https://www.tenders.gov.au/Cn/Show/2...9-196178db4767
The contract has been worth over $195 million to Skytraders over the past five years. And notably, Skytraders have held the contract for this work since its inception over twenty years ago. They essentially wrote the book for Antarctic flight operations.
Government being government, there will almost certainly be a a requirement for the contractor to hold ISO 9001 accreditation, as a minimum. There may even be an ISO 45001 accreditation requirement in there as well; it would certainly be seen as preferred if it wasn't a mandatory requirement. That will almost certainly mean that Pel-Air will have to be the contracting entity (although I don't think that they hold a 45001, happy to be corrected on that).
Financial stability will be a consideration for sure. And Rex will not be able to get away with "unaudited" results on that front. Ordinary P&L performance can be offset to a certain extent by a solid balance sheet and parent company performance guarantees. Rex may look to tap some of the PAG money in that regard. That said, the current share price of around $1 makes tapping the PAG keg an expensive proposition for Rex; the PAG notes have a conversion price of $1.50 a share, with Rex on the hook for the difference.
I note that Rex's press release on the topic lists Craig Martin as their Antarctic Project Manager. That appears to be the same Craig Martin who was Executive Manager, Regulatory Oversight at CASA prior to being appointed Chief Operating Officer at Coulson Australia a little over a year ago.