Highly regarded across the industry, Consult Australia’s FutureNet Business Leaders Programme has been running annually for more than a decade. The continuously improved programme is updated in line with leadership trends and the requirements of future leaders.
• Develop leadership, management and collaboration skills.
• Improve personal skills, communication and confidence.
• Provide fresh perspectives on workplace and industry challenges.
• Ensure access to the latest industry thinking, knowledge and insights.
• Create a career-long network of cross-industry relationships.
• Leverage unique mentoring opportunities.
Through sixteen sessions delivered over eight months the programme builds on exiting personal strengths, identifies and develops new strengths and skills and broadens networks.
Winning project teams are selected based on both a public vote and their presentations to a panel of expert industry judges.
Retention - A focus for rebuilding capacity
Rebuilding capacity: Understanding professional indemnity insurance
Building back better: Mainstreaming ESG for the built environment
Electrification of urban development in Victoria: Does gas have a future in urban developments?
NSW Government infrastructure traineeship: Creating a pipeline of talent to address skills gaps while supporting NSW's young people
Rebuilding capacity
Australian students again shine on the STEM world stage: Proving Austraila can produce the best students
Rebuilding capacity: The role of dispute avoidance boards
Consult Australia: Member benefit highlights
Subsurface utility engineering: are you AS5488 safe?
Rebuilding organisational capacity in a post-pandemic world
Sustainability must be a core practice for consultants as industries rebuild their capacity
The gender pay gap nears $1 billion per week
“We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Cartledge, an alumnus of Consult Australia and respected executive leader. Most recently Director of Policy & Research at Infrastructure Australia, Jonathan brings extensive experience across the property and construction sector and a proven record championing culture, driving positive change, and building organisational capability. The Board is looking forward to building on Nicola’s legacy with Jonathan and continuing to grow and strengthen Consult Australia for the benefit of our members and industry.”
SMEC is thrilled to announce that Kate Drews has been appointed Director – Urban and Renewables ANZ.
Kate’s exceptional leadership style and experience in successfully delivering significant Building, Urban, and Infrastructure projects are complemented by her prevailing Directorship positions on the Board of SMEC Australia, and Consult Australia.
Mr Cartledge brings over twenty years’ experience across government, industry, and membership organisations. He worked at Consult Australia as the Head of Policy and Government Relations from 2010 to 2016, before joining the Green Building Council of Australia as Head of Public Affairs & Membership. At Infrastructure Australia he has led a visionary reform agenda in partnership with governments and industry supporting productivity and innovation and a new understanding of market capacity, place, sustainability, and resilience.
Mr Cartledge said that he is excited by the opportunity ahead and grateful to be following the exceptional leadership of Nicola Grayson with the Consult Australia team. “Australia’s consulting firms are critical as we seek to grapple with those most pressing challenges facing our communities. The leadership and success of these organisations, and their longstanding commitment to collaboration and innovation through Consult Australia reflects those values critical to seeing better outcomes for industry, government, and the wider community.”
Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, past CEO of Engineers Australia, has been appointed as Non-Exec Director at Acor Consultants.
Northern Territory announces two new initiatives, the Aboriginal Economic Participation Framework (the AEP Framework) and the Aboriginal Procurement Policy (APP)
These policies are aimed at supporting increased opportunities for Aboriginal employment and Aboriginal businesses. They will also benefit the Northern Territory by growing the local economy, increasing business and regional development, and building the local workforce.
Nicola Grayson has left Consult Australia on Friday 19 August 2022 after leading the organisation for three years, growing the organisation’s profile and influence and steering the organisation through the uncertainties of the pandemic.
The Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Jonathan Cartledge as the new CEO of Consult Australia commencing on Monday 12 September 2022. Rowenna Walker, President of Consult Australia said, “We congratulate Nicola Grayson for her achievements in the role, she has lifted our profile in the media, driven reform through government, and been a tireless champion for the Consult Australia membership, bringing focus and a clear strategic vision for the organisation. Consult Australia’s enduring ability to serve our members is a credit to her leadership and we wish her well in her next role.
In the interim, Consult Australia’s Head of Policy and Government Relations, Kristy Eulenstein will be Acting CEO until Mr Cartledge commences on Monday 12 September 2022.
The AEP Framework is a whole of government approach to maximise opportunities for participation of Aboriginal Territorians across the Northern Territory economy. The AEP Framework incorporates new and existing initiatives to bring Aboriginal Territorians to the forefront of economic development in the Northern Territory.
Further information on the AEP Framework can be found at https://aboriginalaffairs.nt.gov.au/ economic-development
Ms Jenny Wilkinson PSM has been appointed to the role of Secretary at the Department of Finance. Jenny s replacing Rosemary Huxtable.
After over 12 years with Consult Australia as Manager of South Australia, ACT, and the Territories, Jan Irvine has moved on from Consult Australia to join Engineers Australia heading up their SA and NT chapters.
Jan was held in high esteem by her colleagues at Consult Australia, she was a mentor to many of her fellow state/territory managers. She was a passionate advocate on behalf of Consult Australia’s members and created influential connections across parliaments and governments.
Jan was known by the committees of members that she supported for her tenacity and her forward impetus to get the job done. Jan’s inbox was flooded with messages from members in appreciation of her work.
We wish Jan all the best in her new role at Engineers Australia and thank her for her friendship. We look forward to collaborating with Jan in her new role.
It feels like we have almost become immune to such headlines as “Unprecedented wave of Infrastructure spend”. As an industry in Australia, we have been discussing for some time now, the merits, fortune and challenges that come with this investment wave. I recall arriving as a ‘skilled migrant’ to Australia in 2003 excited about the opportunities in NSW with the rail clearways program. I could have not imagined that nearly 20 years later how that program would be dwarfed by the level of investment we have now.
In response to industry concern about the ability to deliver on the ‘wave’, in March 2020 the then Council of Australian Governments (COAG) requested Infrastructure Australia (IA) to report on market capacity to deliver the ‘record’ investment pipeline. Infrastructure Australia responded in October 2021 with their ‘Market Capacity report’.
One key finding that Consult Australia members were already feeling was the risk in accessing professional skills in design, advisory and engineering. More specifically the report identified a shortfall in the region of 74,000 rising to nearly 90,000 at its peak.
As with all these ‘wicked’ problems there is no one ‘silver bullet’ that can solve the problem. There are complexities as we all know. Indeed there are a whole host of factors that continue to compound this issue and need a holistic approach from all stakeholders.
From a supply perspective, the age demographic is working against us in that over 50% of the current workforce is aged 45 years and over, therefore to maintain the current numbers, we need to bring in as many people into the industry as those who are retiring. Our workforce pipeline is not strong, exacerbated by the low participation in STEM education. As workload increases with a limited workforce, so does pressure, workload and the risk of burnout impacting physical and mental health. This creates a vicious circle of further retention risks, that can have a negative impact on our industries culture and attractiveness. The IA report cautioned on the reliance on skilled migrants, like myself two decades back, as the answer. Indeed pointing to the example that 28% of migrant qualified civil engineers were unable to find work in their occupation the reasons being that employers are reluctant to employ individuals with a lack of local experience and understanding of the Australian standards as well as and potential language barriers. Our industry’s gender balance is certainly not 50/50. The 2021 Consult Australia Champions of Change progress report ‘gender balance scorecard’ identified between 26-35% of members’ workforce were female. Now there’s an opportunity!
From the demand side there are a number of opportunities that Consult Australia has advocated for.
Indeed, we recently released our ‘Thinking smarter about skills’ paper which identifies championing collaboration and addressing behaviour to move the dial on culture, so we improve attraction and retention. Also, importantly how we improve productivity by tackling bureaucratic, lengthy procurement. Accelerating digitisation of the industry is also a mechanism for improving the productivity of our industry which has stalled in recent years. Working with our clients to help smooth the ‘wave’ so that we can take the heat out of the pipeline through prioritisation, which will ensure a more sustainable and certain future for our industry and its members.
Whilst this challenge for us can seem overwhelming at times, we must remember what we do can be inspiring and meaningful in contributing to a more liveable, sustainable Australia. So rather than say “it’s all too hard!” let’s work together with our industry partner's to implement these solutions to rebuild capacity so Consult Australia members of the future can celebrate another 70 years!
Rowenna Walker President
Indeed, we recently released our ‘Thinking smarter about skills’ paper which identifies championing collaboration and addressing behaviour to move the dial on culture, so we improve attraction and retention.
This is my last contribution to Consulting Matters before I leave Consult Australia and proudly hand the role to my successor Jonathan Cartledge.
I have enjoyed a total of 10 years with Consult Australia, joining the team in 2004 as the first full time policy adviser. When I left in 2010 the government relations team had grown to four, including Jonathan Cartledge who then moved into my role as Head of Policy and Government Relations. After a gap of seven years, I returned to Consult Australia at the beginning of 2018 and become CEO in February 2019. It has been an incredible experience, navigating a pandemic, and raising the profile of this great organisation. I have learnt a great deal about leadership, strategy, and culture, and I am very proud of what we’ve achieved. I say ‘we’ because it has been a team effort. I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that has contributed to my experience – to our team, our members, industry partners, and government colleagues – for your support, your challenge, your openness, and good humour.
Consult Australia is held in high esteem (look out for our upcoming 70th Anniversary video featuring some of our industry’s high profile government clients) and is a trusted industry voice with governments and industry groups across the country.
I have no doubt that Consult Australia’s profile and influence will continue to grow under Jonathan’s exemplary leadership, extensive experience, and networks across government, the property sector, and the construction sector.
Most recently Jonathan lead Infrastructure Australia’s market capacity work in response which identifies a shortage of 52,100 engineers, scientists, and architects to deliver Australia’s infrastructure pipeline alone. I am pleased to say that we have been invited to participate in the Commonwealth Government’s Infrastructure Roundtable Jobs and Skills Summit in the lead up to the Prime Minister’s Summit. It is anticipated that the themes and outcomes from this roundtable will help inform Government’s work on the white paper, which will set the scene for the next generation of growth and development across our industry, while also establishing effective mechanisms for consultation and management of challenges in the sector.
It is no coincidence that we have released our latest thought leadership paper Thinking Smarter About Skills, with the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit. It is a top-of-mind issue for many member businesses.
Consult Australia’s People and HR Roundtable will be workshopping the challenges of workplace connection in response to the shift to ‘working from elsewhere’ (i.e. not in the office), and the extent to which this may be contributing to an uptick in voluntary attrition. In this edition of Consulting Matters Mikael Heinonen, Co-Founder of Collabaloop, provides five areas of focus in reviewing your retention strategies.
I will remain a lifelong advocate for Consult Australia. Membership is a mark of quality and an active demonstration that your business is committed to the value and good standing of the consulting sector. Consult Australia is the voice, the only voice for consulting businesses in Australia, and I look forward to watching it prosper under Jonathan’s leadership.
Nicola Grayson CEO
I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that has contributed to my experience – to our team, our members, industry partners, and government colleagues – for your support, your challenge, your openness, and good humour.
Eulenstein
Since last edition, we’ve of course had a change of government at the federal level. Already we can see our advocacy priorities reflected in the initial stages of the new government. For example, the government has recognised the significant skills shortages many industries are facing and has announced an upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit. Consult Australia has secured a seat at the Infrastructure Roundtable of the Jobs and Skills Summit. We have also provided Tony Burke, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations with our latest thought leadership piece Thinking Smarter About Skills We are also leveraging our membership of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who are attending the summit proper, to ensure the skills issues facing our sector are voiced loud and clear. We have also had several Ministers contact us in response to our letters of congratulations to set meetings to discuss our priority issues from procurement reform to statutory reform. We’ll keep you updated in our Policy Pulse videos of how those engagements progress.
The Productivity Commission has published its Interim Report: The Key to Prosperity. This comes after our submission at the start of the year as well as two meetings with commission staff on digital and procurement/risk. We thank members involved in the submission work and those meetings for their openness on the challenges of piecemeal digital investment and commitment by governments across the nation. As a result of all our hard work, the Interim Report includes points linked to our advocacy priorities such as:
• recognising the need for policies that foster a business environment that encourages efficiency, innovation and diffusion
• a focus on data policy, digital technology and cyber security noting the economy-wide importance of data and the digital technologies that generate and use data, as general-purpose technologies that could boost productivity in many areas of the economy, including services
• to achieve a productivity-friendly business environment we need to limit impediments to business investment, allow a flexible workforce, have sound regulation and an efficient approach to decarbonising the economy
• the importance of a skilled and educated workforce.
We look forward to seeing how feedback to the Interim Report is used to generate the final report and how the government can realise some of the opportunities.
This is just a quick overview of our activity at the Federal level, remember to watch our Policy Pulse videos, and find out more about what we are doing at the local level from the team below. See also later in this issue our Small Business Spotlight and our Roundtable Round-up
Nicola was pleased to be a panellist at Transport for NSW’s Pipeline 2022 event to give industry’s perspective on collaboration. This continues our ongoing engagement with the agency, including on the improvement of contract terms for members.
With significant work already done with Treasury NSW on the proposed capped rates for infrastructure advisory, industry engagement has started on the terms and conditions. Consult Australia is pleased to be working with the agency on this important program for all members.
With the shifting of ministers and movement within NSW agencies, we remain committed to engaging on problematic contract terms, regulatory burdens and pipeline transparency. To share any concerns you have on NSW contracts or interactions, please contact Alison
The ACT Committee will be seeking information from the government to support a smooth registration process for engineers, should this go ahead.
The ACT Committee has been discussing the importance of supporting staff mental health and wellbeing through resource constraints.
Engagement with clients is a priority focus for the ACT Committee.
Mark and Teone had a positive meeting with the Victorian Small Business Commissioner to discuss the issues of most importance to our small business members. The Commissioner agreed to ongoing meetings to see where assistance was best directed.
The Innovation Victoria Conference was attended by Mark to gather more intel on digital awareness, innovation, and the importance of legacy data when working on projects.
Mark is engaging with Victorian agencies with an upcoming meeting with the Red Tape Commissioner raising issues including the construction supplier register, labour hire laws, and more. Any ideas or agencies to be included, please contact Mark
With Emma joining the Consult Australia team, she has been busy talking to members, getting to know the WA committee, and engaging with key stakeholders. Get in contact with Emma to discuss WA priorities.
The WA committee, led by the new Chair Sarah Iwaniw and Deputy Chair Brad Harris, has reaffirmed its commitment to providing a diverse, representative, and committed voice on behalf of all Consult Australia members in WA.
Nicola and Emma met with Infrastructure WA to discuss Consult Australia’s policy priorities. Consult Australia received a response from Infrastructure WA thanking us for our recommendations to help shape the WA State Infrastructure Strategy.
SA
With Jane joining the Consult Australia team, she will be contacting local members in SA and NT to introduce herself and get to know your top issues for action.
We are progressing advocacy work in SA, for example with recent positive engagement with the Department of Infrastructure and Transport especially on contractual issues and seeking consistency across transport and building projects. DIT are keen to hear how novation of contracts impacts consultants. If you have feedback to share please contact Jane
NT
We recently held an in-depth workshop on design reviews with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics. Nicola made her way to the top-end to support the engagement which allowed all to share productivity benefits of re-thinking the standard approach.
The NT committee is keen to continue its positive engagement with government including having some new members on the committee. If you’d like to drive the agenda in NT, please contact Jane
Consult Australia attended a joint workshop with Queensland government and industry stakeholders looking at solving procurement challenges that will make it easier to do business with government. Solutions raised included greater industry engagement upfront to inform scoping and to build an understanding of client aspirations.
With members facing ongoing resourcing challenges, we met with the Department of Education, Small Business and Training to discuss skills shortages and the Department of Multicultural Affairs to discuss the need for stepping-stones to increase migrant engineer job access. This was followed by an industry roundtable discussion on employment pathways for migrant engineers where member representatives shared their experiences and discussed support needed.
Kristine met with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner to discuss mutual areas of advocacy and the small business friendly program. If you would like to recognise a small business friendly activity by councils as part of the program, please contact Kristine
Consult Australia is pleased to be a signatory to Building Tasmania’s Future Memorandum of Understanding and looks forward to contributing to the reform agenda. The TAS committee has identified nominees for each of the Infrastructure Tasmania working groups and will share Consult Australia’s advocacy priorities through these forums.
We recently met with a Tas Irrigation, Department of Health, TasPorts and IPWEA members to discuss contracts, risk and insurance. All discussions were positive with TasPorts in particular interested in the interrelationship between contract conditions and insurance issues.
Consult Australia welcomes the Federal government’s confirmation that it will proceed with reforms to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) previously agreed by state and territory ministers. As a reminder, to strengthen unfair contract terms protections, there will be new civil penalty provisions relating to the use of, and reliance on, unfair terms in standard form contracts. The reforms will also increase coverage of more small businesses by capturing businesses with less than 100 employees (rather than less than 20 employees as is currently the case) and introducing an alternative threshold of having an annual turnover threshold of less than $10 million.
We continue to strengthen our relationships with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBEFEO) as well as local Small Business Commissioners across the country. Many thanks to Brad Harris of Porter Consulting Engineers who represented us at a recent forum held by ASBEFEO with the WA Small Business Development Commissioner. The Consult Australia team continues talking with local commissioners, including in NSW, Vic and Qld to get assistance on our advocacy for Model Client behaviours and against unnecessary and problematic contract terms, to alleviate the pressures on professional indemnity insurance.
We contributed to the NSW Department of Customer Service’s consultation on the NSW Small Business Strategy. We highlighted the importance of considering market conditions during regulatory development, such as the availability and affordability of professional indemnity insurance. We underlined the importance of streamlining and standardising digital processes, terminology, and standards, as well as making use of opportunities to apply productivity learnings across different projects. Read the full submission here
Australia, be it through the small business open forums, events and
State/Territory Manager to vent about current business frustrations.
Consult Australia has four roundtables which drive our member-led advocacy. These roundtables look at issues from a national perspective. Below are the roundtable priorities for the second and third quarters of 2022. For more information or to join please contact Teone
The Mental Health Roundtable note burnout and capacity challenges continue to be reported by staff and are prioritising the development of a business guide on navigating this topic. Additionally, they are investigating a business guide on measuring the effectiveness of mental health strategies.
The People and HR Roundtable had a workshop on ‘how do we work in the new paradigm shift’ to take a deep dive into building a sense of belonging for staff, particularly in remote/ hybrid working environments.
The Defence Roundtable continues its positive engagement with the Defence-Industry Co-Lab with open sharing of the key challenges impacting both industry and Defence.
Mental health was raised as a key area we could work together. Unsurprisingly all sectors, be it consultant or construction businesses or Defence are feeling the skills shortage.
The Liability and Contracts Roundtable continues to raise engagement opportunities and support Consult Australia’s advocacy against problematic contract clauses. They continue to supply de-identified case studies to flesh out the impacts which have real cut through with government clients.
Our new report, Thinking Smarter About Skills, breaks down the challenges impacting skills availability from education, to recruitment and retention. We also provide feasible, solutionsfocused strategies to alleviate those challenges.
Our industry needs a healthy ecosystem of consultants, contractors, and suppliers to sustain itself and deliver great project outcomes for the people of Australia. This will take the cooperation of all to address the challenges we have identified and introduce the solutions we have proposed. Consult Australia welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with industry, government, and education bodies to realise the identified solutions.
Full employment is upon us, and the pool of talent has well and truly dried up.
Talent scarcity has been a hot topic for many years now but never this tough. And in times of crisis organisations typically go into short-term thinking, which in a talent crisis means doubling down on recruitment. This is unfortunately the wrong focus. Instead, our mindset should be on the longer-term sustainable pipeline of talent, which is only possible through a focus on retention.
In consideration of retention, here are five key focus areas that organisations and industry more broadly should consider.
Employee mental health, wellbeing, and burnout is often thought of as a personal problem. That’s why most companies have responded to symptoms by offering resources focused on individuals, such as wellness programs and EAPs.
Research findings from McKinsey [1] show that burnout is experienced by individuals, but the most powerful drivers of burnout are systemic organisational imbalances across job demands and job resources.
Employers can and should view high rates of burnout as a powerful warning sign that the organisation—not the individuals in the workforce—needs to undergo meaningful systemic change.
The construction industry does have a reputation for toxic workplace behaviours which impose a major cost for employers—they are heavily implicated in burnout, which correlates with intent to leave and ultimately drives attrition.
BIS Oxford Economics [2] identified that in 2017/18, the key economic costs to the construction industry because of the current culture was ~$8 billion annually, through morbidity, productivity, presentism etc.
The culture that exists in any organisation or industry is based on the small daily moments that have accumulated over weeks, months, and years. For any change to occur, positive intentional behaviours must be adopted, all while aligning to the values of the organisation.
Ultimately we should be asking how do we enable our people to thrive rather than how to stop people from leaving. If our only standard is that people don’t leave, then as an industry we have lost our way.
A focus on retention should also consider not just the people currently working in the industry, but also those we are looking to attract.
Considering that 80-90% of the workforce in the construction and engineering sector are male, an in-group bias sets in and reinforces the existing norms and closes off any opportunity to attract new and diverse talent.
Understanding any current barriers and perspectives of women is key to any ongoing strategy to increase participation levels but also for retention.
Recent research by RMIT [3] identified three inter-related themes as barriers for women into the sector that should be addressed by additional support:
• women are outsiders in the construction industry
• consequence-free behaviour is an enabler of inappropriate behaviour
• a culture of silence with a lack of transparent processes for reporting inappropriate behaviour.
The central goal must be to address the culture within construction that tends to exclude and create barriers for women. To date for many organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives represent a purely tokenistic approach with a ticked box being the desired outcome. However, this approach ultimately has the potential for further harm, division, and internal resentment because the initiative is not authentically embraced.
Only the organisational leaders and workers themselves — not policymakers, administrators or diversity experts — can create an environment within their industry that in turn can create the necessary change. And for leaders they must lead with intention across two key areas.
Firstly, they must cultivate supportive, psychologically safe work environments, where undesired behaviours are less likely to spread across the organisation. The industry must address the pervasive fear of failure to encourage leaders and workers to step out of their comfort zones. Transformative change requires an acceptance that not every new initiative will be an immediate success, and encouragement to keep trying.
Secondly, leaders should intentionally lead with inclusion. Leaders must be convicted enough in what they are doing to take great risks in opening adaptive space for others, and humble enough to step back so others can step forward. In short, these types of leaders must be comfortable with tension and willing to engage in it. For organisations to make any paradigm shift, it will require enabling leadership rather than traditional hierarchical leadership.
Finally, to build a sustainable pipeline of talent a collaborative industry approach is required, rather than individual organisations continuing to go alone.
Yes, the industry in in competition against each other for the best talent, but the industry is also in a bigger competition against all other industries. And as such a pie expanding approach should be adopted, one where the industry looks to collaboratively increase the pie rather than individually taking a much smaller slice of the pie.
And this can start by sharing knowledge and data, including successes and lessons learned.
Heinonen is a CQS and Co-Founder of Collabaloop, a start-up that has built a workforce engagement platform specifically for the construction industry.
1McKinsey Health Institute (2022) Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem?
2 Crook, D., & Tressler, A. (2021). The Cost of Doing Nothing Report. BIS Oxford Economics
3 Holdsworth et al. (2020) Women in Construction: Exploring the Barriers and Supportive Enablers of Wellbeing in the Workplace. RMIT
Mikael
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Ultimately we should be asking how do we enable our people to thrive rather than how to stop people from leaving. If our only standard is that people don’t leave, then as an industry we have lost our way.
Capacity-building is the process of developing and strengthening skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources which are required by collectives and eco-systems to survive, adapt and thrive in an everchanging, fast paced world.
In many ways it seems we often cannot keep up with a constantly evolving world and feel the effects of overwhelm and burn-out. Our capacity then becomes more limited than ever, which is exactly what has happened to many individuals, and industries, over the pandemic years. Capacity, tolerance and resilience are low, and now is the time to re-build that capacity.
Australia’s construction landscape is not exempt from this shift and has significantly evolved from what it once was. Once upon a time, consultancy agreements and contracts were a mere handshake deal based on mutual understanding and trust. Agreements have evolved into convoluted documents riddled with incomprehensible clauses which can be difficult to untangle, even for the legally qualified.
Trust is diminished in the minds of construction professionals, while limiting their liability has come to the foreground, casting a dark shadow over their creativity. We are currently at a cross-roads of an ever-changing world, coming out of a pandemic and faced with the greatest economic uncertainty of the last decade. This, combined with an insurance “hard-market” where some insurers have withdrawn or reduced their capacity for providing professional indemnity for construction professionals, has made it not just difficult but in some cases very costly for consultants to obtain professional indemnity insurance, without which their livelihoods are at stake.
Protecting the asset that is professional indemnity insurance is arguably more important than ever during this time. Professional indemnity insurance can be a lifeline to consultants, especially when faced with large claims that may greatly exceed the annual turnover of a small or medium consultancy practice. The indemnity offered by insurers means that in the event of a dispute, the insurer shoulders all or part of the financial burden of engaging a legal team and paying any damages awarded, so that the consultant can continue focusing on their work.
Understanding what professional indemnity means, and can offer, is one of the many ways consultants can re-build capacity and strengthen their skills and resources. By understanding their insurance policies and any exclusions, not just at the senior level, but from day one in their career, consultants are better informed and equipped to identify issues before they arise, both in consultancy agreements and in the day to day.
Professional indemnity insurance is designed to protect you and your business against claims by third parties for the loss they suffer arising out of a mistake that you have made, or are alleged to have made.
Professional indemnity insurance covers claims for breach of professional duty arising from the conduct of the business of the insured. In order to be covered by professional indemnity insurance, the claim must have been made against you, and notified to the insurer during the period of the insurance policy, which is usually one year, and the claim must arise from the conduct of the specific profession or profession(s) noted on the policy schedule. If the profession noted on your policy schedule is “architecture”, but you provide some structural engineering advice, the insurer will not cover claims arising out of the engineering advice. It’s important to consult your insurance broker before moving into new areas of business, to help you obtain the right insurance cover.
The insurer will pay any amount for which the insured has a civil liability, but only up to a maximum amount. This is called the “limit of indemnity” and is stated on the policy schedule. The insurer will also pay for reasonable costs and expenses of defending any claim (including paying for lawyers, any court fees, and other associated expenses). Some policies provide that these legal costs are included within the limit of indemnity, while others provide that they are an additional entitlement on top of the limit of indemnity. An experienced insurance broker can explain the difference and help you obtain the best cover available to you.
Please note that all professional indemnity policies are different and will provide different types of cover.
Claims come in many different shapes and sizes, but in a nutshell, they are:
A claim by a third party against you
for any loss of damage against you, wheter you have actually commited, or are allged to have committed a breach of professional duty (e.g. negligence) in your professional services within the insured profession.
Claims in the construction space can come from a multitude of different places, but predominantly come from:
1. Disputes with clients;
2. Allegations from builders; and,
3. Injured persons, as a result of non-compliant buildings.
are:
1. Drawings or plans and computations which are non-compliant with relevant laws and codes;
2. Consultants taking on projects beyond the level of their ability and available resources;
3. Non-compliant materials, including where materials have been substituted and consultants have signed off;
4. Other incorrect certification of works; and,
5. Poor communication with other parties.
The risk of these claims can be reduced, and sometimes avoided, by training staff in good habits, staying on top of changing regulations, and building good systems into your business. As the industry rebuilds capacity, it is important to cement these systems in place and make them part of your practice infrastructure, so that you and your staff can get back to the design services that are the crux of your role. And for the occasional claim that occurs despite putting all these precautions in place, it’s best to consult an experienced broker so you can be confident that professional indemnity insurance will be there to provide cover when you need it.
informed by Planned Cover
www.informedprofessionals.com.au www.plannedcover.com.au
This article is only general advice in respect of risk management. It is not tailored to your individual needs or those of your business, nor is it intended to be relied upon as legal or insurance advice. For such assistance you should approach your legal and/or insurance advisors.
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Rebuilding
The pandemic changed so much of our behaviour, such as working from home, consuming entertainment services differently, shopping online, and living differently in many ways, that we should consider it an opportunity to reset how we design, build and operate our built environment and our businesses in that sector. To me, building back better means taking full account, then proactively actioning ESG (environment, social, governance) excellence in our sector.
In this article, I set out how we can adapt a holistic approach to ESG, from our work in the corporate sector. We are not starting from scratch, as we have been working on green buildings as an example, for many years. Yet considering ESG as a centrepiece of our building and infrastructure’s values and purpose is both broader and deeper than reaching even high levels of compliance with environmental standards and requirements.
The framework I use for guiding and evaluating ESG goes well beyond the practices of E, S and G actions, in three ways: first we include the planning and leadership of ESG, because this is what connects E, S and G to the rest of the organisation’s values, purpose and strategies. Secondly, we explicitly include results: what are the accomplishments of the planning and E, S and G actions? Third, it’s a dynamic world so I include not just the present ESG state and position, but also the initiatives, improvements, innovations and overall trajectory of the building project or organisation in this framework.
Adapting the general ESG framework to the built environment means putting all the five major categories and their detailed elements into our sector context (see diagram), as discussed below.
Planning and leadership of ESG involves integrating overall strategic intent with E, S and G actions, aligning stakeholder interests with ESG and its outcomes, and senior leadership’s ESG commitment. This leads to and involves setting up an ESG action plan, specifying ESG initiatives going forward. For all these subcategories, we have developed scales, so that the ESG performance can be quite precisely scored for a built environment project.
The environmental category includes lowering emissions and pollution, reduced use of water, preservation of the natural environment, practices of 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) and other related elements. These need to be applied over the full lifecycle of the asset, and are the presently most advanced part of ESG in practice in this sector.
Social practices involve respectful treatment of all stakeholders, including throughout the supply chain, such as material suppliers, contribution to community wellbeing, and impact on diversity and human rights. I believe this should start with employees, then extend in influence to everyone involved in a project.
Governance practices relate to project leadership, again throughout the design, build operate lifecycle. They measure accountability, transparency, ethical standards and integrity of practices such as procurement, and executive decision-making structures, delegations and responsibilities, surrounding the project and asset.
ESG results are measures of outcomes and impacts, related to all of the above.
The elements described above and in the diagram can be accurately scored, on a set of scales that reflects the degree to which they are systematically in place as against ad hoc, considered as a part of strategy as against tactical or operational, and aimed at driving overall business, project and asset performance, as against a ‘compliance only’ or minimalist approach.
When it comes to ESG, like many other things such as quality assurance, you get what you pay for and aim for, and if it is conceived as a must do/ compliance activity, then compliance at low levels will be the likely outcome. Yet if the project proponents want to really drive ESG performance of a piece of infrastructure or a building, that is also a fully achievable approach. The metrics and scorecard that goes with this approach begs the question of just how and where the most valuable improvements can be identified and delivered, across ESG space.
The benefits of taking a performance (rather than compliance) approach to ESG for buildings and infrastructure are many. First is a higher asset quality that meets a broader and deeper set of stakeholder needs. Second is the stimulation and motivation of innovation that comes hand in hand with pursuing ESG practices and outcomes.
Third, project and asset riskiness is reduced by proactively engaging with community/ social practices and outcomes and good governance, and this drives to the project and asset’s net valuation, as a lower risk means a higher financial valuation as determined in the net present value formulation of it. Further, over the asset life, financial returns for the owner / operator can be enhanced by intelligently designed elements ranging from environmentally sound materials, to energy efficient control systems and a range of other design elements that simultaneously advance the E- environment and the financial bottom line.
This moves us ultimately into a new paradigm for considering the built environment, much more than in the narrow investable framework that some developers have traditionally applied, albeit including environmental compliance, to a holistic ESG way of conceptualising built assets. In the previous era of sustainable organisations and building, we used the mantra, ’doing well by doing good’, and this still applies, but in a more powerful way, when ESG is considered and implemented as a central part of project/ asset design and business management.
Post the pandemic, we have the ‘reset’ opportunity to bring ESG into the heart of the sector, including remaking how we design, procure, construct, own/ operate and then finally recycle our built assets. Proactive consultants will find this rewarding in many ways.
The pandemic changed so much of our behaviour, such as working from home, consuming entertainment services differently, shopping online, and living differently in many ways, that we should consider it an opportunity to reset how we design, build and operate our built environment and our businesses in that sector.
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Sustainability and future-focussed land development play a significant role in reducing Australia’s carbon footprint and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Particularly in Victoria, where current regulations mandate gas connections in new housing developments, there is a high use of reticulated natural gas which largely consists of methane and other hydrocarbons.
As consumers become more conscious of their own carbon emissions, and with recent research and media raising concerns around the health impacts of using natural gas in homes, there may also be a growing sentiment away from household gas.
Electrification of new developments is now easily achievable, and ultimately will reduce the utility bills for households, with electric appliances cheaper to run than the equivalent gas appliances, and the growth of cheaper renewable energy. Hence from both an economic and environmental point of view, it is important that the industry transitions away from natural gas as soon as possible.
Comparatively, Victoria uses the highest percentage of natural gas in Australia. This is due to the vast natural gas reserves that have been available in the Bass Strait, and the reliance on gas for heating in the colder climate. Historically, natural gas has been readily available and was the most economical power option. But as gas prices continue to rise across the globe in recent years, and electricity prices falling due to the lower cost of renewables such as solar and wind, and the potential for household and community batteries, all-electric households are now a cheaper option for new house builds.
Victoria State Government has released the Gas Substitution Roadmap, which outlines the Government’s plan to transition to zero emissions. One of the key policy changes in the roadmap indicates that gas connections to new housing will no longer be mandatory.
As a member of the Urban Development Industry of Australia, Victoria (UDIA Victoria) Greenfields Committee, I welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the consultation for the roadmap to ensure both industry and Government are enabled to provide Victorians with liveable communities. Several recommendations are being adopted.
Gas industry representatives are proposing to replace natural gas with hydrogen over the longer term, in order to be meet net zero carbon targets by 2050. There is currently a lot of interest in hydrogen as being a potential carbon-free energy source of the future. Hydrogen produced using renewable energy (green hydrogen) does not produce any carbon emissions, however, it is not clear that this energy source will be a realistic one for residential households.
There will be some significant challenges to overcome for hydrogen to completely replace natural gas, not least of which is that with higher proportions of hydrogen in the network will require households to upgrade appliances, and gas authorities will need to upgrade parts of the gas reticulation network. It is difficult to envisage a time when green hydrogen will be cost-competitive with fully electric alternatives in a household setting.
Developers face the risk of any gas networks installed in housing developments becoming stranded assets in the future as society and industry pursue net zero. Additionally, households in the future may incur the expense of switching from gas to electric appliances.
Therefore, it makes better economic sense to stop installing gas in the first place. All electric housing developments are already in existence across Australia, and buyers seem content, especially when they can offset electrical costs with solar panels.
Whilst only one piece of the broader puzzle of how the land development industry will tackle climate change, it is a crucial step toward our sustainable future – a healthier and better environment for communities to come.
Contact Stephen Watters for further details and advice on this progressing change to industry and community energy sources and requirements.
stephen.watters@smec.com
The NSW Government is providing paid training opportunities for Year 12 school leavers in New South Wales to assist in addressing the shortage of skilled infrastructure employment needed to deliver on the pipeline of work in Australia. The traineeship is a collaboration between NSW Government infrastructure agencies and approved industry partners.
The 2-year traineeship in the infrastructure sector is office based, with trainees spending three 8 month rotations with government, contractors and consultants.
Trainees spending time within a consultancy provides valuable exposure, helping to demystify the role that consultants play in delivering infrastructure projects and exposes trainees to multiple areas of organisations.
The NSW government is calling on the infrastructure and construction industry to commit to supporting NSW’s young people by hosting a trainee for an 8 month rotation commencing in March, June or October each year.
The Infrastructure Traineeship will boost the professional experience of Year 12 school leavers who are interested in office-based infrastructure and construction roles.
A host employer’s commitment will involve mentoring, supporting and providing practical experience, and demonstrating how infrastructure projects are delivered.
Becoming a host employer is as easy as:
• Sharing your expertise and connecting your organisation with emerging talent.
• Providing the trainee with a unique opportunity as you showcase the valuable role consulting plays in planning and delivering infrastructure.
• Giving an opportunity for a young person to gain real experience by getting them job-ready under challenging economic conditions.
• Boosting professional experience and upskilling staff through mentoring and leadership opportunities.
Infrastructure Traineeship is seeking host employers in regional and city areas as trainees will come from all areas across NSW. Potential host employers can learn about the benefits, how to get involved and hear about experiences from other host employers by visiting the Infrastructure Traineeship website
Investing in young people is simple. Register now to become a host employer.
My name is Hailee Strawns and I’m studying a Certificate IV in Project Management Practice. I’ve worked with BMD Constructions, Transport for NSW and am currently working at EnviroScience Solutions and based in Dubbo, NSW.
I applied for the traineeship because I was looking for a new career, something outside of retail. I live out of home and support myself and was looking for a full-time job.
What I like about the traineeship is the range of people I have had the opportunity to meet, all with different skillsets and a wealth of knowledge. I love sitting in on meetings and hearing about project updates and discussions had in relation to problems occurring on the projects. I love listening to everyone’s opinions on how these problems can be solved and the respect everyone has for each other’s ideas. I also love how the traineeship combines studying and work as I love being busy throughout the workday.
I am learning so many different skills such as filling in project documentation, some admin skills such as booking accommodation for our site teams, project management fundamentals and the project life cycle and how this is seen in a real-life project. I am learning about different organisations and their views on project management and how it is implemented in each part of the company.
I am working with many different people including project managers and senior project managers, commercial officers, administrative personnel, work health and safety managers, traffic supervisors and foremen, design and construction teams and many other people.
I was lucky enough to be on the same project as I was in my first rotation. Now, I am on the contractor side giving me a different way of looking at the project. The project I am working on is the Newell Highway Upgrade, where my company is building new overtaking lanes across the Newell network and increasing its safety for all road users. They are doing this by improving the current pavement and road structures such as shoulders and centrelines.
After I complete the traineeship, I want to gain a permanent full-time position with one of my host agencies doing project management. I am not quite sure which one yet.
3 words to describe my experience so far are: Exciting, educational, and valuable!
Applications for the 2023 program are now open, please ask them to visit the Infrastructure Traineeship website to learn more or apply though Apprenticeship Careers Australia
Do you know a 2022 or 2021 year 12 school leaver?
What I like about the traineeship is the range of people I have had the opportunity to meet, all with different skillsets and a wealth of knowledge. I love sitting in on meetings and hearing about project updates and discussions had in relation to problems occurring on the projects.
“Yes, but do you have capacity” – this seems to be one of the most common questions I hear today.
As consultants, we are in the people business. When we talk about capacity it is in relation to spread of skills and experience across our organisations. Capacity is therefore the optimum level of capability deployed to the right location for a defined duration to accomplish a specified task. It gives us the ability to deliver a quality service within specified time and budget constraints. It enables the responsiveness our clients demand and is how we build our reputations. Reputations that form the foundations of long-term sustainable business.
With net immigration declining since about 2009 and with unemployment sitting at 3.5% we are clearly running out of capacity. But this is not the end of the story – with pandemic stimulus investment still running hot through local markets everyone is feeling the pinch. In a recent Hays salary guide 77% of employers surveyed expected business activity to increase. Staffing demand is high with over 61% of employers intending to increase headcount and 91% experiencing skills shortages.
So how do we plug this capacity gap? There are clearly areas where government policy and investment would help. These include more favourable federal policy settings around skilled migration, childcare support to free up larger parts of the workforce – particularly women, investment in education and training to address skill shortages and investment in strategic sectors where we can build comparative advantage such as a renewables and associated support industries.
So that’s the government, what are the strategies we as businesses can employ to build and rebuild capacity?
Externally - M&A might be an option but in a small market like Australia aren’t we just rearranging the deck chairs? Likewise, partnering and JV’ing to provide a broader solution marrying up complementary service offerings.
We also need to remember that capacity building is not something that is simply done and then it is finished. It is an ongoing process of building and then rebuilding that we must constantly refine as we adjust and adapt to the everchanging nature of the world we live in.
Internally – you must understand where you want to get to and have a plan to get there…
Step 1
Clearly define your vision, purpose and values and communicate this to the business. People like to know where the business is going, they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and have a common purpose. This cannot just be lip service, it needs to be something the organisation lives, breathes and believes in at all levels.
Step 2
Identify your core services, what do you do well, what makes your organisation unique and focus your energy on those areas.
Step 3
Clarify and refine your business models and strategy, recognising the current state and what is required to achieve targets.
Step 4
Articulate a talent acquisition and retention plan. This should at the very minimum cover the key areas of succession, training and development, incentives, staff engagement and work life balance. It should be measurable and incorporate mechanisms for feedback. Flexibility is the key. Be prepared to change if it’s not working.
Step 5
In times of high staff turnover knowledge capture becomes even more important. Processes and systems need to be put in place to retain and transfer know how.
Step 6
Stay on top of current events, particularly in the context of the markets you operate in, identifying risks and opportunities and the potential impact on capacity.
Step 7
Embrace diversity in all its forms because we are better together.
Ultimately, we spend approximately a third of our waking hours every week at work, whether that be in an office or WFH. As human beings most of us want to work for a company where we feel there is opportunity to learn, develop and progress in our careers. We want to be appreciated and rewarded for our efforts and more recently be given the flexibility to have a better work life balance, but probably most of all, work for an organisation that reflects our own personal values and beliefs.
If we are to build capacity, then we need to recognise these drivers and create the environments that attract and retain the talent we need to be successful, sustainable businesses. We also need to remember that capacity building is not something that is simply done and then it is finished. It is an ongoing process of building and then rebuilding that we must constantly refine as we adjust and adapt to the ever-changing nature of the world we live in.
Jacobs, Group Managing Director at TBH tbhconsultancy.com
A team of six 17-year-old students from Trinity Grammar School, Kew, Victoria, Australia, lifted the Aramco F1® in Schools World Champions trophy at Silverstone as the global STEM initiative held its 17th World Finals.
'Hydron' with team members Will Johnson, Benjamin Noonan, Alexander Liu, Andrew Yeang, Timothy Crichton and Alastair Murphy fought off intense competition, defeating 52 teams from 25 countries. In addition to the prestigious World Champions title, they have won a university scholarship to study Engineering at UCL in London.
Hydron also won the Best Engineered Car Award supported by Williams F1, Fastest Car Award sponsored by Mercedes AMG F1 Team and the Ashes trophy in a competition against the UK. Hydron received nominations for three other awards: Scrutineering Award, Best Pit Display and Best Application of Project Management.
The F1® in Schools competition allows teams of students to research, design, test, manufacture and race a miniature Formula 1 car, using some of the advanced technology applied within real F1® teams. All the teams competing this week spent hundreds of hours producing their models, and Hydron rose to the top.
Taking the World Champions title was a proud moment for Hydron, with Will Johnson, Team Principal, saying: "When we set out, it was our dream to come to the World Finals, and here we are now; it's crazy to think how far we've come. We can't believe we've done it. It's not one person; it's a real team effort. The teamwork, the relationship between us and our shared ambitions all going for one thing that makes it so unique.
"Our engineers did a fantastic job designing our cars, spending thousands of hours and hours of work, doing the CAD modelling, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, MATLAB analysis and Project Management. But the gelling of the team and working together made our car the best. Some of us are keen to look at the scholarship opportunity, which is great too. We've worked late nights, stayed back at school, and worked weekends, all in addition to our regular school load; getting through to the end was a big challenge, but it's paid off for us. We're just over the moon!"
Just as in the sport of Formula 1, teams push the boundaries of the rules and regulations in their determination to produce the best car, test and perfect their designs, and pay close attention to detail in the visual identity of their team. Hydron developed an outstanding car and showed fantastic teamwork to earn a well-deserved victory.
Hydron was not the only member of Team Australia. They were accompanied at the event by:
AXION from Penrith Christian College, NSW, who finished 10th Outright.
IN MOTION, an all-girl team from Riverside College Launceston TAS, who finished 14th Outright
AQUEOUS, a collaboration team including students from Newington College & Blue Mountains Grammar School, NSW, who finished 19th Outright
F1® in Schools is a program managed in Australia by the ReEngineering Australia Foundation Ltd (REA), whose other programs include SUBS in Schools & SPACE in Schools. All founded on a Metamorphic Learning TM Framework that creates a transition in student (and teacher) capabilities so profound that it doesn't just change a person's knowledge base; it changes them fundamentally. It builds in the students the employability skills they need to transition to the world of work, creating the next generation of innovators who will cement Australia's economic future.
Dr Myers, Chairman of REA, said, "The level of engineering design and analysis work these students undertake is world-class by any measure. There would be few engineers in Australia who could not learn from these students". "We are proud of not only the students but also their teachers, who guide their journey of discovery, and the schools that allow their desire to be the best to flourish".
Australia has a history of performing well in international STEM competitions. For the record books, Australia's success at F1® in Schools World Finals since 2004:
• 1st Place: 7 times World Champions
• 2nd Place: 6 times
• 3rd Place: 5 times
• 4th Place: 3 times
• 5th Place: 6 times
The level of engineering design and analysis work these students undertake is worldclass by any measure. There would be few engineers in Australia who could not learn from these students.
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This multi-faceted STEM competition embraces enterprise, design, engineering, marketing and teamwork. Formula 1® is at the heart of the initiative, with students across the globe forming F1® teams in miniature to design, make, test and race an F1® in Schools car, competing regionally and nationally, with the best teams winning a place at the Aramco F1® in Schools World Finals.
In the competition, student teams from around the globe design and develop a scale model F1® in Schools car with advanced engineering and produce highly creative and instructive presentations of their teams. The cars compete on the 20-metre racetrack at speeds of around 75 km/hr!
F1® in Schools puts STEM education into context with its parallels to the real world of the sport and broader industry. It makes learning more relevant, engaging and exciting with its supportive, competitive environment.
This Formula 1® supported global STEM programme is a proven route to motorsport and automotive careers with former participants working in Formula 1® teams, engine manufacturers, sports agencies and many more allied companies. It also provides the sport a unique platform for promotion to the younger generation.
School:
Winner: 2022 World Champions, Best Engineered Car, Fastest Car, Ashes Trophy (v UK)
Team: AXION School: Penrith Christian College, NSW Position: 10th Outright
School:
Position: 14th Outright
Team: ARQEOUS
Position: 19th Outright
Rebuilding capacity in the construction industry is often framed around skills, efficiency and innovation.
But another lever is reducing the amount time spent by our industry on disputes.
The Australian Contractors Association’s (ACA) submission to the Productivity Commission in 2022 highlighted the issue of time and resources wasted on disputes and claims. They cited a 2018 survey by PlanGrid and FMI Corporation which found that construction workers lose almost two full working days each week dealing with conflict, rework and other avoidable issues.
Recent submissions by Consult Australia, alongside other industry voices like the ACA and Infrastructure Australia (IA), have emphasised the need for strategies that reduce the adversarial nature of the construction industry. Consult Australia’s submission to Infrastructure Australia earlier this year advocated for reforms to de-risk delivery.
“This means identifying ways to de-risk the market to reduce the level of disputation and therefore burden on professional indemnity insurance. The aim is to bring some balance back to the professional indemnity insurance market.”
Infrastructure Australia’s “Delivering Outcomes” report published on 21 May 2022 explicitly called for collaboration and integration as necessary to transform the infrastructure sector in Australia. IA’s report included a recommendation that owners implement visible and effective governance to enable infrastructure delivery and ensure the focus is on the right outcomes.
This is where Dispute Avoidance Boards (DABs) come in.
A Dispute Avoidance Board is a board of impartial professionals (usually 3) formed at the beginning of the project to follow construction progress, encourage dispute avoidance, and assist in the resolution of disputes for the duration of the project. Dispute Avoidance Boards are also commonly referred to as Dispute Resolution or Review Boards, Dispute Boards, Dispute Review Board (DRB), Dispute Review Panel, Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Boards (DAAB), and many others. While they may be referred to in different ways, their function is essentially the same, which is to encourage dispute avoidance and to resolve disputes.
DABs effectively operate as part of the governance structure for a project, providing a rigorous and consistent forum for the parties to come together to work through issues on the project.
Over the years the key benefit of DABs is their focus on dispute avoidance and the benefit of rapid real-time decision making.
And the proof is in the pudding.
Firstly, from a cost perspective, while a three person DAB may cost in the order of $150,000 - $250,000 per annum (or 0.15% to 0.25% per annum for a $100 million project), the cost of a full blown dispute heard in international arbitration may cost 10 to 15% of the project costs1
Secondly, and more importantly, the evidence proves their effectiveness. The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation statistics report that 98% of projects utilising DABs have been completed without reference beyond the DAB. And in Australia, the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation reports2:
• More than 80% of DB projects have finished on or ahead of time compared to the industry norm of well under 60% for similar value projects without DABs. The majority of DB projects have also been completed within the owner’s budget.
• Less than 5% of DB projects have been more than three months late, compared to the industry norm of more than 25% for similar value projects without DABs.
• Just under 80% have been completed without a single referral to the DAB, compared with an industry norm for projects without DABs of less than half that percentage completed without off-site dispute resolution processes being invoked.
There has been reticence in recent years for DABs to be used in Australia. The reasons for this are not clear although it has been suggested that that one barrier is the fact that Australian standard contracts (by comparison to say the NEC and FIDIC suites) do not include a requirement for DABs. It should also be noted that DABs are not a stated requirement of local funding agencies.
One lever the Australian market can and should easily pull to improve capacity is the widespread adoption of Dispute Avoidance Boards. In doing so, resources currently consumed by disputes can be diverted back onto projects.
If you’d like to find out more about dispute avoidance board and their practice in Australia, the local Dispute Resolution Board Foundation is holding its inaugural conference on 3 November in Brisbane. Framed around the theme “Being Match Ready for Olympic Infrastructure”, the conference will involve speakers from government and industry on how DABs can be used to drive better project outcomes over the next decades’ worth of projects. Hold the date and join the mailing list at www.drb.org to ensure your invitation to join in.
Kiri Parr, DRBF Member and member of the conference organising committee.
1Andrew Stephenson and Lucy Goldsmith, “Time for Australia to Embrace Dispute Resolution Boards”, 22 June 2021, https://www.corrs.com.au/insights/time-for-australia-to-embracedispute-resolution-boards 2https://www.drbf.org.au/concept
Consult Australia: Member benefit highlights
Linda Gaunt, Engagement Manager, Consult Australia linda@consultaustralia.com.au
To assist you to use your Consult Australia membership to the fullest extent, we are highlighting some of our membership benefits.
We run expert roundtables and working groups focused on our advocacy campaign objectives across our four focus areas, People, Practice, Procurement, and Pipeline. These are for members only and representatives are
• Peer to peer network with people across the membership
• Access to key government and industry stakeholders, through small group meetings
• Development of thought leadership and involvement in the associated advocacy campaign
• Influence over the direction of government and industry policy in Australia
• Opportunities to represent Consult Australia on key government/client committees and consultation forums
• Acknowledgement of your expertise and thought leadership through your direct contribution
• Giving back to your industry
Each state and territory has a committee of members, made up of senior representatives (typically the state manager or equivalent). The committees are responsible for raising the profile of Consult Australia in the state/ territory, increasing engagement, and influence, on local issues in line with Consult Australia’s strategy. These are open to members only and representatives are nominated by the primary contact in their business (i.e. the CEO). Explore more here
• Peer to peer network with colleagues in your local region
• Influence over the direction of government and industry policy in your locality
• Access to key government and industry stakeholders
• Opportunities to represent Consult Australia on key government/client committees and consultation forums
• Acknowledgement of your industry leadership through your direct contribution
• Giving back to your industry
This comprehensive annual report provides a detailed profile of our industry and an analysis of the market opportunities for your business and includes commentary by location as well as market sector.
• Access to market trend data to inform your business strategy
• Assists your business development strategy and target sectors for growth
Consult Australia’s Awards for Excellence is one of the industry’s most high profile and celebrated Awards programs. It offers firms of all sizes the opportunity to be recognised for business excellence across areas such as collaboration, innovation in design, technological innovation and diversity. Special awards are also presented to organisations nominated by the expert Panel of Awards Judges as the small/medium/large firm of the year.
The winners are announced at our Awards ceremony where representatives from across the industry come together to celebrate the success and achievements of their peers.
• Be recognised as an award-winning business
• Showcase your success to your clients
• Celebrate your achievements
• Use your win to boost your business development and marketing
We run boardroom Breakfasts and Luncheons across the country with senior leaders across your key client groups, with opportunities available to host these events. We limit number of attendees to maximise your opportunity to participate in the discussion. See our event listings here
• Raise the profile of your business with key client groups
• Hear from senior leaders from your key client groups under ‘chatham house rules’ as they share insights regarding their market engagement strategies and forward project pipelines
• Demonstrate your expertise by engaging in the roundtable discussion
• Build your peer to peer networks
Consult Australia has a standard contract suite including both a consultant and subconsultant contract. Members have free access to the contracts, as well as to corresponding advisory notes to assist all parties to use the contracts. We also produce other member exclusive business guides covering a broad range of issues from contracts to HR, insurance, and mental health. We also have client briefings to help members advocate on their own behalf. Our business guides and client briefings are member-driven.
• Simple, plain language standard contract forms, saving you time and money
• Topic driven business guides with tips and tricks for your business and people
• Clear and succinct client briefings to educate clients on industry wide issues
An
Consult Australia’s 2022 Economic Forecast report is an essential tool for any consulting business in design, advisory, and engineering.
Consult Australia partners with Australian Construction Insights (ACI), who authors the report. ACI is Australia’s leading provider of economic data and research for the construction industry.
Purchasing the Economic Forecast will not only help you to identify opportunities, risks and threats to your business and highlight important trends in the industries and markets in which you operate, but it will also provide you with insights that are crucial to the development of sustainable, robust and achievable strategies for consulting firms of any size. Some facts
Arup’s core values include engaging with local communities to do socially useful work, and to join hands with others committed to the same values. The company encourages its employees to volunteer for community engagement initiatives and participate in RedR’s training courses.
In 2015, Jenna joined a one-day RedR UK course on the essentials of humanitarianism and this experience proved to be hugely influential for Jenna’s professional journey.
Jenna is committed to social change – not just in her own city and country, but also globally. A Senior Environmental Consultant at Arup, one of the world’s most esteemed design and engineering firms, she is drawn to understanding how societies can best work with the natural environment.
In her role at Arup, Jenna provides planning and environmental advice for a range of clients across Australia. However, she has also set her sights further afield.
“I studied geography at university, so I find the natural disaster space really fascinating,” Jenna said. “I am interested in how we can help manage natural disasters and improve local infrastructure, in order to reduce the overall damage from an event.”
Jenna believes community service is an important value for all professionals, particularly those in her sector. “If you have the expertise and skills, and you can provide your time to help improve someone else's quality of life, I think it’s really important to do that,” Jenna said.
Jenna’s journey into humanitarian work started when she was working for Arup in the United Kingdom. Arup is a major partner of the RedR Federation, a network of humanitarian response organisations.
Jenna went on to become a RedR UK representative in her Arup office and, following this, she volunteered for a social enterprise called Pollinate Energy in India, supporting the organisation with a solar energy project within the tent communities in Hyderabad.
“The experience at Pollinate Energy was a big eye opener for me. I worked with a large number of people from many different backgrounds, and I learnt the value of helping others to help themselves,” Jenna said.
Now based in Australia, Jenna has become Arup’s RedR Australasia Relationship Manager and she is continuing her journey in humanitarian work.
Jenna recently completed RedR Australia’s Essentials of Humanitarian Practice and Hostile Environment Awareness Training courses, which are required to join the RedR Australia roster for deployment into humanitarian responses.
“At some stage, I would really like to undertake a deployment with RedR Australia to provide technical assistance to help those suffering from a natural disaster,” Jenna said.
Jenna also worked closely with RedR Australia to develop their annual one-day course, the Global Humanitarian Challenge, which was launched in 2018.
Through RedR Australia’s world-class humanitarian training courses, professionals like Jenna from Arup receive valuable skills and experiences to make a difference in communities around the world.
As well as running regular humanitarian training courses in Australia, Fiji and Jordan, RedR Australia also maintains a roster of nearly 800 technical specialists – skilled people who can be called upon to help partner organisations, such as United Nations agencies, to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.
Even though you know you're in a safe environment and it's not actually happening, it does feel real and sometimes very uncomfortable. This is critical to the success of RedR Australia’s courses and is a credit to the staff and volunteers.
“I was surprised by how I responded during the simulations, and I think that's really valuable – to know how you may respond in that situation and learn from it,” Jenna said.
Jenna’s not the only Arup employee who has found RedR Australia’s training to be life-changing. As part of her role, Jenna recently conducted a review of Arup employees who have participated in RedR Australia’s courses.
“A lot of the people who have participated in the one-day introductory course have gone on to be more involved with community engagement across Australasia.
“For example, someone from our Indonesia office has just taken a six-month leave of absence from Arup to be a project manager for an international development project in Rwanda. She did the one-day Global Humanitarian Challenge and she specifically said that course inspired her to pursue further international experience,” Jenna said.
“For Arup, this one-day course is fantastic. Many of our staff want to be involved in the humanitarian space but often aren’t sure how best to provide their time and skills. There is a range of involvement that we can provide, from remote technical assistance to in-country support.
"Importantly, the course includes an in-depth simulation of a humanitarian response. This is key, because it provides people with an awareness of what it could feel like to be immersed in that situation. It's an important step towards helping our staff understand how they can fit into the humanitarian space and provide the most relevant support to RedR Australia,” Jenna said.
Jenna speaks highly of RedR Australia’s training staff and volunteers. As simulation exercises are critical to stretching participants’ skills, additional volunteers are needed to help create realistic simulations.
“RedR Australia’s trainers and volunteers play an incredible role within the simulations, making the experience feel very ‘life-like’.
For Jenna, this is what it’s all about. She is a keen advocate for RedR Australia’s training courses and is aiming to help build up awareness of the RedR Australia roster among Arup experts.
“Arup has a very strong global relationship with RedR Australia and we are able to mutually support each other,” Jenna said.
To learn more about RedR Australia’s training courses and take your first step towards a humanitarian career, visit: https://www.redr.org.au/training-courses/our-courses/
Consult Australia is a founding body of RedR Australia. GHD's Jill Hannaford is the Consult Australia representative on the RedR Australia Board.
, RedR AustraliaJill Farrar
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If you have the expertise and skills, and you can provide your time to help improve someone else's quality of life, I think it’s really important to do that
Jenna Beckett, Senior Environmental Consultant at Arup ”Jenna (bottom) worked closely with her colleagues from Arup during RedR Australia humanitarian courses. Jenna (second from left) and her teammates at RedR Australia’s Global Humanitarian Challenge.
It doesn’t sound like a stimulating read, but Standard AS5488 has been a national and global life saver when it comes to protecting our construction workers since it was established in 2013. Its objective was to improve the poorly regulated approach to managing underground utilities and avoid serious injuries and fatalities of construction workers.
Initially created to provide Subsurface Utility Information, it was updated in 2019 to include Subsurface Utility Engineering providing faster, safer, and more cost-effective processes for the consistent classification and management of information.
Subsurface Utility Engineering, or SUE in its abbreviated form, is a specialist engineering service incorporating geophysical mapping, vacuum excavation, and computer surveying to allow underground facilities to be located both horizontally and vertically.
SUE’s role is to ensure the responsibility for recording, designing, and managing existing and new underground utilities rests at the feet of the design engineer. Once the data is collected it’s provided and managed in an electronic format for the project owner or engineer during the design stage of a construction project.
Working with Standards Australia and Engineers Australia, Rob Sansbury at Stantec was a leader and champion of SUE from the beginning.
“We wanted SUE to be recognised as a specialist area of engineering. AS5488 has created a rulebook for all design engineers to follow to avoid significant injury of constructors,” Sansbury says.
“This Standard provides a better and safer outcome for everyone by implementing solutions during the engineering design phase, rather than waiting until construction occurs,” he added.
There are so many intricacies and nuances associated with developing a project, including the consideration of what utilities may be affected and how to design around, protect or relocate them. Anyone who has ever worked within an arm’s length of subsurface utilities will recall negative outcomes and on review will most likely agree that with better collaboration things could have ended better.
The safety and cost saving benefits from improved management of subsurface utilities has been seen in countries where the rulebooks been in place for many years – such as the USA, UK, and Canada.
As well as these obvious safety and cost saving benefits, adoption of AS5488 will provide fewer project delays, improved environmental outcomes and a more comprehensive database of underground information.
Sansbury says “At Stantec we have adopted AS5488 as our standard of care since its inception. In fact, you could say we are the leaders in this space. The simple truth is, if everyone in the industry mandated their use of AS5488 we could avoid significant injury of our construction workers and save them from the perils of underground utilities”.
By Sarah Gasson, Marketing Team Leader, Australia, Stantec
This Standard provides a better and safer outcome for everyone by implementing solutions during the engineering design phase, rather than waiting until construction occurs
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Rob Sanbury, Director, Defence Sector Leader, Stantec
Most economies across the globe are at a turning point in their post-pandemic recovery process, although some are still fragile. Businesses in Australia and the APAC region are starting a new phase of adaptation to successfully operate in the new climate. To pivot, adapt, and thrive, professional services organisations are currently looking for ways to remain resilient. Whether it’s management consultancies, architecture and engineering firms, or any other countless industries offering human expertise as their main product, professional services have faced unique challenges over the past few years.
Every company has experienced the pandemic differently, but common themes emerge across the board. Client billing is down. Projects have been scaled back or cancelled, and even some of the largest service-based businesses are considering – or have already begun – reducing headcount. But focusing on resource constraints can have effects that are highly damaging in the long term. Both on the ability to deliver on existing projects and on the ability to win new business and rebound when conditions improve further.
How can service-based businesses in the APAC region respond to ensure survival and success?
A service-based company’s most important asset is its people, and the current talent shortage has affected many people-centric organisations across the APAC region. Access to freelance or contractual workers for creative and professional work means businesses must embrace the hybrid workforce as a solution for addressing talent challenges.
Talent management systems allow data-driven workforce planning, so organisations have the tools to adapt quickly to change, leading to higher, more reliable productivity and a leaner, optimised workforce.
The ability to monitor engagement scores of different project teams helps to ensure the profitability of each project.
While uncertainty reigned over the last few years, organisations made drastic changes to employee pay and headcount as business dried up and people resigned in their droves as many reassessed what they wanted out of life. According to the 2022 Globalization Trends Survey, 82% of APAC CFOs are worried about ‘the great resignation’ and retaining current employees, and 31% say adjusting compensation will be part of their ongoing retention strategy. Service-based businesses now need to review their compensation strategy to see if it needs updating. Some will need to call out their commitment to pay equity, look at whether pay grades are too narrow or wide, and assess whether top talent is in the top pay tiers in each grade level.
As business ramps up, should companies be looking to recruit more staff? FP&A teams are now tasked with providing more insights and data at increasingly local levels to assist decision-making. Across the board, businesses should expect more automation and cloud computing which will need more FP&A resources to address various special projects, pushing finance chiefs to seek new ways to support current needs and begin exploring what new skills might be required and how to cultivate those skills.
Some companies will look to buy their way to growth and capacity. Whether companies want to weather the current uncertainty or create new opportunities, M&A frameworks can often help them achieve their goals. For these businesses, technology will be key in integrating new businesses.
The emergence of new technologies and the necessity of deploying them to ensure survival creates a unique situation. Major opportunities now exist in creating a more holistic and dynamic professional services operating model that can cost less and with less talent loss while increasing margin and significant new business and growth opportunities have come within reach to offset recent revenue impacts.
Several key shifts in technology are emerging that service-based organisations across APAC must embrace to navigate the postpandemic world. We’ve already become intimately acquainted with the technology that facilitates remote working – but this is simply the beginning. New tech can be organised into three categories: that which supports the business and client delivery, that which supports the people, and that which supports the overall health and wellbeing of all professional services’ stakeholders.
The right ERP system can do the heavy lifting of data transfer and the accurate setup for projects and recording of transactions. There are now solutions that provide businesses with pre-built data flows between applications, data sources, and the industry ecosystem.
By delivering business-critical dataflows out-of-the-box, these solutions will significantly reduce the cost burden and time-to-value of integration while also bringing richer and more consistent data sharing across the enterprise.
By Unit4 Communications, Unit4
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Major opportunities now exist in creating a more holistic and dynamic professional services operating model that can cost less and with less talent loss while increasing margin and significant new business and growth opportunities have come within reach to offset recent revenue impacts.
As we rebuild the capacity of our workforce, we must embrace the opportunity to support clients with our sustainability-centric advice and services. Consultants throughout the advisory, infrastructure, and engineering industries are uniquely placed to inform and influence better sustainable outcomes across Australia defining projects.
It’s our responsibility to deliver the best possible outcomes for our client projects and to benchmark and normalise the prioritisation and integration of sustainable solutions in our strategies. Sustainability needs to be a core pillar of a consultant’s service, not an added extra.
As industry markets increase in volatility, from COVID-19, inflation, extreme weather events, and skills shortages, clients look to consultants to develop strategies that shift their goals from good to great with sustainable thinking. Rebuilding capacity with consultants who embody sustainable thinking as second nature, are best positioned to meet market transitions and create a sustainable future that has better economical, societal, and environmental outcomes.
We need to embrace our unique position to support clients and influence projects towards a brighter future. Rebuilding consultant capacity is best done when all the best minds are consistently planning, delivering, and evolving quality sustainable solutions for clients and communities.
By Elle Stewart, Senior Consultant, Struber
18th October 2022 | Sydney, Australia
This two-day training course will enable delegates with minimal NEC knowledge to understand the NEC philosophy, the core contract processes, strategies, roles, and responsibilities when using the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC). The course is designed to help support Clients, Contractors and Project Managers embrace collaborative contracting. Join us now to start your journey to become an NEC expert in Australia. Find out more at neccontract.com/ausfcp
The latest edition of She’s Price(d)less: The economics of the gender pay gap shows that accounting for labour force participation rates and incomes, the national pay gap is estimated at $966m per week or $51.8b per year.
The joint report released recently by KPMG, Diversity Council Australia (DCA), and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), is the only analysis of its kind in Australia that evaluates the contributing drivers of the gender pay gap to explain why the gender pay gap exists, and what needs to be most addressed to close the gap.
The analysis, based on the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, shows gender discrimination remains the leading driver of the pay gap, contributing 36% of the $2.56 hourly pay gap. Other key pay gap drivers are caring for family and workforce participation (33%) and the type of job and industry sector of employment (24%).
KPMG Chairman, Alison Kitchen said, “Since our last report in 2019, the gender pay gap has remained stubbornly unchanged despite action across the public and private sector to tackle gender inequality. This report shows that gender discrimination continues to be the single largest contributor to the gender pay gap. It also shows a worrying trend in the rise of industry and occupation segregation. We must collectively increase our efforts to build a better and fairer Australia.”
For the first time, She’s Price(d)less has used data from WGEA’s workplace survey and data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), alongside HILDA data, to explore how the gender pay gap impacts five different industries.
Mary Wooldridge Director WGEA, said, “Greater action by employers to address the systemic drivers of the gender pay gap is an investment in our future economic prosperity. Actions employers can take today include undertaking gender pay gap audits and actioning findings, increasing the share of women in leadership positions, and enhancing availability and uptake of parental leave and flexible work by men and women. WGEA collaborates with employers making these changes and seeing real, tangible benefits for their workforce and for their business.”
The report also includes an analysis of the gender pay gap by income quintile, which shows gender discrimination, lack of opportunities for promotion, and underrepresentation in management impact women throughout their careers.
It also reveals that women at the start of their career experience a pay gap of 6% but as they progress through their careers to top management levels, the pay gap increases to a high of 18%.
DCA CEO, Lisa Annese, said, “To act with purpose in addressing the gender pay gap now would not only invest in our nation’s future economic prosperity but also help overcome the tough economic conditions we face.
“Action now is particularly important for low paying industries where women comprise the workforce majority, such as healthcare and education, which we rely on in our daily lives.”
The report’s analysis across five key industries (Healthcare and Social Assistance, Education and Training, Retail Trade, Manufacturing and Accommodation and Food Services) shows how gender pay gaps remain prevalent regardless of labour force size, gender composition or average rate of pay.
It also finds that women in feminised industries also face barriers to achieving wage parity, with gender pay gaps above the national average and underrepresentation in promotions and key management positions.
The points below reflect the opportunities for closing the gender pay gap revealed in the report.
• Eliminating workplaces sexual harassment, every-day sexism and gendered violence.
• Addressing discrimination in work practices such as hiring, promotion and access to training.
• Increased pay transparency and reporting on gender pay gaps.
• Undertaking gender pay gap audits and actioning findings.
• Breaking down social norms regarding what roles and industries are appropriate for men and women.
• Addressing wage inequality in feminised industries.
• Increasing the share of women in leadership positions, including through targets or other diversity policies.
• Developing networks of advocates for gender equality among men and women who can address barriers and affect change.
• Improving work life balance, increasing availability of flexible work.
• Increasing availability of childcare and decreasing cost.
• Enhancing availability and uptake of shared parental care.
• Reducing disincentives to increasing workforce participation through personal tax, family payment and childcare support systems.
• Changing workplace culture and addressing unconscious bias.
• Rethinking and redesigning part-time roles for managers.
The She’s Price(d)less report shows that greater action by industry, the community, and governments to address the systemic drivers of the gender pay gap is both a collective obligation and an investment in Australia’s future economic prosperity
Consult Australia offers a range of in-house Professional Development courses that can be tailored specifically to suit your firm’s requirements. In-house training encourages greater team work and builds awareness and understanding of each other’s roles in the organisation by enabling group discussion to be based around real examples that are specific to your business environment and policies.
This intensive 2.5 day training seminar is aimed at those who are regularly confronted with client contracts. The course provides essential advice and insight on managing and controlling contractual rights and obligations. It is conducted in a small group interactive format and has helped those with both limited and extensive experience to deal more effectively with contracts and their various terms and conditions. Tools and advice are given on how to develop fair and reasonable contractual relationships with clients.
The Superintendent’s role is a complex one. It requires a sound understanding of the law of contract, substantial engineering skills, and in particular, an understanding of the provisions of the particular project outcomes. This intensive and interactive training program teaches you how to confidently manage the various Superintendent duties, the dual roles of the Superintendent, and how to avoid common legal traps.
Claims and disputes are a common feature of construction projects in Australia and every business needs teams who are alive to this risk and have the skills that can respond. This intensive 2 day interactive workshop is designed to provide the participants with the knowledge and practical skills and tools needed to understand and navigate this very real risk.
The workshop is ideal for both those delivering the projects, technical leads, project managers and commercial managers, as well as your in-house legal, finance and commercial teams.
An overview of the courses and standard rates for our inhouse courses can be at following link beside
For more information about education opportunities, please contact the Consult Australia on 02 8252 6700 or email education@consultaustralia.com.au.
