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Consulting Matters - February 2026

FROM THE CEO

The timing of togetherness

Collaboration is about togetherness. But it’s also about timing.

Australia is entering a compressed delivery window as major infrastructure programs – spanning defence, renewable energy and the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games – begin to converge.

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Jonathan Cartledge | CEO, Consult Australia

ADVOCATING FOR YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS

More than money

Certainty and consistency in infrastructure

Consult Australia lodged three major submissions in January with one overarching theme. “It’s not just how much is spent on infrastructure, but what funding makes possible,” says Kristy Eulenstein.

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Strengthening the Code

Why NCC modernisation matters

Australia’s National Construction Code is the foundation for safe, sustainable and consistent building practices. While the Code is national, its implementation isn’t always consistent – but a new project could change that.

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Stronger together

New collaborative advocacy commitment

The Association of Consulting Architects Australia and Consult Australia have worked side by side on advocacy for many years – and now that long-standing partnership is formalised in a new Collaborative Advocacy Commitment.

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PEOPLE & MOVEMENTS

Vale Orion’s Dominic Lynch

This month, we pay tribute to Dominic Lynch of Orion Group – a generous leader whose influence on people, projects and industry advocacy will be long felt.

ACOR appoints CEO Rob Clarke

Rob Clarke has 30 years’ experience leading tier-one multidisciplinary consulting businesses and has contributed to industry bodies such as Green Building Council of Australia.

ABCB welcomes CEO Adrian Piani

Adrian Piani leads the Australian Building Codes Board as it progresses a voluntary certification scheme for prefabricated construction, the National Construction Code 2025 and more.

Arup makes strategic appointments

Arup has appointed Amanda Yeates as Roads and Streets Leader in Australia and New Zealand and Peter Brunt is new Victorian Water Business Leader.

Other moves

Christian Jensby takes the helm at Ramboll, while senior appointments at SMEC and HDR strengthen technical and delivery capability.

Australia Day Honours

We congratulate outstanding leaders whose work has shaped Australia’s built environment through design and engineering excellence.

An industry on the move

A doubling of award submissions. A CollabX conference confronting the industry’s big strategic challenges. A Future Leaders Program now hosted in three capital cities. Each points to the same thing: an industry on the move in 2026.

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Collaboration as a force multiplier

A force multiplier turns effort into greater impact. Collaboration plays that role for Consult Australia – amplifying member expertise and extending influence across the decisions that shape our industry.

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Cheaper insurance, sharper decisions

Insurers are actively chasing market share in the professional indemnity insurance market – and that may seem like good news. But not all policies are created equal, Bellrock’s risk advisors warn.

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Innovation shaping Australian data centres

Stantec’s Navid Golshani explores how modular construction, liquid cooling and AI-led optimisation are reshaping Australian data centre design, helping operators deliver denser, cleaner and more resilient infrastructure.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...

Global Risks Report 2026

Uncertainty is the defining theme of the World Economic Forum’s global risks outlook in 2026.

A costly year for insurance

Extreme weather events cost almost $3.5 billion in insured losses from 264,000 claims in 2025, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

A game plan for Brisbane 2032

WT’s latest report proposes practical strategies to deliver on time, stay on budget and build a legacy that lasts.

New Delhi to host FIDIC in 2026

India’s rapid infrastructure build-out puts it at the centre of FIDIC’s Global Infrastructure Conference.

2026 Australian of the Year

Aeronautical and space engineer Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first person to qualify as an astronaut under the Australian flag.