination of clients between estimating and design. Each service was being sought, procured, and valued independently. The market was providing clear feedback.
The decision was made to separate the businesses back to their core services.
The estimating business returned to operating as a standalone specialist.
Decobu became solely focused on building services engineering and design.
This was not a step back — it was a commercial decision grounded in evidence. The separation allowed each business to sharpen its positioning, strengthen its capability, and operate with complete clarity of purpose.
From this point, Decobu was positioned as a dedicated building services engineering consultancy.
By 2025, Decobu had reached a new stage of its journey.
The business expanded into Victoria with the launch of its Melbourne office and grew to a team of more than 40 people across its offices — a milestone reflecting both the scale of the organisation and the strength of the culture being built.
With this growth came a clear organisational shift. To continue scaling nationally and executing on long-term strategy, the business moved to strengthen its leadership structure, separating strategic direction from day-to-day operational execution.
This marked the beginning of Decobu’s next phase: a business built not only on strong foundations, but on leadership depth, accountability, and structure designed for sustainable national growth.
Entering 2026, Decobu operates across Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Manila — establishing the foundations of a truly national and internationally supported engineering business.
With this footprint in place, the focus shifts from expansion to refinement. The priority becomes building a more streamlined, responsible, and intentional organisation — strengthening how the business operates, how teams collaborate, and how consistently Decobu delivers for its clients.
This phase centres on lifting standards across the board: clearer communication, stronger coordination, better systems, and engineering designs that are not only technically sound, but considered, buildable, and commercially grounded.
Alongside this, Decobu will continue to grow — through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisition — bringing on the right people, the right teams, and the right opportunities to support long-term national growth.
2026 represents a shift from building presence to building performance.
It marks the next chapter in Decobu’s journey: a business focused on quality, leadership, and sustainable scale.
People work with Decobu because we make projects easier.
We listen, plan properly and follow through. There’s no big pitch or fancy language, just a team that knows what they’re doing, communicates clearly and gets the details right.
We keep it professional, we keep it human and we always keep it real.
We’re a mix of experience and curiosity, engineers, designers and coordinators who care about doing the job properly.
We share ideas, ask questions and don’t take ourselves too seriously. We back each other and our clients the same way: with honesty, clarity and a bit of humour when it’s needed.
The culture here’s simple, do good work, don’t be difficult and help each other out. That’s why people stick around, in the team and on the client side.
We’re not here to reinvent the wheel. We’re here to do solid engineering that stands up, runs smoothly and makes the process easier for the whole team.
We work with developers, contractors, architects, project managers and subcontractors to deliver clear, coordinated designs that fit the brief, the budget and the real-world conditions. Our team understands the flow between design and delivery, every detail’s considered, from first hand shake to handover.
Using tools like BIM and Revit, we keep designs precise, practical and easy to interpret. That means documentation that’s clear, systems that perform efficiently, and outcomes that make sense for everyone involved.
We’re still working out the perfect mission statement, but maybe that’s the point.
We value trust over talk, keep improving how we work, and back a skilled team that’s always learning. We take the time to understand our clients, the job, the people, and what makes the project tick, so we can design systems that fit, perform, and hold up over time.
Every project is a balance of precision and practicality: designs that meet specs, run efficiently, and make sense in the real world.
Our approach is straightforward. We use tools like BIM and Revit to stay coordinated and deliver clear, efficient designs. We keep things sustainable where it counts, meet deadlines, and stick to budgets.
A workplace where each of us is responsible for our words and actions.
Have fun, and never fear asking a question or stepping outside of the box. Don’t be afraid to be different.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
Nobody wants to work with Jerks.
Be open to change, be open to learn, be open to grow.
