Rather than delivering Stage 8 in it’s own right, the scope of Stage 8 was completed as variations to Stage 7. This was in part due to the rapid progress that the contractor was making with the previous stage, and the required staging of scaffold and drop areas.

Incorporated into Stage 7, the entire lower façade of the Legislative Assembly Chamber extending from the Stage 7 subject area to the western façade of the chamber. This section of the façade fronted the breezeway courtyard and consisted primarily of bluestone facades and window repairs. The entire bluestone parapet was removed and reset, with stone cleaned back to provide a wear layer. New copper cornice flashing, gutters and rainwater goods addressed the water ingress into the façade. The complex stone detailing around the windows required bird deterrence with a considered design to address all possible perching points, while preventing future deterioration of the stone from fixings.

A second variation package consisting of Stage 8 scope was also developed, with the extent of works including the upper façade of the Legislative Assembly Chamber, including reinstatement of the windows, replacement of the roof to the chamber offices, and restoration of the remainder of the chamber facades in the breezeway. As a result of alterations to the lighting in the Legislative Assembly Chamber, the original ornate glass ceiling had been left to gather dust, and the exterior windows that provided natural light were boarded up. While it was not possible to reinstate the natural lighting of the Chamber, in part due to Queens Hall blocking light from half the room, the project was able to restore and reinstate the original external windows in an operational arrangement, abet with etched glass rather than clear. Stone parapets were reset, copper flashing to cornices, new cowls to ventilation ducts, replacement of handrails, walkways and roof access equipment was also incorporated in this stage.