We help people and protect communities through flood and water solutions with the kind of personal service larger firms can’t offer.

Our story

SWM Consulting began with three words. In his first role at the North Central CMA, Alex Simmons signed off a letter with “Water is Life” — and the idea of one day building something of his own took root. More than a decade later, after working across government and private consulting, including roles with the North Central, Corangamite, and Glenelg Hopkins CMAs, that idea became real. SWM Consulting was founded in 2019 from a small room at home.

The decision wasn’t impulsive. It was the result of years spent watching the same patterns repeat. Clients engaging large firms and receiving technically adequate work, but not the responsiveness, the personal attention, or the genuine care that complex flood projects demand. Projects stalling waiting for answers. Reports arriving late. The person the client spoke to at the proposal stage not being the person doing the work. The industry rarely challenged the status quo, and Alex found it increasingly difficult to reconcile the way things were done with the way he believed they should be done, with honesty, with rigour, and with real accountability for the outcomes.

“Our mission is to help people and protect communities and the environment through trusted flood and water solutions delivered with care and clarity.”

SWM was started to do this differently. A practice where senior engineers are directly involved in every project. Where clients get honest advice rather than what’s convenient. Where the work genuinely contributes to safer communities and better environmental outcomes. And just as importantly, a place where clients and team members feel genuinely invested in what we’re building together.

From that first small room, SWM has grown into a practice that works with renewable energy developers, civil engineering firms, government agencies, and catchment management authorities across Australia. We’ve moved into a workspace that reflects how we want to work, open, purposeful, and built around people. The firm remains deliberately small, deliberately selective, and committed to the principle that technical precision and personal service shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.