Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand.

Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange as Downer EDI (DOW), Downer is an ASX 200 company.

Downer Group employs approximately 33,000 people across more than 300 sites, primarily in Australia and New Zealand, but also in the Asia-Pacific region, South America and southern Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Downer's foundations were laid in the 19th century, when Walkers Limited and Clyde Engineering were founded in Australia, and the Public Works Department and Electrical Telegraph Department were founded in New Zealand. They merged in the 20th century to form parts of the Downer Group. The 20th century also saw the purchase of companies that now make up Downer's core divisions: railway manufacturer Evans Deakin & Company (EDI) and mining contractor Roche Brothers.^[3]

In 1933, the Downer Group was founded in New Zealand by Arnold Fielder Downer, as Downer & Co, focusing on providing engineering and construction services to the public and private infrastructure sectors in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Public Works Department. In 1954, Downer & Co merged with William Cable Holdings and, in 1964, with A & G Price, to form Cable Price Downer.^[3]

In 1994, Downer merged with Hong Kong-based Paul YITC. In 1996, the company purchased Works Corporation, the state-owned enterprise civil construction arm of the New Zealand Ministry of Works & Development. In 1997, mining contractor Roche Brothers was acquired.^[4] In 1998, Downer purchased major roads contractor Technic Group, and was first listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.^[3]

In 2000, road-sealing business Bitumix was acquired from BP.^[5] In 2001, Downer merged with Evans Deakin Industries to form Downer EDI.^[3][6] Between 2003 and 2008, Downer also acquired Stork, QCC, Snowden, Emoleum and Excell Corporation. In October 2014, the construction assets of Tenix were acquired.^[7]

In March 2017, Downer acquired Hawkins, one of New Zealand's largest builders, and in June 2017, took majority ownership of Spotless Group Holdings through a hostile takeover.^[8][9] It took full ownership of Spotless for $1.27 billion in October 2020.^[10][11] The Spotless acquisition was the largest in Downer's history.^[12][13]

Projects undertaken by the company have included:

• Homer Tunnel (1935–1940)
• Rimutaka Tunnel in partnership with Morrison-Knudsen (1951–1955)^[14]
• Cook Strait Ferry Terminal for passenger and freight operations (1960)
• Lower Nihotupu Reservoir (1948)
• Lower Wairarapa Valley flood prevention scheme (1964–1984)
• New Plymouth Power Station (1972)
• City Rail Link, Auckland (started 2016)^[15]
• Christmas Creek mine (2010–2016)^[16]
• Gorgon gas project (2014–2017)^[17]
• Wheatstone (2014–2017)^[18]
• Carrapateena mine^[19]
• Gruyere Gold Project^[20]
• Meandu Mine operations^[21]
• Ross River solar farm
• Clare solar farm
• Australia's National Broadband Network; FttC, FttN, HFC
• High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMT) with CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles^[22]
• Sydney Growth Trains (SGT) with CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles^[23]
• Maintenance of Sydney Trains' Millennium passenger fleet^[24]
• Newcastle Light Rail^[25]

Downer reports its financial results under five service lines: Transport; Utilities; Facilities; Engineering, Construction and Maintenance (EC&M); and Mining.

In 2019 Downer admitted to using dowsing, in an attempt to find water pipes while contracting to the Wellington City Council. Dowsing is considered a pseudoscience and there is no scientific evidence that it is any more effective than random chance. Downer told New Zealand Skeptic's chair Craig Shearer that Downer has no concern about the public perception that ratepayer money is being spent on a technique considered pseudoscience. Downer's general manager of business excellence and reputation Brooke Dahlberg said "the method is safe, and it has no plan to ban staff from using it – the choice to use it was up to individual employees."^[39]

In December 2019, at the New Zealand Skeptics annual conference, the Downer Group was co-awarded the Bent Spoon by NZ Skeptics for "showing the most egregious gullibility in 2019" for the contractor's use of water divining to find underground pipes.^[40]

Downer Group was the naming rights sponsor of the NRL Auckland Nines in 2016 and 2017.^[41][42] It also sponsored the 2016 Anzac Test at the Newcastle International Sports Centre and the 2018 World Club Challenge.^[43][44] Downer will be the major sponsor of the Rugby League World Cup 9s.^{[45][needs update]}

In 2017, Downer signed on to be the major sponsor of the Sunshine Coast Lightning netball team.^[46]

In 2021 Downer joined mental health organisation Beyond Blue as its Major Partner.^[47]