Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, has acquired Niche, a 200-person environmental consultancy headquartered in Sydney, Australia, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Ausecology.
The deal strengthens Stantec’s ability to help clients advance critical infrastructure and development projects while protecting and restoring the natural environments communities depend on.
Niche is recognised nationally for its leadership in ecology, heritage, natural capital, and land restoration.
The company brings a strong east coast presence and a team of specialists whose work has helped balance growth, conservation, and cultural stewardship across Australia.
Together, Stantec and Niche are creating one of the country’s leading environmental services practices, with operations on both coasts positioned to support clients at every stage of the project lifecycle.
The acquisition grows Stantec’s environmental services team in Australia to nearly 450 professionals, with a presence in every mainland state.
As Australia invests in energy transition, transportation, housing, and resource development, environmental considerations are becoming increasingly central to project success.
The addition of Niche expands Stantec’s ability to guide clients through permitting, biodiversity, and environmental planning challenges, while accelerating the delivery of infrastructure and development that benefits communities for generations to come.
“Together, we’re creating an environmental practice with the scale, expertise, and purpose to help clients move critical projects forward while leaving a positive impact on communities and the environment,” said Gord Johnston, president and chief executive officer of Stantec.
The acquisition enhances Stantec’s environmental services capabilities across Australia while increasing its presence in key sectors including energy, transportation, resources, land development, and land management. Niche serves approximately 200 clients with little overlap with Stantec’s existing client base.
Longstanding relationships will provide new avenues of growth for Stantec across several business lines, while offering Niche clients access to global multidisciplinary services.
Niche’s biodiversity consulting business will also become a new service line at Stantec, helping clients navigate increasingly complex environmental requirements while achieving meaningful conservation outcomes.
“We look forward to being able to scale our impact and create more positive outcomes that strengthen communities, protect cultural heritage, and restore nature,” said Ian Rollins, managing director, Niche.
Niche’s diverse portfolio has helped shape stronger communities and healthier ecosystems across energy, land development and management, resources, and transport infrastructure.
Notable projects include the HumeLink Transmission Line, where Niche prepared Transgrid’s Biodiversity Development Assessment Report, the largest assessment of its kind in Australia, helping limit ecological impacts along the 365-kilometre high-voltage line.
In Sydney, Niche carried out archaeological excavations for the $2.7 billion Parramatta Square redevelopment, working with Darug Traditional Owners to identify and preserve Aboriginal cultural heritage spanning more than 10,000 years of human history.
On the Mid North Coast, the firm ran Transport for New South Wales’ Ecological Monitoring Programme from 2014 to 2025, surveying a 38-kilometre stretch of the Pacific Highway to track the success of measures protecting threatened species including the Giant Barred Frog and Brush-tailed Phascogale.
For Senex Energy’s Atlas Natural Gas Field in Queensland, Niche developed a strategic biodiversity offset, identifying a suitable property and negotiating an Offset Management Plan that now conserves habitat for koalas, greater gliders, and glossy black cockatoos.
With the acquisition complete, Stantec and Niche say they are positioned to deliver greater environmental impact across Australia’s infrastructure and development landscape in the years ahead.
