Consulting Matters June 2021

AUTUMN 2021

Leadership

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What would it be like to live without fear?

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Leadership Matters:

very much

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Why property tax reform is an important part creating a more sustainable building industry

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Consulting Matters

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CONTENTS

14 What would it be like to live without fear?

Industry updates

Leading a Remote Workforce in Architecture, Engineering and Design

Leadership in Digital Transformation

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Industry updates

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Leading a Remote Workforce in Architecture, Engineering and Design

New members

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Leadership Matters: very much 21 Three Threads on Leadership

What’s happening in Consult Australia 4

From the CEO

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State & Territories Updates

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Why property tax reform is an important part of creating a more sustainable building industry 11 The changing conversation in market about standard contracts

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Business essentials

From the President

SME Highlights

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Your Future, Your Super legislation – Cbus is standing up for members in the construction industry

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Corporate Social Responsibility Supporting local leadership: What is localisation and why is it a priority for humanitarian interventions?

Project case study

What would it be like to live without fear? 14

Corporate leadership on Modern Slavery 28

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Not a member of Consult Australia?

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Features How Sponsorship Creates a Leadership Legacy: A Case Study

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To find out more about how your business can benefit from membership contact Consult Australia on (02) 8252 6700 or email membership@consultaustralia.com.au

www.consultaustralia.com.au

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Consulting Matters

Industry updates

Industry updates APPOINTMENTS Aurecon has announced the appointment of Jennifer Smith as its new Managing Director, Victoria & South Australia. Taking over the reins from Angus Leitch who has been appointed as Managing Director – Transportation and Clients & Markets.

Jennifer will be responsible for the leadership and performance of the Vic & SA business including health & safety, client engagement, staff engagement, project and financial performance. Previously Aurecon’s Vic & SA’s Transportation Leader and with over 20 years international experience, Jennifer’s appointment demonstrates Aurecon’s commitment to leadership development.

Louise Adams steps up to Aurecon’s Group Chief Operating Officer Supporting Chief Executive Officer William Cox, Louise will be responsible for driving the financial, operational and people performance across all areas of the business to achieve the Group’s strategic business goals. With over 20 years' experience as a Chartered Civil Engineer, Louise became the first female Executive Director on Aurecon’s Board in 2013 and is a passionate advocate for female leadership and equality within STEM. Alex Campbell, Regional Sector Leader – Infrastructure (APAC) at SLR is stepping down to join Transport for NSW as City Director for the Central River City zone to lead their commitments to the community and driving a more sustainable future.

After almost 10 years with the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) of which Consult Australia is a member, Suzanne Toumbourou will be stepping out as Executive Director at the end of June, to take on the role of CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR).

Alison Scotland, former Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Standard Australia, will be stepping in as ASBEC’s Interim Executive Director.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Tonkin’s service offering in Queensland has been boosted with six engineers and technical officers joining the company, collectively bringing 60+ years’ experience across structural and civil engineering and design. The expansion enables Tonkin to deliver additional services to the Queensland infrastructure, property and development markets, and complements their existing services.

From 1 July 2021, in New South Wales many practitioners working on class 2 buildings and buildings with a class 2 component will have new obligations under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. The changes have been set out in short videos for engineers, designers and builders. Watch the short explainer videos and visit the NSW government website to find out what you need to do. Information for designers and builders on registration and eligibility are explained here.

Infrastructure Australia has published a Progress Report on the progress made since the 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan, this comes ahead of the launch of the much anticipated 2021 Infrastructure Plan. The report highlights progress across the 78 recommendations of the 2016 Plan, including the priority of further reform in the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan. Key areas of continued prioritisation including cities, regions, industry and resilience.

The World Green Building Council has announced that 24 cities across Europe, including the capitals of Rome, Madrid and Zagreb, are joining a groundbreaking project to measure the holistic benefits of building renovation. The cities join the EU-funded WorldGBC Europe project BUILD UPON2, where as part of a network of 32 local authorities they will also share and scale up best-practice renovation schemes. The local governments will develop and implement a Framework which allows them to analyse the benefits of their municipal renovation schemes including: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, tackling energy poverty, improving air quality, creating jobs.

NEW MEMBERS Consult Australia proudly welcomes new members: Engineering Sydney Arccos Consulting Pty Ltd Westpeak Engineering Pty Ltd FSC-Range Paint Consult Australia (Associate) Tedla Pty Ltd Axxon Consulting PCC and Associates Pty Ltd

Industry updates

Consulting Matters

President Gerry Doyle

Chief Executive Officer Nicola Grayson

Finance Manager Penny Clark

Engagement Manager Linda Gaunt

Policy Lead (People and Pipeline) and VIC Manager James Robertson

Policy Lead (Practice and Procurement) and NSW Manager Kristy Eulenstein

Policy Analyst Teone Tobin

Manager SA, TAS and the Territories Jan Irvine

State Manager – WA Diane Dowdell

State Manager - QLD Kristine Banks

Database Manager Michelle O'Neill

Corporate Designer Voltaire Corpuz

Accounts Guillaume Marchand-Henderson

PA/Office Administrator Karen Pooley

Editorial submissions

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Consulting Matters

What’s happening at Consult Australia

From the President For an engineer, who has never considered himself to be particularly good with people, this is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced. If you can’t see the world from others views, how can you lead them?

where others feel empowered, free to be themselves, supported, challenged and cared for. It is about recognising that everyone is an individual and what you need to do to enable that individual to flourish. To achieve these things is a huge task, and a massive responsibility for any leader.

I am an avid reader and a student on how others lead. I love the concept that no matter how great the goal or brilliant the purpose, a leader is only a leader if they have followers.

And why would anyone want to follow me or you?

The concept that leadership is really about creating an environment where people will follow to achieve a goal is something that I have embraced. Leadership isn’t actually about the goal it is about the journey to get there.

Over the last 10 years, since I realised I was in a position where I had to lead, I have read a lot of books from authors like Patrick Lencioni, Daniel Pink, George Kohlrieser, Brene Brown, Susan David, Susan Cain, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant and Jim Collins. I recently set myself a task of going back over these and pulling out the things that I really liked and how I was trying to implement it in my life. I am by no means complete but I am really enjoying going back over material I read before and thinking about whether I have applied it in my life.

I wasn’t sure if the concepts that these authors talk about would align or if there would be concepts at odds with each other.

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised that the concepts they present in their books actually line up really nicely with each other.

The common themes that run through them are about being authentic, vulnerable, trusting, caring, challenging and committed as an individual whilst creating environments

I remember a conversation with a friend just before I took on my current role. He was saying that he didn’t know of anyone who had desperately wanted to be a CEO who was actually any good at it. I have often reflected on that statement and whether I think it is true. I think so much comes down to why you want to be a leader, is it for you or for others? If it is about the status, power, influence or money (i.e. for you) then you probably aren’t doing it for the right reasons.

If it is about what you can do for others then you have a far greater chance of people wanting to follow you.

My biggest learning is that to be a leader that others want to follow you actually have to put yourself in other people’s shoes and try and see the world as they do it. For an engineer, who has never considered himself to be particularly good with people, this is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced.

If you can’t see the world from others views, how can you lead them?

In some aspect of our lives we all end up as leaders, I challenge you to lead others for the impact you can have on other people’s lives.

There are so many areas that desperately need good people to stand up and lead, follow your heart and be the leader you would want to follow.

Gerry Doyle President

What’s happening at Consult Australia

Consulting Matters

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From the CEO The theme of this year’s Consult Australia Leaders Conference was ‘Leadership in the Decade of Disruption’. We explored the four traits of leadership that are key to working through disruption and coming out safely (or even stronger) the other side.

Those leadership traits are, purpose driven, inclusive, empathic, and ethical. Over two days, with the effervescent Kim Seeling Smith of Ignite Global as our MC, leaders from inside and outside our industry shared their insights. Covering tough issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, through to care for country with a moving closing presentation from Claire Beattie, we discussed and workshopped the challenges and opportunities. Macquarie Bank’s Economist Jason Todd took us through the state of the economy, and we released our Economic Forecast Report for 2021, with a 6-month update to be released shortly.

We will soon be launching a ‘save the date’ for our brand new conference event that we’re planning for 2022. The Consult Australia team is very excited about sharing this with you and we’ll be unveiling more details over the coming months.

Leadership is an enigmatic term, whilst much has been written about what makes a great leader, we continue to consume content to understand leadership. Is leadership something we’re born with or can it be learnt over time, how much is nature over nuture?

Expectations of leadership change over time, therefore styles of leadership also evolve. In Professor Samson’s article for this edition, he identifies the intrinsic skills that have made leaders successful in business. Aurecon adds courage to the list, exploring the courageous mindset. Michael Lewarne at Unmeasured answers the question by proposing that leadership is a choice that we can all choose to make.

Over the last 15 months remote working and less time in the office has been the biggest change for the business community since the arrival of the internet. In their article, Management 4 Design provides eight steps that you can take to lead through this change.

Lisa Samways at Arcadis shares a tool that they have been using, which can be applied to navigate through change.

Passing on leadership and building a legacy is also an important role for all leaders, Kate Drews at SMEC, identifies that sponsorship is one of the most powerful tools in facilitating direct change in leadership diversity.

There will always be the elite few that were ‘born to lead’. However, I am drawn the concept that leadership is a choice, that we all have leadership traits that can be nurtured, through training and development, the rolemodels around us, and those that sponsors us. This describes one of the core values in the network of members that is Consult Australia. Through the network that Consult Australia creates, we build our knowledge, we learn from others, and connect with great people.

We will be running a high impact leadership information session, which is complementary on 22 June 2021 in partnership with Julie Birtles, Founder, and Ian Banister of BEyond Excellence. This will explore leadership capacity building along with insight into their pioneering and practical approach to leadership development. Look forward to seeing you there.

Nicola Grayson CEO

Leadership is an enigmatic term, whilst much has been written about what makes a great leader, we continue to consume content to understand leadership. Is leadership something we’re born with or can it be learnt over time, how much is nature over nuture?

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Consulting Matters

What’s happening at Consult Australia

State & Territory Updates With varying market conditions around the country Consult Australia’s state and territory managers share their insights on key challenges and opportunities for our members.

NSW Kristy Eulenstein As suspected, practice issues in New South Wales have been focussed on the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 which were recently finalised. A key win for consultants is that we were successful in securing a one-year transition period for the insurance obligations in the regulations. This means that both building practitioners and design practitioners get the same transition time. In the next year Consult Australia will be working to ensure any obligations imposed are fair and reasonable. Most recently the government consulted on proposed Guidelines and Ministerial Direction relevant to ‘regulated designs’. We have alerted the government to the considerable confusion in the industry about the reforms and continue to work with them to produce clear guidance materials for industry that can be shared with members.

Members who provide, or are seeking to provide, services to Transport for NSW (TfNSW) should note that TfNSW will soon be releasing proposed contracts for consultation. The proposed contracts are a result of considerable work within the agency as it amalgamated and streamlines the various Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and TfNSW contracts. Our meetings with TfNSW on procurement issues have been encouraging, however it is vital that businesses make clear to TfNSW any concerns with the contracts (in addition to our submission). Keep checking our website for more information.

We understand that capacity in the market is constrained with the amount of work in the pipeline and we continue our messaging to the NSW government to coordinate their project pipelines across the State and with other jurisdictions. We will continue to use Infrastructure NSW’s Infrastructure Industry Forum to raise these issues.

Many thanks to those members involved in the Year-12 Infrastructure Traineeships where students undertake a rotational traineeship with consulting businesses, contracting businesses and the government. Anthony Manning, Chief Executive of School Infrastructure NSW was very complimentary about our involvement in this people-focussed initiative. If you want to get involved please contact us.

NSW Gold Sponsors:

NT Jan Irvine A significant milestone for our pipeline advocacy is the launch of Infrastructure NT, which we have been calling for in line with our thought leadership report on independent infrastructure bodies. The recently released NT Budget has a number of measures relevant to members, including land releases and funding of the vaccine rollout (an issue relevant to our advocacy on people which is being considered in every jurisdiction).

In our practice area, we recently made a submission on building reforms and engineering registration. Our recommendations were consistent with our messaging in other parts of Australia that we need to minimise unnecessary burdens on industry. One significant burden raised by members was the need to register both as an individual engineer and as a business in NT. This is an unnecessary duplication of registration and insurance requirements.

NT Gold Sponsors

What’s happening at Consult Australia

Consulting Matters

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SA In response to Consult Australia’s call for improvements to the South Australian statutory declaration regime, the Attorney-General advised that reforms will be introduced into parliament to ensure that the flexibility offered during COVID-19 will apply permanently. This will ensure that the statutory declaration regime is more aligned with the Commonwealth approach (and other state/territories) and represents a significant win for business practice.

We have secured a meeting with the Treasurer on the back of the release of our policy paper Unlocking Stimulus from Property Tax Reforms.

This gave us a great opportunity to talk not only about property tax but also the capacity issues and the need for a smart pipeline of projects.

In response to procurement and contract concerns raised last year, Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) has made minor changes to its buildings contract AS4122-2000 Annexure A and B. Unfortunately, the risk profile of the contract remains largely unchanged. We continue to engage with the Department to demonstrate the link between unfavorable contract terms and the current state of the insurance market as well as the business impacts on members.

The SA Productivity Commission has requested Consult Australia’s input into the inquiry into reform of the state’s regulatory framework. We used the opportunity to discuss the exemption under the State Procurement Regulations 2005 of building and construction projects above $165k which means that many improvements in procurement do not flow to those projects. We also pointed out that the increased use of standardised contracts (with only limited and reasonable special condition) and more reasonable insurance requirements would significantly improve the procurement of advisory, design and engineering.

We also have a number of upcoming high-profile Boardroom Lunches with key decision makers including the Treasurer, the CEO of Infrastructure SA and the Executive Director of the North South Corridor.

SA Platinum Sponsor:

SA Gold Sponsors:

Tas The recent state election saw the return of government and soon after the announcement of Martin Blake as the new CEO of Infrastructure Tasmania. We have already scheduled a meeting with Infrastructure Tasmania and look forward to discussing key pipeline and procurement issues.

We are aware that TasWater has released an updated small services contract and would like to hear from members about the experience of working with TasWater especially with the move of smaller projects out of the Central Delivery Office.

In addition to our monthly meetings with State Development, we have also secured quarterly meetings with Treasury to discuss capacity and contracting issues.

TAS Gold Sponsors

ACT We have secured a meeting with the Opposition Leader on the back of the release of our policy paper Unlocking Stimulus from Property Tax Reforms.

This gives us a great opportunity to talk not only about property tax but also the capacity issues and the need for a smart pipeline of projects.

The ACT also has a strong pipeline of upcoming high-profile Boardroom Lunches with key decision makers including the CEO of the ACT City Renewal Authority, the Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority and the Acting Secretary, Estate Planning at E&IG, Department of Defence.

We continue our quarterly engagement with agencies to discuss a range of procurement, pipeline and people issues.

ACT Gold Sponsors

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Consulting Matters

What’s happening at Consult Australia

QLD Kristine Banks We have been active in responding the government’s decision to abolish Building Queensland and move its functions into the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning as part of the Debt Reduction and Savings Bill 2021 (Qld). In our submission we opposed the move, noting that a small $1 million dollar cost-saving to the government comes at the cost of independent governance in the assessment of projects for the state. Consult Australia gave evidence to the Economics and Governance Parliamentary Committee at a public hearing on 27 April 2021 where we stressed the importance of good governance structures as a priority pipeline issue, as per our thought leadership report on independent infrastructure bodies.

Our engagement with TMR remains strong through our quarterly meetings. TMR has requested our views on a range of procurement issues including, their draft best practice industry conditions (dominated by enterprise agreement standards for constructors), and new contract terms for panel arrangements to commence in July. We also continue our involvement in TMR’s Collaborative Procurement and Delivery Taskforce where we have been assisting in developing a collaborative framework to improve contracting processes and minimise disputes.

As outlined in the last Consulting Matters, in the people area we are working with the Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA) to bring to life our joint Charter for Change. We are looking for ways to hold each other to account against the goals of the Charter for a better culture across our industry sectors.

We continue to hear from members that the biggest practice issue is the availability and affordability of professional indemnity insurance. We continue to alert all government clients and Treasury to the issue presenting ways to de-risk the market.

QLD Gold Sponsor

VIC James Robertson Members involved in our advocacy on practice issues with the Construction Supplier Register (CSR) will be aware that we had a recent win. The Department of Treasury and Finance has paused further action on the review and suspensions of businesses from the CSR until after 1 July 2021. This will allow the Department to consider the advice we provided as well as the implication of changes to the Building Act 1993 because of the Professional Engineers Registration Act 2019. The key change being that body corporate registration for engineers will no longer be in legislation (only practitioner registration under the new Act).

Further to the registration of engineers, we recently contributed to the public consultation on proposed fees for the scheme. In our submission, we highlighted our ongoing advocacy for ‘one fee, one registration’ arrangements across the country and we also called for a similar approach for professionals needing registration in multiple disciplines.

Separately, we also have the Department joining us for a free members-only session on the scheme’s implementation.

We also have had a couple of milestones with our engagements with Victorian politicians on pipeline matters. On 27 May, the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, Minister for Transport Infrastructure and Suburban Rail Loop, joined members for an online boardroom lunch to discuss forward works and top challenges facing our industry. Tim Pallas MP, Treasurer, and Louise Staley MP, Shadow Treasurer, have also both expressed an interest in our recent paper on how property tax reforms can help create a stronger pipeline of building projects. We hope to have meetings scheduled with their offices shortly to discuss this work.

The 2021-22 Victorian Budget was handed down on 20 May, again highlighting the importance of our industry in the state’s recovery efforts from COVID-19. More information to come on how the budget also impacts on our people advocacy.

Our procurement activities are once again building in Victoria. Recently, we were invited to a roundtable meeting with the Office of the Victorian Government Architect to discuss current procurement challenges in Victoria, to present on our model client policy, and to workshop other possible solutions.

VIC Gold Sponsors

What’s happening at Consult Australia

Consulting Matters

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WA Diane Dowdell With the return of government after the state election we have secured a meeting with the Premier’s Office to discuss a broad range of topics including procurement, pipeline and practice.

Members involved in local government projects will be aware of the intensive engagement we have been having with the WA Local Government Association (WALGA). Thanks to those members who responded to our call for input and feedback. Unfortunately, WALGA does not seem keen to resolve the issues Consult Australia raised with the draft Panel Agreement for Preferred Suppliers and the Contract Conditions, especially the insurance impacts. However, we continue to offer a workshop session to work through this complex area with WALGA and its legal advisors.

We have continued our positive engagement with key stakeholders including Main Roads and the Public Transport Authority and the Water Corporation. In addition, we have commenced discussions with the construction industry associations to develop collaborative positions to engage with the Minister for Infrastructure and Ports on business sustainability and pipeline of works.

We have secured a meeting with the Office of the Minister for Finance to discuss our policy paper Unlocking Stimulus from Property Tax Reforms.

This gives us a great opportunity to talk not only about property tax but also the capacity issues and the need for a smart pipeline of projects.

WA Platinum Sponsors:

WA Gold Sponsors:

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Protecting Professionals

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Planned Cover Simon www.plannedcover.com.au

Gray, State Manager PO Box 1983, North Sydney New South Wales, 2059 1800 077 933 sydney@plannedcover.com.au

se, 2122,

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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia

SME Highlights New Commonwealth Ombudsman alert to insurance issues We have flagged with Bruce Billson, the new Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman our concerns about the insurance market. The Ombudsman confirmed that insurance is on his agenda and he is talking with the Commonwealth government raising the issue. This will only assist Consult Australia’s efforts to present de-risking strategies to government. We will continue our positive engagement with the Ombudsman and the Small Business Commission’s across the country to raise small business member concerns.

Refreshed Code of Ethics In response to the suggestion put by several small business members, the Board has spent time refreshing and refining the Consult Australia Code of Ethics. The refreshed Code sets out the expectations we have of Consult Australia members when working with other members but also clients and the community. In coming weeks, we will consult with members on the refreshed Code of Ethics. Look out for an email to primary contacts which will provide a copy of the Code and also an invite to a member forum to discuss the Code. Board representatives will be involved in the forum to answer questions and to consolidate the feedback. The Code of Ethics will be put to the AGM in October 2021 for approval.

Insurance Insights We hope small business members enjoyed our first Insurance Insights event on 25 May 2021. This free online national event saw our Policy Lead (Procurement & Practice) talk with a panel of member representatives about insurance renewal and exposure.

Thanks again to members, Peter Kavanaugh, Jane Bailey from Pitt & Sherry, Jonathan Allan from Umwelt and David Stephens from Hydrology and Risk Consulting. Look out for more events in this series as we demonstrate all that we do for members on insurance.

Challenging WALGA Preferred Supplier On request from members working in WA, we have been engaging with the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) on the

refresh of its ‘Preferred Supplier’ panel. We are aware that our small business members in particular work with local governments and it is vital that consultants can access relevant projects and are appointed under fair contract conditions. Consult Australia shared with WALGA our feedback on both the panel agreement between suppliers and WALGA and the standard contract terms for member councils to use with consultants.

Unfortunately, WALGA has yet to fully acknowledge the business and insurance implications we raised. However, we note that there is considerable pipleline of work available in the market and many councils prefer to utilise AS4121-2010 rather than a bespoke contract (which Consult Australia supports). We continue to work with WALGA.

Positive engagement with NSW Small Business Commissioner The NSW Small Business Commissioner asked through a public consultation what barriers are there stopping small business delivering services to NSW government.

You will be unsurprised to hear that we highlighted as the top barriers, the lack of standardised contracts, and unreasonable insurance requirements. The Commissioner received our submission positively and has requested a follow-up meeting to discuss these issues in more detail.

‘NewAccess’ – mental health support for small business Beyond Blue and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman have established NewAccess for Small Business Owners – a mental health initiative that provides confidential and free low intensity early intervention mental health support.

The initiative is tailored to meet the needs of small business owners. For example, the mental health coaches have experience of operating a small business. The coaching is offered either online or via telephone without the need for a referral or mental health care plan. The support is practical, introducing pragmatic tools and techniques that can be implemented in day-to-day living. To enquire about NewAccess for Small Business Owners contact 1300 945 301 or visit Beyond Blue’s website.

Federal budget measures for small business The Federal Budget included measures directly relevant to small business including $2.6 million to support and strengthen business participation in Commonwealth procurement including identifying common ‘pain points’, targeted events on how to access supply chains as well as a pilot of direct engagement of SMEs by the Department of Industry. The temporary loss carry-back has also been extended.

Be engaged, get value!

To best way to get value from your membership is to engage with Consult Australia, be it through events and education, by responding to calls for input or just contacting your state/territory Consult Australia Manager to raise the issues of most concern to your business.

Over the past few months our team has had great conversations with some of small business members, including: Oculus Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Florian Fire Consulting Powerlyt Edgeloe Engineering GG Consultants ACE HDR

What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters

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Why property tax reform is an important part of creating a more sustainable building industry AS COVID-19 IMPACTS AND RESTRICTIONS WERE STARTING TO TAKE THEIR EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY, CONSULT AUSTRALIA LAUNCHED HEALTH CHECK SURVEYS TO DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT ON OUR INDUSTRY AND LEVELS OF CONFIDENCE. property tax reforms as part of their longerterm response to economic impacts, particularly as governments shift to a less reactive approach with the recession passed.

Many may think the connection between our industry and property taxes is hard to draw.

However, taxes have a significant impact on the investment appetite within the property market. This investment appetite is what drives demand in the building industry for the design, advisory, and engineering services provided by our members.

While repealing all property-related taxes would be a quick fix for attracting more investments and creating more work demand for our industry, we do not believe this is fair or logical. It makes sense to tax those who are benefiting from the use of land. A better approach is improving current property taxes through reforms that address current challenges and are designed with intended benefits in mind.

For example, challenges include: The pulse survey results were quite decisive.

Most member businesses were experiencing a significant reduction in work, and the average downturn equated to at least onequarter of normal operations throughout this six-month period. Businesses that were by far most impacted were those providing services to privately funded projects, and more specifically those relating to building projects. Thankfully, with well-directed stimulus such as the HomeBuilder scheme and an overall upswing in the health of the broader economy, these impacts have turned around considerably in our most recent health check survey in April this year.

Consult Australia reflected on these results in June last year and decided to partner with members in a project to investigate how governments could provide a longerterm solution to a volatile property market and building industry, outside the traditional approach of stimulus funding. With our smaller and medium-sized businesses experiencing the greatest impacts, we put

together a working group of SME members to explore potential opportunities. In March this year, this project resulted in the release of Consult Australia latest thought leadership report: Unlocking Stimulus from Property Tax Reforms.

Our property tax reforms report sets out our recommendation to state/territory governments to investigate and include

•d istorting the market by negatively influencing investment decisions to purchase property by applying a stamp duty at the point of sale, and •h ighly volatile funding sources by pegging revenue to the current performance of the property market.

Many may think the connection between our industry and property taxes is hard to draw.

However, taxes have a significant impact on the investment appetite within the property market.

This investment appetite is what drives demand in the building industry for the design, advisory, and engineering services provided by our members.

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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia

Meanwhile, greater movement in the property market, further uptakes in alternate housing models, attracting first home buyers through more sustainable arrangements, and encouraging the property market to be more responsive to demand and supply, are just some of the benefits that property tax reforms could pursue.

UNLOCKING STIMULUS FROM PROPERTY TAX REFORM March 2021

So based on these current challenges, and the opportunities we think are worth pursuing through property tax reforms, what are we recommending?

to pursue reforms without undertaking a generational transition prior to real change where benefits are only experienced in the decades ahead.

First of all, we support the many calls from different organisations and individuals to remove any tax that is applied at the point of property transaction, i.e. the repeal of stamp duty on conveyances. As this tax provides an important and significant revenue source for governments, its repeal should be managed through transitional arrangements that introduce a new land tax – our second recommendation.

While the report is very much pitched as ideas about property tax reforms rather than a definitive solution, the response from the treasurers and shadow treasurers to the report has been positive. Most have noted the significant uphill challenge that any tax reform will face but were complimentary about this research and the types of benefits that could be promoted to help support any change.

Our report then calls for local council rates to be merged with an improved land tax. This will require significant reform to current land tax arrangements for most jurisdictions and the repeal of current local council rates. An improved land tax should have the broadest base possible with limited exemptions, concessions, and surcharges. It should also capture owners of all property taxes, including primary residencies.

James Robertson Consult Australia

Finally, our report also outlines a range of implementation considerations, noting that ‘how’ property tax reforms could be implemented tends to be the conversation that stalls the debate. We think it is important

What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters

The changing conversation in market about standard contracts In 2019 Consult Australia was invited to work with NEC to prepare the Y clauses to assist with the adoption of the NEC suite of contracts in the Australian market. The Y clauses are those amendments needed to make the contract compliant with Australian law.

Consult Australia appointed a small working group, myself and Kevin Pascoe, who were sent off to work with Peter Higgins (Chair of the NEC Contract Board Chair) and law firm Pinsent Masons.

The Y clauses were published in March this year by NEC and a local steering group, consisting of representatives from NEC, Consult Australia, HKA and Pinsent Masons that have been working behind the scenes to build local awareness of the NEC contract.

On Wednesday 2 June, the working group had the opportunity to present the NEC contract suite to over 60 government procurement specialists at a webinar hosted

by APCC, the Australian Procurement and Construction Council. I had the pleasure of representing Consult Australia at the session to talk about how we went about drafting the Y clauses. I emphasized the hard work it took to produce drafting that met the NEC principles of clarity and simplicity. If the amendments seem short, it is because it took a lot of work to make them so.

The webinar also included the Sydney Water case study, presented by Mark Simister the Head of Program Delivery.

Whilst the webinar content walked the audience through all of the things you’d expect - the history and origins of NEC, the contract suite and their structure, how the Y clauses have been drafted and the Sydney Water case study – I found the session particularly inciteful for the following perspectives that emerged: 1. C ontracts should be written for their users.

The problem described was how critical it was for the people delivering the projects, the engineers and the like, to be able to read the contracts and understand them.

If a contract can only be understood by the commercial managers and the lawyers, then we are disengaging this crucial group of people responsible for the delivery of the project. This in turn leads to the contract management processes being ignored and an increasing risk of claims.

Contracts need to first and foremost be written for the primary users of it.

2. The value of a contract users community We talked about the wider community that comes with a well established standard contract suite – the guidance, the flow charts, the tools, the training and articles.

Where there is a vibrant and active community all working with the same basic documents, you have the foundations for building the capacity of your project team to handle issues as and when they arise with the administration of the contract.

Bespoke contracts on the other hand will always take you back to the lawyer who drafted it to find out what it means, coming at a cost and speed and uncertainty. The difference is between being in a constant learning and improvement cycle versus everything being new all the time.

3. Efficiency The Sydney Water case study highlights what efficiency gains can be obtained by taking the constant negotiation of contracts out of business. Observations about the improvements to supply chain relationships and the speed at which they can bring work from planning to delivery is testament to the waste embedded through the use of bespoke contracts.

4. M ental Health impact of claims and disputes This was perhaps the most important observation. Business leaders know that holding your people in constant adversarial positioning, let alone the impact of being involved in a claim or dispute, causes distress and has a negative impact on wellbeing. Mark Simister spoke passionately about the impact on wellness and engagement he is seeking to achieve through redefining how they work.

Consult Australia has long advocated for the adoption of standard contracts in the Australian market and will continue to do so. It is gratifying to see the proof of these arguments in a local case study and it demonstrates what best practice clients are doing to make themselves the most attractive client in a supply constrained market.

Kiri Parr Former Consult Australia President

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What would it be like to live without fear?

WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO LIVE WITHOUT FEAR? AS WE CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH THE IMPACTS OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY AND INCREASING THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, IT CAN FEEL, AT TIMES, THAT FEAR IS EVER PRESENT. IT CAN BE TEMPTING TO IMAGINE HOW MUCH BETTER OUR LIVES WOULD BE IF FEAR DIDN'T GET IN THE WAY, BUT FOR ONE WOMAN IN THE UNITED STATES NOW KNOWN AS SM, FEARLESSNESS IS A REALITY. Her condition is due to a rare genetic disorder that only 400 people in the world have. It causes calcium deposits to build deep in the brain structures that help most people feel fear. In SM's case, these structures have hardened, leaving her without a functional fear-centre.

Doctors at the University of Iowa say that this disorder makes SM vulnerable because she is unable to feel fear and respond to dangerous circumstances that would make people's hearts race or palms sweat.

In a world where fear is an inevitability and even a necessity for survival, how do we move beyond it rather than become paralysed by it?

Courage is what allows us to transform fear into action and ultimately, continue to create and innovate in the face of fear or adversity.

As Nelson Mandela said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." Instead of wishing fear away, we must practice collective courage in order to solve the world's wicked problems.

Everyday heroes Courage is at the very heart of humanity and the word itself has roots in the Latin word for 'heart' and Brene Brown says that courage originally meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart."

Many of us may think that courage is reserved for an extraordinary few or superheroes on the big screen. However, it's more about the decisions we make every day in our homes, businesses and communities.

To be great leaders, we must have social courage to overcome the fear of rejection or unpopularity.Acting with integrity and living our values require moral courage

to overcome the fear of disapproval or opposition. The pursuit of any innovation demands that we have intellectual courage to challenge our thinking and overcome the fear of making mistakes.

Collective courage Most of us are familiar with the fight-or-flight response to stress or fear, but research from Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley shows that fear can also lead to what is known as the 'tend-and-befriend' response.

At its core, the tend-and-befriend response is a biological state engineered to reduce fear and increase hope by increasing care, cooperation, and compassion. Anytime you choose to help others, you activate this state.

Caring for others triggers the biology of courage and creates hope.

The innovations that have been created in response to this threat have been wide ranging. From transparent masks to aid communication for deaf and hard of hearing people to more extreme protective measures like a biohazard suit invented for people to use so they can go out of their homes safely.

As the article suggests, it is "ridiculous" and is an "extreme version of protection"... "but maybe it's some kind of glimpse into the future way in which humans will protect themselves."

Choosing a courageous mindset A new year usually begins fresh with optimism and the idea that we can begin anew. But in 2021, some might like to wish away the worries of 2020, it's clear that disruption and uncertainty will continue in the year ahead.

We've seen this phenomenon on a global scale in the collaboration between pharmaceuticals, laboratories, universities and third parties to create one of humankind's most significant medical achievements – a vaccine in 9 months. It is a shining example of collective courage to keep in mind as we look to combat other challenges throughout the decade.

Choosing a courageous mindset is an important part of maintaining the stamina to face these challenges.

What else can we achieve by coming together and acting as one globally connected community?How do we make this decade remembered for humankind's innovation?

William Cox Aurecon

Designing around fear The way we design is also informed by fear and courage. We responded to the pandemic by staying at home to keep ourselves safe – but staying at home is not the solution to the pandemic and it isn't a sustainable one (we can't stay at home forever).

Many of us may think that courage is reserved for an extraordinary few or superheroes on the big screen. However, it's more about the decisions we make every day in our homes, businesses and communities.

It's worth remembering that: "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow.'" – Mary Anne Radmacher

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How Sponsorship Creates a Leadership Legacy: A Case Study Sophie was on maternity leave after the birth of her first child when she applied to be a part of the program.

“I’d been on maternity leave for nearly a year and was starting to get ready to come back to work when I received a personal email from our CEO James Phillis asking me if I would like to put my hand up for the program.

Knowing my organisation and leaders were thinking about me made me feel confident about getting involved,” Sophie said.

“It was a good time for me to undertake the program as it gave me the chance to explore options upon returning to work and how to balance becoming a parent with leadership goals and aspirations.”

Sophie Olsen

A 2019, Harvard Business Review article

by Herminia Ibarra highlighted that a lack of sponsorship is keeping women from advancing in leadership roles. Sponsorship is perhaps one of the most powerful tools in facilitating direct change in leadership diversity and can be used by any person in a senior leadership position. So what is it, why does it matter and how does it make a difference?

complex project or to work on a challenging business assignment. Without these opportunities, women’s chances of gaining the necessary exposure and experience for C-suite roles is reduced.

How Formal Sponsorship Programs Can Help: A Case Study

What is Sponsorship?

Last year, SMEC partnered with Cultivate, a research-based organisation in Australia, to trial a female sponsorship program.

A sponsor is someone who advocates for your career and speaks up for you when you are not in the room. It differs from mentorship in that a mentor is someone who has experience or knowledge they can share with you. Sponsors are people at your workplace who use their position and political capital to help advance your career.

Six mid-career women were selected from across SMEC and paired up with a sponsor from SMEC’s executive team for an eightmonth program. The program covered topics such as getting to know each other, looking at values, strengths and goals, talking about leadership legacy and experiencing a day in the work life of the other person.

Why Does It Matter?

Kate Drews, who heads up SMEC’s 250-person strong Urban Communities business, talks about her experience as a sponsor for Sophie Olsen, Manager of Urban Communities in the ACT.

Research indicates that women are underrepresented in terms of sponsorship, perhaps most obviously because there are fewer women in our industry, but also because of the propensity to gravitate to people who are like ourselves. Men are more likely to sponsor other men, and with fewer women in senior leadership roles, there are less opportunities for sponsors of women.

The result is that women are not put forward for high impact roles or assignments that could provide exposure and experience which lead to promotion. In professional services, this could mean not being selected to run a

“I knew Sophie at the outset of the program but during the course I feel we got to know each other much better,” said Kate. “We explored strengths and values and learnt together through the program. This is an important element of sponsorship because if I am to advocate for someone, I need to know them well and understand their aspirations and capabilities. The Cultivate program helped us step through this in a manageable way.”

SMEC launched the Cultivate program in 2020, just before of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All meetings were virtual, which presented a challenge for some program activities like shadowing each other for a day. The program was adapted to suit and even though Cultivate finished in 2020, Kate and Sophie still meet regularly for virtual catch ups.

What Were the Outcomes?

Since the end of the program, more than half the women who participated have been promoted to more senior leadership roles, including Sophie Olsen. That is the real intent of this program; to not just connect and build relationships, but to really turn the dial in increasing women’s leadership. This is important as we need more women in executive leadership roles and on boards because diversity has been proved to increase positive outcomes and results for organisations and communities.

SMEC intends to run the Cultivate program again in 2021 because of the tangible, positive impacts it has had in the organisation.

“For me personally, I can see this as a real way that I can leave a legacy,” said Kate Drews. “By bringing more women up behind me and supporting them to become leaders in our industry.”

Kate Drews SMEC

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Leadership in Digital Transformation An unsung hero of leadership is the language we choose to use and choose to avoid.

It’s the fourth territory that we have found especially helpful, in Arcadis. Because it’s this seeming contradiction in terms that can elicit great leadership from good leaders.

What we dub fat words – strategy, culture, creativity– are those words that have lost meaning because they have been invoked, incorrectly, so many times. By so many.

There is a tendency to cite the same companies again and again when we describe those businesses that are led well – who foster invention: from Amazon to Zappos.

In contrast, Leadership must possess a clear definition of language, able to set company horizons in visionary terms.

Leadership is often tasked with moving a business from point a to point b. In the case of Arcadis, digital transformation is the journey we are in the process of undertaking.

Two words that risk being fat, too – especially when put together. And, as we define them – employing digital technology to make our business more competitive - we determine a double-edged sword: potential and profligacy.

More simply, 70% of these manner of journeys fail, in all business. Meaning 30% succeed.

As a leader one has to determine are these odds good enough?

Further, these decisions need to be endorsed and actioned by the many, across national cultures and corporate culture, if they are to succeed. Both the bottom and the top of business must dovetail in their roles and remit, not crash together in some manner of figurative, tectonic cultural plate.

Leadership must possess empathy, therefore. Not one that is about people only, but one that understands the business itself and its predilection for change.

Notwithstanding, the wise leader knows that change is the only constant, she can be certain of. Indeed, Kevin Kelly, ex founding editor Wired, has suggested that the speed of change in developed economies will never be this slow again. For some of us – leaders included – that very phrasing feels exhausting.

On the hunt for a useful model, then, we see benefit in a model of change first described by Swedish Psychologist, Claes Jansenn, back in the 1970s. Aptly named The Change House, Jansenn used his house as a metaphor to help people in both their private and professional lives understand the emotional impact of change - its intrinsic flow as we move from one ‘room’ to the next: Each room possesses different psychological states: contentment (we’re happy here!), through to denial (ie we don’t need to

change!); from confusion (we’re lost!) up into renewal (we’re alive!). But, and it’s a big but, each room has drawbacks. Too long in any creates turmoil in the manner of complacency, misery, bewilderment and burnout, respectively.

Working with Jansenn’s model we have been able to map where those in Arcadis have a tendency to anchor. Where the objective is, for instance, digital transformation, we see our pedants, pragmatists and pessimists brimming with denial – close to the so-called Dungeon Of Denial. Alternatively, we see our dreamers, creators and optimists humming in a constant state of renewal.

How do we reconcile each state?

We firmly believe that Leadership needs the pessimist and the optimist if she is to succeed and lead her team through change.

In the words of George Bernard Shaw, ‘Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The Optimist invents the aeroplane.

The Pessimist, the parachute.’

Blending the powers of pessimism and optimism allows a good leader to help the business find its own luck. Luck in a commercial sense, not as some form of self help! In the West, in business, we tend to shun luck as a four-letter word. In the East, it is coveted far more. And respected.

In his book, Go Luck Yourself, one of the UK’s leading brand strategists, Andy Nairn, frames luck into a code that many of us in leadership might recognise: • Appreciate what you’ve got • Look for opportunities everywhere • Turn misfortune into good fortune • Practice being lucky

These organisations make a conscious effort to foster serendipity in their culture. All too often, company processes are designed to eliminate the role of chance – but smart companies do the opposite. They encourage unusual cross-fertilisations, incentivise happy accidents and make room for surprise discoveries.

This is more than that cliché of failing forwards, rather it’s an invitation to explore and discover; to progress without a clear horizon in mind. And to avoid the dogma of denial. Dogma kills luck and optimism both.

Without optimism, pessimism thrives. And none of us needs that, right now.

Lisa Samways Arcadis

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Leading a Remote Workforce in Architecture, Engineering and Design Many practices have already embraced working remotely for a proportion, if not many, of their people. But in the current climate, leaders are going to be spending long periods away from the majority of their people and most, if not all, work will be performed remotely. Leadership is now about leading all the people, all the time remotely.

It’s a significant change for the industry and we won’t return to how it was!

Leaders should not make the mistake of seeing this recent transition as merely a short-term inconvenience—it is an opportunity and valuable incentive for studios to make important, long-term changes.

There’s no mistaking, though, that what will work best for your business will depend on the culture you have already built and the people you have around you.

There isn’t a one size template for all studios but if managed appropriately this can lead to improved efficiency, wellbeing and engagement, and increased (and renewed) competitiveness in the long-term.

How do you achieve this and what’s required from the leadership team to enable and optimise the current remote-working scenario?

There are common practical themes and best practices that can be applied: 1. Trust 2. Provide the required technology solutions 3. Set clear expectations 4. Follow up 5. Manage achievement not time 6. Communicate 7. Show empathy 8. Take time out

1. Trust You’ve recruited and trained talented and motivated people—they all want to step up and do a good job,even from afar. Trust in your employees is critical.

If that’s uncomfortable for you, then you may have bigger problems to navigate. Trust is the corefoundation of teams, collaboration and working together. And if you genuinely believe you have untrustworthy people, then you might have some leadership or recruitment issues. Give trust freely!

Trust, transparency, respect, organisation,

inclusivity, vision. Honestly, they’re the same qualities that make any leader great, but they’re more important in a remote environment. And it’s a two-way street— each of us must possess these qualities or the system falls apart.

2. Provide the required technology solutions It’s important to support your team to set themselves up remotely and to provide and maintain infrastructure required—software and hardware. There will be increased demand on your infrastructure to enable and support all your people to work from home at the same time. Your team can only be productive if they have the right equipment to do so. It’s our responsibility as leaders to provide the tools and create the environment to enable our people to do a good job.

Assist your people to implement reliable internet, PCs, laptops—mirroring the studio setup. Survey them to obtain accurate and current information.

This isn’t the time to be debating whether the expense is reimbursable or otherwise.

Some companies are currently providing each employee with $300 to $500 or more so that individuals can purchase the items that best meet their needs—including additional monitors.

Provide mobile-enabled individual messagingfunctionality (like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.), which can be used

for simpler, less formal conversations, as well as time-sensitive communication. If your company doesn’t have technology tools already in place, there are inexpensive ways to obtain simple versions of these tools for your team, as a short-term fix. Lean on your IT support to ensure there is an appropriate level of data security and redundancy as well before using any of these tools.

If you haven’t already, start exploring all the cloud-based platforms from the major CAD software providers, such as Autodesk BIM 360, SketchUp Shop, and BIM Cloud.

Besides composing drawing sets, firms will have to determine how to manage their files with a remote staff. Technology companies have long since migrated to the cloud, which means your data should in theory be secure, following best practices for account management and access, of course. Your servers may need to be upgraded in terms of bandwidth and capacity to handle your total workforce accessing them remotely. While the move to your home office may test the limits of your current servers, put faith in enterprise software companies to ensure that their business continuity plans include uptime and 24-hour access to your files.

3. Set clear expectations Your role at any time as a leader is to provide clarity around expectations. How will you and your team deliver on your business objectives, your client expectations and your services, and how will you communicate this?

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How will you and your team deliver on your business objectives, your client expectations and your services, and how will you communicate this?

This becomes more important when your people are remote as there tends to be less informal catch-ups and less regular team meetings where the team hold each other accountable. Develop systems for how you will determine that progress is on track and how you will monitor performance.

Important as this is in business, it becomes even more important when leading a remote workforce—your people expect this. Two simple questions all employees have— “What do I have to do and how did I go?”

Let your people know what your business, project and team priorities are, what are the key tasks, who owns what, what needs to be delivered when. Your priorities will change constantly so make sure you are communicating as often as you can be.

Provide that clarity. Use video as much as you can!

Your role isn’t to watch people, it’s to provide them with clear direction, the best systems and tools so they can do their job well and enjoy doing it. Whether someone is in the same building as you or not, you know if they’re not being productive.

4. Follow up We care about people, but we also have the conversations we might not want to have.

Where are we with it? What’s not working?

What needs to change to get back on track?

What else do we need to put in place? Have the priorities changed? Should we change the priorities? What’s become urgent and important? What’s important? What is for later? Embrace a coaching mentality. Don’t be afraid to keep people accountable remotely.

Share an action list with priorities and go through this regularly—weekly or fortnightly depending on the role. Ask your people to reconfirm the priorities.What does your week look like now? Establishguidelines around this.

Clarity, connection, accountability and cooperation are required. Your responsibility is to lead from a position that reflects your values—your “guiding principles”, be what they may (for example, diplomacy, accountability, achievement, teamwork, challenge etc). We are in new and challenging times. Embrace them!

5. Manage achievement not time The sooner your business moves away from tracking time and the hours that are worked the better your business will be. Move away from tracking time and how many hours are worked—it’s irrelevant. What you want to know is how is the work progressing? Are your people engaged, productive and supported? How long they take is somewhat secondary. What’s important is whether you are delivering the services, working to the scope and that your people are productive. There are far more effective ways to assess this than hours worked.

Establish meaningful business objectives that are relevant and engaging to the individual and the role. An easy way to monitor progress is to track % complete and your conversations should be around this.

Remember, you’re trusting your people! The amount of work required should be related to the fee you are charging. People earn fee income for your business—that’s the important issue.

Working from home means no long commutes and no strict one-hour lunch break. Examining your workflow, your people may find it possible to accomplish their work in six hours rather than the traditional eight hours (that are somewhat mandated by office hours). What’s wrong with using this “new time” as an opportunity to learn new software, develop the business systems, or study a new market expertise that will benefit your people and hence your business.

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6. Communicate It’s even more important when you are leading a remote workforce to be more organised and structured in your work and with your team communication. So, before you think about getting on with what you need to do, take some time to think about what your team are doing and who you are going to touch base with. Who do you have regular meetings with? Think about any surprises that may come about. Try to think ahead of your team. Remember they can’t see you or your body language—they can’t see and feel the pressures that others are under. It is your responsibility to be on top of this.

Ask the following questions—How would you like me to communicate, to check your progress? How would you like me to follow up?

Schedule in regular times—regular catchups—with your people and make sure your managers have this in place for their teams.

That can be on a formal basis, but it can also be on an informal basis. Use technology, MS teams, Skype etc. to replace the regular catch-up. Continue to schedule a 10-minute coffee catch-up. (It’s just not face-to-face).

And schedule regular times where you can all gather together (or most of you) via video conferencing. This is your regular employee get together and could happen weekly or bi-weekly. We recommend that leaders establish these protocols—ways of working—with employees as soon as possible and communicate these at your get together.

This is an opportunity for the leadership to make a difference to your people’s day.

A great leader who can lead remotely will create that connection. Bring your people together. Make it happen!

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7. Show empathy

8. Take time out

Each of your team will be responding differently to remote working. Some people will prefer this and see this as an opportunity to restructure their working relationship and some won’t. Very few people will be missing the commute to and from work though!

However, don’t assume what people need.

Just ask the question—How can I help you?

Although leadership requires us to put our own needs to one side so that we can serve others, you won’t do this to the best of your ability if you don’t have balance in your life.

Create time in your schedule to balance your work and outside work life so that you can be the person your team needs you to be.

Exercise, spend time with your family, read etc. Perhaps use the time you would have spent commuting to take on an online course that you’ve been putting off for a while or learn a new skill that isn’t work-related. Teach yourself to touch-type!

Understand that people have responsibilities outside the workplace and if they are at home it can be difficult to separate home and work life and to “isolate” themselves.

In the current environment, with the sudden transition to virtual work, there is a much greater chance that employees will be contending with sub-optimal workspaces and unexpected parenting responsibilities.

Even in normal circumstances, family and home demands can encroach on remote work. You should expect these distractions to be greater during this unplanned workfrom-home transition. You need to make allowances for this and, quite frankly, don’t expect your people to be available at all times.

Work time from home tends to be less ordered and structured—make allowances for this. Your role as a leader is not to drive them to deliver more; your role is to get the best out of your team in the current situation.

A great leader will tap into what your team needs in the moment.

“Soft” skills will be 10X more important in a virtual/work-at-home world. Team dynamics, individual growth, team creativity will dominate effectiveness”—Tom Peters

Discipline is important when working from home. While it's vital to maintain productivity levels during your core work hours, it's equally important to detach from work when needed. Lead yourself first!

The industry is in a period of significant change and uncertainty and no doubt you will or may be doing much of this already. To be sure, we won’t return to how things were.

The current environment presents your businesswith a unique opportunity to put in placemeasures that will enable you to manage throughthe present business challenges. Not only that,though, this may be a time to lead your businessto improved efficiency, wellbeing, engagement andcompetitiveness well into the future.

Leadership is even more important in times of uncertainty!

Management for Design

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Leadership Matters: very much WHETHER IT’S THE LEADERS OF A COUNTRY, BUSINESS, SPORTING CLUB OR TEAM OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF ORGANISATION, THOSE RELATIVELY FEW ‘SENIOR’ PEOPLE WHO ARE AUTHORISED TO SET STRATEGY, ALLOCATE RESOURCES, AND WHO SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE CULTURE, SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES AND A RANGE OF OTHER THINGS CLEARLY DO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO OUTCOMES.

No matter the industry, the most important factor that underpins other causal factors of performance is regularly shown to be the quality of leadership. For consulting (engineering) businesses, readers will be able to trace the rise and fall of businesses and relate these to the leadership effectiveness of those businesses. Its everywhere: GE prospered for nearly twenty years under the leadership of Jack Welch, and has not been the same since then.

In my new book, co-authored with business leader Don Argus, we examine evidence of just how and why NAB greatly outperformed the market for a decade (1990-2000), then abruptly fell to the back of the pack, and the only standout explanatory factor was the quality of senior executive leadership. It is the senior executives who set the standards and role model required behaviours on other key success factors such as customer focus, service levels, respect for all staff and stakeholders, and process quality and integrity, which have been shown by rigorous research to be other main factors of business success. BHP fared oppositely to NAB, from floundering in the 1980’s and 90’s to firmly implementing a new strategy in the new century of long term, low cost, high quality resources, exiting the complex and difficult steel industry, and contributing very greatly to Australia’s prosperity since then. The key changes within BHP all stemmed from changes to leadership, that led to changes in strategy, structure, governance, even leading to industry structure changes, for example the pricing of iron ore during the mining boom, that was greatly in BHP’s, and Australia’s, interests. A third Australian example of great corporate success through great leadership is CSL, that was transformed from a government agency into a global leader in its sector, with long term, consistent pursuit of technical, supply chain and marketing excellence underpinning its amazing journey of value creation for all its stakeholders.

Overseas, we see a very similar relationship between leadership quality and business outcomes. Great leadership is the prime

reason that Toyota has consistently succeeded when others such as VW, GM, Nissan, Ford and Chrysler have faltered at various times. A succession of leaders at Toyota have promulgated the same set of core values for over 50 years. Those values are Respect for People and Continuous Improvement.

In our research for our ‘Strategic Leadership’ book, and in the management development short-course I conduct for Consult Australia (linked here), we show and workshop how leadership qualities can be planned, developed and practised as a set of behaviours. These include: 1. E ffectively setting vision and strategy: deciding the longer term pathway for the organisation, and its value system 2. Building trust: with all stakeholders, especially employees and clients 3. P articipation: meaning being hands on and deeply involved in operational oversight, strategy setting, performance measurement, providing guidance and feedback.

4. L earning: we can never know all that we would like to, and the world changes almost every day, so driving the learning capability uptake, staying up with new technologies and market factors is a key attribute for senior leaders to undertake and demonstrate to others 5. Creating a winning attitude: based on the premise of positive psychology, this quality in leaders fosters motivation and discretionary work effort throughout.

6. E mbracing diversity: leaders can demonstrate their inclusivity for all people, of all diverse natures, that will link tightly to the universal principle of respect for everybody, that works so well.

7. Creativity: leaders who participate in finding creative ways to solve problems and pursue opportunities will set this in place as part of culture

8. Integrity: the standards, of ethical behaviour and integrity at both the individual level and in aggregate can be role modelled by leaders 9. C ommunity: leaders can ensure that their organisation is creating value for a range of stakeholders, and this includes being personally selfless in words and deeds While we should acknowledge that there might well be some degree of genetic predisposition within people, or at least that their upbringing has led them to be at certain stages of maturity on the above characteristics by the time they enter the workforce, they can clearly all be developed and practised, by anyone who wishes to be the best leader they can aspire to becoming!

‘Distributed’ leadership In my research involving studying the world’s best companies, it became apparent 30 years ago that leadership was not just what senior executives do, but was in place and paramount at all levels of excellent organisations. For example team leaders, project leaders, functional managers, and ultimately each of us is a leader in our own domain. In great organisations, this means being accountable and responsible for our actions and outcomes, and having the requisite decision making authority to achieve those ‘best outcomes’ at all levels. When the above characteristics and fully distributed and operating at all levels and in all corners of an organisation, the robustness and resilience created, as well as the productivity and service levels can be astoundingly impressive.

Hence our goals should be twofold when it comes to leadership: first to make sure we have the right people with the maturity of characteristics operating in key strategic roles, and second to cascade those leadership qualities right throughout the business!

Professor Danny Samson University of Melbourne Professor Danny Samson conducts shortcourses for Consult Australia, and he lectures and conducts research at the University of Melbourne. Comments welcome: d.samson@unimelb.edu.au

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Three Threads on Leadership Is our leadership being outsourced?

Leadership is not a public act

If they’re not the leaders you wanted?

Is there a tendency for professionals in the construction industry to simply pay for someone else to lead? In a conversation with my colleague, Melonie Bayl-Smith, she observed that people seem to be more willing to solve a challenge with money, rather than do something about it themselves. Parents, for example, paying for a coach for their child’s football team, rather than taking on the role themselves. We speculated that this attitude was manifest in the professions. Are consultants paying membership fees to their representative institutions to absolve themselves of leadership responsibility?

When we’re asked to think of great leaders, our mind will typically turn to the great orators, the larger than life public figures, or those obscured behind a battalion of microphones during some significant public or corporate event.

Perhaps it’s time to become the leader you need.

The Electric Monk comes to mind,

Leaders build personal connections.

“The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder… Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe.” - Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Leaders work for people, not themselves.

They put the others first. They’re selfless.

It’s easy to outsource these days.

It’s easy to justify the outsourcing in today’s supposedly time poor world.

It gives you permission to tell yourself a straightforward story.

“I don’t have time."

“I don’t have the ability.”

“I don’t have the status or position.”

It’s easier to complain about someone else’s leadership failures than it is to take on the responsibility yourself. So people pay up and stand down.

The problem with that approach is that leadership is necessary at all levels, not just from the top. There are different types and areas of leadership. Leadership in the quality of work delivered, within a practice, in representing the profession, in representing the interests of the public, and so on.

Professional institutions do their best with their limited resources, but frankly it’s not enough. It’s not enough and that is not the fault of these bodies. It’s the fault of professionals that fail to step into personal leadership.

When we’re asked to think of those leaders in our life that have really made a difference for us. That have positively changed us, that we willingly follow, that we truly trust and respect. There’s seldom an overlap between the great leaders in our mind and those that have made a personal difference to us.

Is it time to ask yourself: Are you doing enough?

Should you be showing more leadership?

Should you take some responsibility?

If you would like to see change in the world, perhaps it’s time you take the initiative to lead the change you seek.

Leaders make you feel safe. They care for you.

You don’t need to be elected to lead.

You don’t need to be asked to lead.

You just need a little courage.

A cause or organisation that people care about.

Conviction.

Audacity Bravery.

Vulnerability.

A willingness to learn & build your leadership skills.

Leaders take responsibility.

Start with one person.

People like this, rarely do this work in public.

Indeed, leadership may often go unseen, the selfless act. It is intent that matters, leaders seeking to give are more productive than those seeking benefit. If there is no intent to benefit, it is seldom necessary to be seen to be giving.

That is still an achievement and you’ve now begun. Keep going.

Leadership is not a Public Act.

“Managers want authority. Leaders take responsibility.” - Seth Godin It’s fair to say that few of our politicians, for example, are willing to take responsibility if at all possible, but they’ll take all the authority they can get.

Here’s a simple leadership test: Who is this person working for? Are they working for themselves or for the others? Only the latter is a leader.

This is not a public act.

Build trust.

The others will follow.

Leadership is a choice.

Leaders take responsibility, they choose to lead.

They don’t outsource.

Michael Lewarne Unmeasured

Business essentials Consulting Matters

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Your Future, Your Super legislation – Cbus is standing up for members in the construction industry

The Government wants to change super laws that could see workers new to the industry stapled to a fund that doesn’t provide insurance cover for dangerous occupations.

Cbus understands the risks of working in the building and construction industry. That’s why Cbus insurance includes automatic insurance cover for eligible members in the manual occupation category.

Under the Government’s proposal, if a new employee does not choose an appropriate superannuation fund, a construction worker maybe left uninsured or be ‘stapled’ to a fund that won’t cover them if they’re seriously injured at work.

Cbus is working hard to ensure that workers in our industry are:

What does this mean for employers?

Cbus

Employers care about their workers and want to be confident that they are insured with industry-specific insurance.

Cbus’ Trustee is United Super Pty Ltd. ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 Cbus ABN 75 493 363 262

This proposal will also add red tape for employers. For example, an employer will be required to contact the ATO to identify whether a stapled fund for a new employee exists and the ATO will make rules that employers are required to follow in order to comply with the requirements.

What can you do?

 Talk about this with your employees  Make sure you and your employees are

not paying for insurance that won’t deliver in the event of an accident

• Not stapled to a fund with unsuitable insurance options.

 Contact your local Cbus representative if

• Not paying for insurance with other funds that won’t cover them.

Visit cbussuper.com.au/campaigns/yourfuture-your-super to learn more and stay updated on what Cbus is doing about this proposal.

• Not putting themselves and their families at risk with inadequate insurance protection.

you have any questions.

This information is about Cbus. It doesn’t take into account your specific needs, so you should look at your own financial position, objectives and requirements before making any financial decisions. Read the relevant Cbus Product Disclosure Statement and related documents to decide whether Cbus is right for you. Call 1300 361 784 or visit cbussuper.com.au for a copy.

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Consulting Matters Corporate social responsibility

Supporting local leadership: What is localisation and why is it a priority for humanitarian interventions?

Enhancing capacities of national and local actors to be better prepared to respond to humanitarian crises.

The delivery of development and humanitarian assistance has traditionally involved foreign intervention in local contexts.

When the immediate need for assistance diminishes, so too do the foreign skills, capabilities, knowledge and expertise required to deliver it. Arguably, this has often left communities no more resilient, often leaving an increased burden on local people and communities to recover. This reality requires a reformed approach to the way humanitarian action is conceptualised, planned and operationalised: to put localisation at the heart of every response.

What is Localisation?

Localisation, in the context of international development, has its origins in 2016 when it emerged as a priority from the first World Humanitarian Summit, in what is known as the Grand Bargain. The summit committed stakeholders to reinforcing national and local systems and capacities first.

The localisation agenda recognises the complementary role of international actors: It doesn’t sideline international humanitarian responders but shifts their role from direct implementation to supporting local actors as implementers.

To RedR Australia, localisation is defined as the process of recognising, respecting and strengthening the independence of leadership and decision-making by national actors in humanitarian action, in order to better address the needs of affected populations.

Diversity and inclusion are hallmarks of productive teams and responsive organisations. RedR Australia is proud to lead on localisation with the development of a Localisation Strategy and Action Plan (LAP).

The LAP guides the organisation through the progress of localisation and support to key stakeholders enabling RedR Australia staff, roster members, trainers and volunteers to deliver concreate localisation action over the next four years.

Diversity and inclusion are hallmarks of productive teams and responsive organisations.

RedR Australia is proud to lead on localisation with the development of a Localisation Strategy and Action Plan (LAP). The LAP guides the organisation through the progress of localisation and support to key stakeholders enabling RedR Australia staff, roster members, trainers and volunteers to deliver concreate localisation action over the next four years.

Localisation in action There are fantastic examples of localisation in action through RedR Australia roster deployments in the Pacific and the Middle East.

A RedR Australia deployee with the Australia Assists program, Mayada Elsabah is a Disability Inclusion Officer currently working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) in Jordan. An Egyptian national and longterm resident of Jordan, Mayada speaks the local language and has a strong affinity with local communities. Mayada is responsible for developing the skills of refugees with disabilities and supporting their needs for full integration into their communities. Mayada is also developing guidelines for appropriate disability terminology to ensure UNWRA’s response not only meets the tangible needs of people with disabilities, but that all sections of the agency use inclusive and appropriate language in their work.

Jordanian local, Elias Armali is also on deployment at UNWRA through the Australia Assists program. Elias is responsible for supporting UNRWA engagement in the Gulf and other Arab countries, helping to develop existing partnerships, explore new ones, and research and approach new sources of funding in countries under the purview of the

Arab Partnerships Unit (APU). Elias’ work is vital to ensuring local voices and partnership at the centre of humanitarian response in the region.

An effective response RedR knows that the process of localisation leads to more effective humanitarian action.

When local actors are first responders, they recognise and facilitate rapid and sustainable transitions to recovery because they understand the risks, assets, capabilities and services available within their own communities. Locally-led responses also benefit from greater access to, and understanding of, the needs and strengths of crisis affected people.

Right: Former Australia Assists deployee, Samoan national and long-term Fijian resident Steven Aumua supported the World Food Program with disaster preparedness and response in the pacific while on assignment as a Logistic Preparedness Officer.

Corporate social responsibility Consulting Matters

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Consulting Matters

Inclusive Education Officer Mayada Elsabah is working with UNRWA in Jordan on disability inclusion in the education sector.

With the pandemic worsening conflict indicators, and climate change leading to an increasing number of adverse weather events, organisations like RedR Australia play a critical role in strengthening regional, national and local capacity for humanitarian action.

For RedR Australia, localisation requires a diverse roster that reflects skills, languages, competencies and technical demands. We continue to expand our training schedule to include course locations outside of Australia, such as the Pacific and Middle East. This responds to the local demand for us to share our knowledge, but also removes travel and cost barriers while facilitating qualified and locally available experts to participate and join the RedR Australia roster.

With the pandemic worsening conflict indicators, and climate change leading to an increasing number of adverse weather events, organisations like RedR Australia play a critical role in strengthening regional, national and local capacity for humanitarian action. If Consult Australia members interested in supporting humanitarian assistance through their work wish to understand how to localise and build resilient communities, RedR Australia stands ready to help.

Kirsten Sayers CEO RedR Australia Our next Essentials of Humanitarian Practice and Hostile Environment Awareness training courses will be held 1- 12 September 20201 at Mt Macedon, Victoria Australia. A full calendar of RedR Australia training can be found on https://redr.org.au/training-courses/training-dates/

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Consulting Matters

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The skills, knowledge and expertise of our people are crucial to ongoing humanitarian efforts.

RedR Australia’s humanitarian standby roster enables United Nations agencies, international non-government organisations and the Australian Government to access our trained specialists in varied disciplines ranging from information management through to public health during a humanitarian crisis.

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Consulting Matters Project case study

Corporate leadership on Modern Slavery TONKIN’S FIRST VOLUNTARY MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT IS A DEMONSTRATION OF OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, THE COMMUNITIES WE ARE PART OF AND THE WORLD WE DEPEND UPON, AND THIS EXTENDS TO CARING FOR PEOPLE ACROSS ALL ASPECTS OF OUR VALUE CHAIN. THE STATEMENT SETS OUT THE STEPS TONKIN IS TAKING TO ADDRESS AND MINIMISE THE RISKS OF MODERN SLAVERY IN OUR OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAINS. IT IS HOPED THAT THE RELEASE OF OUR STATEMENT AND OUR EFFORTS IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUES WILL ENCOURAGE INDUSTRY-WIDE PRIORITISATION OF ANTI-MODERN SLAVERY INITIATIVES. After beginning our journey with a detailed risk assessment of our operations and supply chains in 2020, Tonkin’s first voluntary Modern Slavery Statement was released in early 2021.

Modern slavery is a term used to describe serious exploitation. While slavery may seem like an issue of the past there are more people affected by slavery now than ever before. Worldwide, more than 40 million people are estimated to be trapped in modern slavery situations, where they are severely exploited for personal or commercial gain.1 Australia isn’t immune to modern slavery either - between 2015 and 2017 the Government estimated that there were over 1,900 victims of modern slavery.2 Globally, approximately 22 percent of forced labour victims are found in the manufacture and production of raw materials, including in forestry, mining and quarrying. These trades are key suppliers for many industries including engineering, property and construction – sectors that Tonkin and other engineering companies operate in.3 As part of the development of our Modern Slavery Statement, Tonkin undertook a risk assessment to identify the key risks. As with many consulting firms in Australia, the key risk areas in our supply chains include

building and construction, engineering goods, facilities, fleet and logistics, information communication technology, office supplies, travel, and utilities and fuels.

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018, and the introduction of corporate social responsibility reporting, provides a regulatory initiative to increase transparency and supplier engagement within Australia and identify modern slavery risks in supply chains.

While Tonkin is not a mandated reporting entity under the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018, we have chosen to comply with this legislation, starting with the 2020-21 reporting period. Publishing a voluntary position statement demonstrates the intention to meet the criteria of the Act with a view to making a positive social impact on modern slavery. In doing so, we are supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including the commitment to work towards eradicating the many forms of modern-day slavery that exist and improving human rights across the supply chain.

Tonkin’s first voluntary Modern Slavery Statement supports our commitment to undertake sustainable business practices that integrate social, economic and environmental

issues into our core business processes to achieve environmentally and socially responsible operations.

Tonkin cares about people across all aspects of our value chain, prioritising the safety, health and wellbeing of all people, partners, clients and our communities. We are committed to extending our values of care, trust, excellence, and together to the people who work in our supply chains and the suppliers who engage them.

By releasing a voluntary Modern Slavery Position Statement, Tonkin hopes to make a positive social impact on modern slavery.

We anticipate far-reaching benefits in ethical engagement across our supply chain and hope Tonkin’s efforts may encourage other consulting firms to approach this important issue with the commitment it deserves.

Together, we can make a positive impact in the fight against modern slavery.

Dr Olivia Oliver Tonkin 1

www.antislavery.org

2

ational Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery N 2020-25, Australian Government Department of Home Affairs

3

roperty, Construction and Modern Slavery, P KPMG Australia 2020

Consulting Matters

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Efficient drainage requires water to flow downhill; thereby removing runoff quickly and keeping drains silt free.

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ACO. The future of drainage

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Inhouse & online training available!

Thinking about professional development?

Consult Australia offers a number of intensive training programs to provide consultants with invaluable skills, knowledge and advice. This powerful training puts you in control and allows you to better protect your business.

Contracts for Consultants

CLICK HERE TO CHECK DATES

Managing Projects for Disputes and Claims

CLICK HERE TO CHECK DATES

Learn vital information about: • Contract formulation & terms • Contractual relationships • Liability & Insurance • Onerous contract terms • Professional indemnity insurance • Dispute resolution Facilitated by Tony Horan - one of the most knowledgeable and experienced barristers working in the construction industry in Australia.

Learn how to: • Set up the project before the claim or dispute has emerged • Build a project execution strategy • Build templates and processes on how to mitigate these risks • Cover dispute pathways, claim strategy and dispute resolution This course is facilitated by Kiri Parr and Heidi Schweikert.

Member price: $3,101 (Online incl GST) Non-Member price: $3,931 (Online incl GST)

Member price: $2,800 (Online incl GST) Non-Member price: $3,600* (Online incl GST)

Role of Superintendent

In-house courses

CLICK HERE TO CHECK DATES

CLICK HERE TO CHECK DATES

Topics include: • Scope of duties • The dual roles of the Superintendent • Decision making and conveying information • Liability of the Superintendent • Insurance issues Facilitated by Tony Horan - one of the most knowledgeable and experienced barristers working in the construction industry in Australia.

Did you know that Consult Australia also offers in-house training?

Member price: $1,575 (Online incl GST) Non-Member price: $2,108 (Online incl GST)

Prices for in-house courses are very competitive and you can get more information here or by emailing education@consultaustralia.com.au.

Consult Australia can run our Contracts for Consultants, Role of the Superintendent courses for your team in-house and can also give you the option to tailor the content to specifically meet your firm’s requirements.

For more information visit: www.consultaustralia.com.au/education