Doing the Tuff Yards in business

You’d be forgiven for thinking the name of construction and landscaping business, Tuff Yards, was simply a clever play on words.

But spend a few minutes with Director, Stephan Ballangarry at his Brendale premises and it quickly becomes clear he's done the tough yards to get his business to where it is today.

Tuff Yards is in fact symbolic of Stephan’s nearly two decades of hard work that has seen his ‘ute and lawnmower’ business grow from a sole trader operation to a trusted multimillion-dollar enterprise.

Today, the 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned company delivers landscaping, maintenance and construction services for government and commercial property owners across Queensland and beyond.

Among its clients are Building and Asset Services, SEQ Water, the Queensland Department of Education and numerous local governments.

Thinking big with government contracts

Stephan, who is a proud Gumbaynggirr man, says pursuing government procurement contracts was an opportunity to build a sustainable business.

"We specialised in government work since we first started in 2008," he says.

Over time, Tuff Yards has expanded its capabilities and secured long-term contracts through government procurement, including Indigenous Procurement initiatives which are now embedded in the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026.

Rather than relying on a single source of work, Stephan deliberately diversified Tuff Yard’s client base.

"Spread your horizon” is his number one advice to other business owners.

"Don't go for one particular company or one contract. Have multiple contracts. Have state government, local council. We don't home in on one particular contract."

Government opportunities have provided Stephan the chance to partner with Tier 1 and Tier 2 construction companies as well as other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned businesses as part of his supply chain.

Long-term contracts mean long-term employment

Stephan says his greatest achievement has been creating stable employment opportunities for staff by chasing long-term maintenance contracts.

"Changing a lot of our staff from casual to full time has probably been the highlight of my business career," Stephan says.

"With maintenance work, the contracts are longer term. A lot of our contracts are five to eight years, so we've been able to put our staff on as full-time instead of casual."

Tuff Yards employs about 14 people, from plumbers to concreters to structural landscapers who undertake complex infrastructure projects across Queensland and New South Wales.

Indigenous Business Month opportunities

Connecting business to opportunity is the aim of Queensland Government during Indigenous Business Month.

By helping to build relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned businesses, buyers and industry, participation in Queensland's procurement market becomes stronger.

Learn more about buyer and supplier events.