The Program

Explore our draft program – updates to follow shortly.

7:30am – Registration opens

How many MC’s can claim to be a comedian, hold a first-class degree in maths and have won the Australasian Debating Championships twice?

Meet Adam Spencer, our MC for Foundations and Frontiers.

FF24 Opening

8:15am

Welcome

Annabel Crookes, President, Australian Constructors Association

8:30am

Ministerial Keynote

The Hon Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

Session 1: Defining good and how to achieve it

8:50am

Prestart FFA

This exciting fireside chat led by the Federal Government will see key stakeholders from Australia’s largest jurisdictions discuss pivotal changes to the NPA/FFA. This session will explore the significance of these updates and their implications.

Jessica Hall, Deputy Secretary, Infrastructure Group, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Josh Murray, Secretary, Transport for NSW

Andrew Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority

9:20am

Role of industry part 1:

Following heads of key industry associations to stand up in the audience and give a 90-second pitch on what good looks like from their perspective:

Jonathan Cartledge, CEO, Consult Australia

Patrick Hastings, A/CEO, Infrastructure Sustainability Council

Romilly Madew, CEO, Engineers Australia

Jocelyn Martin, Managing Director, Housing Industry Association

9:30am

Principles for partnership – A new plan

NSW is known for its groundbreaking 10-point commitment to the construction industry, published in 2018. We will now hear about an important update to this commitment.

Tom Gellibrand, CEO, Infrastructure NSW

9:50am

Role of industry part 2:

Following heads of key industry associations to stand up in the audience and give a 90-second pitch on what good looks like from their perspective:

James Oxenham, CEO, HRIA

Nicholas, Proud, CEO (National), Civil Contractors Federation

Kate Raymond, CEO, Master Electricians Australia

Ehssan Veiszadeh, CEO, Roads Australia

10:00am – Morning tea

Session 2: Future workforce

10:40am

TED Talk – Generational differences

Society is changing in a big way. The labour market is experiencing notable shifts, like changes in employment patterns, job types, required skills and work environments. Looking ahead, these changes are expected to continue and at a potentially accelerated pace. Enter a new world order.

Tane Hunter, Co-founder Future Crunch & Lighthouse Data Science

11:00am

Crib room chat on Gen Z expectations

Contrasting experiences about the prevailing “that’s how we’ve always done it”.

Raph Touzel, Civil Operations Manager Vic & Tas, CPB Contractors

Bella Doyle, Project Coordinator, Icon

11:10am

A New Standard: Culture

Flexing the culture muscle … is it working? Discover how the implementation of the construction industry culture standard in procurement is emerging as a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. This session will feature first hand insights from a pilot project.

Diana Burgess, Project Adviser, Construction Industry Culture Taskforce

Dean Riha, Alliance Manager, Fulton Hogan

11:35am

Unions and culture

How do we attract more people into the industry and keep them longer?

Michael Wright, National Secretary, Electrical Trades Union of Australia

Paul Farrow, National Secretary, Australian Workers’ Union

Earle Setches, Secretary, Plumbing & Pipe Trades Employees Union

Zach Smith, National Secretary, CFMEU

Session 3: Financial stability

12:00pm

TED Talk – Financial Stability

Making a fair return … it’s only fair if an industry is to invest in research and development.

Paul Bloxham, Chief Economist, ANZ & Global Commodities at HSBC

12:15pm

Great Debate – The market should be left to itself without government intervention

This Oxford-style debate will see participants argue for or against market intervention – regardless of their personal views. It will emphasize clear argumentation, rebuttal and audience engagement.

Affirmative:

Priscilla Radice, Deputy Director General, Health Capital Division, Queensland Health Infrastructure

Martin Locke, Adjunct Professor, UTS

Teresa Scott, Executive Director, Australasian Procurement and Construction Council

Negative:

Tim Parker, CEO, High-Speed Rail Authority

Bede Noonan, CEO, Acciona

Dr Jessica Viven-Wilksch, Lecturer, University of Adelaide

12.45pm

Deal or no deal – accepting offer or risk

Scenarios presented where speakers provide an assessment of whether the offer should be accepted. Conversations to explore ways of managing risk.

Sally Stannard, Director General, Department of Transport and Main Roads Qld

Roger Irvine, Head of Construction, Gallagher

Meg Redwin, Executive Director, General Counsel – Global, Multiplex

Malcolm Macintyre, Managing Director, Capella Capital

1:15pm – Lunch

Session 4: Data-rich future

2:15pm

TED Talk – Harnessing data for a productive future

Uncover the untapped potential of data in construction to enhance efficiency. Learn from cross-industry success stories, explore innovative data strategies, and envision a future where data-driven decisions lead to groundbreaking improvements. This session will challenge you to think differently about data’s role in your organisation and inspire an industry-wide cultural shift towards greater transparency and collaboration.

Meli Kaplan, Senior Design Architect – Microsoft Innovation Hub

2:30pm

Data and AI-fuelled workforce

This fireside chat will explore strides made by John Holland and Telstra in leveraging data and AI to transform their workforces. Hear how Telstra enhanced their employees’ data and AI literacy to improve customer interactions and learn about John Holland’s parallel efforts in training their construction workforce through AI. This session will highlight real-life examples demonstrating data as the essential foundation for AI.

Glen Tommy, Head of Mining, Energy and Construction Group, Telstra

Bastian Uber, Chief Digital & Information Officer, John Holland