SUMMER 2016-17
Industry Showcase
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2016 Firms of the Year
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Award Category Winners
The Value Proposition of International Engagement
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Policy Wins & Advocacy Highlights
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Consulting Matters
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CONTENTS
Industry updates Industry Updates
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What’s happening in Consult Australia From the President
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From the CEO
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The Value Proposition of International Engagement
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State Division Updates
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January – December 2016 Policy Wins & Advocacy Highlights
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2016 Awards for Excellence
Champions of Change – Female Leadership
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Future Leader
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President's Award
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Highly Commended Awards
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2016 Large Firm of the Year
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Photos from the Evening
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2016 Medium Firm of the Year
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Collaboration 20 Sustainability in Design
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Technological Innovation
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Design Innovation
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Engagement 32 Client Service Excellence
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Protecting your business Transferring Contractual Liabilities 46
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Consulting Matters
Industry updates
Industry updates Norman Disney & Young (NDY) has appointed Benita Husband as Director of Strategy to oversee strategic implementation through a period of continuing growth and expansion. With 16 years of experience gained at engineering consultancy Aurecon, Benita is recognised across the industry for her engaging leadership style, client focused outcomes, and guidance on aligning strategy with commercial success. As a member of the NDY Executive team Benita will be working with CEO Stuart Fowler and the rest of the team to oversee the implementation of the NDY 2020 Strategic Plan. Following strong continued growth in Queensland, Arcadis has appointed Louisa Carter as City Executive South East Queensland. Louisa is a public infrastructure architect and urban planner who has over 20 years’ experience in the areas of architecture, urban design, urban planning, transport planning and cultural heritage. Set to soon receive her PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Queensland, she is an industry leader on city design, particularly in relation to sustainability and infrastructure. Louisa is also a GreenStar Communities assessor and is currently representing Arcadis on Consult Australia’s Queensland Division Committee. Genevieve Gowland has been appointed as Director of HR at Norman Disney & Young (NDY) and joins the NDY Executive to work with CEO Stuart Fowler and the senior leadership team to lead the HR function and facilitate the implementation of the NDY people strategy. The former General Manager HR Group Business Services at Australia Post has over 20 years of experience, including senior roles at Australia Post, ANZ, Barclays, Hudson and Capita, and is recognised for being a conceptual thinker and contributor to organisational strategy, and for her advocacy of innovative talent initiatives and diversity programs.
Aurecon has appointed Dr Abe Nezamian as its Global Leader in Asset Management in response to the growing demand for life-cycle asset management services. Dr Nezamian has been advising clients in Australia, the UK, the US, the Middle East, South East Asia and West Africa on asset integrity management and asset management matters for well over a decade. He has worked across a range of industries including mining, transport and infrastructure, with deep experience in the petroleum industry in upstream, mid-stream and downstream environments.
Arcadis has announced the acquisition of Australian environmental remediation business, Environmental Strategies—an Australian leader in environmental consulting, specialising in environmental investigations, contaminated land remediation, environmental management The acquisition was a key part of Arcadis’ Australian growth plan that was established when Arcadis consolidated its business arms in Australia in 2014. Environmental Strategies will join Arcadis’ Environmental and Project Services business. Jacobs has appointed Andrew Owen as Principal, Major Infrastructure Projects based in Melbourne. Andrew brings extensive experience in senior management and delivery roles on projects such as the Sydney Metro (North West Rail Link), Doha Metro and the MRT lines in Malaysia’s Klang Valley. He has spent 15 years with Tier 1 contractors in the UK where he provided construction management planning and estimating for tunnel projects, along with specialist underground installations. Andrew has particular experience working within rail possessions, airport airside works and managing the design and construction of multi-disciplinary projects.
Director-General of Queensland Transport and Main Roads, Neil Scales, has been appointed Chair of the Austroads Board for a two-year term. Neil was appointed to the role at this month's Board meeting, where he acknowledged the excellent work of outgoing Chair Peter Duncan, who has served on the Board for five years and as Chair since November 2014. Neil is also the current Australian first delegate to the World Road Association international road organisation. Jenny MacMahon has been appointed as the new Director of Environment, Australia New Zealand at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff where she will lead one of the largest and most diverse environment teams in Australia and New Zealand. Jenny has over 20 years’ experience working in-house as Head of Environment for AGL, leading the NSW environment division of URS and running her own consultancy business. Having provided technical due diligence and yield optimisation on more than $100 billion worth of infrastructure acquisitions, divestments and refinancing since 2009, GHD has now launched a dedicated GHD Advisory capability to enhance services to public and private sector clients. The business is headed by Mark Read who previously led GHD’s growth strategies and client service initiatives in Australia and is a former CEO of a listed company and has held senior roles with global multidisciplinary consultancies. Beca has announced the appointment of Craig Lee as Managing Director for Australian operations. Craig will also continue to lead the Australia Advisory Business, a business he has helped establish and grow since joining Beca in 2011, as General Manager. Prior to this time Craig held leadership and consulting roles with Relegen, Jacobs and the Royal Australian Navy.
Industry updates
Consulting Matters
WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has appointed Alan Rimmer as Client Director for Transport in WA. Alan has over 30 years’ infrastructure experience in both the public and private sectors across the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In WA he's been involved in major transport projects such as the Warramboo North West Coastal Highway Realignment project, the Great Northern Highway Upgrade – Program Alliance and the Perth Airport Expansion. Editor Kisanne Dulin
President Andrew Mather
Not a member of
To find out more about how your firm can benefit from membership contact Consult Australia’s Business Development Manager, Jennifer Kelly on (02) 8252 6712 or email membership@consultaustralia.com.au
Consult Australia
www.consultaustralia.com.au
Chief Executive Officer Megan Motto
EA to CEO Accounts/Administration Coordinator Guillaume Marchand
Director – Membership & Commercial Services Kisanne Dulin
Senior Advisor – Policy & Government Relations Ryan Bondar
Business Development Manager Jennifer Kelly
Communications & Events Manager Mark Rock
Consult Australia staff
Marketing & Business Administration Assistant Shannon Walsh
Corporate Designer
Jillian has over 15 years international experience within a membership based professional organisation. Jillian has managed business operations, client services and client relations, advocacy, event and training programs and communications and marketing channels to ensure that members and clients are properly represented across the property and construction industry. Jill’s extensive experience working with a not-for-profit organisation means she is used to working with a diverse group of professionals, including members, industry stakeholders and government.
Mark joined Consult Australia in October 2016 as Communications and Events Manager. He joins Consult Australia after 15 years in a variety of marketing and communication roles in both the not-for-profit and building and construction sectors. Mark brings a strong understanding of marketing, sales, and events management experience and looks forward to working with our members.
Voltaire Corpuz
Editorial submissions kisanne@consultaustralia.com.au
Advertising enquiries info@consultaustralia.com.au Consulting Matters is produced by Consult Australia. Phone: (02) 9922 4711. Website: www.consultaustralia.com.au
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Consulting Matters
What’s happening at Consult Australia
From the President AS THE YEAR DRAWS TO AN END OUR ATTENTION TURNS TO OUR AWARDS As 2016 draws to an end we can reflect on it as one of the most interesting years in modern times. We had the unexpected Brexit vote, and then the unexpected Trump victory in the USA elections. Even on the sports field we saw New Zealand lose to Ireland for the first time ever, and the Cubs won the American baseball league for the first time in 122 years. Whilst the first two events created an interesting 2016, the fallout from those events is likely to create an even more interesting 2017. Not to be outdone by the global stage, in Australia we had one of our longest election campaigns ever, culminating in a nail-biting finish and a non-ideal situation, with the Government now needing minor party support in order to get bills passed through the Senate.
Andrew Mather at the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Melbourne.
In spite of all the global volatility, the Australian economy has fared better than most as it continues the transition from a resource based economy to a services economy. Both Federal and State governments have been using construction to stimulate the economy during this transition. As a result, it is really a good time to be a Built Environment Consultant in Australia, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria where infrastructure spend is at an all-time high, and with construction on major infrastructure projects still scheduled to peak in 2019. Our industry will need to find a way to deliver to this peak level while also trying to avoid the prospect of massive down-sizing after it has ended. Governments of course also have a role to play here and we will continue to encourage them to look at ways to smooth out the peaks and to create a more sustainable pipeline of projects.
With all the project work around, our members have had many projects to put forward for awards, and this year we have had 77 entries to the coveted Consult Australia Awards for Excellence! Of interest this year is the increase in the number of entries to the “non-project” categories, namely those of “Collaboration” and “Future Leaders”. It is a positive trend to see our firms recognizing the people behind the projects. It is in this spirit of recognition that I would like to acknowledge the great work that has been done by the Consult Australia staff this year. Megan and her team have achieved a lot. On the policy front, a number of our Advocacy papers are now been referred to on a regular basis by Government officials. Kisanne and our membership services team have added additional training courses and member services. Our State management and events teams have put on a number of successful State and National events. Our Champions of Change movement shifted a gear this year, with Colleen McKinnon moving the team from discussing what needs to be done to actually getting personal commitments from each member to make concrete change. I believe that we will see some good results coming from this in 2017. I would also like to thank all of our members for your support during the year, and I wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
Andrew Mather President
In spite of all the global volatility, the Australian economy has fared better than most as it continues the transition from a resource based economy to a services economy. Both Federal and State governments have been using construction to stimulate the economy during this transition.
What’s happening at Consult Australia
Consulting Matters
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From the CEO Our policy successes this year have been substantial. After years of lobbying we now have broad bi-partisan support from the Commonwealth regarding the importance of the built environment to our national economy.
I LOVE Christmas. Truly...I’m a complete Christmas nerd! Even with the craziness of the end of November I still had my tree and decorations up some weeks ago. I love the tradition and familiarity of it all, and I love giving and spending time with family and friends. But also I love that the holidays often give me the breathing space to reflect on the year behind, and the success and change that it delivered. On the 25th of November we held our annual Awards for Excellence with a few hundred of our closest colleagues in Melbourne. As usual it was a night of joy and merriment. There was plenty of laughter and dancing (my feet are still recovering), and most of all it was a night of true celebration. But whilst the night was intended to reflect on the individuals and project successes of the last year, and that it certainly did, it also occurred to me that we had a broader set of achievements this year of which our industry should be very proud. Our policy successes this year have been substantial. After years of lobbying we now have broad bi-partisan support from the Commonwealth regarding the importance of the built environment to our national economy. All major parties (as well as a variety of other trusted institutions such as the Reserve Bank and the Productivity Commission) express a clear understanding of the importance of investing in our cities, and the fact that the central government has a role to play in that agenda. We have a Minister for Cities and a Smart City plan including three announced Cities Deals (Townsville, Launceston and Western Sydney). We have widespread acknowledgement of the need for innovative financing mechanisms such as Value Capture and we have improved governance
arrangements to both develop long term policy and priorities projects. The Federal government’s response to the 15 year Infrastructure Plan by Infrastructure Australia not only demonstrated a new level of commitment to tackling some of the more complex and longer term policy challenges ahead, but it recognised that the national conversation on these issues has matured. This is true of the understanding of the productivity, sustainability and livability dividends of infrastructure more broadly. The community at large is starting to see the need for reform, and is more accepting of progressing change despite short term inconveniences. Consult Australia has played a role in all of these advances. That is not to say our work is done. There is still much to do, with further reforms needed in planning approaches, procurement, and enabling the innovation agenda for our sector. And of course we have more work to do to ensure we have the human capital and diversity of talent to drive our industry forward. To that end we spent a productive day with our Congress in Melbourne on the day of the Awards looking at how we both strengthen
Consult Australia as an organisation, and focus our policy agenda in 2017 and beyond for maximum impact. The Board will be further refining the ideas generated from that day prior to Christmas, and launching a new draft strategy document early in the New Year. So I will both be spending my Christmas break reflecting on what a great year we’ve had, and also getting excited about the new possibilities and opportunities of the year ahead. I hope you are all able to spend some time doing the same.
Megan Motto Consult Australia
The Consult Australia office will be closed from Friday 23 December to Monday 2 January. We wish all the staff and members a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
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Consulting Matters
What’s happening at Consult Australia
The Value Proposition of International Engagement In addition, FIDIC negotiates on behalf of the sector to embed the ideals of quality, sustainability and integrity into international contracts, and also in a range of nations who are developing their own capacity to cope with rapid urbanisation. It is widely recognised that infrastructure investment is a key driver of development and economic advancement, but it is also widely recognised that the right infrastructure, delivered via the right process, can deliver greater long term dividends. FIDIC also celebrates international best practice, and awards projects from around the world at the FIDIC Awards Gala Dinner. These Awards recognise outstanding international projects such as the GuiyangGuangzhou High-Speed Railway Station, Jinsha River Xiluodu Hydropower project and Qiantang River Tunnel in China, the Bouregreg Valley Development Project in Morocco and the Fulton Centre and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span in the United States. In late September Consult Australia President Andrew Mather and I travelled to Marrakech in Morocco to represent Australia at the FIDIC International Infrastructure Conference. FIDIC (the French acronym for the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) is Consult Australia’s global peak body, and now consists of our international equivalents from over 100 countries. Also attending from Australia were Consult Australia Past President’s Dick Kell (also a Past President of FIDIC) and Tony Barry (who was last year elected on to the FIDIC Board). With Marrakech gearing up to host COP 22 in November, it was fitting that the theme of the FIDIC event was Climate Change, and explored the role of the built environment consulting sector in addressing both mitigation and adaptation.
Whilst the Conference itself was a mixed bag, it is clear that the role our industry has to play in not only the technical solutions at project level, but in engaging in both the national and international politics of climate change is absolutely vital. This annual event, and our participation in FIDIC more broadly, is important for many reasons. Firstly, FIDIC plays a key role in creating documents and enhancing industry capacity in areas that support the development and sustainability of our industry. Guidance material on Business Practice, Sustainability and Integrity Management are of great use, and the large range of FIDIC Contracts are widely used internationally (especially, but not exclusively, on aid projects funded through the World Bank and other multilateral development banks).
It is truly inspiring to see the calibre of some of these projects. The excellence they celebrate places the future in good stead. But FIDIC does more than just celebrate international best practice. It helps deliver it. FIDIC’s capacity building activities (and in particular it’s vibrant young professionals network and associated training and development), are influential in building the next generation of consultants. These talented young individuals are building a confident, connected and innovative community which will lift the tide for all nations in years to come. In a world trending towards isolationism, it is critical that we fight for the communities we live and work in to remain connected and collaborative.
With Marrakech gearing up to host COP 22 in November, it was fitting that the theme of the FIDIC event was Climate Change, and explored the role of the built environment consulting sector in addressing both mitigation and adaptation.
What’s happening at Consult Australia
Top from left: Moncef ZIANI (Moroccan Association President and FIDIC Director), Tony Barry (FIDIC Director – Australia) and Kaj Moller (FIDIC Director – Sweden) during the AGM MIddle:
FIDIC President Jai Wan Lee (Korea) and FIDIC Immediate Past President Paublo Bueno (Spain) presents an Award
Bottom left: FIDIC President Jai Wan Lee (Korea) presents a special Award for Outstanding Service to Madam Tang Ping, Secretary General of CNAEC (China). Right:
FIDIC President Jai Wan Lee (Korea)
Consult Australia is looking for members to sit on several FIDIC Committees to deepen this international engagement, and provide opportunities for our members to get involved with and contribute to global reform. Committees such as the Integrity Management Committee, Business Practice Committee, Contracts Committee, Risk, Liability and Quality Committee and Sustainable Development Committee give participants from around the world an opportunity to identify and promulgate best
practice for the benefit of all. If members are interested to participate, they should contact our National team via Guillaume Marchand at Guillaume@consultaustralia.com.au The 2017 FIDIC Conference (themed around resilience) will be held in Jakarta from 1-3 October, and I strongly encourage members to participate. Megan Motto CEO Consult Australia
Consulting Matters
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Consulting Matters
What’s happening at Consult Australia
Division Updates With varying market conditions around the country Consult Australia’s state and territory managers share their insights on key challenges and opportunities for our member firms.
ACT
NSW
Kevin Keith
Matthew Trigg Australia’s most populous state is currently undergoing a transformation. The current infrastructure program, particularly on roads and rail, is at a scale and intensity never seen here before. The way these projects are procured is also breaking new ground, with the NSW Government looking set to continue to explore new methods of delivery.
For one day. For one day we were government. For one day it is our decision that determines the future of our city. It was up to us to consider all that we see around us, and all we cannot yet see: the future light-rail lines, affordable homes and road duplications our politicians have promised; the future people who will join us and to make our population double in the next fifty years; the future influx of traffic on our roads, pupils in our schools, and jobs required to make our economy grow. Yet nowhere in Australia are people better qualified to have such foresight – to imagine what a future could be even though it is not before their eyes. Canberra is a city which waited half a century for a dustbowl separating north and south to become a lake. It did not build in between or give up because that’s not what great cities do: great cities have vision, from which comes a plan, to be implemented over decades. In 1963 the Scrivener Dam was opened and Lake Burley Griffin was born. It is a city where world-class scientists race to discover our future possible, where world-class institutions equip students to make our future achievable, where bureaucrats and officials aim to make our future sustainable.
Transport for NSW and RMS alone are set to deliver $41.5 billion in projects over the next four years, which is in addition to the billions in projects coming out of the private sector. What we are expecting is a greater role for unsolicited proposals and invitations by Government to transform whole precincts and transport corridors, including the integration of bespoke value capture financing mechanisms. As part of this we will be working closely with our members firms to learn from past experiences and pushing for Government to set clear and transparent expectations to reduce the chance repeating The Bays Precinct experience where all proposals were rejected. Our efforts will extend further into infrastructure planning where we will continue to push for greater certainty of what is coming down the pipeline, as well as improving the independence of the process from political cycles.
Canberra does long term. The problem is politics often doesn’t.
Looking to the future will also play a significant role in our events program in 2017 and will greatly influence our FutureNet Business Leaders Course, which is now in its tenth year.
It was no surprise therefore that of the election priorities identified by members in the ACT, developing a long-term infrastructure plan was number one:
Applications are now open for the Course. It involves sixteen sessions delivered over eight months tailored to build on existing personal strengths, develop new skills, and broaden industry networks.
1. Think in Decades: Develop a thirty-year infrastructure plan. 2. Respect contracts: Maintain all contracts signed between government and industry. 3. R edefine relationships: Develop new ways for industry, citizen and government to collaborate. 4. Capital of SMART: Lead in the development, implementation, governance of smart cities and related innovation.
Combined with a multi-disciplinary team project, the Course provides a once-in-a-career opportunity for participating young professionals to be part of the next generation of industry leaders. To download the application form visit consultaustralia.com.au/NSW
National Strategic Partner
5. More for Less: Develop a positive, professional procurement culture based on open relationships, quality and value for taxpayers. You can read the full election platform here or commentary on the importance of vision here. Gold Sponsors: National Strategic Partner
Gold Sponsors:
What’s happening at Consult Australia
NT
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SA
Jan Irvine
Jan Irvine Following the Labor Government victory at the polls in late August, the NT Division, secured meetings in early October with key stakeholders of the new administration. Consult Australia was keen to understand the vision and plans of the new government and to continue our positive engagement and working relationship across departments and agencies.
The new Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL) has seen incoming CEO, Andrew Kirkman establish departmental General Manager responsibilities covering three main business streams: • Lands and Planning • Infrastructure, Buildings, Procurement, Contracts, WHS, compliance • Transport Infrastructure Following our successful meeting, the General Managers agreed that regular forums with Consult Australia would be welcome and useful. The Consult Australia / Department of Infrastructure Working Group (now to be known as the CA/ DIPL Working Group) have also agreed to continue to meet quarterly. Treasurer Nicole Manison recently announced new infrastructure priorities which include 37 new and fast tracked projects to support more local jobs across more Territory industries. These changes to the former Government’s capital works program have stated industry will now see projects worth $120 million brought forward – including a number of projects to commence this financial year – and other projects deferred over five plus years, rather than the current four years. We understand the overall $1.7 billion infrastructure spend for 2016/17 remains the same, and key projects have been fast tracked to stimulate a slowing local economy and create jobs. The new Department of Trade, Business and Innovation (DTBI) will continue with work on the whole of government procurement reform program, however, after our meeting with incoming Deputy CEO Sibylle Brautigam and Executive Director Procurement NT, Dr Jason Bingham the Division understands this process slowed during the election period. We will continue to advocate for the introduction of AS4122-2010 as the preferred contract for the engagement of consultants along with our other procurement priorities.
Prequalification is an important facet of the South Australian State Government’s procurement process. The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) Prequalification System for Professional Services Contractors has been under review - the aim to update the process to reflect current industry conditions and improve efficiency and effectiveness. Proposed amendments to the system caused considerable concern to our members and the wider consulting industry, those causing most concern related to the abolishment of a pre-qualification system for the Discipline Professional Services Contractors, and the management of pre-qualification moving from DPTI to another party. Consult Australia’s response to the proposed changes argued the exclusion of Discipline PSCs would further erode the selection process of architects choosing sub consultants, and reinforce a culture of lowest price, lower quality and lack of transparency, where the quality of sub consultants is not given a lot of thought and may be compromised. We know that architects don’t always have the capacity to rigorously control the selection of sub consultants using value based processes. We have had a number of conversations with DPTI over the years about our membership’s preference to see individual selection of the engineers on a building project, and where individual selection is not possible, we have asked that at least we wish to see the value based selection criteria and process cascaded down through the subcontracting scenario. We have expressed our belief that this is in DPTI’s best interest and will see the “best” team chosen for each project. The SA Division of Consult Australia has been heavily involved in the robust consultation process with DPTI, working with peak bodies the Australian Institute of Architects and the Association of Consulting Architects. DPTI will now provide a briefing to our members on the new system and the key changes to assist with the transition from the current system and to provide a forum for raising any queries. The Division continues to work with the State Government across the procurement space.
Concern over the length of time the procurement reform was taking, along with further business concerns held by our members was conveyed to the Office of The Hon Nicole Manison MLA I Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory during our meeting with them. The Office agreed to undertake investigation of a number of matters raised by us and we look forward to a follow up meeting early in 2017.
National Strategic Partner
National Strategic Partner
Silver Sponsors:
Gold Sponsors:
Consulting Matters
Gold Sponsor:
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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia
QLD
Jillian Carney 2016 has seen a number of successful events that have delivered industry relevant topics and thought leadership to the Queensland industry, including the launch of Consult Australia’s Better Buying, Better Outcomes procurement report in March. Networking opportunities continue to be a major draw card for young professionals as part of the FutureNet program and we look forward to continuing to work with member firms to provide relevant professional development sessions. Advocacy work remains a strong component on the agenda of the Consult Australia State committee, with engagement across the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government & Planning, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Department of Housing and Public Works, Brisbane City Council, Queensland Rail, Queensland Health and the Department of the Premier of the Cabinet. In particular, members of the State committee are continually involved in discussions and consultation on the Engineers Consultant Scheme (ECS) to ensure that this panel is fit for purpose. Our events and advocacy work is built on the feedback we receive from members. If there is a particular area you or your firm would like us to be more involved in, please get in touch.
National Strategic Partner
Platinum Sponsor:
VIC & TAS Zeina Iesa
CEO of Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, Evan Tattersall hosted a lunch on 26 October for our Victorian Members. Together we discussed the $10 billion project and what it means for Melbourne. Mr Tattersall discussed the progress on the Metro Tunnel, including development, planning approval process, delivery and funding. Challenges on the project where consultants can make a significant contribution were also addressed. Joining us for our end of year event at Melbourne Town Hall, is Justin Madden. With a diverse background in AFL, Parliament, Architecture and Consulting, Justin’s industry knowledge and expertise is hard to surpass! We look forward to celebrating the end of another great year for the Victorian division. On the 1 February 2017, Infrastructure Victoria CEO, Michel Masson will be joining our members for a lunch to discuss the 30 year strategy and how our consultants can contribute. Following the announcement of Consult Australia’s national partnership with Cbus, we are excited to have Cbus Property Group, CEO, Adrian Pozzo as our guest speaker on 1 March 2017. Cbus Property is a unique property investor and developer with the company’s core business a reflection of Cbus’ philosophical commitment to investing in the Property and Construction industry, which employs its members. The Tasmanian division hosted a BIM seminar on Contractual Liabilities and Insurance. Darren Pavic, Broking Manager, Bovill Risk & Insurance Consultants explored the evolving world of client drafted contracts, how they impact upon your professional indemnity insurance and the extent to which you can transfer your contractual risk to your insurer. We also shared how we can best plan for BIM at a seminar with three industry experts on 2 December. Are you interested in becoming part of the Tasmanian Division committee? Please register your interest, by emailing zeina@consultaustralia.com.au National Strategic Partner
Gold Sponsors:
Platinum Sponsors: Communications Partner
Gold Sponsors:
What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters
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WA
Steve Coghlan ‘Building the West’ paper calls for the establishment of ‘Infrastructure WA’ The Infrastructure Coalition’s 'Building the West' paper was launched on 11 November and highlights the need to establish an independent statutory authority, Infrastructure WA, to assist government by assessing and prioritising infrastructure projects that will best serve the long-term
•W ell-informed and timely community, government and industry input to infrastructure provision and open public debate around needs, funding mechanisms and priorities in developing infrastructure projects. You can download a copy of the paper here, and should you like more information regarding this or the Infrastructure Coalition, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at wa@consultaustralia.com.au.
prosperity of the State. The paper also highlights the complexities of current State planning processes and where real positive improvements can be made by an independent statutory authority.
National Strategic Partner
The Infrastructure Coalition points to Infrastructure WA as being able to provide: • A transparent, 15 year, bipartisan, fully integrated infrastructure plan that meets needs in infrastructure and helps reduce maintenance backlogs.
Platinum Sponsors:
• Consistent processes for assessing and prioritising jointly developed State and National infrastructure projects. • Innovation in funding, procurement and delivery of public infrastructure. • Infrastructure that leverages private sector investment and facilitates development of the State and National economies.
Gold Sponsors:
• Development of strategic policy and planning to ensure infrastructure provision meets economic, social and environmental requirements.
ConsultHR
Consult Australia introduces ConsultHR
ConsultHR is an online web-based subscription tool that enables businesses to comply with current Australian industrial relations laws and demonstrate best practice in their human resources, industrial relations and work health and safety management. You can view ConsultHR here or get more information by clicking here.
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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia
January – December
2016
& ADVOCACY HIGHLIGHTS
WINS
STRONGER, MORE COLLABORATIVE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS Fostering more productive working relationships between consulting firms and private and public sector clients across jurisdictions: Through the Australian Construction Industry Forum, Consult Australia met with the Hon Karen Andrews, Assistant Minister for Science to discuss the Government’s construction productivity agenda. Discussion focused on the current consultation being progressed through Building Ministers nationally seeking input into strategies to address risks associated with non-conforming building products. In the aftermath of the NSW Budget Consult Australia NSW was pleased to brief Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Matt Kean MP and Shadow Treasurer Ryan Park MP on our business and infrastructure priorities as part of FutureNet’s politics in the pub. An industry lunch with Tim Nicholls MP, Leader of the LNP and Shadow Minister for the Arts and Major events and Deb Frecklington MP, Deputy Leader of the LNP and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, State Development and Trade and Investment to discuss the oppositions approach to federal funding on infrastructure projects, Asset Sale, How to achieve value for money through design and the LNP’s Approach to innovation and risk.
SAFER, SUSTAINABLE & MORE PRODUCTIVE WORKPLACES Improving access to skilled workers against identified shortages: Following a detailed review, Consult Australia’s position in relation to the National Registration of Engineers has evolved. With the effective disbanding of the National Engineering Registration Board we face significant increased risk of multiple incompatible registration schemes that impose new, substantial and unnecessary cost and compliance burdens on member firms. Consult Australia is opposed to the further development of nationally inconsistent registration schemes across the states and territories. This does not affect Consult Australia’s ongoing advocacy for the highest appropriate professional standards, skills and competencies as recognised through the delivery of effective professional training, accreditation and qualifications for all those employees of all disciplines employed by our member firms. Facilitating a more diverse workforce, with ensuing productivity benefits across the industry: Consult Australia was invited to attend a roundtable meeting with Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas on the Victorian Government’s plan for the Registration of Engineers where we highlighted our position on risk of multiple incompatible registration schemes.
BEST PRACTICE PROCUREMENT & FAIRER CONTRACTS Campaigning for fair allocation of risk between contracting parties, standard contract terms and liability reform at all levels of government: Supporting the New South Wales Procurement Inquiry, Consult Australia NSW’s detailed submission collates and builds on our More for Less and Better Buying, Better Outcomes reports. We provided further detailed evidence in the public hearings supporting the Inquiry and are working closely with Committee members as they deliberate on evidence collected thus far. A roundtable with Consult Australia Qld and DG’s/Deputy DG’s from five government agencies including – Premier and Cabinet (DPC); Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DILGP), Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), Queensland Health (QH) and Department of Housing and Public Works (HPW) established a detailed conversation around better procurement. Following this meeting Consult Australia has now established monthly meetings with DG, DILGP and has met with the DG QH and the Minister for HPW to progress our priorities. Consult Australia Qld was invited by HPW to workshop the recommendations from the Interdepartmental Committee Review of Procurement that captured many of Consult Australia’s recommendations. In addition Consult Australia participated in a workshop with scheme managers of the Whole of Government Engineering Consultant Scheme as they develop the next iteration of the Scheme. Consult Australia WA and NSW are advancing the case for Proportionate Liability reform: In WA a high level meeting with the State Solicitors Office has seen us escalate our concerns to the Minister for Finance the Hon Bill Marmion, Small Business Commissioner David Eaton, Department of Main Roads, Building Management and Works, and the Water Corporation of WA. In NSW our recommendations for reform have been positively received by the Inquiry into the Procurement of Government Infrastructure and with key ministers. We have been working with our member firms in WA and NSW to collect the most current industry data and case studies explaining and illustrating the benefits of reform afresh. Consult Australia NT meetings with Opposition Leader Michael Gunner, Shadow Minister Nicole Manison, and CEO of the Department of Mines and Energy, Ron Kelly alongside working groups with the NT Department of Infrastructure and Department of Business continue to deliver procurement reform for our member firms including a review of standard form contracts.
What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters
BETTER URBAN ENVIRONMENTS & INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT Sharing our firms’ expertise to deliver more evidence-based public policy outcomes; supporting investment in infrastructure providing more productive, liveable and sustainable urban environments: Consult Australia welcomed Infrastructure Australia’s release of the Australian Infrastructure Plan. Many of the 78 recommendations reflect Consult Australia priorities, including road user charging and new models for financing infrastructure, integrated strategic planning and a longer-term vision for Australia’s project pipeline. The Australian Government’s Smart Cities Plan encapsulates much of what Consult Australia has long advocated; including alternative infrastructure funding, value capture, a Public Infrastructure Investment Strategy and leveraging debt. Consult Australia was invited by Ministers Taylor, Fletcher and Hunt alongside the Prime Minister to participate in the Cities Summit identifying the next steps to implement the Plan. Ongoing discussions with Mike Mrdak Secretary, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development to discuss the Australian Government’s Smart Cities Plan and options for better and fairer ways of paying for Infrastructure. Consult Australia has continued to work with John Alexander MP following the Federal Inquiry into Value Capture and had discussions with Trent Zimmerman MP in his capacity as a standing member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities.
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Deputy Premier, Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Trade and Investment, Consult Australia’s Value Capture Roadmap was a noted point of reference. Building Queensland’s Infrastructure Pipeline Report reflects Consult Australia’s close working relationship with Building Queensland, and we are pleased to be acknowledged as a key stakeholder in the development of the report supporting our recommendations for better long-term infrastructure planning in Queensland, and to create greater certainty for business. Infrastructure Victoria’s discussion paper All things considered, and our submisison, reflects Consult Australia Vic’s advocacy for a more transparent long-term infrastructure pipeline supported by integrated strategic planning including using innovative financing methods such as Value Capture. Recent discussions with Infrastructure Tasmania Chief Executive Alan Garcia introduced Consult Australia, highlighting the opportunities for our members to support a longer term infrastructure plan for the State. We look forward to building this relationship in the months ahead towards the delivery of a longterm plan. Consult Australia ACT delivered the inaugural State of the Territory Address with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr; this followed senior engagement with ACT Planning Minister, CEO of Land Development Agency, Director Generals of Department of Environment and Planning, Department of Economic Development and the CEO of the National Capital Authority to discuss long-term planning, sustainability, value capture and infrastructure delivery across the Capital Region.
Our Federal Election Platform, Six Ideas for Infrastructure, urged all political parties to move beyond short term political thinking and focus on long term infrastructure demands. Our recommendations focus on planning and delivering the infrastructure for the future and maximising value for money for the taxpayer. Consult Australia SA was pleased to host Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science the Hon Christopher Pyne MP to discuss our priorities at an exclusive pre-Election breakfast.
INDUSTRY INNOVATION, GROWTH & EXCELLENCE
Consult Australia provided evidence at the Federal Transport Connectivity Inquiry considering opportunities to capture value uplift from infrastructure. Joined by Joe Langley of AECOM, and further to our submission, Consult Australia provided evidence drawing on our Value Capture Roadmap.
Consult Australia SA released our position statement Building a Nuclear Future for South Australia broadly supporting the findings from the SA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.
Consult Australia Vic & SA launched our Valuing Better Engagement framework discussing the importance of communicating the commercial return from effective stakeholder engagement. The potential for the Framework to help improve the understanding of the real value of engagement practices for infrastructure delivery has been welcomed by both government and industry. Following the Qld State Infrastructure Plan, Consult Australia participated in a Symposium with the QLD Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning to discuss future infrastructure funding. Joined by the Hon. Jackie Trad MP,
Showcase industry excellence, lead innovation and the adoption of new technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD); delivering a more competitive industry in the longer term:
Consult Australia ACT delivered the first ACT ‘SMART WEEK’ with Data 61 and the ACT Government Digital Transformation Officer.
2016 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
National Strategic Partner
2016 Awards for Excellence Award Categories: Collaboration Sustainability in Design Technological Innovation Design Innovation Engagement Client Service Excellence Champions of Change – Female Leadership Future Leader
Platinum Partners
Gold Partner
The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence is an annual event that provides a unique opportunity to profile and promote the outstanding achievements of Consult Australia’s member firms to the industry and community. The Awards have always demonstrated the business acumen and technical excellence of our member firms’ professional staff in project and service delivery and this mandate remains at the heart of the Awards program. All Consult Australia member firms are eligible to enter any of the Awards categories. Firm of the Year Awards are selected according to staff size i.e. firms with less than 20 staff were eligible for Small Firm of the Year, firms with 20-299 staff are eligible for Medium Firm of the Year and firms with more than 300 staff are eligible for Large Firm of the Year. Consult Australia encourages each of its member firms to submit at least one entry to ensure they have the opportunity to be recognised for their outstanding work. Winners of the 2016 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence were announced at a gala black-tie dinner at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park in Melbourne, Victoria on Friday, 25 November 2016.
AWARD CATEGORIES Collaboration Recognises exemplary collaboration initiatives between a member firm and its client. Engagement Recognises exemplary collaboration between a member firm and the broader project or engagement team (e.g. joint venture or alliance partners, subcontractors etc). Diversity Recognises member firms that have implemented and delivered outstanding initiatives and/or practices to ensure a more diverse workforce. Sustainability in Design Recognises the achievement of sustainable outcomes on an internal or external
TYPES OF AWARDS Gold Award of Merit: Awarded to projects or initiatives considered by the judges to be of excellence based on the criteria nominated. Highly Commended: Awarded to projects acknowledged by the judges to be finalists for consideration for a Gold Award of Special Merit.
project through innovative design and/or the innovative application of sustainable materials and principles. Technological Innovation Recognises member firms who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the innovative application of new or existing technology. Design Innovation Recognises member firms who have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process.
Champions of Change – Female Leadership Recognises a mid or senior level female professional who has demonstrated leadership capabilities and/or is championing change within her firm or in the industry more broadly. Future Leader Acknowledges professional staff of member firms aged 35 years and under who have made a significant contribution to their firm and added value in a demonstrable way.
Client Service Excellence Recognises member firms who have delivered exemplary customer service throughout the course of a client engagement or project. Entry in this category requires member firms to be either nominated or endorsed by the client.
SPECIAL AWARDS President’s Award
Medium Firm of the Year
Made by Consult Australia’s President in recognition of the individual or firm who has contributed most to Consult Australia and/or the industry over the course of the preceding year.
Firms with 20 – 299 employees with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
Small Firm of the Year
Firms with 300+ employees with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
Firms with less than 20 employees, including sole practitioners, with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
Large Firm of the Year
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JUDGING Consult Australia would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each of the judges on the 2016 panel for generously donating their time and expertise to support this year's Awards for Excellence. This year the large number of entries received in some categories necessitated the use of a two-tier judging process with Collaboration, Design Innovation, and Future Leader all requiring this approach. Two panels of independent judges were engaged to ensure the highest possible standards of fairness and impartiality were applied to the judging process. All judges are required to ensure the confidential nature of all submissions is maintained. Special thanks as well to the preliminary round judges who shortlisted the projects in some categories.
Second Round Judges:
First Round Judges:
Helen Gillies Consultant
Alina Bain CEO, Australian Services Roundtable
Sue Holliday Managing Director, Strategies for Change
Martin Harris Principal, Prodest
David Murray National Leader – Partner Services, Deloitte
Alison Mclaren Senior Manager – Government and Industry Relations at Urban Growth NSW
Professor Danny Samson Management Expert from the University of Melbourne – Faculty of Business and Economics
David Parken Principal, David Parken Consulting
David Singleton Chairman, Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia.
The judging criteria applied to select the Award winners principally revolves around consulting excellence. This is reflected through the originality, innovation, quality, results and impact of each submission. Community, environmental and social aspects are also considered.
Partners National Strategic Partner BST Global is the leading global provider of enterprise business management software and cloud solutions for architecture, engineering, and environmental consultancies. More than 100,000 professionals across six continents and 65 countries – including Aurecon, BECA, BG&E, GHD Americas and Golder Associates — rely on BST Global’s innovative software solutions to better manage their projects, resources, finances, and client relationships. ACO, an Australian manufacturer with global roots. ACO in Australia offers an extensive portfolio of stormwater, building drainage systems, cable pit and ducting systems, access covers and niche products. ACO’s manufacturing site is located in Emu Plains, NSW and supports five offices and warehouses located throughout Australia and supplies products to South East Asia and the Pacific Islands through its partners. ACO takes pride in providing excellent customer service and extensive technical support from specification to the finished product installation. Fairfax Media is excited to bring you and your business Australia's first ever Site Licence Subscription Platform. This dynamic new platform is the most seamless way for businesses to subscribe to The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. It will give your staff and your business a competitive edge with instant access to world class, independent coverage across industry trends, financial markets, politics and international news. To find out more about the site licence opportunities available to you, visit the website www.corporatesubscriptions.com.au or email corporatesubscriptions@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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PRESIDENT'S AWARD GREG STEELE Champions of Change campaign. Greg takes great pride in being one of the leaders in our industry who is campaigning and making a difference in raising the low levels of women in leadership in Australia’s consulting industry. He was the Inaugural Chair of the Consult Australia Champions of Change which continues to grow and build upon its success’s. During his time as Chair the group have made great progress, committing themselves and their organisations to real change that will have a positive impact on the diversity in our industry. Greg has been a strong advocate for adequate resourcing to progress work and outcomes. This led Consult Australia to engage Coleen McKinnon to support our work and drive activity. Greg has never been afraid to demonstrate strong leadership, particularly in the early days of reform, has always been an active participant in the large firm’s forum and continues to promote and grow the industry as a whole.
The 2016 Consult Australia President's Award recipient is Greg Steel, current CEO Australia Pacific of Arcadis; Greg joined Arcadis in April 2008 with more than 25 years’ engineering experience capturing all aspects of engineering consulting, management, team leadership and client liaison. It was his particular passion for relationship contracting that eventually took him away from pure engineering into the world of managing and leading project teams. As the head of Arcadis, Greg focuses on guiding Arcadis towards a better alignment with the market and fostering a client-centric approach built on clear communication, shared goals and a strong relationship. Of the many highs in his career, Greg fondly recalls leading and directing the design for some of Australia’s largest and most complex projects including Brisbane’s North South Bypass Tunnel, Ipswich Motorway Upgrade and Airport Link, to name just a few projects. Greg has also been actively involved in the independent verification of the Brisbane Airport Link and Ipswich Motorway Upgrade (aka, the ‘Origin Alliance’), which were two of the largest projects occurring in Australia at the time.
With grounding in engineering together with experience in successfully leading engineers, Greg’s insight on founding and cultivating high-performance teams and developing innovative project delivery frameworks is highly sought after from across the business and in the industry. Greg is known as a great leader, collaborator and thinker, and has been a long term supporter of Consult Australia. Greg has worked with Consult Australia in numerous capacities, including representing the association as a Director of the Australian Construction Industry Forum for two years between 2012 and 2014, and has maintained active participation with both Policy Roundtables and State Committees for a number of years through his time at Hyder/Arcadis. Greg was one of the inaugural driving forces behind the Consult Australia
Greg to his credit is known as a dedicated family man and is well known as a personal exemplar of flexible working and commitment to work life balance. His devotion to his family and the time spent with them should be applauded as should its continued balance with his professional life. Greg’s passion for the engineering industry is supported by both his work with Engineering Aid Australia, which aims to inspire talented indigenous students to progress to tertiary education in an engineering discipline, and Roads Australia, of which he is a Director. The time that Greg spends on external projects shows how dedicated he is to this industry and the continuing success of it. For his achievements and service to the industry Greg joins an esteemed list of Consult Australia President’s Awards Winners and is a worthy recipient of the 2016 award.
Greg takes great pride in being one of the leaders in our industry who is campaigning and making a difference in raising the low levels of women in leadership in Australia’s consulting industry.
Consulting Matters 17
2016 FIRMS OF THE YEAR Large Firm of the Year Arup Arup originally came to Australia to undertake the structural design of the Sydney Opera House and from there now work from seven offices across four key areas of influence: cities, connectivity, health, and resources. Their desire to shape a better world ensures clients receive smart design ideas with a social purpose, which will have a positive influence for current and future generations. Arup’s commitment to a sustainable approach to all its projects is both enshrined in a formal sustainability policy and embraced personally by the individuals that together make up the firm. Arup’s ownership structure actively reinforces this approach and holds the firm accountable to its own people for its independent approach, and to its social and corporate responsibility. Arup remains a diverse group of individuals from a range of cultural backgrounds. This diversity helps foster the creativity that is Arup’s hallmark.
JUDGES COMMENTS Arup have demonstrated excellence across a variety of award categories this year winning three Gold Awards in the Collaboration, Engagement and Sustainability in Design Categories. Arup have shown that their projects were of an outstanding quality and are to be commended. Arup this year is a stand out choice for Large Firm of the Year.
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Medium Firm of the Year BG&E BG&E is a civil and structural engineering consultancy that is known for its’ innovative, cost-effective and award winning designs. They are renowned for their can do attitude and ability to successfully deliver complex projects in a challenging industry. With staff spread across five offices in Australia and three in the Middle East, they focus on key specific areas of engineering to ensure they offer the best possible services, technical skills and competence in their fields of expertise. Their team is a mix of local and international professionals, all of whom bring innovative ideas and a problem solving attitude to their work. JUDGES COMMENTS BG&E were shortlisted for three key awards in this year’s Awards of Excellence and were particularly strong in both the Engagement and Sustainability in Design categories. The judges were very impressed by the standard of submissions from BG&E and believed that the quality of work produced ensured that they were a well deserved winner of the 2016 Medium Firm of the Year award.
Consulting Matters 19
CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH OF OUR 2016 GOLD AWARD WINNERS COLLABORATION Arup For Arup – Perth Airport T1 Domestic Terminal and International Departures Expansion PROJECT OVERVIEW In 30 years’ Perth Airport will be unrecognisable, with all commercial air services operating from one precinct, Airport Central, offering a world-class airport experience. Perth Airport is nearing completion of the first stage of consolidation and an extensive $1B redevelopment program that is transforming the experience for all travellers. At the end of 2015, Perth Airport unveiled the following projects as part of the Airport Central vision: T1 Domestic Terminal The $200M T1 Domestic Terminal, is now home to Virgin Australia. The 200m long pier at the western end of the existing T1 is designed to cater for wide-bodied A330 aircraft. T1 Domestic features 14 checkin counters, passenger screening zone, a premium guest lounge, 12 aerobridge gates, two baggage reclaim belts and an airside link bridge to T2 for connecting regional flights. T1 International Departures Expansion The $141M International Departures Expansion created a spacious new split-level departures area providing a more enjoyable outbound passenger experience. Features include an expanded check-in hall and 16 new check-in counters, expanded baggage handling, larger reconfigured security area, new/upgraded gate facilities (including two A380 gates), new boarding lounge and a new airline lounge. Set in a 24/7 facility and involving multiple stakeholders with highly complex operational processes, the success of the project relied on the Design Team developing a thorough understanding of stakeholder requirements needing to be incorporated into the design.
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To facilitate this vision, Arup developed a process which would define stakeholder requirements for inclusion in the design. In addition to managing the multidisciplinary design for both facilities from schematic design through to construction, Arup played a critical role in providing design leadership, stakeholder management, specialist aviation advice and site supervision as part of a multidisciplinary team. To successfully design and deliver two new terminal facilities for a large number of stakeholders, the Design Leadership Team (DLT) (Arup and architect Woods Bagot) not only led the Design Team (comprising Arup, Woods Bagot, Aurecon, Buro North, The Design Solution and BCS) but also acted as the primary interface with Perth Airport—and developed a stakeholder
engagement strategy. This led to Arup’s Stakeholder Manager implementing a process across all design stages to capture stakeholder requirements Stakeholder groups comprised of various internal Perth Airport teams, as well as a number of external groups including international airlines, Virgin Australia domestic, regulatory authorities, the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (Biosecurity). The stakeholder groups had a diverse range of often conflicting requirements. In these instances it was deemed inappropriate for the Design Team to decide which requirements should be complied with and it was therefore
COLLABORATION
important that the Design Team had a clear understanding of who should confirm which stakeholder requirements were incorporated in the design. Arup’s overall objective was to provide a prudent design solution behind which stakeholders could form a consensus, while maintaining quality, efficiency, cost effectiveness and deliverability. As Western Australia grows, so will Perth Airport—and Arup is proud to be an integral part of the multi-disciplined, global team that is helping to better connect Western Australia with the world.
JUDGES COMMENTS The judges unanimously agreed that Arup should be congratulated for their work on this project, particularly in light of the fact that teamwork and critical planning management were so crucial to meeting key performance targets on such a large and complex project with multiple stakeholders engaged. They noted that collaborations on projects such as these are critical to the industry sector and felt that this project was a worthy winner due to both its highly complex operational processes and the thorough understanding of all stakeholder requirements that was required to ensure successful project completion.
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Arup’s overall objective was to provide a prudent design solution behind which stakeholders could form a consensus, while maintaining quality, efficiency, cost effectiveness and deliverability.
Consulting Matters 23
SUSTAINABILITY IN DESIGN Arup Aura – A Future Communities Initiative
PROJECT OVERVIEW In April 2015, the Aura project achieved ‘World Leadership’ status having been awarded a 6-star rating by Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) using the Green Star Communities (GSC) tool. As the largest national project to be independently certified as ‘World Leadership’, the Aura project marks a monumental achievement not only for Arup as an organisation but for the social and economic sustainability, and environmental performance of communities throughout Australia. Arup was entrusted to deliver the targeted Green Star rating for this greenfield development project with the objective to create a 6-star Green Star rated urban and residential community for up to 60,000 people at Caloundra South, Queensland, forecast for completion by 2030. Appointed in the early planning and approvals phase, the team were tasked with delivering sustainability and environmental services including EPBC approval, EIS and ecological services and with an extensive scope including consultation, urban and master planning, legislative and development approvals, and identification of full infrastructure needs, species management, storm water management and embedded sustainability, the team had their work cut out for them. In collaboration with Stockland and GBCA, the team at Arup were instrumental in leading Aura through the independently certified Green Star Communities Pilot. “This 6 Star Green Star rating is important because it considers the social and economic sustainability and environmental performance of communities, not just during construction but in perpetuity” Mark Steinert, Managing Director and CEO, Stockland As well as looking beyond the rating tool, innovation was encouraged in the areas of governance, design, liveability, economic prosperity and environment. Arup focused on pursuing ideas which offered multiple benefits, addressed site resilience, stimulated awareness and provided meaningful outcomes for the community. This resulted in the project achieving 100%
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of the points available in the Governance category and over 90% in Liveability. “Arup have made a fantastic contribution to Stockland’s sustainability journey over the last couple of years. Through leadership and guidance, they have provided clear direction to a team treading an unfamiliar path, with the result being the achievement of the 6-star Green Star Communities rating in April this year. Aura will become the first city scale development to achieve such as rating and only the fifth rating to be achieved in Australia.” Matthew Napper, National Residential Sustainability Manager, Stockland. Arup Project Manager, Reanna Harper said that this certification demonstrated that international status can be achieved when project planning is underpinned by a quadruple bottom line—governance, social, environment and economic. For Arup the journey was about intimately understanding the clients business as usual, integrated approaches, purposeful decision making, tangible initiatives and long term commitments.
Based on the success of this project, Stockland have entrusted the team at Arup to deliver a further portfolio comprising seven national developments with a combined investment valued over $8.2B and spanning four Australian states.
JUDGES COMMENTS The Judges considered Aura to be a phenomenally outstanding project of world leading standard. “They are to be congratulated as they have developed a high calibre project for their clients and are a well deserved winner of this category. The strong field of entries across the board has shown that the industry has clearly embraced sustainability in design. The entries in this category showcase not only Arup, but all those in the industry who are taking an integrated approach to sustainable design in their projects for which they all should be applauded.“
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TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION Norman Disney & Young University of Sydney - Australian Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology
PROJECT OVERVIEW The Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology is the University of Sydney's new 10,000 sqm state of the art physics research building. The primary purpose of the building is to discover and harness new science at the nanoscale level, leading to a dramatic increase in potential applications in the field of engineering and medical science. It is hoped that many of these discoveries will transform communications, medical treatment and energy generation in the 21st Century. Norman Disney & Young’s (NDY’s) involvement started in the initial bid stage of the project with the main contractor/ builder, Lend Lease. NDY assisted by helping provide suitable concept design documentation for the purposes of getting competitive tenders and after the project was awarded to Lend Lease, a revised/ refined design was prepared by NDY to allow a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) to be negotiated between the University of Sydney and Lend Lease. NDY was then involved in the production of detailed design and construction drawings for both
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the base building infrastructure and the laboratory fitouts. All designs were fully coordinated in Revit with other building services, architecture and structure.
construction budget of over $100M, which was jointly funded by the Federal and NSW State Governments and the University of Sydney through various grants.
Construction of the building began in mid 2014 and Practical Completion was achieved in June 2015. The building was constructed by Lend Lease with a
Contained in the building are: • 23 world‐class laboratories specially designed for Nanoscience research with
two additional office spaces with the ability to be converted into laboratories • Open plan office and meeting rooms for teaching and research staff • Two electron microscope suites • An ISO Class 5, 7500 sqm Cleanroom with the ability to be upgraded to ISO Class 4 in the future to house advanced nanofabrication and characterisation tools • Modern teaching facilities including a 300‐seat lecture theatre, an interactive learning studio and a number of smaller seminar and meeting rooms. Some of the specific requirements of the services design included: • Tight temperature and humidity control • Isolation from electromagnetic interference through the use of shielding to the cable reticulation and local laboratory Distribution Boards • High W/sq m allowance for all laboratories with separate “Normal” and “Clean” power outlets
With the lessons learnt from the Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, NDY can now be considered to be one of the foremost experts in similar types of laboratories in the Australian and Asia‐Pacific region. • Specialised low electromagnetic interference lighting for the laboratories • Low impedance technical earthing system for all laboratories. With the lessons learnt from the Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, NDY can now be considered to be one of the foremost experts in similar types of laboratories in the Australian and Asia‐Pacific region. This flexibility and innovation also give them greater scope to deal with a wide range of other industries including commercial, residential and health care.
JUDGES COMMENTS The judges wish to congratulate NDY on rising to the challenge and solving a client’s dynamic technological issues. They felt that NDY should be commended for the level of innovation they developed and implemented in order to meet the client’s key specific outcomes and that the purity of the technology utilised to meet the client’s requirements should be noted for its advanced design and innovation.
Consulting Matters 27
DESIGN INNOVATION Aurecon 5 Martin Place
PROJECT OVERVIEW The 5 Martin Place development transformed a valuable but unprofitable heritage building in Sydney’s CBD into an iconic premium grade office building, while revitalising the historic character of the area. First constructed in 1916, the building, known as the ‘Money Box’, set a new benchmark for commercial office buildings in Sydney. It was also one of the first fully steel-framed buildings in the city, as well as being one of the first tall buildings to be erected in Australia. The original development brief was to construct a new 20-level building to meet viability requirements. Key planning constraints prohibited any modification of heritage building sections or extra permanent loading on the structures. These apparently conflicting requirements at first posed a seemingly impossible challenge through being either ‘unbuildable’ and/or ‘unfundable’.
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A unique, probably world-first structural engineering scheme developed by Aurecon in partnership with the Contractor Grocon, realised an innovative architectural solution, which involved the demolition of a 1968 structure and the construction of a new 20-level building. The key feature of the project was the design and construction of a cantilevered 10-level office tower projecting 22 metres over the historic building.
Using its advanced building structure analysis capability, Aurecon demonstrated to its client, Grocon, that a cantilever solution with simplified V-shaped bracing on the sides of the tower would be the best engineering solution. No benchmark design was available to use as input for this original approach, and Aurecon had to develop new designs and analysis techniques for many elements of the structure. These included a unique set of
Key planning constraints prohibited any modification of heritage building sections or extra permanent loading on the structures. These apparently conflicting requirements at first posed a seemingly impossible challenge through being either ‘unbuildable’ and/or ‘unfundable’.
Consulting Matters 29
DESIGN INNOVATION criteria to predict the long-term global movement of the tower structure to a high level of accuracy. “This project was by far the most complex in terms of engineering gymnastics of any building that I’ve ever been involved in. My desire was to stop everyone in Martin Place and make them look up and to tell them about it.” Tony Lavorato, Technical Director, Aurecon. Particularly noteworthy features of the engineering design and construction included: • The size of the cantilever tower and the extent of the cantilever for the size of the tower which are believed to be world firsts • Advanced structure analysis was used to develop elegantly simple major V-shaped bracing on the sides of the cantilever tower • O verall, the sophisticated design of the steel frame tower saved approximately 450 tonnes of steel and 10 days of construction time • The method of construction on jacks and then de-propping was an original solution. The efficient, innovative steel-framed structure of the tower allows the existing heritage building to be free of any structural intervention. In addition, the design re-establishes the light well of the earlier structure, which highlights the features of heritage significance. 5 Martin Place is now a Premium Grade building with large floor plates, a large central atrium, 33,860 square metres of net leasable area, and a high profile tenant. Importantly, it has stayed true to its heritage and remains an iconic landmark in the city of Sydney.
JUDGE'S COMMENTS The judges found 5 Martin Place to be an excellent merging of both the old and the new. They felt strongly that the repurposing of old buildings can not only rejuvenate a city, but that sustainability can grow from design innovation. Judges note: The judges wished to congratulate all the firms that were shortlisted in this category as all the designs were of a very high standard.
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Ph: 1300 765 226 | sales@acoaus.com.au | www.acodrain.com.au Consulting Matters 31
ENGAGEMENT Arup For Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition for Perth Airport Terminal 1 Domestic
PROJECT OVERVIEW On 22 November 2015, Perth Airport’s T1 Domestic Terminal transferred seamlessly from construction site into live operations thanks to the application of Arup’s unique approach to Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition (ORAT). As the new home of Virgin Australia in Perth, including the flagship roll out of its new self-service Techn3ology, the opening of Perth Airport’s $200M T1 Domestic was of national importance and received significant media attention. As such, Perth Airport and Virgin Australia needed to be confident the new T1 Domestic would operate seamlessly and without incident from day one To prepare the new facility for opening, Arup implemented a holistic ORAT strategy specifically designed for the new T1 Domestic with collaboration and stakeholder engagement forming the foundation for its delivery. The bespoke strategy for T1 Domestic focussed on complete stakeholder readiness and included training, familiarisation, activation and transition, trials and migration management. This enabled the clear identification and management of key risks associated with opening this complex facility and provided Perth Airport and Virgin Australia with confidence that T1 Domestic would operate seamlessly and without incident from day one. Arup was careful to apply lessons learned from past terminal openings including, most importantly, early and ongoing engagement. As independent, impartial champions of the overall readiness requirements for T1 Domestic, Arup focused on multi-stakeholder engagement to garner commitment from all parties to transparent reporting, and collaborative decision-making. Arup’s ORAT approach gave a formal structure and discipline to engaging, tracking and managing task completion across over 15 stakeholder groups. However more than that, Arup clearly demonstrated to the broad range of stakeholders—from baggage handling system operators to retail
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Objectives were set at a team level with all consortium members bound to the same team charter, project expectations and goals. At project commencement, workshops were held to develop an agreed set of Key Result Areas (KRAs) and help break down barriers. Every member of the workshop, including both senior and junior staff, was asked to sign the collaboratively developed team charter thus adopting it as their own. fit-out managers—the complex interdependencies of their activities and the need for a collaborative approach. The effective implementation of ORAT enabled Arup to inform and lead multiple stakeholders to achieve a common goal and de-risk the opening of T1 Domestic to ultimately deliver a seamless transition into live operations.
Tasked by Perth Airport to lead all stakeholders though a risk-based readiness programme designed to provide clear direction and define the best time to open T1 Domestic, Arup worked collaboratively with Perth Airport to set the
ORAT objectives, took on the overall goal, ‘to facilitate a successful terminal opening’, as a project mandate, and engaged other stakeholders to do the same. Arup worked closely for almost two years with a wide variety of stakeholder groups viewing all relationship as important: from operational teams responsible for the terminal or airfield, to airport and airline corporate affairs and planning teams with objectives around passenger experience and business reputation. Arup’s ORAT team engaged these generally autonomous departments to work together and also incorporated third
Consulting Matters 33
ENGAGEMENT
parties such as cleaning contractors and retailers into unfamiliar, but effective, collaborations. Naturally, Virgin Australia as the sole airline tenant of T1 Domestic was a primary stakeholder Arup’s ORAT programme for T1 Domestic culminated in a 12 week period of intense on-site activity. This included a series of 28 trials which progressively tested the new facility and its systems, people and processes. The opening was de-risked and resulted in a seamless transition into live operations. The finale of the trials programme was an ‘advanced trial’ which simulated full endto-end operation of the facility with over 900 public volunteers bringing baggage and acting as passengers on eight departing and eight arriving flights. Arup is pleased to continue to work with Perth Airport, providing a range of multidisciplinary services in the next stage of planning.
34 Consulting Matters
Arup’s ORAT programme for T1 Domestic culminated in a 12 week period of intense on-site activity. This included a series of 28 trials which progressively tested the new facility and its systems, people and processes. The opening was de-risked and resulted in a seamless transition into live operations.
JUDGES FEEDBACK
The judges found Arup’s work on ORAT to be highly deserving of this Award, praising the high levels of engagement and relationship building that they maintained across such a vast number of project stakeholders. They commended Arup across all aspects of this submission and on the approach they took to engage with such a diverse number of people and range of processes.
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Consulting Matters 35
CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE Calibre Consulting For Molonglo Link Bridge PROJECT OVERVIEW The Molonglo Link Bridge is a vital piece of infrastructure which will support the growth of Canberra and its newest suburbs. Spanning the Molonglo River, the Molonglo Link Bridge serves two purposes—to act as a pedestrian and cycleway bridge and to carry and house a 600mm diameter sewer main with the capacity to service 7,500 dwellings. Calibre’s client on this project was the Procurement & Capital Works Branch (PCW), a team within the Treasury and Economic Development Directorate who are charged with facilitating the delivery of key infrastructure assets and capital works programs. Calibre has worked with PCW since its inception five years ago and the two parties have now formed a close, long term relationship which can genuinely be described as a ‘partnership’. This much sought after status did not come about through Calibre just ‘doing their job’, but was achieved because Calibre see themselves as an independent, but aligned extension of the PCW team. This approach is based on Calibre’s view that their engineering services are enhanced, and better outcomes are achieved, when they are ‘in the tent’ rather than merely a ‘supplier’ of services and it is this mindset that Calibre bought to their work on the Molonglo Link Bridge. Calibre Consulting was initially engaged to provide the Design Framework Study and were then engaged to provide detailed design, contract administration, site surveillance and project management during the Design and Construction phases for the Molonglo Link Bridge. With almost six years of ‘skin in the game’, the Link Bridge was never going to be just another ‘job’ with all of Calibre’s team members deeply committed to, and passionate about, this project. Each team member put a little of themselves into the project—and it showed. Calibre Consulting Project Manager Tony Connell stated, “Our team had a client first philosophy. We saw ourselves as an extension of the Procurement & Capital Works sharing their burdens, joys and challenges.”
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On this project Calibre demonstrated excellent client service and was also technically astute. As George Tomlins, Executive Director of the PCW stated in his letter of support, “Calibre worked closely with the ACT Government to develop a detailed design and construction methodology which addressed stringent environmental constraints to deliver an elegant engineering solution and an aesthetic architectural outcome.” When dealing with multiple government directorates, utility owners, contractors, and environmental groups – delivering a piece of significant infrastructure is a more than satisfactory result for all parties.
JUDGES FEEDBACK The judges found Calibre’s involvement with the client in all aspects of the project to be outstanding. They felt that they had both cultivated and grown with their client and that they had built a significant relationship which in turn had produced an outstanding result. Judges note: The judges noted that this category provided an ‘outstanding tool’ for members to promote positive client views on their firms and the projects they’ve produced together. They were therefore surprised at the low number of entries received and hoped that more firms would embrace this opportunity next year.
Consulting Matters 37
CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE – FEMALE LEADERSHIP Jo Metcalfe From GHD multidisciplinary projects through interoffice collaboration, and supporting the growth of our international offices. What’s more, our employee engagement rate has grown to 73 percent in 2016, one of the highest at GHD.”
Jo’s current passion is to develop Indigenous enterprise through helping federal, state/territory and local governments shape procurement policies that enable Indigenous-owned businesses to start, grow and succeed.
A decade ago, Jo became concerned about the global skills shortage and GHD’s risk profile associate with a narrow demographic. In response, Jo established the Women in GHD group with two other women. This group has now grown across the company and provides a platform to increase empowerment, networking opportunity and diversity within GHD.
Jo says, “As a leading professional services company in Australia, our best contribution to ‘Closing the Gap’ is to build capacity within Indigenous communities.”
Jo is known as an intuitive, perceptive and divergent thinker with a unique ability to connect and communicate. Jo’s passionate commitment for collaboration has shaped her leadership style—whether it is her home team, her industry group or her GHD business. She was the first woman in Australia (and the second globally) within GHD to take on a regional leadership role and has driven profitable performance and business diversification through an Australian industry downturn. Jo has a strong sense of community and since a young age has held leadership positions in many organisations including local orchestras and environmental groups. Today, she lends her support to many not-for-profits through GHD in the Community—including Multiple Sclerosis Australia, Habitat for Humanity, Movember and more. She also facilitates pro-bono work for GHD’s Canberra and southern NSW region. Jo Metcalfe, GHD’s Manager Canberra and Southern NSW is responsible for international development assistance and Commonwealth Government business across four geographic areas – ACT, southern east and south west NSW as well as Papua New Guinea. Jo was the first woman in Australia to have been appointed to manage one of GHD’s business operations. Today, Jo manages a $35M business and has played a key role in growing revenue in this region. She explains, “We are continually punching above our weight in a challenging market, contributing to
38 Consulting Matters
More recently, Jo helped to implement initiatives and policies to address gender diversity, flexible working conditions, unconscious bias, Indigenous internships and personal leave options.
According to Phil Duthie, GHD’s General Manager Australia, “Jo is a talented leader who combines being a mum with managing a high-performing team and contributing to industry associations. She is a great role model for women at GHD and has earned the respect of her peers by not being afraid to challenge the norms.” JUDGE’S COMMENTS Jo was the unanimous judge’s choice in what was a very competitive category, and the judges congratulate Jo for producing some outstanding work for her company, her clients and the community. They also commended Jo for her passion to grow female participation, not only within GHD but in the industry as a whole. Judges Note: The judges wanted to note that they found it a pleasure to read all submissions in this category and were pleased to see such great work being undertaken across the industry in such a wide range of diverse fields. They found it very encouraging and positive to see the dynamic change in this area over the years and felt it showed great recognition of not only the nominees, but also of the growth and change within the industry itself.
More recently, Jo helped to implement initiatives and policies to address gender diversity, flexible working conditions, unconscious bias, Indigenous internships and personal leave options.
FUTURE LEADER Nishmin Hallam From Taylor Thomson Whitting Nishmin Hallam is a chartered structural engineer, member of ACSE, NAWIC, WIE, keynote speaker and mentor. Her high technical aptitude, commercial intellect and astuteness have enabled her to lead multiple million dollar projects all over the globe. Joining Taylor Thomson Whiting (TTW) as a graduate engineer, Nishmin has quickly progressed through various leadership opportunities and is now a fundamental contributor to the TTW Senior Management Team. Nishmin’s role as Associate Director sees her manage large complex projects, and her technical ability to transform complex problems into pragmatic engineering solutions has resulted in many repeat business opportunities from clients, architects, contractors and developers. Her work portfolio spans numerous sectors including; residential, commercial, education, retail, mixed use, government, transport, and sporting facilities often incorporating major refurbishment, heritage restoration and new builds. Some of Nishmin’s most notable projects over her career include; Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 Midfield Pier, UNSW Wallace Wurth Building, Stockland Greenhills Shopping Precinct, and the new Australian Rugby Development Centre in Moore Park, Sydney. Nishmin takes a hands on approach from concept design through to project completion, maintaining a cohesive, open and communicative relationship with all members of the design team. Her positive and collaborative attitude is essential for achieving outstanding architectural and engineering outcomes that satisfy constructability requirements for clients and developers. A career highlight for Nishmin was her instrumental role on the recently completed UNSW Material Science and Engineering Building. The project involved significant engineering challenges including; high natural water table, stringent vibration requirements, large spans and cantilevers, along with a significant amount of Architectural ‘off-form’ concrete and stringent budget and time conditions. Her ability to deliver practical and cost driven solutions, without compromise to the design intent was paramount to the successful delivery of the project.
Beyond her immediate role as a structural engineer, Nishmin is proactive in progressing the engineering discipline in the construction industry. She has pioneered and overcome many obstacles in a male dominated workforce, being one of the first female engineers to be promoted to leadership at TTW, and one of the only female members of the ACSE. These achievements are evidence of her passionate stance toward the advancement of women in engineering. She is actively involved in organisations including National Association Women in Construction (NAWIC) and Women in Engineering (WIE). Nishmin regularly volunteers her time and skills to be a mentor, keynote speaker and leader helping younger women early in their careers navigate the complicated construction landscape. Nishmin has also participated in offshore community work, contributing her engineering skills and benevolence to help rehabilitate developing communities. Alongside the Emergency Architects Australia Association, Nishmin assisted in the SKSN Freedom Pool project for a school in India. Additionally, her advice was solicited as part of the Anganwadi Project based in Ahmedabad, India. Nishmin has also dedicated volunteer time at ALIV, a charity organisation aimed at helping Refugee families on bridging visas gain the opportunity to engage in recreational activities. Nishmin is passionate about the next generation of engineers and is actively involved in mentoring graduates at TTW. Her strong technical ability with equal communication and relationship building skills are not only the hallmarks of a great engineer but exemplify a great industry leader.
JUDGES COMMENTS The judges found the calibre of nominations in this category to be phenomenal, but agreed that Nishmin was the standout candidate this year. The judges were universally impressed by the breadth of Nishmin’s contributions, not only in her professional life and industry engagement, but also in her mentoring and community work, where they felt her obvious dedication and passion should be applauded. Judges note: The judges wanted it noted that nominations/submissions in this category continue to go from strength to strength and that the number of great outcomes achieved by all candidates show that there is a great future ahead for the industry.
Nishmin is passionate about the next generation of engineers and is actively involved in mentoring graduates at TTW. Her strong technical ability with equal communication and relationship building skills are not only the hallmarks of a great engineer but exemplify a great industry leader.
Consulting Matters 39
HIGHLY COMMENDED
COLLABORATION
ENGAGEMENT
DIVERSITY
Project: Roy Hill Project Firm: WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
Project: Hanwood Irrigation Modernisation Project Firm: GHD
Project: Diversity & Inclusions Step Up Plan 2014-2016 - Embedding Cultural Change Firm: GHD
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HIGHLY COMMENDED
SUSTAINABILITY IN DESIGN
Project: SGCH Group Sustainability Strategy Firm: Northrop Consulting Engineers
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
DESIGN INNOVATION
Project: Wulkuraka Rolling Stock Depot Firm: Arcadis
Project: North Strathfield Rail Underpass Firm: Jacobs, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Joint Venture
Consulting Matters 41
Our industry
HIGHLY COMMENDED
CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE
FUTURE LEADER
L ouisa Adams Firm: Aurecon
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CONSULT AUSTRALIA IS ON YOUR SIDE
Consult Australia believes that it is important to support members in all aspects of their business. We also recognise the impact that the insurance market has on Consult Australia member firms in terms of availability, affordability and quality of Professional Indemnity insurance.
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Bovill Risk & Insurance Consultants
Consult Australia’s PI Insurance Pathway gives Consult Australia members access to the PI market through a Panel of Brokers selected by Consult Australia. Consult Australia is providing a referral service only and is not providing any form of financial advice or offering a financial product. Consult Australia does not guarantee the value, price and terms of cover that may be received from any member of the Panel of Brokers. Any agreement entered into through use of the PI Insurance Pathway will be expressly between the Panel Broker and the Consult Australia member firm.
March 2015
To get a quote please visit: www.consultaustralia.com.au/pipathway.aspx
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Consulting Matters 45
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Consulting Matters Protecting your business
Transferring Contractual Liabilities The trend of client drafted contracts imposing onerous liabilities upon consultants continues unabated, however there has been an increasing willingness by insurers to extend the cover provided by professional indemnity insurance policies to cover some of these assumed liabilities. Historically professional indemnity policies contained outright assumed liability exclusions that removed cover for liabilities assumed under contract; the intent of such clauses being to limit the cover provided to liability arising under common law or statute; thereby excluding cover for liability that would not have existed in the absence of the contract. Whilst most professional indemnity policies still contain some form of assumed liability exclusion there is an increasing willingness of insurers to provide specific extensions to circumvent these exclusions and provide indemnity for contractual liabilities. This increased flexibility on the part of insurers is driven by several factors, one of which is growing demand with the primary drivers simply being market forces; a soft insurance market and the need for insurers to cover these risks or face the prospect of their clients insuring elsewhere. Whilst for consultants there is an increasing number of insurers to choose from; the scope of cover insurers are prepared to provide (for contractual liability) varies significantly. Most insurers providing contractual liability cover do so by specific clauses that detail the types and scope of contractual liability insured. The following are typical extensions, with some commentary regarding the quality of and differences in the cover provided: • Waiver of Subrogation: Liability assumed by the insured by waiver of their rights to recover (subrogate) from a third party. • Indemnities and hold harmless clauses: Where the Insured assumes liability through an agreement to indemnify or hold harmless their principal or a third party. Some insurers limit this cover to liability that results from the performance of the professional services whereas others insurer simply require that the liability arises out of an indemnity or hold harmless clause in a contract for the provision of the professional services; a minor difference in approach that may have implications for some claims scenarios.
• Waiver of proportionate liability legislation: Where the Insured assumes liability through contracting out of proportionate liability legislation. Proportionate liability legislation was introduced to replace the common law doctrine of joint and several liability under which a party could be found 100% liable for loss or damage that they were only 1% responsible for. Under proportionate liability the liability of each wrongdoer is apportioned to the extent to which he or she causes or contributes to loss or damage. Some proportionate liability legislation contains provisions that prevent contracting out however some jurisdictions are silent on the matter or explicitly permit parties to contract out.
It is important to note that contracting out of proportionate liability legislation does not require explicit reference to proportionate liability legislation as was found in Perpetual Trustee Company Ltd v CTC Group Pty Ltd (No 2) [2013] NSWCA 58, the New South Wales Court of Appeal found that a contractual indemnity constituted contracting out of proportionate liability. • Novation: Where responsibility for professional services provided by third parties are assumed under contract. Some insurers provide cover for liability assumed through novation of design only whereas others broaden this to include other (novated) services.
Historically professional indemnity policies contained outright assumed liability exclusions that removed cover for liabilities assumed under contract; the intent of such clauses being to limit the cover provided to liability arising under common law or statute; thereby excluding cover for liability that would not have existed in the absence of the contract.
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BESPOKE SOLUTIONS We regularly negotiate specific clauses to address our client’s specific risks objectives so customised solutions broader than “off the shelf” offerings outlined above are often available. FURTHER WORDS OF CAUTION Because contractual liability extensions are often specific and limited in scope a panacea to transfer contractual liability risk does not exist; consultants should take a considered approach to managing contractual risks with transfer of some risks to an insurer being just one strategy to employ. The most logical strategy remains negotiation of reasonable contract terms and conditions that are consistent with the consultant’s liability at law. Even if some contractual liability can be transferred to insurers there will always be elements of contracts that impose commercial risks that are unlikely to be insurable. BE WARY OF PURPORTED CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY COVER A number of standard policy wordings include generic extensions titled Contractual Liability or similar but as with any contract the devil in an insurance policy is often in the detail. These clauses often provide contractual liability cover only if the liability would have existed in the absence of the contract, such clauses provide little if any additional cover and represent little more than a marketing spiel by the insurer. WILL UNFAIR CONTRACTS LEGISLATION SAVE ME? Under the Australian Consumer Law small businesses are afforded some protection from unfair standard contracts entered into after 12 November 2016; whilst this is good news for all small businesses including consultants the scope of protection afforded is limited and only applies to firms with less than 20 employees. Significantly, it is important to note that only a court or tribunal can decide if a contract term is unfair and by the time a matter is heard by a court or tribunal a dispute already exists with costs likely to have been incurred. Darren Pavic Broking Manager Bovill Risk & Insurance Consultants
Professional Indemnity question? Consult Australia believes that it is important to support members in all aspects of their business. We also recognise the impact that the insurance market has on Consult Australia member firms in terms of availability, affordability and quality of Professional Indemnity insurance. Post your latest Professional Indemnity insurance cases on the Consult Australia Linkedin group and our PI Insurance Pathway will advise you on the best steps to tackle these issues.
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In-house training available!
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