Issuu

pulse THE

Edition 10 March 2022

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

We understand that people and careers go further when they’re supported by a community. Join our team: proximity.com.au/careers-and-culture

The information in The Pulse is provided for information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Formal legal or professional advice should be sought in relation to specific circumstances. Printed on ecoStar+ Carbon neutral, FSC recycled certified, manufactured from 100% post consumer recycled paper.

proximity.com.au enquiries@proximity.com.au 1800 959 885 2

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

A message from our Co-CEO Proximity’s DNA is working hand-in-hand with you, to deliver practical solutions to your biggest challenges. Through your continued support we have continued to grow. As the growth of our capability has increased and the opportunities to support our clients have expanded, we have continued to look at how we can stay at the forefront of what we do and deliver our vision to be the best provider of integrated consulting, legal and commercial services to government and large organisations. We are very excited to begin 2022 with a new executive leadership team to help drive continued growth in our capability into 2022 and beyond. This additional leadership capacity and expertise will enable us to expand our breadth of service offerings to

provide an increased range of integrated services to our clients, and operate at the scale and capability that best meets your needs. For myself, this change to the executive leadership team sees me transition from Chief Operating Officer, to Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), joined by former Global Director in M&A and Alliances for PwC (London, USA and Australia), Mike Watson, who is making a full-time move into the Co-CEO role after five years on the Proximity Advisory Board and two years consulting to the organisation. I am thrilled to step-up to the Co-CEO position, eager for the increased responsibility in driving our business strategy, and for the new opportunities the role presents… like penning my inaugural Pulse magazine address! So, on that note, what’s in store for both this edition of The Pulse and for Proximity as we embark on a new year? In line with the new structure (which you can read all about on page 30) , we will continue to build and expand our business leadership team with staff who are genuine experts in their field, to support sustainable growth and empower our people. One way we intend to achieve this

is via our Client and Service Leadership Program, a program that enables Proximity to better help our clients, better utilise the breadth of talent we have, and give those with an interest in these roles the opportunity and responsibility to develop their skills in non-technical areas. Find out more about this program, and meet the leads on page 37. We will continue to rise to meet the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, pushing forward so we can continue to provide quality support to our clients well into the future. We address some of the challenges COVID-19 is presenting right here in The Pulse. Hear from Expert Advisor, Jenifer Frederick on the “Great Resignation” and gain some tips on how organisations can support their employees when they are at a career crossroad. Or flick to page 9 to hear from Malcolm Thompson, Expert Advisor, on how you can run a health check to see how your organisation has fared, and how you can prepare for the next shock wave. I hope you enjoy edition 10 of The Pulse, and on behalf of Mike and myself, we wanted to thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to a bright future working with you in 2022 and beyond. Zoe Lynam Co-CEO

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

C O N S U LT I N G H U B

Effective leadership recognises the value of meaningfully engaging people

Leaders who take the time to invest in effective stakeholder engagement deliver stronger, more sustainable business results and fast-track implementation and the realisation of benefits. By Cait Tynan Principal Advisor National Lead—Organisational Planning, Transformation & Governance

GET TO KNOW CAIT

CONNECT WITH CAIT

Of the many leaders I know who have led significant change, an airport CEO stands out for identifying the importance of playing the long game in advocating for change. This airport has been plagued by 20-year-old policy determining the number of take-offs and landings that could be undertaken in one hour. No other international airport has this constraint. Changing this policy would strengthen the economic contribution to the nation, with flow-on effects to tourism, business and the education sectors. But, so much of the public narrative focused on the increased noise impacts on the local communities. I’ve worked with a lot of organisations including State and Federal Government Agencies, ASX publicly listed companies, as well as privately owned organisations. I have experienced the highs of success and witnessed the disruption and failure of strategy when stakeholders are left out of the action. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that people can undo the best laid plans in a heartbeat if they aren’t meaningfully involved early and often. Here are some of the learnings I’ve gleaned from these experiences:

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

A clearly defined message helps deliver benefits Having a clear message puts you on the front foot and helps you set the agenda. When an organisation lacks clarity, you run the risk of the agenda being set for you. In the case of the airport, it put at risk the competitive and economic benefits of policy change. For decades, the media had owned the narrative and run scare tactics about changing the curfew as opposed to relaxing the quota on flights per hour. Flying earlier or landing later than the current curfew is a very different proposition than increasing the number of planes taking off and landing within a 60-minute period. Effective leaders own the message and clearly illustrate it to all stakeholders. They take the time to define it, contextualise it and involve others in communication. Engaging people early strengthens the business position for change and provides the opportunity to learn more about the agenda, from others. Not doing this is a lost opportunity for employees and other stakeholders as advocates for change. In my view, this also builds a culture of trust and brings cohesion and direction. Not engaging early sets you backward, with flow-on harm to the organisational culture and community.

Bring people with you Understanding the complexity of multiple stakeholder groups, identifying the role each group can have in influencing the business outcome and prioritising engagement is fundamental to any effective change. Leaders who value stakeholder engagement, seeing it as a core part of their role and spending their time where it matters, deliver a faster, more efficient and better transformation.. Providing clarity to Industry, Government and communities, and positioning a policy change as a key to enabling Australia to compete fairly on the global stage positions the airport well for successful policy review. This airport may be in the trenches of policy change for some time, but recognises the importance of the long game, keeping these principles in mind. Leaders who take time to build advocacy are more successful in embedding change. This means not surprising or blind-siding people. If change feels like it is imposed, it will likely be met with resistance. Dealing with change resistance up front minimises the impact in the long run. Leading with transparency results in stronger credibility and organisational buy-in. Creating opportunities to contribute or to get people across changes goes a long way to creating advocates. This can simply be people who understand the why, even if they are not in full support.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

One of the most challenging business initiatives, with disparate, complex stakeholders also has one of the most rewarding outcomes A State Government Agency with a public safety mandate was responsible for migrating four emergency services organisations (ESOs) from individual radio networks to one dedicated radio network for use by Police, Fire and Ambulance. This was as technically complex as it was fundamental in the protection of people and communities. Timing was critical, requirements were not aligned, and funding had been piecemeal. Trust was low. Leadership was new. The project was a high priority for the State and had the support of the Department’s secretary and executive. Strong leadership who acknowledged the complexity and necessity of recurring and longterm engagement with stakeholders was critical. Open and transparent engagement, set up and backed by the Department was the strong suit. Finding common ground, important. Leaders focused on understanding all the players and their competing interests as critical ingredients to its success. Working in parallel with Treasury as the key stakeholder for funding, over a 10-month period, relationships with the ESOs were strengthened, aligned and united funding secured for the business case to build a significantly enhanced network for the safety of the State, ahead of the next bush fire season.

Open and transparent communication is fundamental In a conversation with a Federal Government leader reflecting on a recent structural change, the CEO regretted not spending more time engaging with people. This business change involved significant financial investment in IT systems along with a broader organisational re-design. A large amount of time was spent on getting the systems integration right and, while communication was undertaken, it was secondary to the process. Leaders who do not prioritise communication run the risk of projects de-railing, putting people, governance and financial benefits at risk.

Learning from past experiences sets up more successful business changes Leaders who reflect on what hasn’t gone well and understand why, set up a better experience for all involved, plus bring about benefits faster. Bold leaders will own the failure and pause or redirect the objective mid-journey. Both leaders and those around them will benefit from the experience. Strong leaders who take the time to understand the short and the long game and the role stakeholders play in delivering business changes benefit from credible, long-term implementation and better informed, more engaged teams.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

C O N S U LT I N G H U B

To stay or to go? That is the question…

By Jenifer Frederick Expert Advisor

GET TO KNOW JENIFER

The ‘Great Resignation’ narrative seems to be everywhere. A tree or sea change, a career change, downshifting—they are all life decisions that people are thinking about now. So how can organisations support their employees when they are at a career crossroads?

CONNECT WITH JENIFER

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

It seems counterintuitive that employers who support their people in making career and life decisions that could result in them working elsewhere. Many companies believe that low turnover rates equal happy employees. But there are numerous factors in people’s decisions to stay or to leave their current workplace and understanding why people choose to stay is important. Job satisfaction, the compatibility between personal and employer values, and job conditions are all relevant to these decisions. Employers can positively manage retention by providing conditions that match employees’ values for work and life—the opposite to managing turnover. Post pandemic, flexibility and choice in working arrangements seems paramount in meeting employee expectations. Now that everyone has had to embrace multiple virtual meeting tools, support home learning and other activities, what are the factors that make employees want to come back to work? Every job is different and every person’s needs for engagement and social interaction are different: but are employees able to choose what will work best for them? Job satisfaction comes from many things including being recognised for individual contribution, career progression, personal growth and development. Generational expectations about the importance of work in considering the big picture life issues are also important for employers to understand about their employees—two years is a long time when you are in your twenties.

What are the things that make us happy, what are our personal circumstances with family and children that impact on our work-life and career, what remuneration do we want, what are our personal and career values, what sort of place do we want to work in, do we want to strike out on our own? Mastering the art of sourdough breadmaking whilst we were in lockdown doesn’t mean we are ready to open an artisan bakery! Setting career goals and considering them in the light of our current employment situation may make us reevaluate what we do next. Different career paths within the same organisation might meet our goals more easily than starting over elsewhere. Can we move sideways? Knowing and understanding what skills employers are looking for now and into the future is also worth considering. What can we do to improve our employability and value to an employer (either current or future)? Researchers have identified the following skills as being the future capabilities that most employers will want: Adaptive mindset Collaboration Problem-solving Self-management Digital literacy Data fluency Ethics and risk management

Self-directed learning through reading articles, watching YouTube clips/podcasts, participating in courses or webinars will help us further our own goals and add value to our employer. A mentor can give valuable support and advice about careers including rethinking how their skillsets might be adapted to a change of role within the same organisation. Access to development programs, peer forums or knowledge libraries in our place of work might help employees find more career satisfaction where they are, but maybe in a different role.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

C O N S U LT I N G H U B

Kickstart your new year with a regulatory health check If you are a regulator or perform regulatory functions as part of a larger entity, when was the last time your entity’s performance framework had a health check? If you answered, ‘over two years ago’, this article should prompt you to consider a check-up. Here’s why…

By Su-Ann Tan Burke Special Advisor

GET TO KNOW SU-ANN

CONNECT WITH SU-ANN

How are your new year’s resolutions going? Is better regulation a resolution?

Better regulation and industry supervision continue to be a focus for governments. Recent Royal Commissions have identified much needed improvements to the way aged care, casinos, and banking, superannuation and financial services are regulated. The COVID-19 pandemic also continues to have its disruptive effect on supply chains and markets. These events have prompted governments to consider how best to achieve better regulation, including regulatory settings to support economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. In the past year, governments have reviewed and refreshed guidance for regulators. The Commonwealth Government released its Regulator Performance Guide (the ‘Guide’) and Commonwealth Evaluation Policy; the South Australian Government commissioned and completed a major inquiry into modern regulation; and the Victorian Government revised its Statement of Expectations Framework for Regulators. The Victorian Commissioner for Better Regulation is also developing best practice guidance for regulators, which is expected to be published from early 2022. Commonwealth Regulator Performance Guide The Commonwealth’s Guide released in July 2021 replaces the 2014 Regulator Performance Framework. By adopting a principles-based approach to regulator performance, the Guide shifts performance expectations towards outcomes rather than activities. The three principles in the Guide are: 1. Continuous improvement and building trust 2. Risk based and data driven 3. Collaboration and engagement. The principles are intended to empower regulators to apply regulatory best practice in a way that is appropriate to their organisation and consistent with stakeholder expectations. The application of the Guide is broader than that of the 2014 Regulator Performance Framework. The Guide applies to Commonwealth entities that perform regulatory functions, for example, regulatory teams within departments, not just standalone regulators. To support entities in implementing the Guide, the Commonwealth Deregulation Agenda website includes a library of practical case studies and other reference material.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

FOCUS AREAS FOR ENHANCING REGULATORY PERFORMANCE

Leadership and culture

Policy and guidance

Tools, templates and systems

People capability and capacity

Governance and assurance

Guide behaviour and collaboration with industry

Apply regulatory best practice contextually

Operate efficiently, effectively and consistently

Staff resourcing, skilling and ongoing training

Plan, evaluate, report and continuously improve

Commonwealth Evaluation Policy Designing and implementing a regulatory performance framework is not set and forget – it requires periodic review and evaluation. The Commonwealth Evaluation Policy and supporting Toolkit (RMG 130) released in December 2021 assists regulators to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their regulatory performance. An evaluation may include considering whether: Regulatory structures and processes remain appropriately adapted to the industry Regulatory activities are aligned with relevant government policy and objectives Existing performance measures and targets remain relevant and appropriate Relevant and timely data is available to inform regulatory performance assessments.

Are you due for a regulatory health check? When Proximity works with regulators and regulatory teams to review and uplift performance, we typically identify opportunities across five focus areas as illustrated above. It is helpful to consider initiatives across all five focus areas for a balanced approach to designing or refreshing an entity’s regulatory strategy and implementation plan. Proximity has assisted regulators and regulatory teams at all stages of the regulatory lifecycle from planning, consultation, implementation, review and improvement. We offer tailored support depending on your needs, such as: Policy design and delivery Strategic risk management and leveraging risk-based approaches to address priority issues Facilitating stakeholder consultation and workshops Identifying and implementing quick wins Planning change, including change management and implementation support Developing a balanced regulatory performance framework.

Stay tuned for our Insight article on better regulation. The Insight article will go into more detail on ways to achieve better regulation using risk-based approaches.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

C O N S U LT I N G H U B

Don’t look back in anger The long, hard look that COVID-19 deserves.

By Malcolm Thompson Expert Advisor

GET TO KNOW MALCOLM

CONNECT WITH MALCOLM

After a career spent studying what makes economies and political systems successful, the Nobel prize winner Douglass C North concluded that it was their ability to adapt; in other words their capacity to “survive the shocks and changes that are a part of successful evolution”. While he admits that we don’t know how to create this “adaptive efficiency” in the short run, it’s closely linked to the capacity to learn. On many measures, the COVID-19 pandemic has been, and continues to be, the most significant shock to the Australian economy and society since World War II. In the same way, it has had an enormous impact and created shockwaves inside our public agencies—those organisations charged with delivering services, regulating our society and economy, and advising governments. Not only did these agencies have to deliver on normal business, but had to do so in ways that required new methods of working, and deliver new responsibilities to help governments and the Australian community respond to the virus. If it is critical to Australia’s future that our institutions can adapt and evolve, it must be worth taking a long, hard look at how they performed in the face of COVID-19. Are they capturing and learning the lessons of the pandemic before they are forgotten? And are they prepared for a shock of whatever kind will emerge in our future? Importantly, do the skills and ways of working (which were gained during COVID-19) coupled with the lessons about what didn’t work, help us shape the ongoing development of the public service in this country?

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING,

A LONG HARD LOOK COULD USEFULLY EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING AREAS. How our institutions fared in the pandemic can be gauged on at least two levels:

On whether our agency helped Australia respond to the pandemic:

Did these institutions help Australia respond effectively to COVID-19? In other words, did they contribute to the strength and resilience of Australia’s society and economy in the face of the impacts of the pandemic?

Were our actions well-targeted and based on the best available knowledge?

Secondly, how did the health and effectiveness of these institutions fare internally? Has the shock of COVID-19 exposed strengths and weaknesses in the way they operate that requires scrutiny and renewed focus? And what was the impact on their greatest resource—people?

Did we adjust our response as the pandemic evolved?

The public-facing contribution of our institutions (an outcome lens) and their internal health and resilience (an input lens) in the face of COVID-19’s impacts are two separate but deeply entwined areas for organisations to explore in the wake of the pandemic.

How well did decision making forums (Boards, management meetings, committees) respond to deliver a COVID-19 outcome?

Was our response timely?

Was our response practically useful in helping the community and business respond (rather than locked on to pre-pandemic organisational targets and goals)? Was our action informed by what was happening in other parts of Government and integrated with that?

What were the barriers to our contribution and how could we address these in future? On how our organisation fared: What were the new processes we had to create or adapt to respond to COVID-19? How did our existing systems and processes enable this (or not)?

Were the lines of communication adequate to the task and the rapid unfolding of the pandemic (with staff, with Ministers and their offices, with key stakeholders)? How did our people—both staff and leadership—perform (effectiveness) and bear up (wellbeing)? What did coping behaviour look like amongst our people and was this healthy? Standing back, what did the crisis tell us about our organisational culture and how might this be built upon and improved to weather future shocks?

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Critically, the leadership of many public sector agencies is likely to say “we survived”. There is great credit in this, and it certainly is one measure of resilience and adaptation. But is the adaptation sustainable? Will it change the way public agencies and their staff work over the longer term? Will it help the organisation withstand the next shock that comes its way? The 2020 and 2021 APS Census results provide important insight on some of these questions. For example, with few exceptions the results on staff engagement in large agencies indicate lowest scores on how much APS staff are inspired to do their best work every day, and on whether they feel a strong personal attachment to the agency. Surprisingly, innovation index scores remained stubbornly low during COVID-19; as have (perhaps less surprisingly) scores on change being managed well. In a systematic way, the census results don’t answer many of the wider institutional adaptation questions posed above. The rare experience of COVID-19 deserves a deeper, qualitative examination to learn more. It can also provide another way of understanding and addressing those survey results that have persistently scored poorly (such as those on innovation and managing change), and which I know from experience that senior leadership has grappled with for some time. A framework for undertaking this type of review is not just about asking the right questions (though that is important). It is also about listening intently to the responses and making sense of them for the organisation. In other words, turning answers into insights, and insights into actions to improve the resilience and adaptive capacity of the organisation. It is also worth recognising that engaging in a long, hard look at how COVID-19 played out for your organisation’s deliverables and its health is not only useful for taking corrective action. The exercise itself contains many of the lessons for fostering what Heifetz identifies as an adaptive culture (The Practice of Adaptive Leadership): asking hard questions and facing up to problems; encouraging a whole of organisation view; treating people as having agency and as potential leaders; and being a place that is committed to learning. These are the things that need to be bred into the DNA of any organisation to help it truly learn and to be in the best position to adapt to the next shock—wherever and whenever that shock emerges.

Our passion is helping people and their organisations thrive. Proximity can help you and your organisation with workforce strategies, transformation, learning and development, and mentoring programs. enquiries@proximity.com.au or call 1800 959 985

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Tips for employers and employees on work health and safety when working from home

LEGAL HUB

The dog ate my authenticator!

Employers Employers must take steps to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their workers [s19, Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act)]1. An employer has the same work health and safety obligations to a worker while they are working from home. By Vicki Linabury Special Advisor

GET TO KNOW VICKI

CONNECT WITH VICKI

A worker’s home workplace should meet the same work health and safety standards as their usual workplace. What an employer can do to minimise risks at a worker’s home may however be different to what they can do at the usual workplace. In consultation with workers and their representatives, employers should: Provide clear guidance on what is a safe home working environment, including what a good workstation set up looks like, why workers should not be sedentary all day and how to avoid this Allow workers to borrow any necessary work station equipment from the office to take to the home as agreed

This article discusses the

Commonwealth legislation, which

applies to Commonwealth employment, but similar obligations arise under

corresponding legislation of the states and territories.

Require workers to familiarise themselves and comply with good ergonomic practices, consistent with any workplace policies and procedures, for example requiring workers to complete a workstation self-assessment checklist and sharing their responses with the employer and/or WHS team

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Maintain regular communication with workers

Employees Section 28 of the WHS Act says, while at work, a worker must:

Provide access to information and support for mental health and wellbeing services.

Take reasonable care for their own health and safety

Employers must also think about, and consult their workers, on how existing policies and procedures apply when working from home, including:

Comply, so far as the worker is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction by the employer to allow them to comply with this Act

Notification of incidents, injuries, hazards and changes in circumstances

Workers have health and safety obligations to minimise risks when working from home including:

Consultation and review of work health and safety processes

Take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons

Co operate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the employer relating to health or safety at the workplace.

Following procedures about how work is performed Using equipment provided by the workplace as per the instructions given and ensure its not damaged or misused

Attendance, timesheets, leave and other entitlements and arrangements.

Maintaining a safe work environment, such as designated work area, moving furniture to ensure comfortable access, providing adequate lighting and ventilation, repairing any uneven surfaces or removing trip hazards

If necessary, employers may consult workers for an inspection of the worker’s home work environment to ensure it meets health and safety requirements.

Managing their own in-house safety, such as maintaining electrical equipment and installing and maintaining smoke alarms

This is unlikely to be required for workers who usually work in an office. Inspections can be achieved through virtual means such as photos or video to avoid the need for a physical inspection. Depending on the complexity of the potential risks involved, you may need to engage the services of a health and safety professional to assess the risks to a worker working from home.

Notifying the employer about risks or potential risks and hazards Reporting any changes that may affect their health and safety when working from home.

Want more? Visit our website proximity.com.au to watch a free webinar on this topic, presented by Vicki! 15

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

LEGAL HUB

Addy vs Commissioner 1 of Taxation

The High Court’s decision on the so-called “backpacker tax” made international news in November 2021. It found that the income tax imposed on Ms Addy, a UK national in Australia on a working holiday visa, was more burdensome than the tax imposed on an Australian national in the same circumstances. While this case had an international flavour, there are some key takeaways for the interpretation of treaties in Australian domestic law.

By Ingrid Bremers Senior Advisor

GET TO KNOW INGRID

CONNECT WITH INGRID

THE FACTS: Ms Addy was a UK national who had come to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa Subclass 417 Ms Addy worked as a waitress in FY2017, earning approximately $26,000 Her working holiday income was taxed at a flat 15%; she did not get the tax-free threshold for the first $18,200 (which applied to Australian tax residents).2 This meant she paid an extra $2,000 in income tax It was not in dispute that Ms Addy was an Australian resident for tax purposes in FY2017. 1 2

[2021] HCA 34

Pt III and Part I of Sch 7 to the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 (Cth)

Ms Addy’s claim was focused on the interpretation of a bilateral tax treaty between Australia and the UK.3 Specifically, Article 25(1) contained a binding clause prohibiting Australia imposing more burdensome tax on UK nationals, when compared to an Australian national in the same circumstances (and specifically with respect to residence). Importantly, Art 25 was incorporated into Australian domestic law,4 including provisions which provided that it would prevail over domestic law to the extent of any inconsistency and that the more advantageous domestic rules for Australian nationals would apply instead. The High Court considered a discrete question: whether the more burdensome taxation which was imposed on Ms Addy was owing to her nationality. In a unanimous decision, the High Court rejected the Commissioner’s argument that Art 25 was not engaged in Ms Addy’s case. The Commissioner argued that: The differential taxation was imposed because of Ms Addy’s visa type and not her nationality; and Relying on a New Zealand case5 relating to a similar nondiscrimination clause, to be “in the same circumstances” for the purposes of Art 25 required an identical or exact comparison. Since an Australian national could not earn working holiday income on a relevant visa, no comparison was possible.

OUR KEY

TAKEAWAY From a statutory interpretation context, it is interesting to note that the High Court was willing to, quite liberally, look to “the context, object and purpose of treaty provisions” in interpreting Art 25. Addy v Commissioner of Taxation could be a hint that the High Court is softening its stance on the interpretation of international instruments in domestic law, compared to the earlier High Court decision in Project Blue Sky vs Australian Broadcasting Corporation.6

Rather, the High Court took a more liberal and purposive approach to interpreting Art 25 than it would to exclusively domestic legislation, looking to “the context, object and treaty provisions as well as the text”. The High Court was persuaded by the following: That Ms Addy was considered a tax resident of Australia. Under the tax treaty, contracting states can impose other or more burdensome tax requirements on foreign nationals where they are foreign residents. The principles of discrimination law based on Australian jurisprudence; the very point being to carve out the differentiating factor (in this case, visa status which depends on nationality) from “the same circumstances” to conduct a comparison to determine any discriminatory impact. While the Court noted the OECD Model Convention commentary on the interpretation of Art 25, it was simply to note that it “reinforced” the Court’s construction. The Court did not form a view on whether commentaries issued after Australia adopted the treaty into domestic law would be relevant to its interpretation.

Convention between the

Government of Australia and the

Government of the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the

Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect

to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains 4

International Tax Agreements Act

1953 (Cth) 5

Commissioner of Inland Revenue v

United Dominions Trust Ltd [1973] 2 NZLR 555

[1998] HCA 28

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

LEGAL HUB

T’is the sea-son: the new framework for offshore energy generation and transmission in Australia

By Declan Norrie Senior Advisor

GET TO KNOW DECLAN

CONNECT WITH DECLAN

On the 2nd of December, 2021, the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act received royal assent. The Act is the critical first step to establish an offshore renewable energy generation and transmission industry in Australia. What does the Act do? As is common in a regulatory regime, the Act bans all unauthorised offshore infrastructure activities in the Commonwealth offshore area (waters beyond three nautical miles from the shoreline to the outer edge of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone), then exempts those that are authorised by a licence or otherwise authorised or required by or under the Act. With global renewable energy technology advancing at a rate of knots, the Act remains technology-agnostic and is intended to provide a framework for current and emerging technologies including wind, wave, tidal, solar, potentially hydrogen, and combination generation projects. It steps through provisions that give industry assurance about the regulatory process for the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of offshore electricity infrastructure.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

I want to build Is a licence one-size-fits all? an offshore wind No, there are three licence streams depending on what a proponent intends to use an area for. farm—where can Commercial: This licence stream is intended for commercialI do it? scale projects intended to generate electricity through Offshore The Act empowers the Minister to declare a specified area suitable for offshore infrastructure activities. In determining whether an area is suitable, the Minister will consider the existing uses of the area and seek to identify where potential interactions between offshore infrastructure activities and other marine uses may occur. There may be some areas that are excluded from declared areas where existing uses are considered incompatible with energy generation and transmission activities.

Renewable Energy Infrastructure (OREI), such as fixed or tethered wind turbines. This stream involves two licence types—feasibility and commercial—with the grant of the feasibility licence being a precursor for the grant of a commercial licence. The feasibility licence is intended to allow industry stakeholders to exclusively explore a space, test their existing and developing technology, and prepare a detailed management plan that will then be used by the Regulator in the assessment of their suitability for a commercial licence. A commercial licence authorises the licence holder to carry out an offshore infrastructure project for the purpose of exploiting renewable energy resources.

Research and demonstration: This licence authorises research into, or demonstration of, offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure. It is intended to allow non-exclusive access to the Commonwealth offshore area to pursue research and development of technologies to better enable Australia’s offshore renewable energy industry in the future. Transmission and infrastructure: This licence authorises the storage, transmission, and conveyance of electricity (both from renewable and non-renewable sources) or a renewable energy product (i.e. a charged storage unit). This licence type has broader applications than just new renewable energy projects in the offshore environment. It has the potential to also enable interstate electricity transmission (i.e. Tasmania to mainland Australia) and even between Australia and our international partners through projects such as SunCable that seeks to export Australia’s sun to Singapore! While there are streams of licence types, they are all regulated in more or less the same manner. The licensing scheme covers applications for licences, offering and granting of licences, transfer of licences, changes in control of licence holders, management plans, and any other matter that the Act provides for the licensing scheme to deal with.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

What will the Registrar and Regulator do? While not a conventional choice for a predominantly (if not exclusively) renewable energy generation and transmission framework, the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) will perform the function of the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar and Regulator respectively. These two existing bodies have developed a highly specialised understanding of the offshore environment and its regulation in the high-risk context of petroleum. The Registrar has a range of functions related to supporting the Minister in performing the Minister’s functions and exercising powers under the Act, work with the Regulator to administer and enforce the Act as it relates to work health and safety and with other Commonwealth agencies and authorities relating to the regulation of offshore infrastructure activities, and other functions conferred on the Registrar by the Act. The Regulator is responsible for promoting the work health and safety of persons engaged in offshore infrastructure activities, and the investigation and compliance enforcement functions relating to persons that have obligations under the Act. The Regulator also has the function of reporting to the Minister on any issues of work health and safety, environmental protection and infrastructure integrity.

What about renewable energy between the coast and the 3nm limit? The Act remains silent on offshore energy infrastructure activities that operate in Australia’s “coastal waters”. This means that each of the states are free to regulate offshore energy infrastructure activities in this zone, including any transmission cables that run from the Commonwealth offshore area to the coastline. In practice, this will require companies seeking to apply under the licensing scheme to engage with States to ensure any energy generated can make it onshore (and then eventually plugged into the National Grid) through arrangements between the company and States. We’ve seen the first of these types of arrangements very recently (23 November 2021) with the Victorian Government and Star of the South partnering to the tune of $43.1 million to develop Australia’s first offshore wind farm.

What’s next? The Act commences on a single day fixed by Proclamation. Around the same time we will see regulations with further details on the licensing scheme, in particular. It’s also very likely that the first of the declared areas will be coming shortly after the date of that Proclamation. Exciting times ahead!

We are driven to make a difference. We share our knowledge and work with you to meet complex challenges together. enquiries@proximity.com.au or call 1800 959 985

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

COMMERCIAL HUB

Achieving value for money in procurement

By Bora Sumer Senior Advisor

GET TO KNOW BORA

CONNECT WITH BORA

Value for Money in procurement takes into account the total cost of procurement from planning to disposal, this is commonly known as total cost of ownership. Put another way, Value for Money requires a balanced judgement of financial and non-financial factors relevant to the procurement.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

These factors can be broadly grouped and defined as: Economy: the reduction of the cost of resources used for an activity with a regard to supporting quality. It relates to how cost effectively financial, human, or material resources are acquired and used.

Quality

Cost

Quality

Effectiveness: the successful realisation of the intended benefits from a procurement activity. It relates to how adequately an intervention achieves its intended benefits.

Resources

Efficiency: the measure of productivity as it relates to how optimally the inputs are converted into outputs with a regard to supporting quality and subsequent delivery of benefits and how quickly those benefits are realised.

Suitability

Equity: the selection of resources and targeting strategies to promote secondary goals for the organisation. It relates to the leverage of the procurement event to generate opportunities for targeted Social and Environmental benefits.

Risk

Cost

Timeliness

Risk

Quality

Resources

The key point is that Value for Money does not have to be the lowest price; it is ultimately achieving the greatest possible benefits with regard to the total cost of ownership (or whole-of-life cost) and its contribution to the strategic goals and outcomes for the organisation.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

ESTABLISHING VALUE FOR MONEY There is no universal formula for measuring Value for Money in procurement. Value for Money takes into account the entire mix of quality, costs, resources, suitability (fitness for purpose), timeliness and risk. Hence, there is considerable overlap with evaluating the financial and non-financial factors of Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Equity.

Timeliness

Resources

Suitability

Risk

Cost

Quality

Value for Money In practice, a Value for Money framework is required, and the key tips are: 1. Don’t look for a perfect solution, as the procurement will need to balance the trade-off between financial and non-financial factors, which need to be aligned with the strategic outcomes or benefits you are looking to achieve. 2. Capture your core strategic and mandatory requirements as the non-negotiables, which provide the starting point from where the procurement evaluation and decisions will be made. 3. Consider your risk and opportunity in the trade-off within the evaluation to optimise the procurement outcome and support an agile approach that is flexible to the dynamic internal and external environment and changing circumstances. 4. For material procurement and vendor contracts, perform a precommitment risk assessment and due diligence, then consider the post-impact on risk categories and the enterprise risk profile. 5. Provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis to assess the consequences of the diverse options and prioritise the outcomes. This includes an assessment of stakeholders’ expectations for environment, social and governance (ESG) factors. 6. Conclude on the above but consider external competitive pressures and the market to ensure you meet the stakeholder expectations. 7. Utilise the procurement process to secure improved outcomes (including social and environmental benefits) and deliver savings on the recurrent spending that relates to procured goods and services.

PROCURING FOR VALUE

The procurement activity needs to be designed around goals, which speak to economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity to achieve value for money in a range of different circumstances. Design your contracts with terms and conditions that provide and support your needs for an open book approach to costing which allows for changes due to the risk events and that foster a collaborative working relationship. In addition, provide pricing structures that align payments to results and outcomes, which must also reflect a balanced sharing of performance risk and deal with delays (and disruptions) efficiently and effectively.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

COMMERCIAL HUB

Considering technology implications when legislating

Have government technology projects earnt themselves a bad name? If the media is to be believed, many government technology projects are failures because they are late, over budget, don’t deliver to specification or used the wrong vendor or technology platform. We know from our many years of experience both as consultants working with government on these projects, and as former government employees, that these issues are part of the challenge. The bigger challenge is that usually the projects which “fail” in some eyes are large and must deliver in a complex, and often critical, service environment.

By John Pisani National Lead—Procurement & Tendering/Contract and Vendor Management and James Lavery Client Lead—Victorian Government

We have written previously about the challenges of managing technology vendors in critical government environments (see Pulse Edition 8 on the Proximity website), as well as the procurement strategy in selecting a new system (see Pulse Edition 9 on the Proximity website) . But we would like to challenge government and industry to think differently.

GET TO KNOW JOHN

GET TO KNOW JAMES

CONNECT WITH JOHN

CONNECT WITH JAMES

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Difficult technology projects in government often start with the introduction of a new legislative scheme Introduction of a new legislative scheme may be occurring in parallel with development of relevant operational policy and the establishment of the project (and project team) within the responsible department or statutory authority. Typically, this will involve establishing project governance, project budget and a team with the required skills and experience. In Victoria, we have seen numerous examples as an observer, but also worked on some of these projects directly. In one case, the drafting of system requirements, procurement process, selection of technology supplier and implementation of the technology solution took two years from the drafting and passage of legislation. The diagram below shows the current—and often disconnected— process of starting the procurement process while legislation is being developed.

Ministerial Decision

Legislative Development

Enacted

Service Design

OPERATIONAL POLICY APPROVAL

Sourcing Strategy

If legislative development changes policy this impacts the requirements that have been developed and puts pressure on the evaluation process.

This is where inconsistencies can create pressure on service delivery deadlines when its too late.

Industry Engagement Requirements Gathering

Approach to Market

Tender Evaluation

3 Year Implementation

Contract

Implementation

Procurement

Policy Development

Legislation

CURRENT PROCESS

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Before the legislation was drafted, did anyone conduct market sounding to ask technology suppliers whether the system contemplated by the legislation could be delivered? The answer to that question is usually “no”. Most often, it is just assumed that the technology will bend to the legislative requirements. This, however, is often not the case. It is sometimes why technology projects don’t deliver on time or budget—technology can be as immovable as strict, black letter law. One of the early stages of such a strategy is to perform market scanning and research or an expression of interest process. This assists to determine market appetite and whether systems are available to support the new scheme and desired solution. This supports the approvals required to go to market. But often these processes omit a critical element: in light of the proposed legislative solution, can the supporting technology solution be delivered practically, on budget and in a timely way? We at Proximity consider that there is merit in the vendor industry engagement phase of new schemes involving legislative change and technology solutions being moved to a much earlier stage of the policy development process. Our suggested approach is noted in the diagram below.

Ministerial Decision

Industry participation can support the policy development.

Requirements should be gathered and agreed prior to legislation being developed.

Sourcing Strategy

Industry Engagement

Legislative Development

Service Design

Enacted

During Evaluation there is usually a small due diligence stage which can ‘catch’ development changes as part of a BAFO.

If the Design part of the Tech Implementation commenced earlier, it could better support the service design.

OPERATIONAL POLICY APPROVAL

Requirements Gathering

Approach to Market

Tender Evaluation

3 Year Implementation

Contract

Implementation

Procurement

Policy Development

Legislation

PROPOSED PROCESS

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

This approach has the following advantages: Technology suppliers: earlier engagement gives the supplier market an opportunity to respond and contribute to the policy and legislation. Prospective suppliers can also provide advice on policy and legislative requirements which may be problematic technically. Government policy teams developing legislation and Parliamentary Counsel drafting legislation: earlier engagement gives these teams an insight into the delivery challenges. It also assists to make sure that any requirements (particularly technology requirements and processes) imposed by the new legislative scheme are simplified to the extent possible and can be implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner. Ministers, Cabinet, Parliament: early engagement gives early insight into challenges and issues. It also reduces the government risk profile and ensures issues are identified before “it’s too late”. Too late often means altered project parameters and the need for legislative change. This inevitably leads to increased costs and delays and reputational and political risk. Project itself: earlier engagement ensures a more accurate project plan can be developed ensuring less chance of “failing” before the project passes the establishment phase.

Do you think moving technology industry market sounding and engagement to an earlier stage in the policy and legislative development process is a good idea?

We take the time to understand your vision, and craft robust commercial frameworks to deliver it. enquiries@proximity.com.au or call 1800 959 985

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

NEWS HUB

Proximity state finalist in the Telstra Best of Business Awards Big news! We are proud to announce Proximity is a State Finalist in the 2022 Telstra Best of Business Awards in the Building Communities category.

With over 24,000 nominations and a rigorous judging process, the Telstra Best of Business Awards are the most prestigious business awards in Australia. Since inception, Proximity has had a strong history of supporting disadvantaged people in our communities and the broader Australian community through the work we do with our clients. We recognise our responsibilities to our clients and the communities within which we operate, both present and future. We focus on longterm, sustainable support for a limited number of organisations that assist vulnerable people to thrive and that help to build a stronger, more supportive community for all. We are incredibly proud of being recognised for the work we do within our community and alongside our community partners—Menslink, Inclusive Australia, The Farm in Galong, Law Society of the ACT, The Women’s Legal Centre (ACT and Region) and Fearless Women. We are dedicated to our communities, and we show this through our devoted Community Program, which has continued its strong growth and development as Proximity has grown as a business. In line with our overall business growth, we increased the number of pro bono advice to the above partners by 31.5%, with the overall increase in pro bono hours from 700 to 1200, representing 70% YOY growth in contribution. The Community group reached its goal of increasing the geographic spread of involvement with Community

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Partners with staff from Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney all involved with community work at the local level. This collectively resulted in an investment in our communities through the Community Program of 2.6% gross revenue. Although we have been able to have an increased impact due to our growth, Proximity’s history has always been community minded, stemming from our Co-Founders, Sean King and James Dunn. Proximity has always prioritised pro bono work for the communities in which we operate, and for the business through improved staff engagement, a sense of purpose and connection to community. Both Co-Founders have participated in pro bono each year since its formation, making 2020-21 their tenth straight year of pro bono engagement. With our Co-Founders leading the way, employees understand the expectation and value of participating in pro bono, and we focus on recruiting the right people to continue this legacy.

As a result of our multilayer approach to community support, we measure our community impact by ensuring: Our people: have enriching and rewarding careers Our clients: are supported to achieve helpful community outcomes Our communities: are better off for having Proximity as a partner. As Proximity continues to grow, we will continue to be a positive force in our community. To find out more about the Telstra Best of Business Awards and see the other finalists, visit: telstrabestofbusiness awards.com/finalists

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

NEWS HUB

The new executive leaders positioning Proximity for longterm growth

Proximity’s DNA is working hand-in-hand with our clients to deliver practical solutions to their biggest challenges. As the growth of our capability has increased and the opportunities to support our clients have expanded, we have continued to look at how we can stay at the forefront of what we do and deliver our vision to be the best provider of integrated consulting, legal and commercial services to government and large organisations. As a result, in December 2021, we announced our new executive leadership team. A team that will help drive continued growth in our capability into 2022 and beyond.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Our new executive leadership team CEOs: Zoe Lynam and Mike Watson Advisory Board Chair: Kerri Hartland Advisory Board Members: Kerri Hartland, Zoe Lynam, Mike Watson, Sean King, James Dunn, Glenys Beauchamp and David Rennick. Zoe Lynam, who was our previous Chief Operating Officer, has now become Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will have joint responsibility for driving the business strategy, while also overseeing many of the operational areas of the business. Zoe is joined by former Global Director in M&A and Alliances for PwC (London, USA and Australia), Mike Watson, who is making a full-time move into the Co-CEO role after five years on the Proximity Advisory Board. In his new role as Co-CEO, Mike has joint responsibility for driving the business strategy and delivering our sustainable growth agenda. Proximity Principal Advisor, Kerri Hartland, is our new Advisory Board Chair and will lead the Advisory Board’s setting of our strategic direction. She will bring a robust market and client focus as one of Australia’s most experienced former senior public servants and departmental heads. We are delighted to also welcome David Rennick to our Advisory Board. David has experience as a CEO, Director and Non-Executive Director in an ASX listed company, an international and national professional services firm and not for profit organisations. He is passionate about people and culture strategies, governance, compliance and risk, and is a skilled and respected leader. Proximity Co-Founders Sean King and James Dunn will continue to sit on the Advisory Board and will also strengthen their existing Executive Manager roles, focusing on the Client Services and People and Culture areas of the business respectively. “We are thrilled to see Zoe step up to CEO—it’s been an honour to support her career and to see her progress within Proximity. And bringing into the fold an experienced professional services CEO like Mike speaks volumes for the positive trajectory Proximity is on—and I can’t wait to be part of this new executive team which will lead Proximity’s continued growth and success”, stated Sean King.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

COMMUNITY HUB

A record breaking year for Proximity’s community program Not only did Proximity smash its pro bono targets, but the entire Australian legal pro bono community did too! The Australian Pro Bono Centre released its latest pro bono performance report in September, which announced that the Australian legal profession reported a recordbreaking year of 641,966 hours of pro bono legal work in the 2020/2021 financial year. This represented an increase of:

This is an incredible achievement by Australia’s legal community and provides an opportunity for Proximity to reflect on how our Community Program is performing with those metrics as a baseline. It is important to note that, while hours of work undertaken is an indicator of impact on the communities we live in, we measure both quantitative and qualitative results to inform future Community Program strategies, and as such we’ve included some feedback from our Community Partners, along with a summary of our performance against the Australian Pro Bono Centre’s latest statistics. National

Proximity

Total hours

641,965.75 (16.4% increase)

1049 (42.1% increase)

Average hours (all)

39.7 (increase of 3.3 hours, or 9.1%, from FY20)

Average hours (small firms)

41.2 (increase of 5.5 hours, or 15.2%, from FY20)

44.7 (increase of 7.7 hours, or 20.8%, from FY20)

Average hours (mature signatories—incl. Proximity)

41.5

Hours undertaken in ACT

20,261 (2,861 lawyers total in ACT)

Contribute 5.18% of the ACT’s pro bono hours

16% since FY2020 36% since FY2019

Represents ~1-1.4% of lawyers in ACT

“Proximity have been fantastic. I’ve personally worked with a whole range of legal firms over my 20 or 30 year career. Large organisations and small organisations. Proximity is different, because they don’t just give us legal advice, the staff work with our documents and processes and forms to change things for the better.”- Martin Frisk, CEO Menslink 2022 is looking like another bumper year for our Community Program, with scope to bring on another Community Partner, develop a forum and Community of Practice for our Partners, and ultimately contribute to building better communities in all the locations that we work.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

COMMUNITY HUB

The giving spirit How will the donation make a difference? Hear from our community partners about how each plans to put the donation to good use! Proximity is always grateful for the support and trust of our clients, partners, and friends. To show our thanks to you, in the spirit of Christmas, we donated $5,000 to our community partners. Each of our extraordinary community partners received a $1,000 donation from Proximity in our clients’ honour:

Women’s Legal Centre ACT “Thank you Proximity and your clients for your continued support of the Centre. These funds will be applied to print updated brochures for the Centre, in an array of community languages, so women in Canberra can learn about our new migration practice for women on temporary visas experiencing family violence”.

The Farm in Galong

Menslink

“To our dear partners in the work of caring for vulnerable mothers and children. Thank you for this kind donation which will be put towards the costs of delivering a parenting program to our women at the Farm to help them gain confidence and skills in mothering. Warm regards and wishes for a happy Christmas.”

The Farm in Galong

Menslink

Inclusive Australia

“Over seventy young boys and men will receive a mental health presentation from Menslink for $1,000.”

Women’s Legal Centre ACT Fearless Women

Inclusive Australia “Inclusive Australia would like to thank the team at Proximity for its ongoing support and contribution to building a society where differences are not tolerated, they are celebrated. Donations are critical in helping us to deliver the public campaigns, research, and organisational capabilities that reduce prejudice and discrimination in workplaces and across the Australian community”.

Fearless Women “Fearless Women appreciates Proximity’s support and this will help make our mentoring program for young women aged 12 to 25 become a reality in 2022”. Thank you to all our clients and partners for making this donation possible and for your ongoing support and partnership with Proximity.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

COMMUNITY HUB

Proximity supports vaccination rollout and donates to The Royal Flying Doctor Service We are proud to support the national COVID-19 vaccination rollout via our employee vaccination policy that requires all team members and contractors to be fully vaccinated if performing Proximity related activities outside of the home. Our policy also requires all visitors to Proximity premises and events to be fully vaccinated. Our position comes after extensive consultation with our employees ahead of returning to work, with 100% of Proximity staff across our Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide locations now being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Proximity Co-CEO, Mike Watson said the health and safety of our people, clients, partners, suppliers, and the community is the number one priority. This is especially true as restrictions ease and people start to move around more freely and return to face-to-face work. “This new policy helps protect our people and those we work and connect with and maximises the safe continuation of our services to clients. We’ve undertaken a thorough risk assessment including evaluation of the regulatory environment, the health risks and undertaken extensive staff consultation, and we strongly believe this is the right way forward”.

Our strong support of the vaccination rollout extends further than internal policy, with Proximity donating $1,000 to The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to aid their delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to rural and remote locations in Australia. “It was extremely important for us to not just support vaccination in our workplace, but to support it across the broader community. Donating to the RFDS is in line with one of our key Community Program goals—assisting First Nations Australians and communities, including those who are most vulnerable. This donation will aid the rollout of the vaccine and COVID-19 related medical support to these vulnerable communities”, stated Mike. The RFDS plays an important part in our nation’s pandemic response, working closely with the Commonwealth, Aboriginal Medical Services, Primary Health Networks, Local Hospital Districts and State governments. The RFDS has conducted 5,950 patient episodes of care for confirmed or suspected COVID-19, transporting patients between regional hospitals and metro tertiary hospitals for care, and has given approximately 60,000 vaccination doses across rural and remote Australia.

Melissa Perkins, PR and Stakeholder Manager at RFDS, expressed that Proximity’s donation will be used to assist both front-line workers and rural communities, “Proximity’s support will help to keep the Flying Doctors providing vital emergency and primary health services to rural and remote Australia during this pandemic response. It will also support sourcing personal protective equipment supplies so that our communities, patients and frontline staff are protected.” As the COVID-19 situation continues to unfold, Proximity will regularly review our vaccination policy to ensure it is meeting our key policy objective of minimising risk with our policies leading by example in the fight against COVID-19. “This is not a decision we have taken lightly; it was a decision based on our commitment to health and wellbeing, and we are proud of our policy that does our bit to protect the health of our people, their families, our clients and the communities in which we operate.”, stated Mike.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

EVENTS

Canberra Directors’ Briefing a success

We were delighted to (finally!) host a networking event in our brandnew office space in Barton! We joined forces with the Australian Institute of Company Directors to host a panel discussion on “The Board Role in Workforce Culture”. Guests from across government and business heard from Proximity Principal Advisor Glenys Beauchamp PSM MAICD, Jane Halton AO PSM GAICD, and Glenn Keys AO MAICD on how to build a workplace culture that improves productivity and encourages an engaged workforce. The expert panel discussed the important role of organisational culture in improving performance and building a productive workforce, emphasising that the Board—in partnership with executive management—has an important role to play in forming and monitoring workplace culture.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Each panel member took their own angle on the topic. Jane Halton shared her insights on the role of the Board in setting and maintaining workforce culture: The importance of workplace culture Impact on culture for retention and acquisition of staff

Glenys Beauchamp looked at how to maintain culture with contracted staff and suppliers:

Glenn Keys presented on the CEO and Managing Director perspective:

Maintaining values and culture of company throughout the organisation

How to identify or choose the desired culture in a workplace

Board considerations when contracting suppliers

How the Board works with the CEO to shift the workplace culture

How Boards influence and monitor the culture of contracted employees and the benefits

How Boards have adapted to the culture challenges created by COVID-19

How does this differ across different levels of seniority and sectors?

Besides traditional metrics how do you measure the success of the culture the Board set?

How an organisation maintains or shifts its culture How culture is communicated and reported to the Board How COVID-19 has impacted the culture in the workforce

The event was a great success in promoting the importance of culture and provided guests with practical take-aways to implement in their own organisations and places of work. If you are interested in attending events like this, please visit our website and subscribe to our e-newsletter to be the first to know about future networking and professional development events.

PEOPLE

Meet the leads

As Proximity continues to grow and the scale of our operation increases, we identified a need to provide our clients with greater clarity about our service offering and to have stronger coordination and focus on our clients’ immediate and evolving needs. We see this as essential to remaining innovative and helpful for our clients. From this, the Client and Service Leadership Program was created, with the goal to help nurture relationships and empower our people. This program enables Proximity to better help our clients, better utilise our breadth of talent, and give those with an interest in these roles the opportunity and responsibility to develop their skills in non-technical areas. The Program includes the following talented people across our business, who have the skill and passion in their dedicated fields to support our clients, drive growth and strengthen relationships.

National Service Leads Litigation & Dispute Resolution Jessica Bristol, Expert Advisor Jessica is a highly regarded litigation and dispute resolution lawyer who assists clients with some of their most complex and novel disputes. She is sought after for her ability to manage and co-ordinate large litigation teams, strategise creatively, and persuasively negotiate at all stages of a matter. Jessica has worked on and held key roles in several large, high-profile matters and reviews including Review of Allegations of Sexual and Other Abuse in Defence. Contact Jessica: 0408 020 799 jessica.bristol@proximity.com.au Get to know Jessica

Onsite Legal Delivery Tara Munro-Mobbs, Principal Advisor Tara is highly regarded by clients as an expert government lawyer and was recognised in the 2022 Edition of the Best Lawyers in Australia for Government Practice. She has over two decades of experience advising the Australian Government on complex and emerging legal issues. Tara represents our team members who perform onsite legal services. Tara also works with a client’s team to ensure they understand complex legislation and regulatory regimes. Her approach enables agencies to run their programs smoothly, through a combination of good governance and practical legal advice. Contact Tara: 0411 518 998 tara.munro-mobbs@proximity.com.au Get to know Tara

TH E PULSE E DITION 10 Project & Program Management Jody Blinco , Principal Advisor

Organisational Planning, Transformation & Governance Cait Tynan, Principal Advisor

Jody is an award-winning strategic consultant with proven success across business and technical transformations. He loves nothing more than a good innovation challenge. An experienced project leader, Jody has led successful business and ICT transformations across large Australian and global private sector firms.

Cait is a seasoned executive with 25 years’ experience in strategic communication and stakeholder engagement. She has extensive experience in leading customerfocused business strategies for Australian and international organisations across a range of industries. These include health, infrastructure, telecommunications, emergency services, rail, aviation, construction, financial services, information technology, education and retail.

Jody has been successful in delivering these projects using his highly developed project management skills and his ability to blend business and organisational strategies with innovative technology and process solutions. Jody has been recognised for his innovative solutions, receiving the Chairman’s award for Service at United Technologies for implementing pioneering solutions that helped progress the organisation.

A strategic thinker with an eye on delivery, Cait is highly regarded by clients for her unique ability to cut through complexity to find the best solution. She is a strong believer in people and culture being at the heart of organisational success.

Contact Jody: 0432 753 166 jody.blinco@proximity.com.au

Contact Cait: 0427 859 053 cait.tynan@proximity.com.au

Get to know Jody

Get to know Cait Procurement & Tendering/Contract and Vendor Management—Federal Government Lead Peter Bell, Expert Advisor

Policy, Programs, Grants & Regulation Nicole Elliott, Special Advisor Nicole is an experienced policy and program specialist who is highly regarded for her strategic thinking and innovative approach. Over the past 15 years, Nicole has led the development, assessment and successful delivery of many large Australian Government grant programs, infrastructure projects and industry research collaboration programs, including the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres program, a $4 billion flagship industry science collaboration program. Nicole provides robust, proactive, innovative advice and direction on complex matters including on significant water infrastructure projects across Australia. Contact Nicole: 0422 225 094 nicole.elliott@proximity.com.au Get to know Nicole

Peter is a Certified Management Consultant with more than 25 years’ experience providing services to public sector organisations including for Commonwealth, State and Local Government in Australia and in New Zealand. He has worked on major transformation programs leading to improved government services on a local, national and global basis. Peter is an experienced consultant, facilitator and negotiator and has extensive experience in complex procurement, contract negotiations and mediations, contract management and service delivery management. He has also worked with a number of organisations in service delivery reform, strategic and operational planning, process modelling and analysis, business process improvement, business continuity and disaster recovery planning and governance. Contact Peter: 0413 580 005 peter.bell@proximity.com.au Get to know Peter

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Procurement & Tendering/Contract and Vendor Management—National Lead John Pisani, Special Advisor

National Client Leads Department of Defence Sean King, Co-Founder and Executive Manager—Clients

John is a strategic sourcing and contract management specialist with over 15 years’ experience in complex Information and Communications Technology (ICT) commercial environments. John has significant experience and success in leading large scale procurement activities, and a flair for innovative solutions, business acumen and contract management. John has significant experience in all parts of the ICT procurement lifecycle, specifically within the health and emergency, justice and education sectors of the Victorian Government. Contact John: 0412 435 536 john.pisani@proximity.com.au

Sean is highly regarded by clients as a strategic advisor and lawyer to the government, technology, utility and non-profit sectors. Sean was named on the 2022 Best Lawyers List for both Commercial Law and Government Practice. Sean has worked on some of Australia’s largest projects, including multi-billion dollar deals and significant national programs. These have included assisting the Australian Government to purchase the largest ships ever owned by the Australian Navy. He also assisted in establishing the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse.

Get to know John

Sean assists clients to get the best possible outcomes from their projects and programs. He achieves this through a combination of smart project management, good governance and practical legal and commercial advice.

Risk Management & Compliance Ian Lancaster, Principal Advisor Ian Lancaster has over 40 years’ experience leading governance, risk and compliance (GRC) services, within both the public and private sector. As a subject matter expert, Ian has significant experience in designing and implementing GRC frameworks that are both fit for purpose and consistent with leading practices, legislation and regulatory standards.

Contact Sean: 0408 167 542 sean.king@proximity.com.au

He is a risk management specialist with in-depth knowledge of leading practices, legislation and regulatory requirements. His strength is working with boards, and liaising with their executive teams, to bring a collaborative and pragmatic approach to delivering innovative solutions. Contact Ian: 0403 048 241 ian.lancaster@proximity.com.au Get to know Ian

Get to know Sean

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

Department of Health Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

Victorian Government James Lavery, Principal Advisor

Glenys Beauchamp, Principal Advisor

James is an experienced government management consultant and lawyer specialising in government, public and commercial law. James has significant experience working as a public sector senior executive, and leading large groups of people in times of change. He has worked within, and for, the public sector nationally and at a State level in Victoria for over two decades. James was a senior executive in the Victorian infrastructure and transport portfolios for over 10 years. For the final 6 years of this period, he was an Executive Director at the Victorian Department of Transport reporting direct to the Secretary. James was also the Department’s General Counsel and a member of its senior executive board and audit and risk committees. James has regularly assisted governments and agencies, nationally and internationally, with key regulatory, strategic, governance, policy reform, organisational, institutional and commercial issues. James was also seconded to act in senior executive roles in government, including a longterm secondment to the Victorian Department of Health & Human Services as Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services, responsible for a diverse departmental division of over 1,000 staff. Contact James: 0423 603 655 james.lavery@proximity.com.au Get to know James

Glenys joined Proximity in 2020 after more than 35 years in the public service, including the Australian Public Service and ACT Public Service. She was a Secretary in the Australian Public Service for nearly 10 years, leading three departments with a variety of functions. She established and led the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport following the 2010 Federal election and later headed up the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, and the Department of Health. She has extensive experience at senior levels in the Australian Public Service across social and economic policy areas and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. With this experience she has developed a diverse skill set covering for example: policy; regulatory; program management; high level stakeholder engagement skills, including working with many ministers and other parliamentarians; and strong organisational stewardship and governance skills. Glenys has experience setting up agencies, abolishing agencies and managing transformational change with associated changes in governments and policy directions. Through these experiences she has undertaken program reviews and evaluations, reviewed and strengthened governance arrangements in key agencies, led staff through substantial change and focussed on establishing foundations to develop high performance organisations. Contact Glenys: 0419 279 415 glenys.beauchamp@proximity.com.au Get to know Glenys

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

PEOPLE

10 reasons why To celebrate 10 years of Proximity, we asked 10 team members to share why they love working here (because there is no greater gift than a compliment)! “I love working at Proximity because their people care about your wellbeing and enjoyment at work.”

Tara Munro-Mobbs Principal Advisor

“For me, it’s the people; massive talent, and no ego.” Dougal Pidgeon Senior Advisor

“I love working at Proximity because I feel lucky and star struck every day. I’m surrounded by highly experienced and talented colleagues who generously share their knowledge and insights.”

Su-Ann Tan Burke Special Advisor

“I love working at Proximity because: its leaders are so congruent with the values they espouse for Proximity and its people.”

David Mahony Expert Advisor

“I love working at Proximity because it challenges me every day while providing all the support I need to succeed in my role”.

Declan Norrie Senior Advisor

“I love working at Proximity because I’m given exposure to a wide range of interesting projects and clients.” Angus Wu Advisor

“I love working at Proximity because of the opportunities to work on a wide variety of interesting projects and matters and with colleagues who are smart, positive and helpful”. Elizabeth Reardon Senior Advisor

“Proximity has an incredibly agile and supportive culture, that pushes me to do better everyday.” Daniel Cox Group Manager - Technology “I am empowered and given the autonomy to be creative, think outside the box and take risks”.

Beth Gooch Group Marketing Manager

“I feel comfortable to be myself, we can share our struggles, challenges and achievements.” Ingrid Bremers Senior Advisor

There’s never been a better time to join Proximity! We’re continuing to grow, and we need extraordinary people like you to join our team.

Check out our career opportunities at proximity.com.au/careers-and-culture 41

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

TWO MINUTES WITH

Cara Hammerton SENIOR ADVISOR

Tell us how you came to join Proximity? I came to join Proximity after being contracted to a team with Caitlin Morgan (a fellow Senior Advisor) and learning more about Proximity and its ethos. Caitlin put me in touch with James and Sean in 2020 and it was the right fit from the first meeting. I’ve never looked back! What’s the best advice you have ever been given? To have a mentor, and to be a mentor. Having a mentor is extremely valuable and is someone who can provide checks and balances on small and big decisions as well as guidance on opportunities and challenges. Likewise, being a mentor is very valuable and rewarding in both a personal and skill building sense.

What is your proudest moment in a professional context? My recent promotion to Senior Advisor. Taking the step to join Proximity in 2020 and expanding the scope of my role was something that I did for myself, my family and my future, and it was really rewarding to be recognised for it. What advice do you give to someone starting out in a career? Take your time to figure out what’s right for you and be true to yourself. It can be easy to get caught up in trying to climb the ladder quickly or to remain in a role that you aren’t invested in. It’s important to check in with yourself every now and again to make sure that you’re still content with your goals and the way you are reaching them.

With an eye on the future, what does success look like for you? For me, success is about striking the balance between enjoying my work, in that I’m feeling intellectually stimulated and that I’m working towards my goals, but also having the time to do what I love outside of work. How do the Proximity values, genuine, helpful and bold underpin your work ethic? Proximity’s values really echo my own. I’ve always strived to be genuine, helpful and bold with whatever advice, representation or assistance I’m giving, and it’s been wonderful to work with an organisation who actively encourage those values in their staff.

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

We are genuinely different.

Our philosophy follows two simple ideas

At Proximity we’re passionate about the work we achieve together. We’re known for breaking the mould and walking alongside our clients to unveil what is possible. We achieve maximum impact by working closely with our clients in multidisciplinary teams and customising our service delivery for each project.

1. We recognise high performance teams are collaborative, generous and transparent so we cultivate an exceptional workplace culture. 2. Through our culture we attract a team of highly accomplished professionals who enjoy their work and have the experience and autonomy to succeed.

Values Bold

ne nui e G

site On Organisational Planning & Transformation

Delivery Advisory

Solutions

Help ful Prod uc ts

Procurement &Tendering

Governance

Consulting

Reviews, Investigations & Inquiries

mercial Com

Digital, Data & Cybersecurity

Contract & Vendor Management Probity Business Cases & Cost Models Project & Program Management

Risk Management & Compliance

Negotiation

Policy, Programs, Grants & Regulation

Le g al

Corporate & Commercial Law

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Workplace Compensation Law

Onsite Legal Services

Public Law

Property & Environment Law

TH E PULSE E DITION 10

P RO XIMIT Y.COM.AU