eFlash #530

Date: 06-Apr-2022

In this edition: Work with qldwater – Account Manager Innovation Partnerships| Critical Infrastructure Security Reforms| ERA63 Model Conditions Consultation – Last Chance 9 April| Port Douglas Regional Conference – Registrations Now Open!| Water Skills Forum 2022 – Registrations Now Open!| Livingstone Regional Conference – Presentations Now Available| Next Fundamentals Webinar

**1. Work with qldwater – Account Manager Innovation Partnerships**

We’ve had a go at trying to attract the right person to work in our team and not been successful – the refreshed and more exciting ad is below.

Apply through Seek at https://www.seek.com.au/job/56537454

Account Manager Innovation Partnerships

Well we don’t really know what to call the job to attract the right people but it’s a rare opportunity for someone with a strong commitment to helping deliver collaborative projects to support an essential services for Queenslanders, delivered by an industry which is great at sharing.

Your stakeholders are water and sewerage service providers across the state, from the largest utilities in the South East to remote councils in the outback.

The Queensland Water Directorate facilitates programs which mean that these providers achieve economies of scope and scale and reduce duplication, costs to their customers and deliver better services for Queensland’s ratepayers. There are lots of exciting examples, perhaps the most significant is the Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP), a partnership between us, the Queensland Government, the Local Government Association of Queensland and nearly 60 participating councils.

The role is what you make it, but it can include some project management – making sure collaborating councils stick to agreed milestones, helping them in sourcing and exchanging information, undertaking research and analysis tasks, and supporting working groups.

The career opportunity is significant – a great chance to build the CV and raise your profile in an industry clamouring for good people.

What we think would be handy attributes to have:

Enjoying working with multiple stakeholders and dealing with people. You don’t have to be a confident public speaker, but if you are there will be opportunities. You need to be able to organise and convene a good meeting and you need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with people from different walks of life.
Being able to manage project milestones, analyse and synthesise information for different audiences with good writing skills. Our job is often to take the technical and put it in simple terms for submissions, funding applications and to present to decision makers.
Being reasonably technically savvy, or able to pick this up quickly. GIS and database tools would be handy, spreadsheets and PowerPoint are probably essential.
Being able to travel within regional Queensland – to be negotiated but typically 10-15 days per year.

There are no minimum specified qualifications, but we are after someone with some years of work experience under their belts. Salary is negotiable to reflect this experience, from around $80,000 per annum upwards.

To apply, please provide a cover letter that outlines how you meet the requirements above along with your resume. Check out the “Programs” tab at https://qldwater.com.au/ for more information.

Please direct any enquiries about the role to dcameron@qldwater.com.au

2. Critical Infrastructure Security Reforms

We have been providing periodic updates on the implications of federal security legislation changes for a while with the last in December (eflash #514) notifying that the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2021 had been passed and was awaiting Royal Assent.

The major implications of the changes apply to large service providers (>100,000 connections) or those operating Systems of National Significance (SONS). We received a letter on 4 April from the head of the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre which explains most of the legislation simply, with links to other fact sheets, for those interested.

3. ERA63 Model Conditions Consultation – Last Change 9 April

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has opened the consultation on the revised model conditions that specifically apply to sewage treatment activities. These conditions would apply to a site-specific application for sewage treatment (ERA63) in addition to the Common Model Conditions (which is covered by a separate consultation process).

Some of the major changes include:

Inclusion of monitoring requirements that may be applied depending on the risks of the specific activity.
Removal of the ‘intent and how to comply’ guidance.
Improvements to the clarity, consistency, and enforceability of conditions.

qldwater will be preparing a joint submission on behalf of our members. DES has provided a table for the comments, that you may use if you choose, but we are happy to accept comments in any form or even by phone.

The consultation closes on 19 April (just after Easter). We would like all comments to be provided to us by Friday 9 April to allow us time to prepare the submission.

The three documents attached are:

If you have any questions please email enquiry@qldwater.com.au.

4. Port Douglas Regional Conference – Registrations Now Open!

qldwater is excited to announce registrations are now open for our Port Douglas Regional Conference to be held in Port Douglas, kindly hosted by Douglas Shire Council on the 23rd & 24th May.

There will be a site tour taking place on Monday 23rd May in the early afternoon. Places are limited for the site tour so make sure you get in quickly to secure your spot!

Following the site tour there will be a network dinner taking place at the Hemingway’s Brewery Port Douglas at 6pm.

The full day conference will take place on Tuesday 24th May at the Port Douglas Community Hall.

qldwater conferences are an informal opportunity for networking, updates on what’s impacting Queensland’s water and sewerage service providers, and technical presentations.

To see the draft program for the conference, please visit our event website.

There is a Carnivale taking place in Port Douglas over the weekend of the 21st & 22nd of May. Accommodation could be a challenge so please arrange your accommodation as soon as possible.

Thank you to our sponsors Grenof, WAGNERS, GanDen, Royce Water Technology, Simmonds & Bristow, Endress+Hauser, McBerns and Taggle for supporting our upcoming conference.

Please contact Naomi Carragher if you are interested in sponsoring this event.

5. Water Skills Forum 2022 – Registrations Now Open!

Registrations are now open for the Water Skills Forum to be held on Thursday, 2 June 2022.

We have managed to keep most of the program advertised earlier in the year with only a couple of minor changes made.

The forum will still proceed as a hybrid event so virtual registrations are available; however, we encourage you to attend the forum in person if you are able.

Graham Fraine, the Director General of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, has agreed to attend the last session to discuss industry skilling challenges and potential solutions.

The Forum will explore the Lifecycle of a Water Industry Worker, with three half-hour panel sessions exploring possible career paths, from ways to gain interest through pre-vocational opportunities to traineeships, graduate employment and industry co-investment models to entice postgraduate industry research. It also includes a session on a successful transition to retirement model.

The event will also include an “Attraction Hack” for a bit of fun but with a serious intent – to give us useful ideas to build awareness of the great opportunities in our industry. It’s your big chance to get creative and think outside the box.

To see the program for the forum, please visit our event website.

Thank you to our sponsors TAFE Queensland and Simmonds and Bristow for their support of the upcoming forum.

Whether you can attend in person at our office in Eagle Farm or online, we look forward to welcoming you to the Water Skills Partnership signature annual event.

6. Livingstone Regional Conference – Presentations Now Available

The presentations from the Livingstone Regional Conference are now available on our website, click here.

Presentations covered the whole region from operational challenges in managing the water and sewerage assets at Isaac Regional Council as presented by Stephen Wagner, the maintenance management framework from Neels Kloppers at Gladstone Regional Council and Troy Leyden from Rockhampton Regional Council’s excellent presentation on pump efficiency, energy efficiency and whole of life cycle costs.

CQ University were well represented too with Fiona Tan’s presentation of improving nitrogen detection technology and Dr Angela Capper providing an overview of contaminants of emerging concern through upstream and downstream testing of STPs.

7. Next Fundamentals Webinar

Register now for our next Fundamentals Webinar on Thursday, 21st April, 10am-11am, AEST with the topic ‘Lagoon Management’, presented by Kathryn Turner, Urban Utilities.

More sessions will be hosted in 2022, keep an eye on our Upcoming Events page for details.

Recordings of all previous webinars are available to download on the qldwater website. Please contact webinar@qldwater.com.au with any queries about previous or future webinars or to discuss sponsorship opportunities.

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