AMMA 2014 Activities Report

ABOUT AMMA ...........................................................................................01

PRESIDENT’S NOTE ...................................................................................03

AMMA BOARD ..........................................................................................04

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT ................................................................05

PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDS ..................................07 WORKPLACE POLICY AND ADVOCACY WORKPLACE CONSULTING LEGAL SERVICES WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT YEAR AHEAD IN WORKPLACE RELATIONS MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

PROVIDING A SKILLED AND READY WORKFORCE .................23 SKILLS POLICY AND ADVOCACY TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES WORKFORCE DIVERSITY AMMA SKILLS PROJECTS YEAR AHEAD FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

ASSISTING WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL SKILLS NEEDS .........33 INFLUENCING SKILLED MIGRATION POLICY DELIVERING SPECIALIST MIGRATION SOLUTIONS SKILLED MIGRATION ENGAGEMENT YEAR AHEAD FOR SKILLED MIGRATION

AN ENGAGED AND UNIFIED INDUSTRY ........................................39 MEMBERSHIP MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS AMMA EVENTS CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM

CORPORATE PARTNERS ........................................................................46

CONTENTS

The past year has seen Australia’s resource industry

continue to navigate great change. With this change

comes great opportunities and challenges.

In early 2013 our record investment decade peaked

with 73 major resource projects, representing $268

billion of committed capital. In the upcoming

three years, a great deal of these projects will finish

construction and enter the production phase. The

performance of these new projects will be critical in

determining our attractiveness for future resources

investment.

A sustained market correction in the index of

commodity prices is also refocusing industry on

efficiency and the outputs of existing assets.

As we collectively tackle such challenges, the

significant value delivered by rapid resources

development over the past decade has not gone

unnoticed in the broader community.

The Reserve Bank’s latest report showed the ‘mining

boom’ raised real per capita household disposable

income by 13 per cent; raised real wages by 6 per

cent; and lowered the unemployment rate by 1.25

percentage points.

Separate Deloitte research put to bed any suggestions

the mining industry doesn’t pay its way, with findings

that the industry has contributed $117bn in company

tax and royalties to the Commonwealth since 2006/07.

In fact, the industry’s tax contribution of $21bn this

year could alone fund 1,500 new schools or create the

world’s largest medical research fund.

Throughout 2014, AMMA has worked with Australia’s

national policymakers towards a predictable and

supportive framework that assists the investment

pipeline.

The mining and carbon tax repeals, as well as reforms

to exploration and project approval regulation, have

removed several unnecessary barriers to investment

and jobs growth.

Such reforms do not necessarily deliver Australia

an edge over our resource competitors, but they

do provide a more level playing field for Australian

enterprises to pursue efficiencies, innovate, and

compete in a highly globalised marketplace.

The next step must be a renewed political focus on a

more productive workplace relations framework; one

that will better support resource employers to develop

new projects, drive productivity in existing workplaces

and create more employment opportunities.

This 2014 Activities Report outlines how AMMA has

been a driving force behind many of these significant

policy outcomes for the resource industry.

AMMA’s vision is to ensure Australia remains an attractive and

competitive place to invest while our national resource industry

focuses on increased production.

PRESIDENT’S NOTE

3 AMMA | RESOURCE INDUSTRY EMPLOYER GROUP

AMMA PRESIDENT

IAN SMITH

Managing Director and Chief Executive

Officer, Orica Limited

AMMA VICE PRESIDENT

ULYSSES YIANNIS

Human Resources Manager

Asia Pacific South, Esso Australia Pty Ltd

and Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd

DIRECTORS

JOHNPAUL DIMECH

Chief Executive Officer

Sodexo Australia & New Zealand

MICHAEL UTSLER

Chief Operating Officer

Woodside Energy Ltd

GRAEME HUNT

Managing Director and CEO

Transfield Services Ltd

RICHARD WESTON

Executive Vice President Australasia

Gold Fields Ltd

The value this delivers to AMMA members is even more

profound when coupled with the expanding capabilities

of AMMA’s expert employee relations consulting, legal,

migration and training services and workforce development

projects delivered directly to resource employers’

workplaces.

The following pages outline how membership and

engagement with AMMA throughout 2014 has supported

your individual efforts to do business, employ people and

contribute to Australia’s economic and social wellbeing.

As a not-for-profit entity, surplus revenue derived from AMMA

membership subscriptions and consulting services are

directed towards promoting and protecting the industry’s

interests. I take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing

support of AMMA’s services.

Together we can bolster Australia’s reputation as a

competitive place for resource investment and provide

employers with a unified representative voice at national

and international levels.

Ian Smith AMMA President, Managing Director and CEO, Orica Limited

AMMA BOARD

4ACTIVITIES REPORT 2014

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT

Throughout 2014, AMMA has provided a strong return

on your membership investment by delivering services,

initiatives and representation to meet the unique and

evolving workplace needs of Australia’s resource

employers head-on.

This 2014 AMMA Activities Report details how our value-

driven work is providing practical solutions that greatly

contribute to your employment strategies as we jointly

manage a period of great transition for our industry.

To reflect how our work has delivered important

outcomes across a number of workplace areas, this

report is split into four key sections related directly to our

members’ core employment functions.

Partners in your employment needs

AMMA continues to have a strong positive influence on

workplace relations in the resource industry. Our work in

this space is principally driven by pursuit of an operating

environment in which our members can innovate, better

utilise their people capacities, create flexibilities and

increase workplace productivity.

Over the past 12 months we have provided this support

through both expanded delivery of our specialist

employment consulting services, as well as our

increased influence on workplace policy outcomes.

In the consultancy space, our employee relations

and legal specialists have assisted in everything from

daily workplace procedural issues, investigations

and contractual matters, through to managing

complex enterprise bargaining campaigns and legal

representation in our tribunals and courts.

Member demand for AMMA’s consulting capabilities will

increase in 2015 as more workplace agreements expire

and a growing number of resource employers become

exposed to the Fair Work Act’s complex and combative

bargaining framework.

On the policy front, AMMA remains the peak workplace

relations body for the resource industry and is statutorily

appointed as the sector’s representative on the federal

Employment Minister’s National Workplace Relations

Consultative Committee. AMMA is also the industry’s

representative in international forums such as the

International Labor Organization (ILO).

2014 has seen the Abbott government move on some of

the priority reform areas for AMMA members, including

a more competitive and sustainable bargaining system

for new resource projects, and restoring balance and

sensibility to union workplace entry rules.

Among our ongoing policy activities, detailed within, we are also working to reintroduce real workplace flexibility, support the return of a tough industrial relations cop in the construction industry in the form of a restored and previously successful ABCC, and implement an international best-practice appeals jurisdiction for our workplace system.

These areas of workplace reform are just the beginning in ensuring our employment laws properly support the aspirations and success of resource employers and Australia’s broader business community. AMMA’s engagement and influence will prove invaluable in 2015 as the government ramps up its reform agenda.

A range of employment services and skills initiatives, coupled with

elevating our industry’s priorities to the forefront of national workplace

policy, has seen your resource industry employer group AMMA continue to

deliver real outcomes, real leadership and real value for our members.

AMMA’S PEOPLE ACROSS AUSTRALIA TO SUPPORT YOU

STAFF IN 6 OFFICES


Providing a skilled and ready workforce

AMMA remains committed to a number of important workforce development initiatives that are developing solutions to future skills challenges and connecting more Australians to employment opportunities in our sector.

In 2014, we have had great success with the gender diversity efforts of the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) and the employment pathway projects delivered by AMMA Skills Connect. The take-up of these programs is delivering real social and commercial outcomes directly at the coal face of our industry.

AMMA has also recently been engaged by the federal government to ensure its vocational education and training (VET) system reforms meet the evolving needs of Australian industry and support ongoing employment growth.

Assisting with your international skills needs

The past 12 months has also seen AMMA substantially influence the government’s reform efforts to remove cumbersome and unnecessary bureaucracy from Australia’s valuable skilled migration programs.

Given the small but important role international skilled employees have in complementing and creating Australian jobs, AMMA’s success and engagement in this area will have a very real impact on employment opportunities locally.

Facilitating our members’ practical access to global

expertise through AMMA’s Migration Services has also been critical to supporting Australian resource projects. These expert services have proven invaluable to assisting employers through complex changes to Australia’s 457 visa program and migration arrangements in the offshore resource industry.

A unified and engaged industry

The final section of the 2014 AMMA Activities Report details how we have continued to facilitate unity and engagement across all sub-sectors and geographical coverage of AMMA’s membership.

This has been achieved through a variety of AMMA conferences, forums, workshops, industry briefings, special interest groups and member communication materials. This ensures we face new challenges and new opportunities together, and cultivate industry-wide innovation and engagement as you seek to optimise the people capacities of your individual operations.

Over the past 12 months, the changing economic environment, labour market complexion and skills availabilities has made the collective focus on our industry’s competitiveness, productivity and operational efficiencies even more important.

I thank you for your ongoing membership support of AMMA, which ensures work in these critical areas continues to assist in keeping our industry the cornerstone of our economy and our national wellbeing.

Whether it is through our practical, specialist services or our influence and engagement with Australia’s national decision makers, AMMA’s activities ensure our resource industry is an attractive and competitive place to invest,

employ people and conduct business.

Steve Knott AMMA Chief Executive

WHERE AMMA SERVICES RESOURCE EMPLOYERSSTATES & TERRITORIES


WORKPLACE POLICY AND ADVOCACYThroughout 2014, AMMA has continued to build on its

longstanding reputation as one of the leading and

most influential industry representatives for workplace

relations policy in Australia.

While various political and vested interest groups

continue to underestimate the impact of workplace

relations on the productivity and competitiveness of

Australian employers and industry, AMMA has remained

uncompromising in its research, policy development

and advocacy for a legislative and regulatory

framework that supports our members’ employment

priorities and strategies.

Strong, strategic advocacy, coupled with AMMA’s

policy capabilities, has seen us successfully influence key

areas of the workplace reform priorities of the Abbott

Government during its first full year in parliament, as well

as lead the wider national workplace policy debate.

Strategically, the past 12 months have seen AMMA’s

policy team:

• Help set the agenda for the workplace reform

priorities of the new Australian Government and

actively influence the wider national policy debate.

• Backed by research and a strong evidence base,

advocate key areas of change to workplace

legislation that is having a detrimental impact on

AMMA members.

• Comprehensively canvass and document, via

collaborative partnerships with research institutions

and universities, the widespread problems caused by

Labor’s Fair Work Act 2009, building the business case

for fundamental workplace reform.

• Ground AMMA’s policy and advocacy in the

objectives of jobs creation, productivity improvement

and increased competitiveness of Australia’s

resource industry.

• Represent Australia’s resource industry on a number

of national and international workplace policy

councils and forums, including the government’s

primary policy advisory committee – the National

Workplace Relations Consultative Council.

As 2014 opened, AMMA had amassed a growing body

of evidence about the fundamental flaws in the design

and operation of the Fair Work system that detracted

not only from the productivity and competitiveness of

Australian enterprise, but also from job opportunities, job

security and outcomes for employees.

AMMA’s advocacy is grounded firmly in the clear input

from members throughout the industry that Australia

must restore balance and practicality to its labour laws,

and that this will require significant amendments to the

Fair Work Act, in order to advance the interests and

capacity of resource employers and the wider business

community.

Following is a snapshot of the key workplace policy

areas in which AMMA focused its efforts throughout 2014

in our continuing journey towards the important goal of

meaningful workplace relations reform. As some of these

areas are yet to be subject to legislative amendments,

AMMA’s influence and efforts in these areas will

continue throughout 2015.

It is hoped that the lobbying and advocacy by AMMA

and other business representative groups will soon see

much-needed legislative amendments pass into law

and deliver real improvements to the workplaces of our

members.

PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDSSince our formation in 1918, one of the greatest areas of ongoing AMMA membership value is in the effective

outcomes we deliver across all areas of employment practices in the resource industry.

This is provided through both direct employee relations and legal advice delivered within AMMA member

workplaces, and in actively influencing the regulatory and legislative framework in which our industry employs

people and operates.


PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR WORK ACT

The significance of AMMA’s engagement with Australia’s national policy makers during 2014 is seen in the fact that the government has significantly progressed four of the six key areas of workplace reform priorities

identified by AMMA. Proposed amendments in relation

to union access to workplaces, greenfields (new project)

agreements, individual flexibilities and protected

industrial action are part of the Fair Work Amendment Bill

2014 which as of October 2014 is still before parliament.

Important amendments in these areas address some

of the most significant workplace relations concerns

for AMMA members, in particular those that have led

to resource project delays and cost overruns, adverse

productivity outcomes and increased industrial

disharmony.

AMMA has been guided in the identification and

development of these critical reform priorities by the

ongoing work of our Board Reference Group as well as

continued high response rates to regular AMMA member

surveys on key workplace policy issues.

These changes, if and when the Bill passes through the

Senate, will increase the capacity for Australia’s resource industry to secure new project investment, generate jobs and contribute to the nation’s future prosperity.

INDUSTRIAL REGULATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

An ongoing campaign and a renewed priority for AMMA’s policy work during 2014 is to support the Abbott Government’s pre-election commitment to re-establish an effective construction industry watchdog in the form of a renewed Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Legislation is currently before federal parliament seeking to restore the ABCC and its supporting legislation, but with important modifications that will, among other things, see the regulator’s enforcement powers explicitly extend to offshore construction projects.

This has been a necessary adjunct to the regulator’s former powers given the increased militancy of unions in the offshore and maritime space. The 2014 Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption demonstrates why this is a critical priority.

AMMA made comprehensive submissions to the Senate inquiry into the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013, which were instrumental in highlighting the need for the measures proposed in the bill and why they represented a justified response to ongoing union militancy.

The return of a tougher regulator in the construction space, particularly in the offshore construction area where billions of dollars are invested, cannot be underestimated in terms of its value to industry and the Australian economy. AMMA is also working closely with the interim regulator in this area; striving to ensure observance of the rule of law under the existing, deficient regulatory framework.

AMMA MEMBERSHIP BY SECTOR


Services

Marine

Pipeline

Refining

SafetyTransport Vessel Operator

Oil & GasConstruction

Mining

DredgingDrillingEnergy

EngineeringExploration

FabricationLogistics

Maintenance

PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDS

A SEPARATE INDUSTRIAL APPEALS JURISDICTION

The reinstatement of a truly independent federal industrial umpire has been a key priority in AMMA’s reform advocacy in 2014.

This is driven by an identified need for resource industry employers to have greater certainty and confidence in the industrial umpire and to ensure interference by third parties in managerial decision-making is kept to a minimum.

AMMA advocates that this can be achieved through the establishment of an independent, specialist appeals tribunal for Fair Work Commission decisions, which would ensure previously clear-cut industrial precedents are followed in the decision making process of all tribunal members.

This important structural reform would reflect international best practice, improve consistency in decisions, restore certainty and confidence to users of Australia’s workplace system, and ultimately reduce unnecessary IR transaction costs for all.

The Coalition’s Policy to improve the Fair Work laws, released in mid-2013 in the lead-up to the last federal election, made a commitment to giving consideration to the establishment of such an appeals body and AMMA, as one of the most vocal supporters of such a proposal, looks forward to future developments in this space.

PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION REVIEW OF THE FAIR WORK ACT

Despite a delay in the release of the official terms of reference, 2014 has seen AMMA commence its policy and advocacy strategy along with its submission to the Productivity Commission’s upcoming review of the Fair Work Act.

AMMA’s submission to the review will build on work over the past three years by AMMA’s Board Reference Group in identifying reform priorities along with developing an evidence base to support change. It will focus on building an undeniable case for productive, efficient and sustainable workplace relations reform that will provide the long-term industrial stability needed to support Australian enterprises in trading and competing in the global marketplace.

Specific areas in which AMMA will seek change include the enterprise bargaining and greenfield bargaining frameworks, the rules around the taking of protected industrial action, greater scope for a variety of different agreement types (including individual and collective) and the interaction between unions’ capacity to enter workplaces and business priorities.

NEW RULES FOR REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS

AMMA has long been a key proponent of tough new governance rules for all registered organisations including unions and employer groups, proposed within the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2013, that is currently before federal parliament.

AMMA itself is subject to the Corporations Act 2001 and believes all registered organisations should be subject to equally stringent rules. Changes contained in the bill include holding officials of registered organisations to a comparable level of financial transparency and governance as company directors.

AMMA hopes that the new Senate, which commenced sitting on 1 July 2014, will see the importance of placing a higher level of scrutiny on the officials of registered organisations and supports those new laws in 2015.

OTHER WORKPLACE POLICY ACTIVITIES

In addition to the above activities, during 2014 AMMA has advocated on behalf of our members in a broad range of policy areas including:

• Competition policy review: AMMA highlighted the importance of retaining existing prohibitions against secondary boycotts by unions in a strong submission to the Australian Government’s Competition Policy Review.

• Superannuation: AMMA has called for superannuation to be removed from industrial awards as retail and industry super funds continue to battle over which should be the default fund for award-covered employees.

CONTINUED...


• Paid parental leave: AMMA has maintained that imposing a new tax on Australia’s largest companies to fund the proposed new paid parental leave scheme would doubly penalise resource employers who were already proactively leading the way in PPL practices.

• Strike action rules: AMMA was instrumental in ensuring that new regulations allowing third parties and the Western Australian WR Minister to apply to stop damaging industrial action before it was taken were retained in the face of an unsuccessful disallowance motion by the Australian Greens in the Senate.

• Coastal trading: AMMA is broadly supportive of the Australian Government’s focus on more competitive and efficient coastal trading practices to better support resource employers operating in fast-moving global markets.

• Workplace bullying: AMMA successfully highlighted the excessive regulatory burden that would result for employers from yet another layer of workplace bullying regulation contained in a proposed national code of practice. In early 2014, that code of practice was instead turned into guidance material rather than punitive regulation for employers.

2014 WORKPLACE RELATIONS POLICY SUBMISSIONS

Discussion Paper: Establishment of the

Industry Skills Fund - September

AMMA Research Project on Fair Work

Commission Appointments - September

Submission to the Australian Government

Department of Industry on Vocational

Education and Training Reform - July

Submission to the Competition Policy Review

(Harper review – Secondary Boycotts) - June

Submission to the Review of Coastal Trading

/ Coastal Shipping – Departmental Review,

Department of Infrastructure and Regional

Development - June

Submission to the Four-Yearly Review of Modern

Awards - June

Submission to the Senate Education and

Employment Legislation Committee on the Fair

Work Amendment Bill 2014 - April

Submission to the Review of Indigenous Training

and Employment - January

Submission to the Senate Education &

Employment References Committee On the

Government’s approach to re-establishing the

ABCC – January


WORKPLACE CONSULTINGDemand for AMMA’s specialised workplace consulting

services has increased in 2014, despite challenging

market conditions throughout the resource industry.

This has reaffirmed the value our members receive from

AMMA consultants in securing commercially sustainable

outcomes in enterprise bargaining matters as well as

minimising the incidental business costs that can arise

from accepting anything less than ‘best practice’

approaches to employment policies and processes.

Increased demand for consulting services has come

from employers seeking assistance in a broad range

of workplace issues, ranging from basic support on

day-to-day employment matters through to more

complex work such as workplace restructuring and the

strategic planning process involved in developing and

negotiating enterprise agreements.

Our consultants have worked with employers

in all sub-sectors of AMMA’s diverse

membership and in a range of

locations, varying from our larger mining,

construction, and oil and gas members

through to smaller employers supporting

and servicing the resource sector in

regional areas of the country.

Examples of the specialist employee

relations services regularly delivered by to

AMMA members include:

• Strategic planning and execution

of new enterprise agreements and

renegotiations.

• Review and development of

employment contracts.

• Workplace change initiatives and

restructuring advice, including union

and employee consultation and

facilitating redundancy processes.

• Workplace investigations, including

recommendations and advice in relation to

disciplinary processes and termination.

• Unfair dismissal advice and representation.

• Adverse Action claims.

• Right of Entry advice and onsite facilitation

and support.

• Resolution of industrial disputation, including onsite support and tribunal representation.

• Employee Relations Management Plan preparation, implementation and compliance audits.

• Onsite representation of member employee relations and human resource functions, including engagement with management of self-perform and contractor workforces.

• Reviews, development and implementation of member HR/IR policies, management plans, rosters and workforce mobilisation and demobilisation.

PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDS

RISK MITIGATION

HIGH VALUE SERVICES

SUPPORT FOR YOUR TEAM

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

TRUE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP

BEST PRACTICE AWARENESS

CERTAINTY

BUSINESS BENEFITS

AMMA CONSULTING

SERVICES

GENERAL ADVICE AWARDS,

AGREEMENTS, WAGE RATES ETC

WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

REDUNDANCY AND

RESTRUCTURING

UNION RIGHT OF ENTRY

YOUR BUSINESS

PROFITABILITY

CONNECTIONS AND

NETWORKS

ENTERPRISE BARGAINING

AGREEMENTS AND COMMON LAW

CONTRACTS

ADVOCACY SERVICES

UNFAIR DISMISSAL AND GENERAL PROTECTION

CLAIMS

PROTECTED INDUSTRIAL

ACTION

DISCRIMINATION ISSUES AND CLAIMS INCLUDING BULLYING, SEXUAL HARASSMENT,

BULLYING

HUMAN RESOURCES

ADVICE

STRATEGIC WORKPLACE

RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

PLANS AND RISK ASSESSMENTS

CONTINUED...


• Interpretation and advice on complex industrial matters and employment law.

• Advice and implementation of community relations strategies and the interface with employee management and engagement.

• Undertaking of workplace audits.

• Preparation of remuneration survey reports for particular industry groups.

• Training in workplace issues such as the new bullying jurisdiction

Primary consulting services and advice sought by AMMA

members throughout 2014 are as follows.

ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS

Demonstrating AMMA’s ongoing influence in Australia’s

rapidly developing major project landscape has been

the lead role played by our consultants in a number of

complex agreement negotiations.

The past 12 months have seen AMMA work closely

with members on the renegotiation of many enterprise

agreements, often facilitating a coordinated approach

from key stakeholders to enable the best possible outcomes

for our members and the wider resource industry.

Our consultants have been a key support to members

in navigating the complexities of the Fair Work Act

and ensuring that the negotiations, outcomes and the

process for registering an agreement are as simple and

effective as possible.

Many of the enterprise agreements involving AMMA

during 2014 involved extensive union engagement and

negotiating, with our legal support also often on-hand to

secure the most favourable employer outcomes.

A significant increase in work has come from the

renegotiation of key agreements across several major

hydrocarbons projects, requiring AMMA’s expertise to

coordinate a strategic and disciplined approach. AMMA

has also seen an increase in consulting to our mining

members with 2014 being the renewal year for a large

number of agreements in the sector.

PRODUCTIVITY AND COST EFFICIENCIES

As resource employers across the board face tightened

profit margins, new cost challenges and declining

commodity prices, AMMA’s workplace consultants

have increasingly been engaged to ensure enterprise

agreements are maximising workforce productivity and

that rosters and conditions support sustainable long-term

employment and commercial objectives.

In the mining and services sectors our members have

sought advice and support in the review of terms and

conditions of employment, rosters and associated

benefits in the ongoing drive for cost reductions and

increased productivity.

In the hydrocarbons space, the drive for greater cost

efficiencies has also seen our consultants providing

advice and assistance on issues associated with

workplace change initiatives and restructuring.

Members have also relied on AMMA to provide them

with support and understanding of current trends in

regards to agreement making and rates of pay in the

resource industry. This information has ensured they

are well prepared when negotiating an agreement

and are not unnecessarily paying above market pay

rises or being tied to unrealistic or uncommercial roster

arrangements.

BULLYING AND PRIVACY

Recent changes to both the Privacy Act and

regulation of workplace bullying in Australia has seen

AMMA members require advice and support in 2014.

Our consultants have worked with our members to

contextualise what such changes mean to their business

operations in minimising risk exposure.

Our consultants have also experienced an increase

in members looking for assistance with workplace

investigations and an understanding of how to manage

the recent changes to both bullying regulation and the

Privacy Act.


PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDSADVERSE ACTION / UNFAIR DISMISSALS

AMMA has represented a number of members in

dealing with unfair dismissals and adverse action claims,

including providing assistance and advice prior to any

disciplinary action to ensure the Fair Work Act. Our

consultants ensure disciplinary action is defensible in the

case of an employee claim.

Members have worked with our consultants to ensure

they are aware of their rights as employers and can

manage the issues they are facing in a cost effective

manner that minimises any disruption to their business

operations. AMMA also has the capacity to undertake

mediation sessions.

MIGRATION CHANGES

AMMA members operating in the offshore resources

sector have faced uncertainty around legislative

changes to the Migration Act and the potential impact

to key aspects of their workforce. AMMA consultants

have been the first point of call for these questions and

have ensured members are aware of the proposed

changes and how to manage them. For more information

on this issue, see page 33.

MAJOR PROJECT INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COORDINATION AND SERVICES DELIVERED ON:

• Ichthys/INPEX project

• Shell Prelude

• TAN Project

• Gorgon Project

• Wheatstone

• FMG Upgrade

• GLNG Project

• APLNG Project

• Queensland Curtis Island Project

CONTINUED...

13%RAISED REAL PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD DISPOSABLE INCOME BY

6%RAISED REAL WAGES BY

Source: Downes, P., Hanslow, K., & Tulip, K. (August, 2014).Reserve Bank of Australia. Research Discussion Paper. The Effect of the Mining Boom on the Australian Economy.

1.25%DECREASED UNEMPLOYMENT BY

RESOURCE INDUSTRY ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION


LEGAL SERVICESWith an increasingly legalistic workplace relations

system, the understanding and ability to navigate

Australia’s complex employment laws is vitally important

to operating effectively and competitively in Australia’s

resource industry.

AMMA ensures its members have this critical business

function covered through its Legal Division – providing

a growing team of qualified and practising lawyers

delivering technical legal expertise in workplace relations

across all areas of the national resource industry.

Through a range of activities in 2014, AMMA’s legal team

continued to both extend members’ in-house legal

capacities and complement the services provided by

the AMMA Consulting Division. This flexible approach

in service delivery has greatly assisted members with

navigating their unique legal complexities to support

commercial outcomes.

OFFERING A GROWING SERVICE CAPABILITY

AMMA’s legal team continued to expand in 2014

through high quality lawyer appointments to now have

a presence in each of our major state offices (Perth,

Brisbane and Melbourne).

Utilising a flexible and mobile national service offering,

AMMA’s qualified legal representatives appeared at

tribunal/court hearings and advised members and other

clients in all resource sector regional hubs

(see below map).

In the past year, AMMA Legal has provided technical

advice on proposed workplace relations, safety and

migration reforms, intervened in legal proceedings

with industry impact on behalf of the policy team

and supported the membership function in delivering

member value.

The growing range of capabilities and advice delivered

to members in 2014 included:

• Transactional advice

• Workplace change and transformation advice

• Bargaining strategy and disputes

• Advocacy in courts and tribunals

• Project management – building strategy, engaging

expertise to facilitate delivery of project objectives,

ongoing coordination of expertise

• Depth of resources industry knowledge & networks

LEGAL PROVIDED TO:

BRISBANE

TOWNSVILLE

NEWCASTLE

HUNTER VALLEY

BOTANY

LAVERTON

MELBOURNE

LILYDALE

ADELAIDEWHYALLA

PERTH

DARWIN

SYDNEY

GLADSTONE


PARTNERS IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT NEEDS CONTINUED...

ASSISTING IN YOUR BARGAINING AND WORKPLACE DISPUTES

Management of bargaining and related disputes has

been a primary area of demand for AMMA’s legal

capabilities over the past year, as our members seek a

highly specialised legal service provider operating solely

within the resource industry.

This work has facilitated maximum value outcomes

where damaging industrial action is threatened. AMMA

Legal has been integral in identifying and designing

strategies for achieving sustainability and productivity-

focused outcomes, including in the face of mature

agreements and high degree of union resistance.

In the latter half of the year, AMMA Legal was instructed

to develop advice and execute a number of workplace

change and renewal projects signalling a new phase

of workplace relations in response to the economic

difficulties and red tape facing resources projects.

We are the trusted advisor to executives on matters

with particular commercial and legal sensitivity and

organisational importance. Activities included:

• Project managing and coordinating of a range of

internal and external service providers to deliver on

key projects with significant industry-wide implications.

• Working with the Consulting Division to lead the

design and strategy for the offshore maritime service

sector bargaining and various proactive employer

applications, including filing of unique application

for Federal Court declaratory relief to stop otherwise

protected industrial action.

• Assisting a major mining services provider with

achieving fundamental workplace reform via

successful closure of a lengthy enterprise bargaining

campaign.

• Successfully defending a range of unpaid wages and

discrimination claims.

• Commencing process of breaking new ground

with multiple simultaneous applications to reduce

redundancy pay.

FIGHTING FOR INDUSTRY OUTCOMES

In addition to specific advice and representation

for AMMA members, our legal team continues to be

a major asset for the resource industry in assisting in

the development and advocacy for industry-wide

employment outcomes.

One such focus has been on preserving managerial

scope to effectively implement drug and alcohol testing

procedures in the way an employer deems best suited

to fulfill and uphold workplace safety obligations. In

this area AMMA was recognised in 2014 as the legal

expert across all sectors for drug and alcohol testing

management, representing the Australian Chamber of

Commerce and Industry in consulting with Standards

Australia on review of the Australian Standard for Testing

of Oral Fluids.

Other activities included working with AMMA’s

workplace policy specialists to identify and guide

protection of resources industry minimum standards in

modern awards.

Whether fighting for industry outcomes or providing legal

advice to our members or industry groups, AMMA’s

legal team has represented a broad range of industry

sectors in 2014 including black coal mining, metalliferous

mining, mining services providers, offshore oil and gas,

construction, drilling, maritime and labour hire.

With future growth in demand expected to come from

Queensland and Western Australia over the coming 12

months, AMMA will continue to expand its legal support

function to further supplement and add value to its

employee relations capabilities.


IMAGE COURTESY OF BECHTEL AUSTRALIA 16ACTIVITIES REPORT 2014

WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT BOARD REFERENCE GROUP

AMMA’s Board Reference Group is the organisation’s

principle engagement and consultative body driving

the priorities and details of AMMA’s workplace relations

reform activities.

The BRG comprises senior IR/HR representatives from a

broad spread of AMMA’s membership base to ensure

the policy priorities and views of all various sub-sectors

of Australia’s resource industry are well understood and

represented in AMMA’s advocacy activities.

Meeting quarterly, efforts have been made by AMMA

throughout 2014 to ensure the full range of expertise

and engagement offered by the BRG are fully utilised.

In this process, BRG members expressed satisfaction with

the carrying forward of their priorities in AMMA lobbying,

and noted government take-up of key priorities for our

industry.

AMMA sincerely thanks all members of the BRG for the

strong and valuable policy input and perspectives over

2014 and looks forward to working together on further

critical policy reform areas in 2015.

FROM YOUR WORKPLACES TO FEDERAL PARLIAMENT

Outside of the advice and consultation with the Board

Reference Group, AMMA’s consultants and policy team

work collaboratively through a range of engagement

activities to ensure the challenges and experiences

within our members’ workplaces are translated into our

workplace policy activities.

In 2014, AMMA consultants and legal professionals have

actively contributed to the work of AMMA’s policy

team to provide case studies and real examples of the

practical impacts poor workplace legislation is having

on resource industry employers. Examples include

practical effects of skilled migration policy changes or

detailing current trends in enterprise agreement making

to ensure AMMA’s policy and advocacy activities

are embedded in exactly what the industry needs to

maximise its workforce productivity and support ongoing

employment opportunities.

AMMA’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) also continue to

be popular with members to discuss policy development

and practical workplace experiences relating to

a specific resource industry sub-sector with AMMA

consultants and industry peers.

A number of regional networking initiatives have also

provided increased engagement opportunities for our

members and allowed regionally based HR professionals

to be kept personally informed of the most recent

workplace policy or legislative developments impacting

their organisations.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Through strategic media campaigns, press stakeholder

management and community awareness strategies,

AMMA’s public affairs activities have played a

critical role in supporting both the policy advocacy

and employee relations consulting functions of the

organisation and our members.

With workplace relations legislative change remaining a

highly political and often emotive subject area, AMMA’s

public affairs team has worked hand-in-hand with our

policy experts throughout 2014 to deliver well-planned,

proactive and strategically aligned media campaigns

supporting each of our primary reform lobbying actions.

AMMA’s public affairs team also continues to play

an important role in strategically coordinating media

activities and public reporting of major AMMA

employee relations consulting projects. Such large-

scale industrial matters can often attract media and

public attention and with unions well versed in political

and community campaigning, the strategic support of

AMMA’s public affairs specialists in influencing media

reporting on resource industry industrial activities has

proven invaluable at mitigating reputational risk to our

members or the industry as a whole.



Services and support provided in 2014 include:

• Strategic media campaigning on key AMMA

member workplace policy reform priorities.

• Assisting in influencing and managing media and

public interest in individual member and industry-wide

activities or disputes.

• Developing and implementing specialist public

relations strategies, management and support for

member company EBA negotiations, often in close

cooperation with the AMMA consulting team.

• Completing thorough community, political and

media stakeholder risk profile reports for industry sub-

sectors or individual members.

• Assisting in crisis communication strategies and

protocol documents for AMMA members.

• Coordinating AMMA member communication

activities.

Highlights of AMMA’s media presence in 2014 include (figures year to October 2014):

• 391 times AMMA was involved in mainstream print

and broadcast media reports.

• 1,314 times AMMA was involved in online media reporting.

• 28 major editorial features in industry print and online

publications.

• Strong radio and print coverage welcoming the new

Australian-Japan Free Trade Agreement.

• Prominent opinion editorial in The West Australian

newspaper about how the actions of the MUA is

threatening oil and gas job security.

• Live appearance on ABC News 24 television

advocating AMMA’s position on the offshore skilled

migration visa issue.

• Prominent opinion editorial in the Australian Financial

Review advocating AMMA’s position on a separate

appeals jurisdiction within Australia’s industrial system.

• National and regional media coverage on maritime

industrial issues including the vessel operators’ bargaining

matter and potential Port Hedland tug boat strikes.

• Widespread media influence on the passing of the

mining and carbon tax repeal legislation.

Source: ABS Labour Force, Australian Detailed, Quarterly (AUG 2014)

26.5%

14.2%

25.8%

10.6%

16.5%

6.4%

METAL ORE MINING

EXPLORATION & OTHER MINING SERVICES

COAL MINING

NON-METALLIC MINERAL MINING & QUARRYING

OIL & GAS EXTRACTION

MINING (OTHER)

DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCE INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES


YEAR AHEAD IN WORKPLACE RELATIONS2015 will be an extremely important year for workplace

relations in Australia’s resource industry as the Abbott

government likely intensifies the pace and rigour in

which it addresses legislative and regulatory reform for

Australia’s workplace relations system, much of which is

expected to address key concerns for AMMA members.

At the same time, the practical impacts of the Fair

Work legislation will only deepen as more workplaces

become exposed to its provisions and outcomes over

an extended period of time, and current agreements

across major projects and other resource operations

require renegotiating.

Not only will AMMA’s policy specialists play an integral

role in influencing the outcomes of these reform

developments to the needs and expectations of our

members, but the expert services of our workplace

consultants and legal professionals will be vital to

mitigating any risks, challenges and complexities within

your workplace practices that are driven by the existing

Fair Work framework or future change.

Notably, AMMA’s workplace policy team will be a

significant participant in the forthcoming Productivity

Commission review of Australia’s workplace laws. Our

role will be to advocate significant reforms to ensure

the Australian industry becomes a more attractive and

competitive place to invest, do business, and employ

people.

Australia’s resource industry will also face many

challenges in the coming 12 months driven by the

transition from the construction phase to the production

phase of many major projects in the mining, oil and gas

sectors. This industry transition is likely to be sharpened

by a continued downturn in commodity prices leaving

our members to face a new set of challenges in

maintaining their workforce numbers and operational

efficiencies.

In this environment, AMMA’s consultants and legal

specialists are expected to be called on to assist our

members with an increased focus on productivity

initiatives, workforce efficiencies and improved

operational capacity. Specific services include

realigning conditions of new enterprise agreements

to these critical objectives in the current economic

environment and delivering skills to our members to

manage complex workplace issues such as employee

obligations and the legislated rights of unions in the

workplace.

As a national organisation, one of AMMA’s core focuses

in 2015 will be increased support services to regional

parts of Australia and to assist existing and new member

organisations to achieve their commercial goals

through consistency, competitiveness and regulatory

compliance of their workplace policies and practices.




Projected employment level by resources industry sector, base case, 2013-18

Source: Australian Workplace Productivity Agency (AWPA) Resource Sector Skills Needs 2013-2018

Oil & Gas OperationsResources Project Construction Mining Operations Total

450 000

2013

EMPL

OYM

ENT

LEV

EL

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

400 000

350 000

300 000

250 000

200 000

150 000

100 000

50 000

0

PROJECTED EMPLOYMENT

PIPELINE OF DEVELOPMENT

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

} 293 RESOURCES AND ENERGY related projects in the pipeline.

} The capital value for these projects is between $519.8 BILLION and $545.8+ BILLION.

} 69 RESOURCE PROJECTS at an advanced stage of development (either committed or under construction), with an indicative cost estimate of $254 BILLION.

} 224 LESS ADVANCED (publicly announced or in the feasibility stage) projects in the pipeline with an cost estimate to be more than $265 BILLION.

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

ALUMINIUM, BAUXITE, ALUMINA

4

PROJECTS BROKEN DOWN BY COMMODITY:

LEAD, ZINC, SILVER

8

COAL76

GOLD24

INFRASTRUCTURE38

COPPER15

IRON ORE45

NICKEL10

URANIUM8

OTHER COMMODITIES

35

LNG, GAS, OIL30

Source: BREE April 2014 edition of Resources and Energy Major Projects

MEDIA & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

The West Australian30 May 2014

HOWARD DEFENDS ABBOTT BUDGET

Speaking at the AMMA national conference in Perth yesterday, former PM John Howard said local criticism had been similar to that levied against the first budget of Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in 2010.

ABC News 24 Television17 July 2014

LIVE TALKBACK WITH KIM LANDERS AND TONY EASTLEY

Interview with Scott Barklamb from the Australian Mines and Metals Association about the MUA and visa arrangements in the offshore oil and gas sector.

The Australian Financial Review24 May 2014

AMMA TAKES ON WA GAS STRIKE

AMMA will on Monday ask the Fair Work Commission to step in and prevent a planned strike at key contractor Tidewater after Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) workers declared they will strike for two days, starting on Tuesday, in support of their wage claim.

The Morning Bulletin09 June 2014

ONLINE MENTORING FOR WOMEN IN MINING CONTINUES

With an increasing number of women working in the mining industry, the Australian Mines and Metals Association has welcomed funding that will continue an online mentoring program.

ABC News Radio06 February 2014

DRIVE WITH SANDY ALOISI

The resources industry has dismissed a call for a national wages accord. Scott Barklamb of the Mines and Metals Association says today’s industrial relationships landscape is vastly different to 30 years ago.

The Australian01 July 2014

ABETZ HELPS STATE FIGHT STRIKERS

AMMA chief executive Steve Knott said that enabling third parties to intervene on damaging strike action would provide “much-needed industrial power for the Western Australian government as well as employers facing crippling strikes”.


The Australian29 April 2014

MINERS SEE RISK OF INFLATED PAY DEALS

AMMA has warned that the Abbott government’s next wave of workplace policy changes threatened to lock in artificially inflated pay deals as a benchmark for future billion-dollar resources projects, with a Senate committee submission saying the proposed ‘prevailing industry standards’ test formed a “hard floor for workplace relations arrangements on future projects”.

Gas Today04 September 2014

OIL AND GAS SECTOR ONLY RESOURCE AREA TO SHOW INCREASE IN FEMALE EMPLOYEES

The resource industry’s national gender diversity initiative, the Australian Women in Resources Alliance, has called for greater efforts to increase the number of women in male-dominated roles, following a recent decline in women’s workforce participation.

The Australian28 January 2014

LET US PUT INDIGENOUS FIRST FOR JOBS: MINERS

AMMA has written to the indigenous jobs review headed by mining magnate Andrew Forrest to argue for many changes including stronger laws to make it easier to favour indigenous people when advertising jobs.

The West Australian28 January 2014

UNION ACTION THREATENS OIL AND GAS JOB SECURITY

Unjustifiable strikes will further erode petroleum sector’s competitivness, writes AMMA’s Richard Berriman. [opinion piece]

Radio: 2SM Sydney09 July 2014

NEWS HEADLINES

Australia’s resource industry believes the signing of the the Japan Australia economic partnership agreement will bring new opportunities to the nation. Scott Barklamb, Executive Director, Australian Mines and Metal Association believes it is a positive step. [Interview with Scott Barklamb, Executive Director, Australian Mines and Metal Association.]


SKILLS POLICY AND ADVOCACYIn 2014, AMMA’s strong reputation and influence with

national policy makers on workplace relations issues

has been greatly bolstered and complemented by our

growing role in shaping the national skills and training

policy landscape.

This broadening of AMMA’s policy scope and

recognition of expertise has allowed us to work with

the Abbott government in addressing a wider scope of

workplace challenges for AMMA members, which we

are confident will deliver tangible results for employers in

the near future.

VET REFORM PANEL PARTICIPATION

In 2014, AMMA was one of a select few industry

representative organisations handpicked by the

Australian Government’s Department of Industry to

assist in its range of reforms to Australia’s Vocational

Education and Training (VET) sector.

AMMA Executive Director Industry Services, Tara

Diamond, was appointed to Industry Minister Ian

Macfarlane’s Industry and Skills Advisory Committee in

August 2014 with a mandate to represent the needs

of all resource industry employers in this fundamental

reform area.

An engagement program with AMMA members was

undertaken in 2014 and will continue into 2015, with

insight and input collected for the Advisory Committee

across the following focus areas:

• Options to reduce regulation in the VET sector.

• Setting an approach to review standards for the

regulation of VET.

• The provision of direction and advice on the

relevance and responsiveness of training package

content and the overall system in which training is

developed.

• Reform of the trade apprenticeship system.

AMMA has also played a role in several major VET

reform announcements affecting employers in 2014,

and will continue to represent members’ interests

in taking advantage of the opportunities they offer.

Important announcements include:

• Establishment of a five-member VET Advisory

Committee, which includes AMMA’s Tara Diamond,

that will provide feedback to the government as it

continues reforms to the sector.

• Introduction of the Trade Support Loans.

• Changes to VET FEE-HELP arrangements.

• Streamlining boards and committees and

consolidating a number of Commonwealth

programs.

PROVIDING A SKILLED AND READY WORKFORCEAustralia’s resource industry is facing a complex and rapidly evolving skills and workforce availability landscape,

driven largely by the transition of many mega resource projects from the construction phase into long-term

production and export operations.

This natural evolution of Australia’s resource industry is having an impact on the skills and workforce dynamics of all

resource employers along the major project supply chain; large and small, from owner-operators to contractors and

allied service suppliers.

As the national resource industry employer group, AMMA is committed to helping resource employers tackle these

workforce challenges as they evolve in sync with the shifting industry landscape.

From our involvement in national skills policy development through to the upskilling of your people directly in your

workplaces, AMMA’s work in 2014 has greatly assisted our members in preparing for future people demands and

ensuring their access to a skilled and ready workforce.


• Expanded access to Commonwealth supported

places to students studying at all higher education

providers and for sub-bachelor qualifications.

• An independent review of the training regulator the

Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

• New draft provider and regulator standards due to

come into effect on 1 January 2015.

• A move to a contestable model for the development

and maintenance of training packages.

INFLUENCING THE NEW INDUSTRY SKILLS FUND

AMMA has provided direct input the formation of a

$476 million Industry Skills Fund as part of the Australian

Government’s VET reforms and National Industry and

Competitiveness Agenda. Due to commence on 1

January 2015, the fund aims to assist industry to access

training and support services and is proposed to prioritise

micro, small and medium enterprises.

In its 2014 submission to the Department of Industry in

relation to the establishment of the fund, AMMA outlined

a range of concerns and recommendations on behalf of

the resource industry, including:

• Any funding model is responsive to the skills needs

of all organisations within priority areas including

mining equipment, technology, services and oil

and gas.

• There is an equal playing field for all organisations

regardless of size.

• There is parity (dollar for dollar approach) in the co-

contribution between industry and the government.

• Prioritisation of the fund should be based on merit and

the government’s immediate priority areas.

AMMA also outlined recommendations in relation to

the minimum criteria to access funding, payments for

services, and data reporting.

AMMA RTO SUBMISSION

AMMA also provided a submission in its own right as a

Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to the Vocational

Education and Training Taskforce in relation to the

revised Registered Training Organisation and Vocational

Education and Training Regulator Standards for public

consultation.

In its submission, AMMA’s RTO argued the new draft

standards are a step in the right direction from the

former draft standards developed by the National

Skills Standards Council, as they reduce red-tape,

avoid onerous levels of regulation and avoid imposing

unnecessary regulatory costs on training providers.

While this advocacy work has limited direct impact

on AMMA members’ own workplace regulation, our

influence in this area of skills policy development ensures

AMMA’s RTO service can continue to provide highly

specialised resource industry training and development

courses directly to member employees in their

workplaces.


TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICESAs the resource industry’s most specialised Registered

Training Organisation (RTO), during 2014 AMMA has

continued to build on its strong capabilities in meeting

the training, workforce and skills development needs of

its resource industry members.

Demand for AMMA’s training services has grown in the

past 12 months, with a particular focus on delivering

practical competency and skills-based development

programs customised for members’ specific business

requirements. Repeat use of our services has continued

from a number of employers that have used AMMA as

their exclusive training provider for a number of years.

A broad spectrum and format of training courses has

been delivered by our internal trainers, including short

courses, fully accredited nationally recognised training,

skill development, management and competency

based training.

Trends in training demand from resource employers in

2014 can be summarised in the following key areas:

TAILORED TRAINING SOLUTIONS: More of AMMA’s

member companies are recognising that our training

products are most effective when contextualised to

specific on-site requirements and incorporated with

existing workplace policies and procedures. This has

seen a demonstrable increase in demand for AMMA’s

tailored training solutions, delivered on-site, almost

anywhere in the country.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING: Leadership training such as

frontline management (accredited) and the Supervisor’s

Toolkit course (non-accredited specialist course) have

experienced a large popularity increase, driven by a

need for employers’ to invest in their existing people

as new operational demands and wider workforce

challenges emerge.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS: Legislative change and ongoing

challenges operating under the Fair Work Act continue

to see AMMA’s employee relations remain one of our

most popular areas of training delivery. This is bolstered

by the regular involvement of AMMA’s employee

relations consultants and/or legal practitioners.

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY: A range of workplace

health and safety training courses remain extremely

popular with AMMA members, ranging from the

accredited Diploma in WHS through to non-accredited

specialist courses in bullying and social media, and

discrimination and harassment.

LANGUAGE, LITERACY & NUMERACY: In 2014, AMMA

experienced a spike in demand for a specialist unit

involved in language, literacy and numeracy training

for qualified VET trainers and assessors. This was a direct

result of anticipated regulations that would require all

trainers and assessors to hold the qualification next year

FINAL ROUNDS OF NWDF IN 2014

In the early stages of 2014, AMMA secured a number

of new training contracts through the final phase of the

federal government’s National Workforce Development

Fund (NWDF).

The level of subsidies have substantially reduced the

net cost of training for employers across Australia, with

some AMMA members in Western Australia also securing

payroll tax exemptions (5.5%) for trainees enrolled in

registered traineeships.

With AMMA heavily promoting the potential financial

benefits of the NWDF and Traineeship program in 2014,

and assisting with securing funding where possible,

almost 350 participants successfully undertook nationally

recognised training during 2014.

PROVIDING A SKILLED AND READY WORKFORCE CONTINUED...


AMMA TRAINING COURSES

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

UNIONS - RIGHT OF ENTRY AND BARGAINING

BARGAINING AND NEGOTIATION

DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT AND BULLYING AWARENESS

SUPERVISORY SKILLS

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

COMMUNICATION

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT

COURSES OFFERED NATIONWIDE

AMMA HAS BEEN DELIVERING SUPERIOR WORKFORCE

SERVICES TO AUSTRALIA’S RESOURCE INDUSTRY.

SINCE 1918

“AMMA HAS BEEN WORKING WITH PERILYA FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS, IN THIS TIME AMMA HAS PROVIDED OUTSTANDING SUPPORT AND SERVICES THAT HAS ALWAYS MET AND OFTEN EXCEED PERILYA’S HIGH EXPECTATIONS.”

Peter Lean | Manager, Safety & Training

“TOGETHER WE HAVE CREATED AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL

PROGRAMME THAT IS DELIVERING THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND BEST-FIT

TRAINING SOLUTION TO OUR STAFF AS WE DEVELOP OUR CURRENT

AND FUTURE LEADERS.”

Narelle Aucote | Learning & Development Manager


PROVIDING A SKILLED AND READY WORKFORCESECURING FUNDING IN A TIGHT BUDGET

Due to last year’s Federal Budget cuts, funding

associated with Nationally Recognised Training was

reduced considerably across a number of government

programs, which also resulted in the cancellation of the

NWDF during 2014.

Despite this more limited funding, AMMA Training and

Development has continued to work with its members

in identifying other potential sources of funding and

subsidies, and assisted in identifying how these could

be worked into future workforce planning and

development activities.

AMMA has regularly communicated options for

funded training and the potential benefits to our

members, to ensure resource employers are taking

full advantage of any government co-investments in

upskilling and workforce development initiatives.

In 2014, this has also enabled a broader pool of our

members to take advantage of AMMA’s leading

training services, delivered flexibly across a spectrum

of forums and locations.

NATIONALLY RECOGNISED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certificate III in Resource Processing

• Certificate III in Underground Metalliferous Mining

• Certificate III in Surface Extraction Operations

• Certificate IV in Frontline Management

• Certificate IV in Human Resources

• Diploma in Human Resources Management

• Diploma in Management

• Certificate IV in Project Management Practice

• Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety

• Diploma in Work, Health and Safety

• Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

• TAELLN411 Language, literacy and numeracy unit of

competency

NON-ACCREDITED COURSES (SHORT COURSES)

• Supervisor’s Tool Kit

• Art of Leadership

• Discipline and Termination – Reducing the Risk

• Contact Officer Discrimination and Harassment

• Equal Employment Opportunity

• Bullying and Social Media

• Bargaining Skills

• EEO

• Union right of entry

• Employee Relations for Supervisors

CONTINUED...


WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN RESOURCES ALLIANCE

Funded in partnership with the Australian Government, the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) continues to develop and implement diversity strategies that contribute to an industry-wide goal of increasing women’s participation in the resource industry to 25% by 2020.

In 2014, AWRA has undertaken a number of important educational and mentoring activities and is continuing to support employers across the resource, allied and related construction industries with their gender diversity capability requirements.

Such activities, resources and programs include:

• The AWRA Pay Equity and Gender Diversity Survey, and the Pay Equity Special Interest Groups held in both Perth and Brisbane in early 2014.

• A gender diversity capability resource, the AWRA Toolkit, was also developed and distributed to more than 800 HR professionals across the wider resource industry. The toolkit contains the AWRA Way Forward Guides, relevant articles and templates.

• The AWRA Recognised Program, which received a great deal of interest from organisations interested in advancing their diversity programs. To date six assessments have been completed, with a number of others scheduled for late 2014/early 2015.

• The 2014 AWRA Forum, taking place in November in Perth, where attendees heard from resource employers and diversity experts on practical solutions to historical barriers preventing employment of women and Indigenous Australians in the resource industry.

• T he AWRA e-Mentoring Program, which received further funding from the Australian Government to run for another two years. The first program was completed in June 2014 and by this time had matched 103 pairs of mentees and mentors.

EMPLOYEE COMPARISON

RESOURCES INDUSTRY

164,300

970,000

194,700

974,200

221,700

1,007,900

272,900

946,300

266,900

1,025,800

237,400

1,028,500

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

13.43%

11.47%

14.59%

11.78%

15.58%

12.15%

14.01%

11.44%

15.52%

11.54%

14.86%

11.17%

22,100

111,300

2010

2010

2011

2011

2012

2012

2013

2013

2014

2014

2009

2009

28,400

114,700

34,500

122,500

38,200

108,300

41,400

118,400

35,300

114,900

Source: ABS Labour Force, Australian Detailed, Quarterly (AUG 2014)


HOW

CAN HELP YOU

AWRA RECOGNISED

PROGRAM

KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

STATISTICAL COLLECTION

CASE STUDIES

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

CONFERENCE 2014

AWRA E-MENTORING

WEBSITE, LINKEDIN,

NEWSLETTERS

INDUSTRY WEBINARS WITH CASE

STUDIES

DIVERSITY CAPABILITY

WORKSHOPS

AWRA DATABASE

WAY FORWARD

GUIDES

AWRA continues to actively seek new stakeholder relationships and partnerships, one example being the country’s peak council of business organisations the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

In 2014, AWRA worked with ACCI, UN Women, UN Global Compact, BPW International and the Australian Human Rights Commission, to organise a luncheon to coincide with the B20 Australia in July 2014 to raise awareness of the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles.

However, despite the efforts of AWRA and AMMA, and from the industry itself, unfortunately the amount of women employed in the industry is decreasing. This shows there is still much work to be done in 2015 and beyond.

INDIGENOUS TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

AMMA has had an active involvement in the increased focus on Indigenous employment in the Australian resource industry throughout 2014.

Early in the year, following its participation in a roundtable discussion on the matter, AMMA made seven key recommendations to the Australian Government’s Review of Indigenous Training and Employment, led by AMMA member Fortescue Metals Group’s chairman Andrew Forrest.

The review was undertaken at the Prime Minister’s request to ensure Indigenous training and employment services were targeted and administered to connect unemployed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with real and sustainable jobs.

Mr Forrest released his report in August 2014, with targeted training, demand-driven employment services and a corporate leadership group among recommendations made to the government.

AMMA publicly welcomed the proposed measures and, as an important and ongoing industry stakeholder, looks forward to assisting in the implementation of the recommendations in the near future.



AMMA SKILLS PROJECTSIn addition to supporting the upskilling and workforce

development needs of our individual members, AMMA

also undertook a range of important activities in 2014 to

ensure the national resource industry has a consistent

and job-ready pipeline of future talent. These important

connections between jobseekers and employers have

been facilitated by AMMA through key government skills

and workforce partnerships, most notably the AMMA

Skills Connect initiative.

Throughout 2014, AMMA Skills Connect has offered

information events, training opportunities and work

placement for women, Indigenous jobseekers, retrenched

workers and the long-term unemployed looking to join the

resource industry culture. Already, AMMA Skills Connect

has created pathways to resource employment for more

than 800 jobseekers and is ramping up efforts to facilitate

such programs on a much larger scale to ease current

and future skills pressures in the industry.

A JOBSEEKER GUIDE TO THE RESOURCES INDUSTRY

Based on information gathered from both primary and

secondary research this jobseeker information package

was developed, designed and published in 2013/2014.

The guide is available on the AMMA website and on

various online recruitment boards. It was also distributed

to attendees at all of the 2014 AMMA jobseeker forums.

WA INDIGENOUS PROGRAMS

The first of these programs successfully trained 10

Indigenous job candidates in a four-week soft skills

and security training program in mine site security.

Significantly, this program led to real employment

outcomes upon completion. A second program,

delivered by AMMA Skills Connect in partnership with

Access Working Careers and ESS Support Services,

engaged 20 candidates in a two-week training and work

experience program for camp utility worker roles. These

candidates secured employment and continue to work

with ESS Support Services Worldwide.

NSW RESOURCE INDUSTRY JOBSEEKER FORUM

AMMA Skills Connect successfully designed and

delivered the ‘NSW Resource Industry Jobseekers Forum’

in 2014. This event was developed in collaboration with

NSW State Training Services and received more than

250 registrations, making it the largest AMMA jobseeker

initiative since our 2012 public jobs exhibition.

With presentations from resource industry employers,

the event provided a relaxed environment to educate

attendees about opportunities in the resource, related

construction and allied services sectors, the working

lifestyle and recruitment processes.

WORKFORCE PLANNING SHORT COURSE

In 2014 AMMA developed a workforce planning short

course to assist HR professionals in the resource industry

to effectively develop and/or improve their current

workforce planning strategies to recruit and retain the

best talent for their organisation.

CONNECTING WOMEN WITH PATHWAYS TO THE RESOURCES SECTOR PROGRAM

To complement the work done by AWRA, AMMA Skills

Connect implemented a pilot employment project to

connect women with pathways to the resource industry.

This included the following three stages:

1. Connecting women workshops

2. Connecting women employment forum

3. Connecting women virtual program

This initiative connected 1010 women with information on

the industry and training and employment pathways into

the sector.

CONNECTING INDUSTRY WITH TALENTED JOBSEEKERS

AMMA has delivered a national online jobseeker

platform utilising pre-screening information gathered

through our various other initiatives. Industry employers

were invited to access these candidate profiles.


The engaged employers accessed the profiles of over

1000 women, 175 Indigenous candidates from an overall

talent pool of 1500 pre-screen jobseekers to interview and recruit.

EFFORTS TO FACILITATE LABOUR MOBILITY

AMMA is doing its part through partnerships with other industry associations and employer groups, national training bodies and skills organisations to better facilitate transfer of skilled labour between the various sub-sectors of the construction industry, catering for fluctuations in demand.

One of the major objectives of the AMMA Skills Connect project is to seek skills solutions to ensure our national construction labour forces can be more mobile between residential building, commercial and major project construction. The importance of these efforts was seen in 2014 and will continue to be seen as many major projects move past peak construction period.

YEAR AHEAD FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENTMaking sense of the current labour market and what changes can be expected in future will provide the foundation for understanding how the resource industry can tackle the skills and workforce challenges ahead. In 2015, AMMA will remain a major asset and source of this understanding for your skills and workforce needs.

While for now, the labour market is reasonably positioned to meet the existing needs of resource industry employers, AMMA’s efforts will continue to be critical in preparing for the skills impacts of the widespread transition occurring throughout the resource industry major project landscape.

We will continue to focus on delivery of a number of upskilling services, tools and initiatives developed to help resource employers achieve effective workforce outcomes by meeting their skills demands.

AMMA’s involvement in the federal government’s wide VET reform processes will ensure the skills needs of mining, oil and gas, related construction and allied sector employers

are represented in this important policy project. On behalf of our members, we will provide clear and detailed feedback to the Australian Government and other business community stakeholders to aid in the development of a more flexible and effective training system.

It is important to note that this VET review has already highlighted substantial changes to funding for VET training, while a new system for training standards is likely to be in place from early 2015. The Industry Skills Councils responsible for developing training packages and their related qualifications will also be replaced by new entities by July 2015.

These changes present both opportunities and challenges to AMMA’s Registered Training Organisation and other training operations. We will be focused on responding to any changes as the new system takes shape to ensure AMMA remains the most relevant, knowledgeable and valuable provider of training services for our members. In line with the government’s intentions, this may include a move away from full qualifications towards discrete units of competency or skill sets as more relevant to addressing specific resource industry training requirements.

This would also be in-line with trends in market demand in the latter stages of 2014, where we have experienced fewer enquiries about full national qualifications and more requests about skill sets and individual units along with training that can be delivered on-site by AMMA’s training providers.

In all its skills and workforce development initiatives, representative and advocacy activities, AMMA will continue to prioritise the longevity of employment outcomes in Australia’s resource industry and ensure we are helping provide access to a skilled and ready workforce to meet the ongoing and evolving needs of our industry.




ASSISTING WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL SKILLS NEEDSAMMA’s work in the skilled migration space directly supports our members as they strive to remain competitive in the

global marketplace and make an important contribution to Australia’s economy and living standards.

While the Australian resource industry continues to provide highly-paid employment opportunities for Australians, the

unique expertise and skills offered by the international community plays a small but critical role in ensuring AMMA

members can deliver projects on time and on budget.

Not only is the recruitment of highly-skilled overseas workers critical to the safe and timely delivery of project

milestones in our sector, their presence creates and supports large numbers of Australian jobs. To that end, AMMA

provides its members with both ongoing advocacy and leadership in the skilled migration policy area, as well as

practical hands-on advice and services through its Migration Services division.

Throughout 2014, AMMA has worked to ensure the industry’s overseas recruitment strategies remain minimally

impacted by the changing regulatory environment and ongoing union campaigns in this sensitive area.

INFLUENCING SKILLED MIGRATION POLICYSkilled migration policy and regulation remained a

critical part of AMMA’s focus in 2014 as we continued to

support our members in navigating the skills and labour

requirements according to different project phases.

With the change in federal government in late 2013,

AMMA welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to

making changes to the regulatory environment across

the breadth of migration compliance areas to ensure

Australian industry can properly support economic

and employment growth domestically. AMMA further

welcomes the government’s consultative approach

and commitment to working with industry to achieve

practical outcomes.

OFFSHORE MIGRATION POLICY

AMMA successfully guided its members through the

intricacies of numerous developments in offshore

migration policy this year, including convening special

interest groups of interested members and sending

regular updates and alerts to keep members apprised of

developments and their key risks.

AMMA’s lobbying and advocacy minimised the

damage to many AMMA member operations that arose

from the actions of Labor, the Greens and others in the

Senate in disallowing government regulations. Those

actions put in jeopardy the continued operation of

resource projects offshore.

With a sensible Federal Court decision handed down

in September 2014 upholding the latest government

measures in this area, it is hoped the offshore resource

industry can now enjoy some certainty in terms of

compliance with their migration requirements.

AMMA’s success in mitigating the impacts of the former

government’s legislation and policies in this area

underscore AMMA’s national leadership in this complex

area of regulation.

457 VISA INTEGRITY REVIEW

The government’s key initiatives included launching

a review into the integrity of the 457 visa program in

early 2014, seeking to ensure the scheme is flexible and

responsive to industry yet retaining sufficient integrity and

protections for workers.

AMMA made a comprehensive submission to the Review

into the Integrity of the 457 Temporary Skilled Migration

Visa Program and met with the panel in person to

highlight the priorities for industry.


AMMA’s submission made a raft of recommendations

to improve the current system including: removing

the impost of labour market testing on employers;

streamlining the process for intercompany transfers;

ensuring consistency in visa processing and decision

making; reducing the ‘market salary rates’ threshold; and

modifying the English language testing requirements.

In all those areas, AMMA proposed practical and

responsible solutions that the government should

urgently adopt.

The review panel’s report was handed down shortly

before AMMA’s 2014 Skilled Migration Conference in

September 2014, with numerous panel recommendations

reflecting AMMA’s policy and advocacy. While the

government has yet to formally adopt any of the

recommendations, Minister for Immigration & Border

Protection, Scott Morrison, has signalled the government’s

early support for some, including:

• Streamlining the negotiation process for labour

agreements following feedback from AMMA that the

current negotiation process was extremely difficult

and time-consuming, often taking years to finalise

an agreement to cover a small number of necessary

international workers.

• Implementing more practical and effective standards

for English language testing to ensure a fit for purpose

approach. The panel’s key recommendation here

was to require an average score of ‘5’ across the

different sections of the test rather than a hard and

fast ‘5’ in every section. Importantly, this means that if

a score of less than 5 is acceptable in some areas, it

has to be exceeded in others.

• Reducing the threshold below which market salary

rate comparisons (comparisons with equivalent

Australian workers) are required from the current

$250,000 to $180,000 a year – the latter being the

longstanding limit that was in place before the former

Labor government raised the bar.

AMMA looks forward to the government’s response to

the review panel’s recommendations and will continue

to highlight the most important changes from a resource

industry perspective.

DESIGNATED AREA MIGRATION AGREEMENTS (DAMAS)

Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) were a

new development in skilled migration policy to emerge

during 2014. This new migration program represented a

very important social and economic policy approach

to effectively manage the impact that major resource

projects were having on other business’s ability to access

local labour in particular geographical areas.

DAMAs started off as Regional Migration Agreements

(RMAs) under the previous government and in essence

are an agreement for a geographical area where skills

shortages have emerged. DAMAs, unlike RMAs, are not

limited to a regional area but a ‘designated area’ which

could be a state or a geographical region within a state.

AMMA is disappointed the union campaign against

DAMAs has claimed it allows for overseas workers to be

paid less than Australian workers. That is absolutely not

the case. Contrary to the union scare campaign, an

employer can only pay an overseas worker the same as

or more than an Australian worker.

AMMA supports this new type of agreement as responsible

and forward-thinking policy making that recognises and

assists with complex skills considerations across various

Australian communities and business sectors.


ASSISTING WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL SKILLS NEEDSENTERPRISE MIGRATION AGREEMENTS (EMAS) AND LABOUR AGREEMENTS

Early in 2014, AMMA was invited to take part in the

Department of Immigration & Border Protection’s

consultation over revised guidelines for enterprise

migration agreements (EMAs) and labour agreements.

AMMA is again pleased to see the government focus on

deregulating this area and making it more responsive to

business needs.

The Department subsequently announced at AMMA’s

2014 Skilled Migration Conference that EMAs were

being revamped into ‘project agreements’ that would

potentially extend to major infrastructure projects as well

as resource projects.

With the government having already signalled its

support for streamlining the negotiation process for

labour agreements, AMMA looks forward to further

announcements in this area consistent with the

government’s commitment to working with industry.

REVIEW OF THE 400 SERIES VISA PROGRAM

In September 2014, AMMA was invited to participate

in the review of skilled migration and the 400 series visa

programs. AMMA particularly welcomes the review’s focus

on identifying unnecessary red tape for employers and

developing a more flexible and responsive visa framework.

The 400 series program allows for the temporary entry

of overseas workers to Australia for economic, social

or cultural reasons. This program has transformed the

character of the Australian workforce by enhancing its

size and skill level which has resulted in superior labour

market outcomes.

To further improve outcomes, the government is

committed to developing a new skilled migration

framework that is adaptable and flexible to future labour

market needs, positioning the Australian economy for

future competitiveness and prosperity.

AMMA’s input to the review will be important in shaping

the new visa framework for years to come.

AMMA SKILLED MIGRATION POLICY SUBMISSIONS

Departmental Review into Enterprise Migration

Agreement (EMA) and Resource Sector Labour

Agreement (RSLA) Submission Guideline - May

Submission to the Independent Review of

Integrity in the Subclass 457 Program - May

Submission to the Senate Standing Committees

on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the

Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources

Activity) Repeal Bill 2014 - April

Confidential Submission to the Department of

Immigration & Border Protection on the new

visa pathway under the Migration Amendment

(Offshore Resources Activity) Act 2013 – February

DELIVERING SPECIALISED MIGRATION SOLUTIONSIn addition to the value AMMA members receive from

our influence and engagement with national decision

makers for Australia’s skilled migration regulatory and

legislative framework, AMMA also offers high quality and

specialised expertise in facilitating resource employers’

practical access to international talent pools.

Throughout 2014, AMMA Migration Services has delivered

expert skilled migration advice and strategic consultation

to member companies seeking time-critical solutions for

expatriate staffing requirements within their Australian

operations.

In instances where local candidates cannot be sourced

to undertake highly skilled, specialist positions for ongoing

projects, AMMA Migration Services facilitates member

access to temporary skilled international labour to ensure

project timeframes and budgetary goals are achieved

with precision and efficiency.

CONTINUED...


A DISTINCT ADVANTAGE

Through AMMA membership, resource employers

receive the strongest migration expertise in the country

at competitive rates, while additional value is gained

through integration with the wider resources, skills and

knowledge of AMMA’s consultancy, legal, and policy

capabilities.

Our distinct advantage over both domestic and

international-based traditional migration agencies is our

single-minded focus on the complexities, operational

needs and labour market conditions facing resource

employers in Australia.

This unparalleled understanding of our members’

requirements and capability to tailor solutions specifically

for unique individual circumstances in the resource

industry provides a distinct advantage to AMMA

members using our migration expertise.

No other migration agency can offer the intertwined

relationship with the resources industry that AMMA

Migration Services both enjoys and cultivates.

ADVICE AND DEMAND IN 2014

The past 12 months has seen the greatest demand

for AMMA’s Migration Services coming from sectors

including onshore and offshore drilling, subsea and

above ground pipe-lay, exploration and mining, plant

construction and asset commissioning.

These are the areas of our industry that continue

to face unique skills challenges that require local

expertise and capabilities to be bolstered and

complemented with international experience.

Specific services and advice provided in 2014

includes:

• Provision of high level, strategic migration advice

and consultancy.

• Assessment of company eligibility to access

the skilled temporary business entry and skilled

permanent residency visa subclasses.

• Preparation and lodgement of business sponsorship

applications.

• Assistance with corporate compliance of business sponsorship obligations.

• Assistance with regulatory compliance activities.

• Preparation and lodgement of temporary business entry visas.

• Preparation and lodgement of permanent skilled migration visas.

• Preparation and lodgement of occupational trainee sponsorship application.

• Preparation and lodgement of occupational trainee visa streams.

• Preparation and lodgement of any other non-corporate temporary and permanent residency visa

on request.

MIGRATION SERVICES

EMPLOYER SPONSORED MIGRATION

SKILLED MIGRATION

ENTERPRISE MIGRATION AGREEMENTS

LABOUR AGREEMENTS

TRAINING VISAS

MIGRATION APPEALS


PROVIDING CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY

Australian immigration is a dynamic and fluid area

of law with frequent regulatory change. In the area

of corporate skilled migration, understanding how

such change affects your operations both provides

a competitive advantage and is vitally important to

reducing exposure to any compliance risks.

This is where AMMA comes in.

Working in tandem with AMMA’s policy team,

AMMA’s migration experts are constantly analysing

how our members use certain work visas to formulate

highly reasoned recommendations to the Australian

Government. These invaluable activities come at no

extra cost to members utilising our Migration Services.

It is also incredibly important for AMMA’s Migration team

to provide clarity and consistency of service directly

to individual members and clients. This guidance and

direction empowers those affected to successfully

navigate the changing regulatory landscape and

maintain compliance with their immigration obligations.

SKILLED MIGRATION ENGAGEMENT

2014 AMMA SKILLED MIGRATION CONFERENCE

This year, AMMA hosted its fourth annual Skilled Migration

Conference. This popular specialist event allows

migration practitioners to learn about and discuss the

impacts of legislative change and industry trends, while

also bringing human resources and workplace relations

professionals up to speed on all the latest developments

affecting Australia’s skilled migration program.

Taking place in Perth’s CBD, the 2014 Skilled Migration

Conference covered the practical impacts of recent

legislative and regulatory changes. An impressive line-up

of speakers from industry and government provided their

insights on a range of policy issues including enterprise

migration agreements, labour agreements, the 457 visa

program, offshore visa regulation, future skills needs of

the industry and the skills assessment process.

Speakers at this year’s event included Senator the Hon

Michaelia Cash, the Assistant Minister for Immigration

& Border Protection; Labor’s Shadow Minister for

Immigration & Border Protection, Richard Marles,

Department of Immigration & Border Protection assistant

secretary David Wilden, and 457 review panel member

and ACCI Director, Jenny Lambert

AMMA MEMBER SURVEYS

AMMA’s policy and migration teams continue to engage

with our members through a range of communication

tools to ensure our advocacy and lobbying activities

in the skilled migration space, as well as the practical

services we offer, truly reflect the needs and unique

circumstances of the industry and its workplaces.

To further engage with our members attending the 2014

Skilled Migration Conference, AMMA conducted an

online survey leading up to the event seeking members’

views on important aspects of the skilled migration

scheme that were then explored throughout the course

of the day.

Key issues that our members identified in the survey that

they wanted to highlight to the government and policy

makers included:

Dr Ruth Shean from the WA Department of Training and Workforce Development, speaking at AMMA’s 2014 Skilled Migration Conference

ASSISTING WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL SKILLS NEEDS CONTINUED...


• The ongoing need to fill some highly specialised roles

with skills and expertise only internal staff from other

countries can bring.

• The need to utilise on Australian projects those

international personnel who are experienced in

bringing mega projects online, providing a greater

degree of assurance in terms of project delivery.

• The benefits Australian workers get from working

alongside overseas workers when those workers share

their international experience with Australian peers.

This is a reciprocal knowledge sharing and often helps

Australian workers to better perform their roles.

The survey also revealed that a significant proportion of

our members’ 457 visa workers, often in the realm of 50

per cent, convert to permanent residency, bringing a

welcome permanent injection of skills and experience for

the benefit of future generations of Australians.

YEAR AHEAD FOR SKILLED MIGRATIONAMMA’s role in assisting with the international skills needs

of employers in our resource industry will continue in

2015 as more major projects shift from construction

to production and the emphasis on particular skills

continues to evolve.

Both AMMA’s policy representation and specialist

migration services will be critically important in this

journey.

From a policy perspective, AMMA’s work in 2015 will

focus on ensuring that the right policy parameters for

the enterprise migration agreement (EMA) and labour

agreement streams are put in place to ensure industry is

prepared for when skills shortages again loom large.

AMMA’s advice and advocacy will continue in relation to

the 457 visa review recommendations and which particular

ones need to be taken up in the short term. While the

government has signalled it is not of a mind to completely

remove the punitive labour market testing requirements,

AMMA will continue to highlight the unwarranted

regulatory burden this presents for employers.

AMMA Migration Services expects 2015 to continue

delivering growth as more areas of AMMA’s wider

membership becomes aware of our capabilities in

meeting their migration requirements including offering

the full suite of visa processing capabilities, providing

strategic migration advice and liaising with the

Department of Immigration and Border Protection on

members’ behalf.

Specific increased demand is forecast from members

who operate predominantly in the onshore and offshore

drilling sectors as they move into a sustained growth

cycle. Our migration experts will also continue to provide

support and advice to key maritime activities operating

within and outside Australia’s migration zone.

AMMA Migration Services will also throughout 2015 assist

members in transitioning members of their skilled foreign

workforce into permanent residency, thus permanently

building Australia’s skills base for the future.

AMMA’s practical advice, leadership and advocacy

in the skilled migration space will continue to deliver

ongoing and long-term benefits for Australian industry

and the wider community as we seek to facilitate the

transfer of skills, expertise and knowledge from right

around the world. AMMA will also continue to highlight

the often overlooked fact that employing skilled workers

from overseas creates local Australian jobs for the future.

Delegates of the 2014 AMMA Skilled Migration Conference


AN ENGAGED AND UNIFIED INDUSTRYAMMA membership creates a unified industry representative body, facilitating unique opportunities for engagement,

networking and sharing of knowledge and insight.

In 2014, the benefits of AMMA membership in being part of an engaged and unified industry have proven as

important as ever, allowing our members to collectively address complex challenges facing our industry as a whole,

and provide support in delivering ongoing value to Australia’s economic and employment landscape.

AMMA has facilitated this greater level of collaboration, unity and engagement across our industry through a

refocused strategic approach to membership, highly effective member communication tools and a growing

calendar of conferences, events and forums.

MEMBERSHIPAs the resource industry continues its transition into a long term production phase, following a period of heightened construction activity, AMMA members are being presented with unique challenges and opportunities.

In recognising this changing focus as an opportunity, AMMA is actively engaging across our entire membership base and beyond to properly understand these challenges. In so doing we continue to uniquely position ourselves to assist our members through representation and the provision of services that are relevant and valued.

In recent years the rapid growth in greenfield and brownfield major resource projects, including the construction of seven of the world’s 10 largest natural gas developments, has seen a significant increase in new members joining AMMA from all areas of the engineering and construction supply chain, as well as the hydrocarbons project operators themselves. The service demands from these new members ensures they are engaged and are adding to the diversity of our already broad membership base.

On top of this a natural consequence of the market transition has been to refocus AMMA back to the diversity of our traditional membership base, including those involved in onshore precious minerals, hard rock mining and related service providers.

This emerging combination of our actively engaged newer members and our reengaged traditional base has ensured that AMMA has not only maintained but indeed expanded our reach into all areas of the

resource and allied sectors. This focus has allowed AMMA to consolidate its rapid growth to better represent the national industry with a collective voice that is

sustainable into the future.

As Australia’s only truly national resource sector

employer group, AMMA is uniquely placed to actively

represent the policy requirements of our broader industry

while delivering a range of service solutions directly to

our members’ workplaces.

MEMBER COMMUNICATIONSThroughout 2014, AMMA regularly communicated a

range of breaking news, policy or political developments,

and information relating to our activities, services and

events directly to our wider membership base.

Such communication remains key for ongoing

engagement between AMMA and its members and

provides important feedback to guide and align our

broader activities with resource employer needs.

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- Visa stability returned to offshore sector- Carbon tax axed, next the MRRT- Mining tax repeal in limbo

- AMMA talks IR reform at Productivity Forum- Industry Briefings to feature AMMA expertise- One application can cover many workers: FWC

- Lend your support to aspiring resource women- Visa updates at Skilled Migration Conference- AMMA boosts employee relations expertise

- Qualify your performers in skills assessment- Reduce risk with workplace relations training- Motivate your workforce toward an HR career

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AMMA | The Resource Industry Employer Group | Weekly News

- Statement on Fair Work appeals bench- AMMA Skilled Migration Conf – 1 week to go!

- Phone msgs, emails are ‘industrial action’- IR ranked Australia’s biggest problem

- Secrets of Clough’s transformation- Super increases deferred until 2021- AMMA to present on IR at Tassie event

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WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE

The primary direct member communications tool is the

electronically delivered AMMA Weekly News Update. In

early 2014, AMMA’s communications team reviewed our

member communications and, responding to member

feedback, redesigned a weekly AMMA news service

with more relevant and better-honed content. This

communications tool provides AMMA members with:

• Summaries on the latest workplace relations court

and tribunal decisions and case law, with advice

from our consultants and lawyers on implications for

resource employers.

• Important policy and legislative updates from

AMMA’s policy team, including how new

developments may impact your workplaces.

• Political and industry news.

• Promotion of AMMA’s events and upcoming training

and development courses.

The Weekly News Update has also successfully compiled

the majority of our member emails into a single source of

delivery. The effectiveness of this streamlining of AMMA’s

member communications is reflected in increased

open rates, higher content readership and anecdotal

feedback.

RESOURCE PEOPLE

Now in its third year, AMMA’s signature magazine

Resource People continues to grow in popularity and

readership. This quarterly publication is distributed to

5000 professionals in the resource industry, catering for

a range of ‘people’ disciplines including IR, HR, training,

leadership, migration, OHS and more.

Resource People is a highly effective AMMA

communications tool and features a range of resource

industry news, updates and features. Importantly, the

magazine presents as an independent resource industry

publication, allowing Resource People to build significant

interest from outside AMMA’s membership and in the

broader media marketplace during 2014.

The magazine provides AMMA members with an

excellent opportunity to promote their initiatives and

successes in various workforce areas. Key feature stories

during 2014 included:

• The people and cultural strategies behind Gold Fields’ mine acquisitions in WA.

• The community and employment value delivered by INPEX’s Ichthys project to Darwin.

• Success of the Thiess ‘Women in Mining’ action plan.

• Chevron human resources feature.

• MMG graduate recruitment and training programs.

• Sodexo’s new comprehensive mine wellbeing initiative.

• Aboriginal Maritime Limited’s Indigenous employment

outcomes.

AMMA members are encouraged to get involved with Resource People and utilise this magazine to share your expertise or promote positive stories from within your

workplaces.

Issue 005 Spring ‘13 – Summer ‘14

Bechtel’s Andy Greig

Transfield Services

talks Curtis Island Lng

projects and 60 years in

Australia

expanding its footprint

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane

PLUS exclusive feature with Leighton’s global HR boss Dharma Chandran

Bluestone Mines builds capacity

Abbott and Abetz: policy scorecard

Issue 006 Autumn 2014

PLUS Tony Abbott’s resources vision and Stornoway’s story

Sodexo CEO talks mine wellbeing initiative

HEALTH IN FOCUS

FIFO program a soaring success

Rio energy chief’s productivity call

Farstad navigates gender diversity

Issue 007 Winter 2014

PLUS Fair Work changes reviewed and mining’s new dress code

Minister Robb talks new trade deals

La Mancha upskills for golden era

BHP fires up for coal demand

Harnessing Chevron’s

human energy

Graduates rate MMG

PLUS mental health focus; industry awards; and Howard talks IR

Secrets of Clough’s transformation

Downer’s onsite succession coaching

Fortescue boss rallies for reform

Ichthys LNG: Darwin’s

crown jewel comes to lifeThiess women a winning formula

Issue 008 Spring 2014


AMMA EVENTSIn 2014, AMMA’s wide range of conferences and

events continued to deliver important forums for

engagement and consultation on the unique

challenges and developments occurring throughout

the Australian resource industry.

Delivered nationwide through a series of major

conferences, workshops and exclusive member-only

regional forums, these events provided valuable

opportunities for members to network, share ideas and

information, and develop important business contacts.

2014 RESOURCE PEOPLE SUMMIT

AMMA’s hallmark annual event was this year

rebranded the 2014 Australian Resource People

Summit and was met with great success from across

our membership.

This significant industry event attracted more than 400

delegates to Perth to hear from some of Australia’s

most respected thought-leaders across the resource

industry and workplace policy authorities. Keynote

speakers included:

• Fortescue Metals Group CEO, Nev Power.

• Bechtel Mines & Metals President, Shaun Kenny.

• Chevron Australia’s GM of Human Resources,

Kaye Butler.

• Assistant Minister for Immigration,

Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash.

• Orica Limited Managing Director and CEO and

AMMA President, Ian Smith.

• Transfield Services Managing Director and CEO,

Graeme Hunt.

• Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Managing

Director, Wayne Aitken.

Former PM John Howard addressing AMMA members at the 2014 Resource People Summit

Assistant Minister for Immigration Senator Michaelia Cash at AMMA’s national event

AN ENGAGED AND UNIFIED INDUSTRY CONTINUED...


Joining these high profile speakers were a number

of human resources, workplace relations and

workforce development practitioners from within

AMMA’s membership. The event included a selection

of informative breakout sessions and interactive

workshops covering human resources, operational

health and safety, external affairs and workplace

relations with a focus on mental health.

A highlight of the two-day conference was the much

anticipated keynote address by former Australian

Prime Minister John Howard, who spoke on workplace

relations reform and economic management of the

resource industry.

The 2014 Australian Resource People Summit also

brought together a large number of exhibitors,

including AMMA’s Corporate Partners, for valuable

business-to-business networking.

Fortescue CEO Nev Power spoke on workplace relations reform

AMMA’s 2014 Resource People Summit attracted hundreds of industry delegates.


AN ENGAGED AND UNIFIED INDUSTRY CONTINUED...

2014 AMMA INDUSTRY AWARDS

Through our annual Industry Awards AMMA continues to

recognise innovation, best practices and success stories

in human resources, recruitment, workplace relations,

Indigenous employment and gender diversity across our

membership.

The 2014 AMMA Industry Awards featured some of the

best-ever work of our members, who were recognised

and awarded the 2014 AMMA Annual Gala Dinner,

taking place during our national event the 2014

Resource People Summit. 2014 winners included:

• 30 Year Membership: Cape Flattery Silica Mines

• 20 Year Membership: CGG

• 20 Year Membership: Perilya

• Young Professional Award: Kristen Lukas, IR Advisor

with Chevron Australia

• Indigenous Employment & Retention: Offshore Marine

Services Alliance

• Australian Women in Resource Alliance Award: Thiess

Nominations for AMMA’s 2015 awards will open early

in the New Year – stay tuned through the AMMA Weekly

News Update and ensure your organisation lodges its

nominations.

AMMA REGIONAL FORUMS AND ONE-DAY EVENTS

AMMA members also enjoyed a number of tailored

one-day events throughout the year, providing practical

insights and tools for use in the workplace and facilitating

a high level of engagement with resource professionals

from every corner of the industry.

The 2014 one-day event program expanded to include

the AWRA (Australian Women in Resources Alliance)

Forum focusing on workforce diversity and saw the

return of the popular Skilled Migration Conference (see

information on pages 28 and 37).

AMMA’s regional industry briefings and member forums,

held across the country at the start and end of 2014, also

provided members with common professional interests to

engage and discuss issues relating their specific industry

sub-sector or region.

Chevron IR advisor Kristen Lukas accepting the 2014 AMMA Young Professional Award


The scene of AMMA’s 2014 Gala Dinner and Industry Awards 44ACTIVITIES REPORT 2014

AN ENGAGED AND UNIFIED INDUSTRYEVENTS IN 2015

The AMMA 2015 Resource People Conference will take

place at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth on August 20-21

and will build on this year’s successful new platform.

Following feedback from AMMA members, the theme

and content of the 2015 conference will revolve around

‘engagement’. The program will feature dedicated

‘workplace relations’ and ‘human resources’ streams,

together with interactive and informative plenary

sessions, including:

• Keynote presentations from senior executives in the

national resource industry.

• Political keynote addresses from influential federal

government ministers.

• Panel discussions on workforce issues featuring

industry leaders, practitioners and special guests.

• A range of pressing topics including labour mobility,

performance and profitability, workforce planning,

diversity, mental health, skills development and

much more.

BEYONDBLUE PARTNERSHIP

In 2014 AMMA partnered with leading national

mental health awareness organisation beyondblue

to provide ongoing assistance and resources in this

critically important area. The partnership is in support of

beyondblue’s Heads Up initiative, which encourages the

Australian business community to take action to improve

mental health in the workplace.

Launched among resource employers at the end of

year AMMA Industry Briefings, the Heads Up program has

since gained momentum across the mining, oil and gas

sectors as an initiative to help employers build mentally

healthy workplace cultures.

In 2015, this partnership will offer valuable help to

our members in providing mentally safe and healthy

workplace environments.

CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAMNow in its sixth year, the AMMA Corporate Partnership

Program continues to provide unparalleled opportunities

to service and suppling companies with real value to

offer resource industry employers.

In 2014 AMMA welcomed a new ‘Platinum Partner’

– our premium level of industry engagement - in GU

Health, which offers exclusive corporate health plans to

the resource industry.

AMMA’s Corporate Partners program plays a key role in

providing AMMA members with access to the best value

products and service solutions to workforce requirements

of the Australian resource industry.

The development of business relationships with the

various best practice suppliers involved in the program

during 2014 has delivered additional value and

corporate connections to AMMA members.

The continued growth of the AMMA Corporate

Partnership Program shows more companies are

recognising the benefits of connecting with AMMA

and the broad industry sub-sectors and major

employers we represent.

CONTINUED...


CORPORATE PARTNERS

AMMA’s Corporate Partnership Program provides unparalleled opportunities for companies to promote their products and services to the resource industry. The program has a range of levels with partnership benefits and can be tailored to meet a company’s requirements.

Big Sky has supported the resources sector for over 40 years, providing a full range

of financial products and services to the employees and families of well known

resources companies and suppliers to the mining industry.

Vincent Lewis T 03 8682 4332 E [email protected] A 114 Albert Road, South Melbourne VIC 3205www.bigsky.net.au

Coverforce was established in 1994 as a specialist provider of income protection

and ancillary workers compensation insurance, to workers in the Australian

construction industry. The business started with the simple philosophy of delivering

an uncompromising level of service that exceeded the customer’s expectation.

Justine McDonald T 02 9376 7803 E [email protected] A Level 12, 9 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000www.coverforce.com.au

GU Health is the only corporate health insurance specialist in Australia. We’re

focused solely on providing innovative health insurance products to corporates,

identifying your company’s unique needs to deliver a tailored experience and

expert service you can depend on.

David Slack-Smith T 02 9256 8743 E [email protected] A Level 6, 88 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000 www.guhealth.com.au

SILVER PARTNERS

Claire Green T 03 5421 5100 E [email protected]

Tom Hatch T 1300 337 000 E [email protected]

Julian Smith T 1300 669 155 E [email protected]

Luke Deayton T 07 3868 0972 E [email protected]

Natalie Dixon T 08 8132 7400 E [email protected]

Tim Baker T 1800 824 227 E [email protected]

Ivan HoeT 08 9417 7321 E [email protected]

Nicole AshbyT 08 6188 7670 E [email protected]

Michele Grow T 02 8295 2200 E [email protected]

PLATINUM PARTNERS


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AMMA 2014 Activities Report

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