19 minute read
State & Territories 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.
NSW
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Kristy Eulenstein
In New South Wales, there is no doubt that practice has led the way this year as regulatory change was a dominant force, especially relevant to the building sector. We saw the introduction of the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 and the Building Commissioner’s power to conduct occupational certificate audits. In addition, the certifying space saw amendment of the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 and well as the introduction of the Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2020 – with impacts we continue to grapple with especially for those in fire safety. Finally, the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (D&BP Act) which is a major overhaul for the industry. Consult Australia has continued to push for better reform including through our participation on the various Building Commissioner’s ‘pillar groups’ and by leveraging our ties with other associations including Engineers Australia, the Property Council and the Fire Practitioners Association of Australia. A key regulatory win was an amendment to the D&BP Act protecting practitioners from undue influence.
Like all other jurisdictions, pipeline issues came to the fore as we engaged with government on the response and recovery to COVID-19. Consult Australia’s positive engagement with Infrastructure NSW (INSW) in 2020 has earned us a seat on INSW’s new Infrastructure Industry Forum which will meet quarterly to discuss key functions of responsibility by INSW including the 10 Point Commitment, construction sector emergency management responses, progress of the Government’s infrastructure program and future infrastructure planning. We will be joined by the Australian Constructors Association, the Insurance Council and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, among others on the forum.
Procurement is never a quiet area and as the voice of consultants we have engaged with government clients on procurement and contracting terms of concern including WaterNSW and Transport for NSW, backed my members willing to challenge the rationale of key contract terms (including fitness for purpose and bank guarantees). While change has not been swift, we have earned the respect of government clients as we explain the links between contract terms, legal disputation in our industry and professional indemnity issues. 2021 will be an interesting year as we continue our engagement with key stakeholders.
We have also developed a relationship with NSW School Infrastructure over the past twelve months through our people advocacy activities. We met with them early in the year to discuss STEM education challenges and potential partnership initiatives to showcase industry career opportunities from these education pathways. We have since followed this up with a member event on the NSW School Infrastructure work program, and to explore further opportunities supporting an infrastructure industry cadetship program for indigenous Australians from vulnerable backgrounds. We also continued to engage with SafeWork NSW on WHS and workplace mental health matters, having them along as a guest to share tips with members on dealing with COVID-19 impacts and the shift to remote working.
NSW Gold Sponsors:
VIC
James Robertson
Our members in Victoria experienced additional challenges in 2020 with the prolonged impact of COVID-19 from a second wave and the Stage 4 business restrictions. We proactively approached our government contacts to get clarity for members on the additional restrictions during the Stage 4 lockdown and highlighted local impacts on our members to the government by sharing findings from our Industry Health Checks. This was in addition to our briefing on response and recovery that was circulated around the country. Noting the particular economic impacts in Victoria, we also submitted to the state budget highlighting the stimulus benefits from further investments in our industry, including the value-add from focusing on upfront design and engineering services.
Practice issues have been at the forefront of recent activity in Victoria. The Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer and Minister for Planning are currently considering our briefing setting out issues with the Construction Supplier Register (CSR) including the requirement from the Building Act 1993 (Vic) that body corporates have a ‘nominee director’ for each registration class for the body corporate to be registered. We are aware that a number of clients use the Building Act 1993 (Vic) to formulate pre-qualification requirements and therefore our advocacy could have wider impact that just the CSR.
As the government continues developing the regulations to bring in engineering registration by 1 July 2021, Consult Australia continues to push for reduced regulatory burden, including our urging of the Victorian Treasurer to work with the Council on Federal Financial Relations for a national approach to registration.
In terms of procurement and pipeline we have developed a strong relationship with the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, led by DirectorGeneral Corey Hannett. The Authority oversees the Level Crossing Removal Project, Major Road Projects Victoria, North East Link Project, Rail Projects Victoria and the West Gate Tunnel Project. In 2020 we have engaged with a number of these teams to stress the importance of collaboration ideals being reflecting in practice (including in contract terms) to achieve the best success.
On the people front, we continued our engagement with the Victorian Government promoting the importance of skills in our industry and developing a strong talent pipeline. We met with the Education Department to highlight skill shortages in our industry and the need to promote and increase uptake of STEM subjects in schools. We also continued to promote a mentally healthy industry by participating in an industry advisory group at WorkSafe Victoria for the WorkWell initiative and by joining a cross-industry Infrastructure in Wellness Committee.
VIC Gold Sponsor
QLD
In Queensland, the key win for 2020 was our collaboration with the Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA) on the Charter for Change which aims to improve the critical relationship between design consultants and contractors. Ultimately, we need increased collaboration to ensure we have a more sustainable construction and infrastructure industry. This initiative delivers on both our people and procurement areas. This spirit of collaboration continued as Consult Australia was invited to work with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), QMCA and the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) to develop a collaborative model. This work continues as we demonstrate to TMR how past projects around the country could inform this model.
With our drive for a stable regulatory environment for our members to practice in, we want to say thank you to the members that provide services to Queensland for responding to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (DPM&C) enquiry about the cost of separate state/ territory engineering registration schemes. It is clear that the DPM&C see Consult Australia as an influential and knowledgeable stakeholder with this request for information. As Queensland is currently the only jurisdiction with a government registration scheme in place for engineers, it was vital to have that insight from members who have staff registered with the Queensland Board of Professional Engineers. Consult Australia continues its advocacy for reduced regulatory burden as other states and territories develop regulations (Victoria and New South Wales) or explore the issue (Australian Capital Territory etc).
We ran a successful forum on STEM education challenges with the Education Department, the Office of the Chief Scientist, the Queensland University of Technology, local schools, and other industry stakeholders. These discussions highlighted the value of industry partnerships in improving the quality and uptake of STEM education, and for creating greater awareness of related career opportunities amongst students. We also continued to promote opportunities for members to support work experience and learning opportunities for our industry’s next generation through our partnership with Grandshake.
From a pipeline perspective, we continued to highlight the importance of further investments in infrastructure and built environment projects in our election platform and engagements with the government on COVID-19 recovery efforts. We also engaged with Building Queensland on considering social value in infrastructure projects, and their latest guidance on how business cases can assess these benefits.
QLD Gold Sponsor
SA
Jan Irvine
A significant and recent win for our people area has been the government’s agreement with our proposal to significantly change South Australia’s two Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs). The DAMAs are reviewed annually, and in November 2020 we were advised that a range of engineering occupations have been added to SA’s regional workforce DAMA and are eligible for a number of concessions. Occupations added include Civil Engineering Draftsperson, Structural Engineer, Civil Engineer and Transport Engineer.
We have made significant progress on procurement and practice in South Australia with the government agreeing, in response to the SA Productivity Commission Review with many of our recommendations such as centralised procurement, upskilling of public sector procurement officials and a review of standardised contracts, terms and conditions. In addition, we have been working with the Department for Infrastructure and Transport on how it procures engineering consultants for buildings projects. As a result, the Department revised their practices to pilot some of our recommendations. For example, round three of the Education Capital Works Program is piloting a ‘modified cascading model’ we put forward. This model minimises the administration effort required by the Department and also offers cost savings to industry.
As in other jurisdictions, our focus on pipeline issues through the lens of economic recovery resulted in meetings with: • the Premier • the CEO of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport • the Treasurer • the CEO of Infrastructure SA • Minister for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure • the CEO of SA Water • the CEO of the Department of Treasury and Finance Department • the CEO of Renewal SA. • the CEO of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport To the successful engagement above, Consult Australia has also been recognised as a key contributor by being invited to join the Government COVID-19 Construction Sector Recovery Sub Committee to provide insights of our industry on how best to support the sector and ensure that it is well placed to support and contribute to the COVID-19 recovery for a stronger more resilient state. Our role in this committee led to further work with Infrastructure SA highlighting the labour multiplier from business case development investments by the Government.
In addition, we held a very successful event discussing the pipeline of work from local government, of particular interest to our SME members. Matt Pinnegar, CEO of the Local Government Association of SA outlined a number of strategies in place to support councils in the current situation. Following this event and with Consult Australia’s renewed focus on stronger engagement with our smaller members, we launched our first SME focussed SA Update.
SA Gold Sponsors: SA Silver Sponsors:
ACT
Consult Australia is considered a valuable contributor by the government, as demonstrated by our invitation to be part of the ACT Infrastructure Sector Group led by Major Projects Canberra. The group includes government agencies (for example the Chief Minister and the Treasury and Economic Development Directorate) as well as industry groups. At the height of the implementation of lockdowns and restrictions because of the pandemic, the group met daily. Topics of discussion included; border closures, economic stimulus, learnings from other jurisdictions, infrastructure pipeline (including market capacity and the types of projects to be advanced), and of course, contract management.
The development of an engineering registration scheme in the territory moved quickly during 2020 with the government engaging with Consult Australia as one of the primary industry voices. The Chief Engineer, Adrian Piani met with the ACT Committee to discuss plans and regulatory issues. We advocated strongly for mutual registration and discussed potential models that might alleviate practice issues for our members.
Also, in the practice space, the government passed the very broadly drafted Labour Hire Licensing Act 2020 (ACT) which could capture our members that often have arrangements that fit the broad definition of ‘labour hire’. While we support the policy intent of the Act to protect vulnerable workers, we continue to advocate for a sensible exemption for members as the scheme could (as in Queensland) impose significant administrative and financial burdens without a countervailing community protection outcome. We recommend that South Australian approach, exempting businesses where labour hire is not a core function, be replicated.
In 2020, we continued our successful engagement in the Planning and Construction Industry Chief Executive Reference Group (PACICERG) where industry and government discuss issues including COVID-19 impacts on people and the always relevant procurement issue of cost of tendering.
Utilising the ACT Election, we developed a policy platform for the territory and broader region to open dialogue with a range of government stakeholders including the newly elected member for Eden Monaro and the ACT Leader of the Greens.
NT
Consult Australia’s work on response and recovery to COVID-19 impressed the Chief Minister Michael Gunner who invited us to make a submission to the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission’s NT Rebound Taskforce, to influence the decision-making on pipeline issues. Northern Territory members also met with the Treasurer, Nicole Manison to discuss the government’s approach to economic recovery including assistance available to business and the government’s strategy to access and secure Commonwealth funding. This meeting gave our members the opportunity to voice concerns, offer assistance and influence ministerial decision making.
We also provided input on behalf of members into consultations on implementing the Federal Government’s Roads of Strategic Importance Initiative where we highlighted the benefits of taking a business-case led approach to maximise economic and social outcomes from these investments.
Having engaged with the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation (DTBI) on procurement issues, we were invited by the Executive Director of Industry Growth within DTBI to a workshop on the Value for Territory Assessment Framework and Phase 1 Local Content. DTBI sees Consult Australia as the voice for consultants and the preferred pathway to engage with our industry.
For some time, members have been concerned about the current conditions of engagement for consultants when working with Power and Water Corporation. After a significant amount of work behind the scenes, we secured a Boardroom Breakfast for our members to meet with CEO Djuna Pollard and Chief Procurement Officer Justin McKenzie. We see this as an opportunity to open the door to collaboration between industry and Power and Water Corporation for optimum outcomes in 2021 and beyond.
In 2020, the NT Committee was rejuvenated as we contacted all members located here to promote the current and proposed priorities of the committee and encouraged increased engagement through committee participation. We now have a refreshed committee with a clear plan for the next year.
Tas
The Tas Committee relaunched early in 2020 and while there were challenges moving forward with some aspects of the groups planned actions, this highly committed group has made significant progress.
We have secured a monthly meeting between Consult Australia and the Department of State Growth as well as gaining two seats on the Department’s Road Construction Industry Forum (RCIF). At the monthly meetings we will discuss procurement, pipeline, consultative processes and how the Department utilises external consultants, having diminished internal capacity and capability.
Participation on RCIF is significant as this is a long running forum which was recently revamped to represent the stakeholders involved in the procurement and construction of roads projects in Tasmania. Consult Australia is the only voice for consultants on the forum and is joined by the Civil Contractors Federation along with associations representing other groups in the supply chain.
WA
Diane Dowdell
Consult Australia’s most recent procurement win in WA has been our successful challenge to the proposal presented at a Metronet delivery workshop that the upcoming tender would set a multiplier for consultant direct costs in an alliance model. In our immediate correspondence to Leo Coci, Executive Director for Infrastructure at Main Roads we raised our concerns about government directly influencing the price of work. We suggested that the audit approach within alliances is the appropriate mechanism to confirm direct costs. Within two weeks the government’s policy changed. Future projects will apply the audit approach rather than a set multiplier for direct costs. This was reflected in an addendum to the request for proposal for the Swan River Crossing. This demonstrates the importance of Consult Australia having access to early engagement on projects so that we can provide that industry voice against ill-conceived policies and plans.
In other procurement news, we continue our positive engagement with the Department of Finance and the Procurement Reform Team on actions to improve government procurement practices. This includes our submission on the proposed debarment regime, where the Liability and Contracts Roundtable assisted with input.
We have positive engagement with the government on practice issues especially in respect of building reform consultation, both on commercial buildings and engineering registration. The government has sought additional meetings with us to discuss the practical impact of proposals and to develop solutions.
On the pipeline front, we assisted Infrastructure WA with their work developing a state infrastructure strategy. In addition to our member event on the topic, we made a submission to Infrastructure WA with our recommendations for this important work. From these activities, we were invited to join Infrastructure WA’s External Reference Group.
To support our people advocacy activities, we also provided advice to members experiencing challenges moving staff into WA with border restriction in place due to COVID-19.
WA Platinum Sponsors: WA Gold Sponsor: WA Silver Sponsor:
AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE Roaring 20s
2020 Awards for Excellence
Award Categories: Collaboration for Project Excellence Technological Innovation Sustainability in Design Innovative Design Community Engagement Excellence Small Business Excellence Future Leader Champions of Change – Female Leadership People First 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 industry in project and service delivery and this mandate remains at the heart of the Awards program.
All Consult Australia member and non-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 20-199 staff are eligible for Medium Firm of the Year and firms with more than 200 staff are eligible for Large Firm of the Year.
Consult Australia encourages each of its members and non-members to submit at least one entry to ensure they have the opportunity to be recognised for their outstanding work. Winners of the 2020 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence were announced online on Thursday, 29 October 2020.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Collaboration for Project Excellence
This Award recognises collaboration initiatives between project participants and the client, which contributed to project excellence.
Community Engagement Excellence
This Award recognises exemplary community / stakeholder engagement and its contribution to project outcomes.
Superior Sustainability
This recognises the achievement of sustainable outcomes on an internal or external project that go above and beyond expectations in the application of the firm’s services (e.g. through design, advice, and/or the application of sustainable materials and principles etc.).
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.
Technological Innovation
Recognises member firms who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the innovative application of new or existing technology.
Innovative Design
This Award recognises firms who have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process.
People First
This Award recognises member firms that have implemented and delivered outstanding initiatives that benefit their people.
President’s Award
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.
Small Firm of the Year.
Firms with 1-19 employees with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
Small Business Excellence
This Award recognises member firms with less than 20 FTE who have demonstrated excellence through innovation, collaboration, client engagement, people and culture or in the conduct of their business operations.
Champions of Change - Female Leadership
The Champions of Change – Female Leadership Award 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
The Future Leader Award acknowledges professional staff of member firms aged 35 years and under who have made a significant contribution to their firm and
SPECIAL AWARDS
added value in a demonstrable way.
Medium Firm of the Year
Firms with 20 – 199 employees with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
Large Firm of the Year
Firms with 200+ employees with a nomination in any of the award categories are eligible.
JUDGING
Consult Australia would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each of the judges on the 2020 panel for generously donating their time and expertise to support this year's Awards for Excellence.
All judges are independent and are engaged to ensure the highest possible standards of fairness and impartiality are applied to the judging process. All judges are also required to ensure the confidential nature of all submissions is maintained.
Judges: Tony Barry
Vice President, FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers
Helen Gillies
Non Executive Director, Monadelphaus
Dr Marlene Kanga AM
Non-Executive Director, Standards Australia
Professor Brian Uy
Head of School for Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney
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.
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