Consult Australia, for over 70 years, the sole association dedicated to the success of consulting businesses in design, advisory and engineering.

Our members, ranging from Australia’s most innovative small and medium sized firms to global corporations, deliver the solutions to the nation’s most complex challenges helping shape, create  and sustain our built and natural environment.

ROWENNA WALKER 

Managing Director - NSW/ACT, Aurecon
Consult Australia President

I continue to be amazed and proud at the impact Consult Australia and it’s members have, in their ability to drive change in our industry, the last year has been no different. Just recently we saw the launch of ‘Infrastructure Net Zero’, a national collaboration to decarbonsie Australia’s Infrastructure where Consult Australia, as one of the founding members has helped set up this powerful group. We continue to set the benchmark and lead the conversation on gender equity as well as the broader diversity and inclusion agenda through our Consult Australia Champions of Change with our recent 2023 Everyday Respect report. 

The Board has been delighted to see how our CEO, Jonathan Cartledge has hit the ground running in his first year in role. Jonathan has refined the focus and delivery of our current Strategic Plan; growing Profile, Engagement & Revenue. He has laid the foundations, such that the new Strategic Plan due in FY24 will set Consult Australia up for a sustainable future. It has been pleasing to see Jonathan lean into the engagement with our Members and alignment with Engineers Australia (EA) as well as the continued collaboration with The Australian Contractors Association (ACA). The success of our National events like Collab-X, the Annual Awards, advocacy campaigns like ‘Digital by Default’ have been a great tribute to Jonathan and his team.

As we are all seeing, the environment that we operate in, globally, and here is Australia is constantly changing and uncertain. That means we need to continually respond and adapt to that change to be sustainable and relevant businesses, that is the same for Consult Australia being the leading voice for Engineering, Design and advisory consultancy businesses. In the recent EGM, we were pleased that the proposed changes in our Constitution were unanimously voted in favour of to establish the President Elect role and Director tenure to ensure smoother transition and better continuity from the Board.

One thing that I am personally and professionally proud of as a group of businesses, is the level of ethics and integrity that we all operate under, indeed it seems that the Consult Australia Code of Ethics is more important than ever. To that end as part of the constitutional changes passed at the EGM we have updated our complaints procedure to be practicable and transparent.

As I finish my term as President, and step down from the Consult Australia Board after six years I am pleased to leave a Consult Australia that is set up to face the future with solid Governance, strong leadership, active and passionate members.

JONATHAN CARTLEDGE

Chief Executive Officer, Consult Australia

Having just recently concluded my first year as CEO of Consult Australia I am proud to reflect on what our team continues to achieve for an industry so critical to our national prosperity.

As your sole industry champion, the clarity and focus of our voice focusing on those issues at the intersection of people, productivity and procurement distinguish our value for your business. Our commitment to your success is unwavering, supported by the forums for sharing and collaboration that have established us as the go-to for advice on those issues most critical to our industry in our engagement with over 100 agencies across Australia.

A commitment to collaboration to deliver the greatest value from our work is enduring and demonstrated through our targeted campaigns focused on improving the procurement of your services, removing regulatory burdens, supporting digital by default, pathways to net zero infrastructure and the wellbeing of the industry through our Mental Health Knowledge Hub.

Your ongoing engagement with us ensures we continue to thrive and reflect your most pressing priorities. Whether through our Large Firms Forum, SME Summit and Forums, Boardroom lunch series, regular industry briefings, our Consult Australia Champions of Change, or CollabX Conference with the Department of Defence, we are committed to your priorities.

Alongside our advocacy, we continue to focus on the support for your team’s skills and capabilities and were proud to graduate the 2000th alumni from the Consult Australia Contracts for Consultants course. The deep engagement through FutureNet across Australia and our FutureNet Business Leaders including from the NSW Department of Health and Transport for NSW ensures this Program remains the flagship for growing the next generation of industry leaders.

Celebrating their success, alongside a record number of entries for our 2022-23 Awards for Excellence was a highlight for this year as we celebrated the world-leading excellence embodied by our members.

As we work together to navigate a sometimes uncertain economic and political environment, our strength comes from your engagement. My thanks to you for that ongoing support.

For more than 70 years, Consult Australia has been the leading association committed to the prosperity of consulting enterprises in the fields of design, advisory, and engineering. Our diverse membership includes Australia's most forward-thinking small and medium-sized firms as well as global corporations.

Together, we provide innovative solutions to the nation's most intricate problems, playing a crucial role in shaping, constructing, and preserving our built and natural environment.

Our ultimate goal is to foster a flourishing and competitive consulting industry that not only bolsters the economy but also delivers superior results for our members' clients, including governments and the communities they serve.

Read more here

Submissions, reports and media releases

Regular forums with federal and state/territory government agencies

Advocacy activities with federal and state/territory government Ministers, agencies etc 

Member forums held (including national roundtables, large firms forum, SME open forum as well as state/territory committees)

Digital by Default >

Infrastructure Net Zero >

Mental Health and wellbeing >

Pipeline certainty >

Skills & capacity >

Model client & productivity >

Consult Australia members, when dealing with clients, the community, and other members, will uphold the standards expected of professional consultants, committing to collaboration, fairness and integrity.

Member Organisations

Staff employed

ACOR Consultants Pty Ltd
AJNFacades
ARK Consulting Engineers
ASED Consulting International Pty Ltd
Bentley Systems International Ltd
Connect Project Services Pty Ltd
ConsultJR Strategic Engineering
Donnan Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd
DMA Engineers
Egis Oceania Pty Ltd
Elite Engineering Pty Ltd
Infrastructure Design & Innovation Pty Ltd

Instinct Advisory Pty Ltd
Galaxy City Pty Ltd
LMW Design Group Pty Ltd
Macstructures Pty Ltd
PGA Pty Ltd
Resilient Projects Pty Ltd
Resource Innovations Unit Trust
Subsidia Pty Ltd
Texform International Pty Ltd
TTW
Yanun Project Services

Membership Employee Increase

12.4% increase in membership this year

Most member organisations are sole traders or less than 100 staff

Member organisations are based mostly in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne

The Board of Consult Australia follows a process for evaluating the performance of the Board in accordance with good governance principles described by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

A Board effectiveness assessment is conducted by the Board Nominations & Remuneration Committee who also monitor Board diversity. The skills and diversity of the Board were considered appropriate with no changes to Board composition through this non-election year.

The attendance of Board Members at all scheduled Board and Committee meetings has been assessed and considered suitable with most of the Board attending all scheduled meetings, and assessed as committed to furthering the interests and performance of Consult Australia.

The Board conducted a self-evaluation via an anonymous survey in August 2023 (completed by seven of eight Board Members) which was reviewed by the Board. The results were compared to the previous self-evaluation noting generally minor changes in scoring which do not warrant any actions. There were three consistent opportunities for ongoing improvement, summarised as:

Two committees of the Board (Finance & Risk and Remunerations & Nominations) conducted an evaluation via an anonymous survey of directors of which four of eight responded. There were no significant areas for improvement identified for either committee which both score around ”good”.

The survey was responded to by three of eight State Committee Chairs. Responses indicated active contribution by the Board representative, though one committee reported Board Member attendance at less than half of the State meetings.

Keeping you up-to-date with the news, issues and people affecting our industry and your business.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live which includes the lands of the Gadigal, Kuarna, Kulin, Turrbal and Wurundjeri people.

We pay our respect to Elders: past, present and emerging.

Safe passage artwork from Kimberley Back under license until March 2025

Every 12 months, Consult Australia prepares an Annual Report to outline the organisation’s activities and achievements, performance and financial position for that year.

Use the links below to download the Annual Reports from the last few years:

2022 Annual Report
2021 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report
2019 Annual Report
2018 Annual Report
2017 Annual Report

If you would like more information about Consult Australia’s Annual Report, please contact Consult Australia on (02) 8252 6700 or via email info@consultaustralia.com.au.