A capability statement template you can build from today.

Before you start: one document per target

A capability statement aimed at everyone persuades no one. Decide who the first version is for: a specific tier-1 contractor, a government panel, a mine site. Get their criteria if they publish them. Every section below should be written with that reader in mind, and you can adapt the document for the next target once the first is done.

Section 1: Cover

Company name, logo, tagline that says what you do in six words or fewer, ABN, and the date or version. A single strong photograph of your own work. No stock imagery. The date matters because assessors distrust undated documents.

Section 2: Company snapshot (60 to 100 words)

Who you are, what you do, where you operate, how long you have done it. Four sentences. Then a row of four to six numbers: years operating, staff, fleet or plant, annual capacity, safety statistic, revenue band if you are comfortable sharing it. The numbers do more work than the sentences.

Section 3: Services and capabilities

A list, not paragraphs. Group services under three to five headings. Under each, name the specific capabilities with capacity figures where they exist: tonnes per week, metres per shift, crew sizes, plant specifications. If a capability needs a paragraph to explain, it is probably two capabilities.

Section 4: Sectors and clients served

The sectors you work in, each with one or two named clients. Get written permission to name them. A logo wall is fine if the logos are real clients; it is a liability if any of them are not.

Section 5: Project experience (three to six projects)

For each project: client, location, dates, scope in two sentences, value band if permitted, and the outcome as a number. A photograph per project if you have one. Choose projects that resemble the work your target awards, not the largest ones you have done.

Section 6: People

Key personnel with role, qualifications and years of experience. For technical work, the assessor is scoring the people as much as the company. Include the safety and quality roles explicitly.

Section 7: Safety, quality and compliance

Certifications with certificate numbers and expiry dates: ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, licences, industry accreditations. Insurance types and limits. Safety statistics for the last three years. Management system descriptions in two sentences each. This section wins or loses more government work than any other.

Section 8: Contact and next step

One named person with a direct phone number and email, the office address, and the website. Say what you want the reader to do: request a site visit, a quote, a prequalification pack.

Length, format and design

• Two to eight pages. Small contractors two, multi-division firms up to eight. Nobody reads page twelve.
• PDF, under 10 MB, text selectable so it can be searched. Also keep a print-ready version.
• One typeface family, your brand colours, generous white space. Tables for anything with numbers.
• Every page carries the company name and a page number. Documents get separated.

The check before you send it

Read it as the assessor: can you find the services, the numbers, the named projects and the certifications in under a minute? Does the website say the same things? Is anything on the page a claim without a figure or a name behind it? Fix those three and the document is ready.

If you would rather have it built, capability statement design is a fixed-scope engagement that starts with your target panel's criteria. Worked examples are in capability statement examples.