October 2026
Progress and plenty more ahead
Last week, Consult Australia held our Annual General Meeting. It was a chance to take stock of a busy year, celebrate some hard-won achievements and welcome new directors to our Board.
First, congratulations to our newly appointed director, Arcadis’ Austen Shoebotham, and to David Barter from Beca, who was appointed by the Board as Vice President. My thanks also to our outgoing and continuing directors for the expertise, energy and commitment they bring to Consult Australia. You can meet our new Board members in this month’s Consulting Matters.
We had plenty to reflect on at the AGM, including progress against the four priorities in our 2025–28 Strategic Plan: focused advocacy, amplifying the industry’s voice, leveraging partnerships and elevating consulting excellence.
Advocating for our members and improving the conditions in which they do business is at the heart of our work. Over the past year, we’ve secured practical wins: better government contracts in South Australia and Queensland, procurement improvements in Victoria, a successful campaign for the NSW Government to abandon its proposed Engineering Practice Standard, and further progress towards national engineering registration.
We’ve strengthened our industry’s voice through engagement with more than 100 government agencies and exclusive Boardroom luncheons connecting members with more than 30 senior decision-makers.
Our strategic partnerships have helped extend our influence, including through Collab X, co-hosted with the Department of Defence, which attracted record attendance.
And we’ve continued to invest in consulting excellence, expanding our Future Leader Program to Brisbane, supporting the next generation through FutureNet and celebrating outstanding achievement through a record-setting Awards for Excellence program.
I’m encouraged to see this strategy delivering on so many fronts. But none of this happens without the commitment of our members, Board, committees and Consult Australia team. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. You can read more in our 2025–26 Annual Report.
And we’re not taking our foot off the pedal. Submissions for the 2027 Awards for Excellence close on 21 December, Collab X returns to Canberra on 17–18 February, and our Awards Gala Dinner takes place in Sydney on 11 March.
Then there’s a special birthday to celebrate, as Consult Australia turns 75 in 2027.
Progress and plenty more ahead. Thank you for being part of it.