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Aboriginal and Social Procurement policies Omesh Jethwani, Government Projects & Programs Manager in-conversation with Charleene Mundine, Founder, Owner and Director — DLCM; Owner — Gali Solutions and Founder of the Black Women of Western Sydney (BWOWS) Network, on Aboriginal and Social Procurement Policies. Charleene is a traditional owner from Bundjalung, Yuin, Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) and Anaiwan nations with family connections to the Gumbaynggirr and Eora nations. 1. What were the influential factors that gave birth to the inception of DLCM? I worked at JLL on the Defence Estate Program and struggled to identify Aboriginal construction companies to deliver our projects. The two main issues I kept facing were identifying and on-boarding suppliers. The existing public lists did not provide the information I required to make an informed choice of which suppliers to approach. When I did approach Aboriginal suppliers for a quote or to respond to an RFT, they often struggled to demonstrate their capabilities within their submissions. So I left and created a database of prequalified suppliers. Our database aims to provide the industry with easy access to suppliers. Clients provide us with a list of requirements, and we identify who can deliver based on the outcome of their evaluation. We achieve this by running the Aboriginal suppliers through a tender evaluation of a previous submission. This work has led to us developing ongoing business development support for Aboriginal suppliers. Once we know their strengths and weaknesses, we provide target mentoring, coaching, and upskilling to move their business forward. For example, we help them develop and implement Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Management Systems, ensure they have the proper licences and insurance level and co-create their suite of bid submission documentation.
Yes, I am proud that DLCM is a 100% Aboriginal owned, Supply Nation Certified business and that our workforce is predominantly female, all of whom identify as Aboriginal. 3. What services does DLCM provide, and which industries does DLCM generally target its services? We commenced providing end-to-end procurement services, including bid submission development, for Tier one and two construction companies. We also provided business development support for Aboriginal enterprises, upskilling them in the art of bid submission. Due to our expansion into providing broader ESG services, our consultancy arm now works across several sectors. Our services have expanded to include HR functions, Environmental and Sustainability, and Community and Stakeholder Engagement. As a result, the business has several services. • Social performance management — utilising our new Social Performance Integrated Management System. • Bid submission management — managing and writing the Aboriginal (Indigenous) Participation Plans, Social Procurement Framework, Local Industry Development Plan (LIDP), Major Project Skills Guarantee (MPSG): Local Jobs First responses. • Business development for Aboriginal businesses and Social Enterprises.
Our database saves our client’s time and money because we have done the hard work in the first instance to understand the supplier’s ability. Where there is a limited capability within the organisation, we work one-on-one with them to respond to an ATM and commence work on a project.
4. DLCM has recently developed a new sustainability management system. The specific focus is across social performance and compliance — aligning with First Nation and Social Procurement policies. Tell our readers more about it.
2. IS DLCM registered with Supply Nation, and is DLCM a 100% Aboriginal owned company?
For years the construction industry has struggled to consistently capture accurate data across ESG. Part of the problem has
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MBA NSW | Issue One | January-March 2022
been the silos that exist across business functions and projects. For example, the procurement manager may not have oversight of the Aboriginal spending undertaken by the community and stakeholder team. This can lead to Aboriginal spending being left unaccounted for within project reporting. Secondly, we recognised the inconsistent ESG language and contractual obligations across Federal, State and Local governments and business sectors. DLCM has standardised the raw qualitative and quantitative data capture across procurement, HR, community and stakeholder engagement, and environmental and sustainability functions to address this. The raw data is processed, cleansed, analysed, and finally allocated to their reporting line, such as Aboriginal spend, regional participation, and increasing opportunities for women in nontraditional roles. The data gets aggregated back into their business functions, so each project can also report against internal policies such as a corporate social responsibility strategy or Reconciliation Action Plan. Finally, we have developed unique second party social compliance, and third-party social performance audits as part of our system. DLCM’s Social Compliance Audit is an inspection of your external suppliers to verify whether your supplier’s operations comply with social and ethical responsibilities measured against your internal policies and Government policies and laws. Our third-party Social Performance Audit evaluates, measures, and reports projects and an organisation’s cultural, social, and ethical performance. Businesses can use the results of a project’s audit to demonstrate compliance against a contract. While an organisational audit demonstrates to internal and external stakeholders your commitment to ESG. Noting the NSW State Government has committed to audit 5% of APPs, our Integrated Management System supports businesses to ensure compliance. Our holistic data capture
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provides you with complete evidence of your work. In addition, DLCM’s independent second and third-party audits ensure you are meeting internal and external commitments. 5. In your opinion, why do you think construction companies seem to struggle to meet the Aboriginal Procurement Policy guidelines? My personal challenges over the years have been 1. Struggling to identify and retain suitable Aboriginal construction companies and Aboriginal employees. 2. Buyers not knowing where to start. Entrepreneurship within the mainstream is relatively new for Aboriginal people. Historically we created businesses and cooperatives that addressed the needs of our community. For example, we established Aboriginal medical, housing, childcare and media services. In recent years there has been an influx of Aboriginal businesses to meet Government policies. However, many are professional service and project management companies. So while there have always been Aboriginal-owned businesses, generally, they are small businesses with limited capacity, and their clientele isn’t the construction industry. This has left us lacking trade services within the Aboriginal construction supply chain. Further, as each level of Government released an Aboriginal policy to increase Aboriginal economic inclusion, we saw an increase in demand for Aboriginal suppliers. This only exacerbated an existing problem around supply and demand, noting the existing gaps with the supply chain.
gaps within their workforce. In November 2021, even the Federal Government revealed that fewer than a quarter of public service agencies had achieved their Aboriginal employment rates.
6. What common mistakes made in tender submissions in meeting the Aboriginal Procurement Plan guidelines can be easily avoided?
Also, many Aboriginal people work for the Federal and State Governments. Why? Because they established employment initiatives and targets back in the 1970s and 80s. They created cadetships and identified roles to ensure they would meet their targets. So now we often see three generations from one family working within the public sector as children and grandchildren have followed in their grandparent’s footsteps. So, many educated and skilled Aboriginal people tend to drift towards one of these employment options.
Secondly, you may find several people reading this article will not know how or where to find an Aboriginal supplier. They may also not know how to find an Aboriginal employee or identify local Aboriginal community stakeholders. This is generally because the person responsible for delivering the APP is not Aboriginal or an Aboriginal person who has only recently connected with their Aboriginal heritage and therefore does not know the local Aboriginal communities. A further problem the industry faces is that, generally, SMEs are responsible for delivering a project’s APP. Due to their size and turnover, they often don’t have the resourcing or the finances to create solutions. When we consider that something becomes too hard or financially draining, it usually does not get resolved. So for years, non-Indigenous people have seen Aboriginal inclusion as hard, and as there were no penalties for noncompliance, Aboriginal Procurement was often ignored.
The most common mistake is not engaging an Aboriginal person from the construction industry to work with you to develop your APP. A submission team need an individual who understands the industry, the constraints and risks when delivering a project and speaks our language. Secondly, the team needs someone who knows how to successfully identify, engage, and work with Aboriginal businesses, employees, and local community stakeholders. Only an Aboriginal person with industry experience can successfully navigate both spaces and create a realistic, sustainable Aboriginal Participation Plan.
However, it is also worth noting that the increasing Government employment targets (internal and external) have left all industries with
To resolve this, we need to collaborate and work in partnership with each other and the Aboriginal community as an industry.
Like all cultural groups, Aboriginal people tend to stick together when it comes to employment. So you often find Aboriginal people working for local Aboriginal community-based organisations or non-Indigenous organisations focusing on providing services for Aboriginal people. Generally speaking, Aboriginal people see these jobs as an opportunity to stay connected and work to support their community.
7. Can you elaborate on Why is this important? A person from construction understands where silos exist on projects and across business functions. So they are best placed to work with teams to break down barriers and create a wellrounded APP. For example, submission teams need someone who can work with business function managers and the local Aboriginal stakeholders to co-design realistic and riskaverse solutions. Issue One | January-March 2022 | MBA NSW
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In addition, by collaborating with the entire submission team and reflecting the APP within their responses, the APP is no longer a standalone document. Instead, it becomes integrated across the whole submission, demonstrating how an APP crosses over into all business functions. Should you win the work, it also provides the framework for the project team to work together to deliver on APP commitments. Further, to develop a successful APP, you need to demonstrate how you have and will continue to work with Aboriginal people. And basically, Aboriginal people trust our mob more than we trust non-Indigenous people. So it would help if you had an Aboriginal writer as internal and external Aboriginal stakeholders will engage and work with them more than they ever will a non-Indigenous person. More so, if you’re successful in identifying an NSW traditional owner, the NSW mob will want to work with you as they will respect your decision not to bring in an outsider. Finally, we know that most aspects of all submissions, such as methodology, the delivery team and the price, will be similar to your competitors. The investment of engaging an Aboriginal writer shows the client your organisation is genuinely trying to understand and work with Aboriginal stakeholders. This demonstration of establishing a respectful and sustained relationship with Aboriginal people before the project commencement may win you the two extra points that win you the contract. 8. What do you think it would take for construction companies to master Aboriginal Social Procurement? My two recommendations are: 1. Separate Aboriginal participation from the broader social procurement. 2. Don’t have non-Indigenous people manage Aboriginal procurement and participation. Due to existing cultural biases, Aboriginal inclusion and first nation voices often get lost in the broader conversation around social inclusion. Therefore policies need to reflect that Aboriginal people’s cultural heritage, lived experiences, and challenges to participate are different from other minority groups. While there are commonalities shared across minority groups when it comes to experiencing racism, discrimination, and exclusion, Aboriginal people’s experiences are unique and placebased. And as I stated above, Aboriginal inclusion and participation solutions need to be developed and implemented by Aboriginal people as we know who our mob is, where to find them and how to engage with them successfully. We also need to stop being reactive. Most businesses only address the contractual
requirements of the projects they are working on, and each project operates independently from other projects and the business’s strategic direction objectives. Instead, we need to plan to secure a sustainable supply chain and workforce. Organisations can achieve this by looking holistically at their Aboriginal and social procurement and participation to identify where existing gaps lie. Then they can develop sustainable strategies to support the development of Aboriginal businesses and social enterprises and the Aboriginal and broader socially marginalised workforce.
future pressures to deliver APPs, including the financial pressures on non-Indigenous businesses. The construction industry will need to deliver $3.17B of Aboriginal Procurement on NSW Government projects alone. We already know there are gaps in the Aboriginal supply chain and workforce. So, while APPs increases opportunities for Aboriginal businesses and employees, they can also put an additional strain on already stretched and finite resources. One result I’ve noted is inflated pricing to engage Aboriginal businesses and employ Aboriginal people.
9. What are some of the Aboriginal Procurement issues and concerns that may keep you awake at night?
Finally, with the NSW Government now quarantining Aboriginal procurement funds, non-indigenous SMEs may also experience increased financial pressure. My main concern is that when an SME is engaged through a subcontracting arrangement, additional reporting requirements may result in payment delays, placing strain on cash flow. With the increased costs to engage and employ Aboriginal businesses and employees coupled with tight margins and extended payment terms, I wonder how many SMEs will survive.
My main issues and concerns with Aboriginal procurement are: 1. Organisations trusting their Aboriginal procurement to businesses and people with no experience in it. 2. Expecting one company or person to deliver all aspects of an APP. 3. How the industry will meet the NSW Government’s APP requirements over the next four years. There has been an influx of Aboriginal businesses and people claiming they can deliver the highly complex and rigorous practice of Aboriginal procurement. However, not everyone is qualified or competent. The industry needs to undertake thorough due diligence when evaluating a business or person’s ability. Merely adding the word “Aboriginal” before “procurement” does not mean someone can provide end-toend procurement and supply chain advice. Someone who understands a little about medicine does not make a surgeon either! Projects need, firstly, competent project managers with procurement experience and, secondly, Aboriginal people to deliver on APP commitments. This is a rare combination. Also, organisations need to stop expecting one Aboriginal business or person to deliver all aspects of an APP. This is an immense amount of pressure for one business or person and can lead to the company being stretched financially and Aboriginal employees being burnt out. Why is it important to get the right businesses and employees? Delivering APPs is a very stressful situation and often has high stakes. I often get asked to step in on projects when Aboriginal participation has not gone according to plan. Teams have usually started to disengage and lose momentum on delivering on APP commitments by this stage. So it becomes challenging to encourage team members to champion their APPs and deliver their commitments. We need to openly discuss the current and
10. In your opinion, do you think the Building & Construction Industry has become more inclusive of employment and career opportunities for Aboriginal Australians? Yes. Since the release of the original Aboriginal Participation in Construction back in 2015, the industry has made significant strides to increase Aboriginal employment and procurement and successfully engage with the Aboriginal community. It’s still challenging with some resistance to engage from both sides. But just as we have successfully increased the number of women in the industry and shifted the dial in health and safety, I have faith that both industry and the Aboriginal community can move forward together to create sustainable changes. 11. What is your personal opinion on the 2021 Aboriginal Participation guidelines? The 2015 Aboriginal Participation in Construction policy was only applied to construction projects and increased construction industry employment and workforce development. As the new policy expands Aboriginal participation across all sectors, it opens up opportunities for Aboriginal people to participate outside the construction industry. This is a win for my community as it provides avenues for entrepreneurship and sustainable career pathways in other sectors because not everyone wants a business or career in construction. Issue One | January-March 2022 | MBA NSW
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