seq catchments annual report 2015

COMBINED ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

NEW CHALLENGES

S E Q C A T C H M E N T S C O M B I N E D A N N U A L A N D S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y R E P O R T 2 0 1 5 | P A G E 2

CONTENTSAbout this report 2

About Us 3

Our Region 4

Our Services 5

Chairman’s and CEO’s Report 6

Our Finances 11

Our Performance 14

Performance Highlights 2014 - 15 14

Delivery against our performance targets 15

Our Strategy 17

Our Structure 19

Our Governance 21

Our Stakeholders 23

Our People 24

Our Environment 26

GRI Content Index 27

Feedback on this report 27

Corporate Directory 28

ABOUT THIS REPORTThis report contains Standard Disclosures from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for the Annual Reporting period 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015.

At the end of the report is the GRI Index for a quick reference to a particular section in our Annual Report or on the SEQ Catchments website.

COMBINED ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015

NEW OPPORTUNITIESNEW CHALLENGES

Cover photo: Sunrise at Miami on the Gold Coast by Ben Cooper www.bc3photography.com


SEQ Catchments is a community, not-for-profit organisation jointly owned by the SEQ Catchments Members Association and the Council of Mayors (South East Queensland).

We are one of 14 Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations in Queensland. We are a member of the Regional Groups Collective, the collective voice of NRM across Queensland.

> More About Us www.seqcatchments.com.au/about-who-we-are.html

ABOUT US

70%

HOME TO

ABOUT

Working to control erosion and repair degraded waterways for

improved water quality.

3 million

tourism

PEOPLE

supply drinking water to over

We direct

#GiveMeSEQAnyDay

from government and business

of the landin SEQ isprivately

owned

of the world’s 7species of sea turtles

*As measured by value of vegetable production

Supporting over 200 community groups and landholders since 2007

by facilitating $200 million in environmental investment.

TO WHEREIT NEEDSTO GET TO

Providing training, advice, services and support for improved land and waterway management.

Working with the community to contribute towards goals in the SEQ

Natural Resource Management Plan.

PLANCommunity owned

6

Monitoring and restoring our delicate coastal areas.

What is a catchment?A catchment is an area defined by mountains and hills that catches rainfall some of which flows into our creeks and rivers.

SEQ PRODUCES ALMOST

OF Queensland’s vegetables*

Working with landholdersto support healthy land for sustainable,

profitable production.

Our waterways

31

Protecting and restoring our region’s biodiversity.

$

$funding

Kakadunative plant & animals

OVER

SPECIES

HOME TO MORE

THAN

Preserving our beautiful natural areas

INDUSTRY

$5.06bn

$6.40bn

SEQ

GRE

AT B

ARRI

ER

REEF

SUPPORTING A STRONG

OUR MISSION We take a key role in regional NRM planning, secure funding and deliver collaborative and innovative partnerships with community, industry and all levels of government.

> More about our Vision, Mission and Corporate Intent www.seqcatchments.com.au/strategic-plan.html


UPPERBRISBANE

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LOWERBRISBANE

MIDBRISBANE

BREMER

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LOCKYER

MAROOCHY/MOOLOOLAH

MORETON BAYAND ISLANDS

REDLANDS

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Our Services

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Community engagement

We mobilise and involve community groups and individual landholders to identify, develop and carry out projects at the grassroots level.

Project delivery

We support both large and small scale landscape restoration and environmental works, often acting as a Managing Contractor for operational works delivery.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Natural landscape solutions

We offer a cost effective and value for money service to assist government, industry and landholders to plan for and meet mandatory and voluntary requirements for multiple local, state and Australian Government natural resource outcomes.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Landscape management

We work with and support farmers seeking to improve agricultural production and sustainability through the protection and enhancement of their productive natural resources. Good land and flood plain management can reduce risk and improve farm value.Vegetation management

We provide assistance to farmers to understand carbon farming opportunities as well as planning, implementing and managing farm forestry. We work to maintain vegetation and the connections between them to protect habitats for plants and animals.

Waterway and coastal restoration

Our focus is on the remediation of degraded coastal and aquatic ecosystems (such as streams, rivers, estuaries and mangroves) and protection from risks, such as oil spills and intense storms and floods.

Building partnerships

We encourage and assist the development of partnerships between the community, the corporate sector, other NGOs and Regions as well as governments at all levels to deliver NRM outcomes.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Biodiversity and ecosystem assessment

We work with government, corporate, industry, research, education and community partners to conserve biodiversity and nature conservation values.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Property management planning (PMP)

PMP helps landholders to analyse their property from an ecological, production, economic and social perspective. PMP integrates these perspectives for the whole of the property enterprise and assists landholders to design infrastructure and management practices to meet their aims.

Community Engagement

Project Delivery

Offsetting

Vegetation Management

Waterway and coastal restoration

Biodiversity and ecosystem Management

Property Management Planning

Geographical Information Systems

Planning

Building Partnerships

Geographic information systems (GIS) – mapping

Our Mapping Unit specialises in mapping what’s possible in the landscape and applying this information to protect and restore South East Queensland’s natural resources.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Planning

We work with the Australian, Queensland and Local Governments as well as the corporate sector to influence policy and align planning with the SEQ NRM Plan.

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

Healthy Country

Planning regionally

back on Track

Energex

Land for Wildlife

OUR SERVICES


Simon WarnerChief Executive Officer

Robert Smith Chairman

Since the birth of regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies in the early 2000s, we have seen NRM develop from an idea into an integral part of how Australia manages its economic and environmental prosperity.

While the value of what we do is in most quarters unquestioned, the way we do things and the expectations of our stakeholders – community, governments and investors – requires us to be resilient and innovative. This means we need to continue to change.

Shifting government policies and expectations, reduced NRM grant investment, increasing competition and growing demand for services mean both opportunities and challenges for us.

SEQ Catchments has continually reviewed the way it funds and delivers its services in response to this ever-changing environment.

In last year’s report we observed that there was a further shift underway. This included the impact of new Australian Government programmes such as Green Army, 20 Million Trees and the new National Landcare Programme, which were at that time still unclear.

During this last year the board and staff together have looked at how we could renew and reorient SEQ

Catchments to remain relevant in this new environment and place ourselves well to lead change.

We recognised that while our structure and systems have served us well to date we needed to change the way we ran our business for us to remain viable while continuing to deliver on our stakeholders’ current and future expectations.

Our financial performance

There is no question that 2014-15 was a difficult time for SEQ Catchments.

A continued lack of funding for core programs, delays in program and major project funding, the cost of investment in creating new business, the withdrawal of funding for administrative support all contributed to this. While none of this was unexpected, the pace of the change and the ability to source alternative investment to offset the impact took longer than we expected.

As a result SEQ Catchments reported a loss of $835,142 for the 2014-15 period, with consolidated revenue down 13 percent to $9.2 million.

While this is a significant figure we undertook action to reduce the impact and in particular to change the cost

CHAIRMAN’S AND CEO’S REPORT

As the environment continues to change, we must adapt


base of the business and improve efficiencies for the future.

Chief among these was our restructure, discussed later in this report, to reduce our costs, maximise revenue opportunities and where possible maintain our capacity to deliver for our community in different ways to how we did in the past.

We also invested in the development of new business which will provide alternative sources of revenue to support our strategy as planned.

The restructure timing was in part dependent on the outcome of the Australian Government’s change to its funding programmes and in particular the National Landcare Programme. While the renegotiation of this programme and the implications on our operations are still underway, we’re happy to confirm that SEQ Catchments will remain a key delivery agent for regional investment under the National Landcare Programme.

Importantly, changes so far negotiated have enabled us to be much clearer in regard to the activities that the program will fund and the role that this important investor wishes us to play.

We have also had a look at the way we have delivered support and services especially in those areas where funding has been difficult. This has resulted in the need for us to take a new approach which relies more on building community capacity so they can take the lead and our role being more focused on technical and community support. One such area where we are taking this approach is in water quality monitoring. More information is available on our website.

Despite the reported loss the company remains in a solid financial position, but we have needed to make rapid and sometimes difficult decisions to make the change required. To not do so would have adversely affected our capacity to deliver for our community and stakeholders into the future.

Restructuring our business

As outlined previously, during the year we undertook a major restructure to enhance the sustainability of our business. Through this we have reduced the cost base of the business and will improve operational efficiency.

As advised at last year’s Annual General Meeting SEQ Catchments is pursuing a social enterprise model with NRM at its core. Under this model we provide services to the market to support and fund our core regional NRM business.

This strategy is designed to produce both social and commercial value aligned to our strategic vision and areas of expertise.

SEQ Catchments remains a community not-for-profit organisation and our ownership will continue to be the Council of Mayors (SEQ) and the community via the SEQ Catchments Members Association (SEQCMA).

The management structure of the business has been reduced and streamlined. We have created four teams with an executive team of four. The way SEQ Catchments operates will require significant coordination across the teams to get maximum value from the resources we have.

Each of the executives has very clear responsibilities for the distinct parts of our business. They have been given authority to drive the changes in the business.


The four distinct parts of the business are; Regional Body Operations, Business Development and Innovation, Natural Asset Solutions and Delivery, and Business Services. These changes are detailed further on our website.

While the operational aspects of the business have now changed, there is still a considerable amount of work to do in reconfiguring our business systems and procedures to ensure that we are getting the best use of resources and systems. This will progress over the first half of 2015–16.

Delivering for our community

Despite being a difficult year, 2014-15 was a period of strong achievement. These are detailed in the ‘Our Performance’ section of this report.

We would like to highlight some significant projects which demonstrate our ability to be innovative and to bring together partners to achieve meaningful, long term outcomes.

Earlier this year SEQ Catchments completed work with the Scenic Rim Regional Council and local residents on a 10 year strategy to balance biodiversity conservation in the Scenic Rim with further development and population growth.

Using our vast data warehouse we compiled an inventory of the region’s biodiversity and identified trends such as land use change, changing climate, pest plants and animals, fire management and salinity.

The strategy will inform development and implementation of the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme and policies, as well as supporting community and key stakeholder partnerships in order to maintain and enhance the region’s biodiversity.

In partnership with a range of government and industry partners including the Queensland Government, Queensland Urban Utilities and the Port of Brisbane, we project managed the restoration of mangroves and saltmarsh at Myrtletown at the mouth of the Brisbane River.

This innovative partnership pioneered techniques for restoring mangroves and saltmarsh which are vital to protecting coastal areas from erosion and storms, and are home to many birds, crabs and marine creatures.

Another highlight for the year was the launch of the five year Australian Government funded What’s your nature? initiative. This joint partnership between SEQ Catchments, the Brisbane Catchments Network, Brisbane City Council, Queensland Urban Utilities, and Jagera Daren Cultural

SEQ Catchments is pursuing a social enterprise model with NRM at its core.


Heritage Body will improve the health of our city’s creeks and green spaces by re-establishing people’s connection with their local environment.

In early 2015, SEQ Catchments developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), to ensure continued Traditional Owner guidance in NRM activities across the region. This agreement was subsequently signed in August 2015.

Defining our way forward

SEQ Catchments is now a stronger and more sustainable business. It will take some time to settle down post the restructure and we will need to adapt and change as we go forward.

We have made the hard decisions in a thoughtful, considered, structured way to create a better more resilient and responsive organisation; one that supports its community and builds capacity, supports its staff, keeps its focus on the bottom line and demonstrably shows a vision for the future.

Doing nothing has not been an option. Change is never easy but we did it to ensure that we have a future.

Our restructure involved most regrettable, but necessary, redundancies. It has not been easy to lose so many valued and dedicated members of staff who collectively have provided over 80 years of service to SEQ Catchments. These redundancies were inevitably painful for the staff affected and for their colleagues. Each have been invaluable members of the team over the years and we

thank them one and all for their service, dedication and wonderful legacy they leave behind.

We would like to thank all members of the team during the year for all their hard work and commitment in such a difficult and stressful time.

The New Year will bring other challenges which inevitably will include discussions regarding the rationalisation of Regional NRM across Queensland as well as arrangements in South East Queensland. It will be tempting to be distracted by these important discussions however our focus needs to stay with continuing to deliver real outcomes that make a difference on the ground.

We are keen to preserve the good from the past while capturing the energy and enthusiasm our team have for the future.

We can assure you that SEQ Catchments remains focused on delivery and making a difference, as well as proudly being a community owned, not-for-profit organisation that works to protect and restore the natural resources of South East Queensland.

Robert Smith Chairman

Simon WarnerChief Executive Officer

S E Q C A T C H M E N T S C O M B I N E D A N N U A L A N D S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y R E P O R T 2 0 1 5 | P A G E 1 0

What’s Your Nature? What’s your nature? is funded by the Australia Government and is a partnership between SEQ Catchments, the Brisbane Catchments Network (and its 11 member catchment groups), Brisbane City Council, Queensland Urban Utilities and local Traditional Owners Jagera Daran.

Launched in 2013, What’s your nature? is an initiative to connect the Brisbane community to their local waterways and help increase their appreciation for our natural environment.

It evolved naturally from all the partners working together to find ways to link our collective efforts to look after our region’s waterways.

So far 36 natural areas and spaces (and counting!) across Brisbane are currently being restored, supported by the installation of 100 WaterSmart Street Trees by Brisbane City Council and upgrades to the sewerage infrastructure network, by Queensland Urban Utilities.

A key aspect of the initiative was finding interesting ways to involve Brisbanites of all backgrounds and ages.

One of the solutions includes a website with an interactive suburb/region map to connect people to family and

community events in their area, as well as getting them in touch with their local catchment group. We’re also getting people together via social media and highlighting the issues right in their own backyards.

As well as the website, more than 50 local events have been held as part of the initiative across Brisbane involving more than 1,500 people, including the inaugural Landcare for Singles event, numerous Family Fun Days, working bees and planning days.

One of What’s your nature?’s most successful events was supporting Brisbane Catchments Network to host the New Farm Park Family Fun Day, which starred local native wildlife, as well as Maya the famous Koala Conservation dog.

Another one of the key achievements was supporting Jagera Daran to create a cultural heritage display at the Brookfield District Museum, which has now become a permanent display of traditional artefacts.

CASE STUDY


OUR FINANCES

1 AG Department of Environment $2,762,920 30%

2 QG Department of Natural Resources & Mines (DNRM) $2,575,543 28%

3 QG Department of Environment & Heritage Protection (DEHP) $745,265 8%

4 Energex $614,212 7%

5 QG Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) $191,999 2%

OUR REVENUE

As provided at previous AGMs:

53%Self-Generated Revenue

Our top 5 funders

2011 - 12 2012 - 13 2013 - 14

GovernmentProgrammeFunding

Self-GeneratedRevenue

Other

Grant: AG - National Landcare Programme 30%Grant: AG Water Quality Improvement Plan & RegionalNRM Planning for Climate Change 1%Grant: QG - Department ofNatural Resources & Mines - NRM Programme 8%Grant: QG - Environment andHeritage Protection - Healthy Country 8%

Self-Generated Revenue AG 2%Self-Generated Revenue QG 21%Self-Generated RevenueCorporate & Partner 28%Other 2%

2014 - 15

AG: Australian GovernmentQG: Queensland Government


INCOME AND EXPENDITURE SUMMARYFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2015

Consolidated Group Parent Entity

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Revenue 9,213,127 10,605,880 7,872,815 9,828,610

Expenses (10,046,831) (10,771,538) (8,726,167) (9,881,075)

Surplus/(deficit) before income tax (833,704) (165,658) (853,352) (52,465)

Income tax (expense)/benefit (1,438) 33,423 - 0

Surplus/(deficit) attributable to members of the Company

(835,142) (132,235) (853,352) (52,465)

BALANCE SHEET SUMMARYAS AT 30 JUNE 2015

Consolidated Group Parent Entity

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

ASSETSCash and cash equivalents

3,848,033 5,919,636 3,833,624 5,914,021

TOTAL ASSETS 5,655,182 7,213,278 5,506,604 7,180,187

LIABILITIESRevenue received in advance

2,727,713 3,184,960 1,220,171 1,323,431

TOTAL LIABILITIES 3,838,483 4,561,437 3,714,488 4,534,719

EQUITY 1,816,699 2,861,840 1,792,116 2,645,468


A decade of working together In 2015, the first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SEQ Catchments and the Traditional Owners of the Moreton Bay region, the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), was formalised.

This is the first time a formal MOU of this kind has been developed between SEQ Catchments and a Traditional Owner group in the region.

The MOU recognises the close collaboration between our two organisations and our commitment to learn from one another and work together to guide NRM activities across the region.

Traditional Owners provide an invaluable role to working on Land and Sea Country and this agreement acknowledges the mutual respect and understanding of both organisations in working collaboratively across all NRM projects undertaken on Quandamooka Country going forward, from concept through to delivery.

This formal agreement builds on over a decade of working collaboratively across Moreton Bay to achieve

positive outcomes for the region and recognises the close alignment between both organisations and QYAC’s commitment to protect and restore Quandamooka Country and Native Title Land.

Previous work has included setting up an Indigenous Ranger team after the 2009 Moreton Bay Oil Spill, bringing together a number of State, Federal and Local Government stakeholders to restore the culturally significant site at Myora Springs, collaborating with the community to improve Sea Country and addressing feral animal issues.

CASE STUDY


136.4

155

162

14.61096.3

31

86

1215,249 attendees

34.9ha revegetated

PERFORMANCEHighlights 2014-15

During the 2014-15 year SEQ Catchments managed a total of 167 projects, consisting of 78 new projects along with 89 projects continuing from the previous year. community and

environmental groups supported

ha of fencing, weed control, ecological thinning and improved fire management

group andone-on-one training

sessions held with107 people

km of stream bankflood resilience works

Community Engagement

Biodiversity

River Restoration

Property Management Planning

Vegetation Management

awareness raising events with over training sessions with

1,498 participantsbeing trained in some

aspect of NRM

plans completedcovering >15,000 ha

4

km of stream bank revegetation

163

3,948

new Land for Wildlife voluntary conservation agreements covering 2,740 ha including 1952.2 ha of native habitat.

(as of June 2015)

Land for Wildlifeproperties

OUR PERFORMANCE


2009-2014 SIP targets 2009/14 2014/15 year

Land

20,000ha of improved land management 32,484 ha 13,115 ha

50ha of salinity management 126 ha 30 ha

125ha of hill-slope and gully management 7,052 ha 231 ha

Biodiversity

500ha of native vegetation management 10,278 ha 1,096 ha

100ha of habitat management for priority species 3,971 ha 1,056 ha

200ha of revegetation 410 ha 35 ha

Water

50ha of coastal management 631 ha 0.2 ha

Community seagrass & mangrove monitoring Yes Yes

125km of stream-bank management 887 km 136 km

400ha of riparian weed management 897 ha 524 ha

1,000ha of wetlands management 319 ha 31 ha

Enabling

Regional NRM targets commitment Partial Partial

Use of the Ecosystem Services framework Partial Partial

20% increase in partnerships per SEQC project 6.6% 1.8%

Raise the profile of an NRM issue with the public Yes Yes

Training to improve 1,000 land managers’ knowledge 19,730 6,674

Represent Traditional Owner interests Yes Yes

10% of SEQC projects with Indigenous involvement 6.1% 1.3

Delivery against our performance targets

In last year’s annual report, we advised SEQ Catchments had completed its five year Strategic Investment Plan (SIP).

The SIP detailed 22 specific, deliverable targets that we and our partners would achieve by 2014. These targets were set by our community and represented our first attempt to define the minimum targets against which we would measure our success and be held accountable.

At the time of reporting we had yet to set new targets as we were waiting for the new SEQ Regional Plan to be finalised before defining a new SIP.

We have however continued to track our performance against these targets.


CASE STUDY

Scenic Rim Biodiversity StrategyThe Scenic Rim is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth.

It is primarily a rural landscape at the foothills of the Border Ranges, surrounded by World Heritage listed national parks.

It is home to Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage Areas, National Parks, nationally significant biodiversity corridors, and sub-tropical rainforests.

Its outstanding natural values and heritage of national, state and local significance attracts large tourist numbers to the region every year.

The Scenic Rim’s Gondwana Rainforests are also among the oldest forests on the planet. The Antarctic Beech and Hoop Pine in these ancient rainforests are a remnant link from over forty million years ago.

Earlier this year SEQ Catchments completed work with the Scenic Rim Regional Council and local residents on

a 10 year strategy to balance biodiversity conservation in the Scenic Rim with further development and population growth.

Using our vast data warehouse we were able to provide extensive expertise and input to help identify key assets to guide strategic investment areas.

By turning data into knowledge, we were able to compile an inventory of the Scenic Rim’s biodiversity, identify potential risks, align the Biodiversity Strategy to the new Scenic Rim Planning Scheme, and identify future opportunities and initiatives.

We also identified trends and threats which include land use change, changing climate, pest plants and animals, fire management and salinity.

The draft strategy was put out for public consultation in June 2015.

This undertaking is integral to delivering on the desired outcomes of the Scenic

Rim Community Plan 2011-2026, a shared vision with the community for

the future of our region. Cr John Brent, Scenic Rim Mayor

Photo courtesy of Scenic Rim Regional Council


We pursue a region-wide, multi-stakeholder strategy to integrate and coordinate NRM planning and activities between community, government and industry across South East Queensland.

Our Strategic Plan is aligned with goals and actions of the SEQ NRM Plan, the Queensland State Planning Policy, the SEQ Regional Plan and local government plans.

Our Strategic Plan is supported by the SEQ Catchments Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), which defines what we delivered with our project partners over a five year period between 2009 and 2014.

At the time of writing we are reviewing our Strategic Plan and SIP to align with the updated SEQ NRM Plan.

State Planning Policywww.dsdip.qld.gov.au/about-planning/state-planning-policy.html

SEQ Regional Planwww.dsdip.qld.gov.au/resources/plan/seq/regional-plan-2009/seq-regional-plan-2009.pdf

SEQ NRM Planwww.seqcatchments.com.au/seq-nrm-plan-1/home

SEQC Strategic Planwww.seqcatchments.com.au/strategic-plan.html

SEQC Strategic Investment Planwww.seqcatchments.com.au/strategic-investment-plan.html

SEQCatchments

Strategic Investment

Plan

State Planning

Policy

Project Delivery

SEQCatchments

Business Plans

SEQCatchments

Strategic Plan

SEQ Regional Plan

SEQ NRM Plan

Multi year

5 years 1 year Shorter term

NATIONAL PRIORITIESLOCAL GOVERNMENT /

COMMUNITY PRIORITIESSTATE PRIORITIES

OUR STRATEGY


CASE STUDYRestoring Neurum CreekMany landholders suffered significant damage during the January 2013 floods. Thanks to a $150,000 investment from the Queensland Government, a badly eroded section of Neurum Creek is on-track to being restored.

The creek running through Peter and Mary Brough’s grazing property had become highly unstable and eroded, which caused large volumes of sediment to be deposited in Somerset Dam.

It is estimated that in excess of 20,000 tonnes of sediment was lost from the property during the January 2013 floods and washed downstream into the dam.

These restoration works will help stabilise this creek bank, protecting the Brough’s highly valuable grazing land and will also have water quality benefits further downstream, as well as help increase the resilience of this creek to future floods.

This restoration work was completed as part of the Queensland Regional Natural Resources Management

Investment Program, demonstrating the commitment of the Queensland Government to make significant investment into local communities for the restoration of our local creeks.

Works have included increasing the resilience of the creek by controlling erosion, stabilising the creek banks and revegetating the river banks.

There have also been further opportunities to leverage off this investment, with Seqwater restoring a section of Neurum Creek further downstream which will improve the overall resilience of this waterway.

Before

After


OUR STRUCTUREOwnership

SEQ Catchments Ltd is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and is jointly owned by the SEQ Catchments Members Association (SEQCMA) and the Council of Mayors (SEQ).

> More about SEQCMA www.seqcatchments.com.au/company-information-seqc-members-association.html

> More about COMSEQ www.councilofmayorsseq.qld.gov.au/

AUDIT & FINANCE COMMITTEE

PLANNING & INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Integrated Catchment 68Managementand Landcare

Environment 33

Traditional Owners 13

Coastal and Marine 12

Local Government 11

Urban Industry 13

Rural Industry 9

Recreation, Sport &Tourism 11

Research & Education 9

Other 19

Total 198 Members

SEQCMA SECTOR REPRESENTATION

#OF MEMBERS

Landholders

Landcare, community & volunteers groups

Local Councils

Schools & Universities

Local Businesses

Industry groups

State agencies

Environmental groups

Council of Mayors

50%ownership

SEQ CatchmentsMembers Association

50%ownership

DELIVERYPARTNERS

SEQ CATCHMENTS BOARD COMPOSITION

SEQ CatchmentsMembers Association

Council of Mayors Independent


Organisational Structure

During the year SEQ Catchments restructured our business to reduce costs and build our capacity to deliver for our community, governments and investors.

We replaced the existing structure with four divisions: Regional Body Operations, Business Development and Innovation, Natural Asset Solutions and Delivery, and Business Services.

Subsidiary Companies

SEQ Catchments Ltd operates a number of separate entities to balance our commitment to supporting the community while delivering increasingly complex contractual obligations.

This also allows us to manage a range of risks. Ultimately, all of these entities are obliged to undertake activities that support our mission and objectives.

• Our consolidated group includes SEQ Catchments Ltd, SEQC Operations, SEQC Services, SEQC Offsets (trading as Natural Asset Solutions)

• Tactiv Pty Ltd (partially owned by SEQ Catchments) is a software development and solutions provider and holds the license for the enQuire software.

> Learn more at www.tactiv.net

General Manager Regional Body

Operations

General Manager Business

Development and Innovation

General Manager Natural Asset Solutions and

Delivery

CFO

CEO

Executive Assistant

Special Projects and

Transition


The SEQ Catchments Board of Directors is made up of eight members, who bring an appropriate mix of skills, experience, expertise and diversity to Board decision making.

Of the eight Directors, seven are aged over 50 with one aged in the 30-50 year band. One is female and one is an Executive Director. The Chairman is an Independent Director and does not hold an executive position.

All Directors are required to declare their interests and at each Board meeting these matters are raised. Executive and staff potential conflict of interest are managed through their appointments letters and specific policies.

The SEQCMA Board nominates four Directors to the SEQ Catchments Board. The Board delegates authority for economic, environment and social matters to senior executives and other employees via role descriptions and the risk management framework.

It also nominates SEQCMA Board Members to sit on SEQ Catchments’s Board Committees – Audit and Finance

Committee (A&FC) and Planning and Investment Advisory Committee (PIAC).

• The A&FC oversees SEQ Catchments’s risk management framework, including the statutory and management financial reporting process. It ensures that there are effective systems in place to manage risk across the business. The Directors, through the A&FC, regularly review the systems that have been established along with their effectiveness. The Workplace, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee reports to the A&FC.

• The PIAC advises on planning, prioritisation of activities and funding of projects to meet the long term targets detailed in the SEQ NRM Plan 2009–2031.

SEQCMA Board Members also offer policy advice from a community perspective on strategic NRM issues through advisory committees to SEQ Catchments.

Council of Mayors (SEQ) nominates two Directors to the SEQ Catchments Board.

OUR GOVERNANCE

> More about our Board of Directors www.seqcatchments.com.au/company-information-the-seqc-board.html

> More about our Executive Team www.seqcatchments.com.au/company-information-executive-team.html

Left to right: John Brent, Bardhold Blecken, Jim Dale, Robert Smith (Chairman), Margie Milgate (Deputy

Chair), Peter Matic, Victor Atwood, Simon Warner (CEO)


CASE STUDY

New technology restoring flood damaged creeks During the year SEQ Catchments and partners used ‘engineered log jams’ for the first time in South East Queensland to stabilise creek banks and protect high value farmland in Warrill Creek following the January 2013 floods.

Pioneered in the US, engineered log jams were first used in Australia 15 years ago with great results in New South Wales and central Queensland.

So far 13 log jams have been installed at various locations across the region, thanks to funding from the Queensland Government’s Healthy Country Program.

Engineered log jams are designed to emulate what we find naturally in streams, when logs fall into a creek and dig themselves into the bed, causing a jam, hence the name.

8-10 metre logs are stacked criss-cross to slow and deflect the water flow to protect creek banks and farming land during floods.

We also include major revegetation exercises with the log jams as the roots of the plants do a great job in holding the creek banks together.

Julie Donaldson who co-owns a farm close to Tarome in the Fassifern region with her partner and good friends, has had four of these log jams installed on their property.

“We’re used to summer floods when the creek rises quickly as we are high up in the catchment,” she said. “But January 2013 was different with the prolonged amount of rain causing the creek to rise suddenly and take away even old mature trees along the creek.

“We lost quite a bit of land along the creek banks in several places. Initially we were looking for some technical advice to fix up the damage, but then the opportunity came up to be part of this pilot log jam project.

“We hadn’t heard about log jams before, but it sounded so logical and sympathetic to nature’s way of protecting the creek banks. It seemed like a great fit for us.

The log jams not only provide habitat for aquatic animals and protect revegetation efforts, but also stop huge amounts of sediment from being wash downstream to Moreton Bay.


Our stakeholders are crucial to our success.

We identify our stakeholders as those affected by our activities, products, and services; or those that affect our ability to successfully implement our mission, targets and strategies.

Our stakeholders include governments at all levels, particularly local governments, the corporate sector, landholders, community groups, collaborations and our employees and contractors.

We continually engage with our stakeholders in many ways as detailed below:

Stakeholder Group Types of engagement Frequency

Community Community Partnership Managers* Ongoing

Social media Ongoing

eNewsletter Bi-monthy

Catching up Newsletter Quarterly

SEQ Catchments Members Association Quarterly

Annual General Meeting Annually

Landholders Community Partnership Managers Ongoing


Government Policy submissions Ongoing

Briefings by SEQ Catchments’s CEO Ongoing


Reporting Contractual



Corporates / Investors

Client Managers Ongoing

eNewsletter Bi-monthly



Employees Daily management supervision Ongoing

Performance reviews Annually

Staff retreat Bi-annually


> More about our government stakeholders www.seqcatchments.com.au/government.html

> More about our corporate stakeholders www.seqcatchments.com.au/our-partners-corporate.html

> More about our community stakeholders www.seqcatchments.com.au/community.html

> More about our collaborations www.seqcatchments.com.au/collaborations

OUR STAKEHOLDERS

*In our new model, Area Managers will work together across the teams, and therefore across the areas. You can learn more about our Regional Operations team at www.seqcatchments.com.au/news/new-regional-body-operations-restructure-announced


OUR PEOPLE

SEQ Catchments leverages volunteer support through member and community groups across the region.

We maintained an excellent safety record in the 2014-15 year with no days of lost time injuries, coupled with a low absentee rate of 2.36 percent for females and 2.07 percent for males.

15 percent of our staff are represented in our Workplace Health Safety and Sustainability committee including management, operational and administrative staff. The committee reports to the Executive and the CEO.


*These figures are inclusive of all SEQ Catchments’s business entities

All employees are engaged on individual contracts rather than collective agreements. Remuneration of our people is assessed on an annual basis supported by a market review conducted by BDO Kendalls.

EMPLOYEE STATISTICS 2014 - 2015 SUMMARY

TOTAL STAFF2014 - 2015

NUMBER OFFEMALE EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFMALE EMPLOYEES

AGE GROUP <30 30 - 50 50+

50+

26

49

23

6

50

58

1615

STAFF LEAVING IN2014 - 2015

NUMBER OFFEMALE EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFMALE EMPLOYEES

AGE GROUP

5

9

4

1

NUMBER OFNEW STAFF HIRED

% OF STAFFLEAVING IN12 MONTHS

18.37%

42

30 - 50

3 23

> More about our Health Safety & Sustainability Committee www.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2015-workplace-health-and-safety

> More about our Employee Engagement Management and Feedback policies www.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2015-employee-engagement-management-teamwork-and-feedback

> More about our Employee Retention and Development policies www.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2015-employee-retention-and-development


OUR ENVIRONMENT

Our sustainability strategy

Our vision is a sustainable future for our community. Sustainability is our core business and reason for being. We are dedicated to supporting positive actions to protect and enhance our natural assets. Our daily activities and facilities are designed to minimise the impact we have on the natural assets and landscapes of South East Queensland.

> More about our Carbon and Waste Reduction Strategy www.seqcatchments.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=67447


GRI CONTENT INDEXGRI G4 guidelines were used as a reference. The below table includes those aspects that were found material.

General Standard Disclosures Page Number (or Link)

Strategy & analysis

G4-1 6

G4-2 6

Organisational profile

G4-3 3

G4-4 5

G4-5 30

G4-6 3

G4-7 11, 20

G4-8 24

G4-9 11, 20

G4-10 25

G4-11 25

G4-12 20

G4-13 7. 8

G4-14 15, 18

G4-15 18

G4-16 3

Identified material aspects & boundaries

G4-17 21

General Standard Disclosures Page Number (or Link)

Stakeholder engagement

G4-24 20, 24

G4-25 24

G4-26 24

G4-27 24

Report profile

G4-28 2

G4-30 Annual

G4-31 29

G4-32 28

Governance

G4-34 22

G4-35 22

G4-36 22

G4-37 22

G4-38 From Page 3 Directors Report in Financial Statements, 22

G4-41 22

G4-51 Page 4 Directors Report in Financial Statements, 22

G4-52 25

Ethics & integrity

G4-56 3

FEEDBACK ON THIS REPORTThank you for taking time to read our Combined Annual and Sustainability report. Your feedback helps us to improve our sustainability performance, services and reporting process.

To provide feedback on our 2014-15 annual report go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/SEQCatchmentsAnnualReport2015

The information will be kept strictly confidential and used for communication and statistical purpose only. All personal data are handled in accordance with SEQ Catchments’s privacy policy.


DirectorsRobert Smith (Chairman) Margie Milgate (Deputy Chairman)Victor AttwoodBardhold Blecken John Brent Peter MaticJim DaleSimon Warner

Executive TeamSimon Warner (Chief Executive Officer)Louise Orr (General Manager Regional Body Operations) Paul McDonald (General Manager Business Development and Innovation)Simon Brown (General Manager Natural Asset Solutions and Delivery)

AuditorsWhitehouse Audit Pty Ltd22 Mayneview StreetMilton Qld 4064

Brisbane OfficeLevel 2, 183 North Quay Brisbane PO Box 13204 George St Qld 4003 Ph: +61 7 3211 4404 Fax: +61 7 3211 4405 www.seqcatchments.com.au

CORPORATE DIRECTORY

seq catchments annual report 2015

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