seq catchments 2014 annual report

COMBINED ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2014

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 4 | P A G E 2

About this report 3

About Us 4

Our Services 6

CEO and Chairman’s Report 7

Our Finances 12

Our Performance 15

Performance Highlights 2013-14 15

Delivery against our performance targets 16

Our Strategy 19

Our Structure 22

Our Governance 24

Our Management Approach 26

Our Stakeholders 28

Our People 30

Our Environment 32

GRI Content Index 34

Feedback on this report 35

Corporate Directory 36


Visit www.seqcatchments.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=178212for information on how SEQ Catchments determined the materialityof the issues reported here.2

SEQ Catchments’ combined annual and sustainability report for the 2013-14 year is the second report aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability reporting framework. The fi rst was the 2013 Combined Annual and Sustainability Report.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI G4 guidelines and the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector supplement for the annual reporting period 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. At the end of the report is the GRI Index for a quick reference to a particular section.

This self-declared report applies the G4 framework using the core option with a materiality matters check. We expect that this report will be of particular interest to 183 member organisations of the SEQ Catchments Members Association (SEQCMA), existing and prospective clients.

These are stakeholders with an interest in natural resource management in South East Queensland. The 183 SEQCMA member organisations have independently sought membership to oversee the operations and direction of SEQ Catchments to ensure that the company adds value and makes progress towards achieving its mission. As such, the content of this report has been structured to offer improved transparency and accountability to these stakeholders, together with prospective clients and employees of SEQ Catchments, who are critical to our ongoing success.

There are no restatements of information in earlier reports. There also have been no signifi cant changes during the reporting period regarding the size, structure, ownership or supply chain of the business.1

1: G4-22 G4-23

2: G4-18, G4-19, G4-20, G4-21


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

Wedirect

#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

GR

EAT

BA

RR

IER

R

EEF

SUPPORTING A STRONG

More About Us

www.seqcatchments.com.au/about-who-we-are.html

SEQ Catchments is a community, not-for-profi t organisation jointly owned by the SEQ Catchments Members’ Association and the Council of Mayors (SEQ).

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.


UPPERBRISBANE

STANLEY

PUMICESTONE

PINERIVERS

NOOSA

LOWERBRISBANE

MIDBRISBANE

BREMER

LOGAN /ALBERT GOLD

COAST

LOCKYER

Our Mission: We take a key role in regional natural resource management planning, secure funding and deliver collaborative and innovative partnerships with community, industry and all levels of government.

More about our Vision, Missionand Corporate Intent

www.seqcatchments.com.au/strategic-plan.html

More about Our Region

http://www.seqcatchments.com.au/our-region.html


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.

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.

Planning

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

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.

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 fl ood 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 fl oods.

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.

Biodiversity and ecosystem assessment

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

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.


We have arrived at the future

The NRM landscape around us is undergoing signifi cant transformation. This transformation is not just a temporary shift; it is structural and long term. We have arrived at the future whatever it may be.

Government grant funding for NRM is being reduced and is not being replaced by alternative funding programs. Competition for this reduced funding grows ever more intense. Meanwhile community demand for, and reliance upon, our services continues to grow.

All the while the natural assets that underpin our economic and environmental prosperity remain even more important and under pressure.

Yet we have seen this transformation coming and have reported on our preparation for this change in previous reports. Just as our natural assets are here for the long term, SEQ Catchments remains focussed on the future and on delivering our strategic vision of a sustainable future for our community.

Maintaining our capacity

A long term viewpoint is essential to our strategy.

We believe that by maintaining our capacity to mobilise and engage the community and deliver on ground works, and by adding value to policy initiatives we will deliver our strategy and provide wider benefi ts to our economy and environment.

This has meant making tough decisions that has affected our bottom line.

We maintained our network of Community Partnership Managers (CPMs) and sustained the Water Quality Monitoring Program, despite diffi culties in attracting funding for such services and programs.

In the case of the CPMs, stakeholder feedback expressed to us directly from partners and through the SEQ Catchments Members’ Association (SEQCMA) consistently tells us how highly the community values this service. Maintaining the Water Quality Monitoring Program is of strategic importance to the future of citizen science in South East Queensland.

Simon WarnerChief Executive Offi cer

Robert Smith Chairman

Chairman and CEO’s Report


We’ve also retained the technical skills and capacity in the business so we can continue to inform debate and where possible infl uence policy development and assist with the reform process. During 2013-14 we made nine submissions on legislation and regulation. Of particular note was our submission on the offsets policy which has helped identify new investment streams for NRM in South East Queensland. These are available on our website at www.seqcatchments.com.au/policy-submissions

While this imposes a signifi cant, and unfunded, cost to the business we see it as important in assisting in doing what we can to infl uence our own future and that of the natural assets in South East Queensland.

We fully support the Government’s objective to better deliver services and improve effi ciency. The Commission of Audit’s contestability process, where the focus on ‘getting the best service at the best price’, has been inclined to overlook solutions in favour of price. We feel in many circumstances, the opportunity to make the step change in fi nding new and better ways to deliver services and undertake government business is being missed.

Our fi nancial performance

For the fi rst time in our history grant funding from Queensland and Australian government programs is close to half of our revenue.

Our fi nancial performance in 2013-14 refl ected this reduction in grant funding as well as timing in regard to the receipt of the funding we did receive,

with consolidated revenue down 11 percent to $10.6 million As a result SEQ Catchments reported a loss of $132,235 for the 2013-14 period.

The balance between funding and administrative burden can only be described as counter-productive, and we look forward to the new National Landcare Programme addressing this matter in a ‘simple, local and long-term’ way.

The strength of our balance sheet has enabled us to withstand the impacts of program funding delays, especially the Caring for our Country transition, the signifi cant drop in overall NRM funding, and the cost of maintaining our capacity.

The company remains in a solid fi nancial position. While SEQ Catchments made a fi nancial loss, we did it with our eyes open with a view to the needs of our community and to be better placed to deal with the future. We understood that maintaining the Water Quality Monitoring Program, supporting the transition of the very successful Land for Wildlife Program data base, and the cost of delivering fl ood support would make it diffi cult to balance the budget.

As often as possible we focus on using local contractors to deliver services that support the economic and social wellbeing of the communities in which we work. In addition, we’ve found that our contractors greatly value our effi cient and prompt payment of invoices that helps with their cash fl ow. As a result we have found ourselves a preferred supplier amongst these contractors.

Government Grant Reporting vs Revenue

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Delivering our strategy

2013-14 saw the completion of our fi ve year Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), which details the activities we undertook to contribute to the achievement of SEQ NRM Plan targets. Our performance on delivering these targets is detailed in the ‘Our Performance’ section of this report.

We would like to highlight some signifi cant outcomes for the 2013-14 period which demonstrates the ability of regional NRM bodies to bring together partners to facilitate worthwhile projects.

In partnership with the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage and Queensland Urban Utilities, SEQ Catchments project managed the delivery of an Australian fi rst water quality and nutrient management project at Beaudesert.

The restoration of a 500m stretch of the Logan River using green infrastructure saved Queensland Urban Utilities $7 million which would have been spent to upgrade the Beaudesert Sewage Treatment Plant, savings which will help moderate water prices.

Earlier this year saw the end of the eTree program in South East Queensland, when the last tree went in the ground. Since 2004, SEQ Catchments coordinated 155 eTree projects planting a total of 117,771 native trees over 128ha.

Most plantings took place on private land and involved landholders, many schools and community groups. The majority of eTrees planted have survived and, in some cases, are now dense rainforests and thriving eucalypt woodlands.

eTrees leaves a legacy we should all be proud of and demonstrates what can be achieved by through mobilising landholder and community action and long term commitment.

Another highlight of the year was the Land for Wildlife Open Property Scheme in May 2014, bringing together like-minded property owners from across the region to share knowledge and experiences. A total of 25 properties and 450 people participated; this was the largest single event that SEQ Catchments has managed.

The SEQ NRM Plan update

During the year we, in association with the South East Queensland community, completed the fi rst draft of an update of the South East Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan (SEQ NRM Plan). This update is focussed on making the NRM Plan more relevant and useable as well as linking the Plan to new planning instruments, supporting local governments’ plans and assisting the community to carry out action on the ground. It builds upon the existing plan and updates targets where needed to make them more relevant. You can learn more about the SEQ NRM Plan later in this report.

Reporting on our progress

As a community-based organisation, our relevance depends on knowing what matters to our stakeholders and responding to their changing expectations and needs.

We are continually questioning ourselves and our

From left to right: DNRM Minister Andrew Cripps, Sue Moller, (member of SOWN), Ashgrove Golf Club President John Shaw, CEO SEQ Catchments Simon Warner and Premier and State Member for Ashgrove Campbell Newman

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 4 | P A G E 1 0

many stakeholders about our business, our industry, and the larger issues they care about. We do this via surveys, our website, social media, staff workshops, community briefi ngs and meetings.

This allows us to identify the economic, environmental and social aspects of our business that are of material interest to our stakeholders and report on them. These are crucial to the sustainability of our business.

How we determined these material aspects for our sustainability reporting is detailed on our website. Most of the indicators we reported in our 2013 Annual Report are still strongly aligned with what our stakeholders care about. We are happy to report we are well advanced on addressing these material aspects as key drivers for our strategy, planning and operations.

Developing our people

Ultimately, it is our people who drive our strategy.

It is with great pride that we can say we have kept faith with our community and our staff despite the diffi cult year.

As stated earlier, we are committed to maintaining capacity in the business and to developing our people’s skills and careers. They have responded with dedication, tenacity and an unwavering focus on outcomes.

As a result our team boasts a wealth of talent and expertise, including four PhD qualifi ed staff with a further two currently completing their studies.

Through the skill and perseverance of our people and their dedication to our values, there have been many tangible and sustainable successes, and we thank them for their persistence.

Looking ahead

At the time of reporting the company was pursuing a range of new business opportunities. We are confi dent these will result in improved revenue for the coming years as well as providing the board and staff

with exciting new challenges.

The new challenge will be managing and maintaining a range of new potential income sources while continuing to meet community expectations to funding engagement, extension and on ground activities.

We are uncertain at this point how we can take advantage of the range of new Australian Government programs such as Green Army, 20 Million Trees and the new National Landcare Programme. This will be a challenge to all of us in the coming year.

We also expect ongoing policy uncertainty with a state election due in March 2015, local government elections due in March 2016 and a federal election sometime in 2016.

Positioned for Performance

SEQ Catchments has performed successfully in another challenging 12 months and we have remained resolute on implementing our strategic plan.

The challenges, as in previous years, have been characterised by continuing policy uncertainty, reduced NRM grant investment, funding delays and increased competition.

Notwithstanding these challenges, SEQ Catchments has continued to deliver the outcomes that the community is seeking while meeting our government and corporate investor expectations.

While we anticipate that the NRM sector will continue to become more competitive and more contestable, we fi rmly believe that SEQ Catchments is well placed for the future.

Robert Smith Chairman

Simon WarnerChief Executive Offi cer


The SEQ NRM Plan 2009-2031 is our community’s plan for the future of the region’s natural environment.

It contains agreed targets and a guide for action for sustainable development to protect and restore the natural assets that underpin our economy and our way of life.

These natural assets include things such as clean air and water, farmland, beaches, bushland and native fi sh, animals and plants.

Since the start of 2014, SEQ Catchments has been coordinating an update of the plan on behalf of South East Queensland’s community, governments and industries.

The plan is being simplifi ed and its targets updated to better align it with the Queensland Plan, the new SEQ Regional Plan and local government plans.

The update considered the best evidence from scientifi c and community experts on recent changes to our region, and considered the things we need to do to better prepare the community and the economy for extreme weather events and natural disasters, including fl ash fl ooding, storms and bushfi res.

A network of 190 community, academic and government experts have been consulted to evaluate and provide their feedback on the plan’s 41 targets. These have been revised to ten key targets.3

Ongoing online consultation has also collected information via a short survey and stories.

At the time of writing SEQ Catchments was coordinating the update of the SEQ NRM Plan on behalf of the region.

Our team has been working with partners including the Queensland Government, local councils, Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Growcom, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, Healthy Waterways, Environment Councils and the SEQC Member’s Association to develop a draft for the Australian Government by the end of 2014.

When the updated plan is endorsed it will guide Australian Government investment in the region.

The draft is currently available for public comment at www.naturalassetsseqyoursay.com.au until the 28th of November 2014.

More about the SEQ NRM Planwww.seqcatchments.com.au/resources-nrm-plan.html

More about the SEQ NRM Plan’s consultationwww.naturalassetsseqyoursay.com.au 3

3: G4-26, G4-27


Grant: Australian GovernmentNational Landcare program 20%

Grant: Australian GovernmentRegional NRM Planning for Climate Change 3%

Grant: Qld Government DNRM - Flood Recovery 17%

Grant: Qld GovernmentDNRM - NRM Program 7%

Grant: Qld GovernmentEHP - Healthy Waterways 5%

Grant: Qld GovernmentDNRM - Strategic NRM Program 3%

Corporate, Partner, Contract 43%

Other 2%

Our Revenue

As provided at previous AGMs:

Government Program Funding

55%Federal & State Funding

2013 - 14

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

$3,039,760 29%

$2,805,950 26%

$748,212 7%

$725,269 7%

$724,762 7%

Department of Natural Resources & Mines (DNRM)

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities (SEWPAC)

Energex

Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU)

Department of Environment & Heritage Protection (DEHP)

Our top 5 funders

2011 - 122012 - 13

FUTURE

Corporate & Partner Funding Other


Consolidated Group Parent Entity

2014 2013 2014 2013

$ $ $ $

Revenue 10,605,880 11,901,701 9,828,610 10,190,584

Expenses (10,771,538) 11,721,536 (9,881,075) 10,143,848

Surplus/(defi cit) before income tax (165,658) 180,165 (52,465) 46,736

Income tax (expense)/benefi t 33,423 (44,501) 0 0

Surplus/(defi cit) attributable to members of the Company (132,235) 135,664 (52,465) 46,736

Consolidated Group Parent Entity

2014 2013 2014 2013

$ $ $ $

ASSETSCash and cash equivalents 5,919,636 5,067,298 5,914,021 5,038,538

TOTAL ASSETS 7,213,278 8,833,134 7,180,187 8,761,153

LIABILITIESRevenue received in advance 3,184,960 4,425,634 1,323,431 3,160,749

TOTAL LIABILITIES 4,561,437 6,050,782 4,534,719 6,063,220

EQUITY 2,651,840 2,782,352 2,645,468 2,697,933

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE SUMMARY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2014

BALANCE SHEET SUMMARY

AS AT 30 JUNE 2014

The Directors’ Report and full Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2014 are provided separately on our website at www.seqcatchments.com.au/resources-annual-reports.html


During 2014 SEQC Services worked with Queensland Urban Utilities and the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Heritage on a water quality and nutrient management pilot project at Beaudesert. This was an Australian fi rst.

Over fi ve months, we restored a badly eroded 500m stretch of the Logan River with wooden piles, rock barriers and planted around 7,000 trees, shrubs and hedges to stabilise the riverbank and reduce erosion.

Restoring the riverbank will prevent an estimated 11,000 tonnes of sediment (17 Olympic swimming pools), 5,000kg of nitrogen and 8,000kg of phosphorus from entering the Logan River.

The $1 million water quality project was more cost-effective than an $8 million alternative to upgrade the Beaudesert Sewage Treatment Plant to manage increasing nutrient discharges from local population growth.

The $7 million saving for Queensland Urban Utilities will help moderate water prices while helping to improve the water quality of the Logan River and ultimately Moreton Bay.

The landowner along the restored stretch is no longer losing up to a metre of land every year to erosion, and additional benefi ts include over time include improved biodiversity from the new wildlife corridor.

This project helped inform development of the ‘Voluntary market-based mechanism for nutrient management’ guidelines by the Queensland Government in April 2014.

It also provides an example of how investing in green infrastructure can reduce costs and boost the economy while providing long-term environmental benefi ts.

Watch time lapse video of the project works

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id8ASWEiIvk

Watch media report

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7v6NR9If4w&list=UUmr5-G0DoBS8A5uDFCx5kkg

BEFORE

AFTER


107

135

1886.3

5 17%

1233.510

86

1054,213 attendees

13.25ha revegetated

(based on 2008 carbonand staffing levels)

PERFORMANCEHighlights 2013-14

During the 2013-14 year SEQ Catchments managed a total of 232 projects, consisting of 120 new projects along with 112 projects continuing from the previous year. community and

environmental groups supported

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

groups and22 one-on-one training

sessions held with185 people

km of stream bankflood resilience works

Community Engagement

Biodiversity

Sustainability

River Restoration

Property Management PlanningVegetation Management

awareness raising events with over training sessions with

1,602 participantsbeing trained in

some aspect of NRM

plans completedcovering >30,000 ha

8004

25people trained in Cert III inWater Quality Monitoring

Water Quality Monitoring

registered sites, with over 400 volunteers registered

training events held with 65 participants

km of stream bank revegetation

Brisbane office

star NABARS rating

carbon reduction

174

3,847

new Land for Wildlife voluntary conservation agreements covering 3,195 ha, including 2049ha of native habitat.

(as of June 2014)

Land for Wildlife properties


The Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) details the fi ve year specifi c, deliverable targets that have been set by our community through a highly consultative process.

An underlying precautionary philosophy in setting these targets is the maintenance and preservation of natural assets and the services they provide to our community economically and socially.

We have achieved the majority of our SIP targets through effective delivery and leverage of investment from a wide variety of sources.

This fi ve year SIP was our fi rst attempt to defi ne realistic targets against which to measure our success. Over the last fi ve years we have a much better appreciation of the scope and scale of the targets that align with our mission.

Delivery against our performance targets


50% or less achievement of target

51% to 99% achievement of target




Greater than 1000% achievement of target

Key

2020099-22- 010144 SISIP P tatargrgetetss Resultts (d(data) ReResults (visual represenentatatitionon*)*)

LLaL ndnd

200,00000haha oof f imimprprovo ededd lannd mam naageemementnt 3222,4,4, 848 hah

500haa oof f sasalilinin tyt mmananaggemmenentt 1211 6hhaa

121 5hha of hill-sloppe annd d gugulllly y mamananagegemmentn 7,05052h22 a

BiBiododivverersisityy

500h0haa ofof nnatative vevegegetatatit onon mmmananagagememenent 100,2,2787 ha

1000h0ha a off hhabbittat mmananagemmenent fofor r prprioorir tyy spepecicieses 3,97971ha

20200h0 a a off rrevevegege etetatatioion 410ha

500 bbinindingng ccconseservvation agagrereememenntst sseccecuru ed 7070

WaW teterr

5050hah of cooasastal mam nanagegemementnt 63631ha

ImImprprovove e fi ve coaaststal wettlandndss 16

CoCommunniti y y seaggrass & mangrrovove e moonin totoring Yes

12125k5kmm ofo stream-m bankn managgemmenent 887kkmm

404000ha of ripi ariann weed managa ememene t 897hhaa

1,000 0ha of wetlaands managemement 319h9 a

13 level 2 catchhmentts monitoredd for wawater quality 12

2 groundwater r grg ouups collecting daatata 1 grouup

Enabling

Regional NRM ttargets commitmene t Partial

UsU e of tthehe Ecosyyststeme Sere viviceces frramamewewororkk PaP rtrtiaall

2020%% inncrcreaases in papartrtnenersrshih pss pper SSEQE C C prprojo ecect 6.6.6%6% iinccrr

RaRaisise ththe e profiofi le e ofof aan n NRNRM issuue e wiw tht thehe ppublilicc Yeess

TrTraiainingn to immprp ovve 1,000 0 laand managgerers’s kknonowlw eddgege 1919,7,73030

ReReprpresesenent t TrTradadititioionanal l OwOwnener r ininteterereststss YeYess

1010%% ofof SSEQEQC C prprojojecectsts wwitithh InIndidigegenonousus iinvnvololvevemementnt 6.6.1%1%


2014 saw the end of the eTree program in South East Queensland, which had funded revegetation works across the region since 2004.

A partnership between Computershare and Landcare Australia, eTrees was designed to dramatically reduce the amount of water and trees used to produce investor communications. It encouraged shareholders to opt for electronic rather than paper communications; each time a Queensland shareholder registered Landcare Australia received a $2 donation to fund revegetation projects.

Landcare Australia contracted SEQ Catchments to coordinate the on-ground works, with 155 eTree projects planting a total of 117,771 native trees across 128ha over the past decade.

Most eTrees projects were on private land with landholders, schools and community groups contributing signifi cantly in site preparation, planting, watering and maintenance to ensure that their trees survived, and in most cases thrived. This commitment saw us achieve an average price for an eTree planting of just $3,845 per hectare.

All eTree plants were sourced from local native plant nurseries. While some eTree sites were comparatively small these sites made a huge difference to preventing erosion, providing food for wildlife and making our landscapes more picturesque.

The largest eTree project site was at Springbrook in 2010 where 16,000 local-provenance native plants were planted across fi ve adjoining properties along Camp Creek. This project was a huge success with eTrees now up to 10m tall forming dense rainforests on previously cleared land. These eTrees help reduce sediment fl owing into Camp Creek and provide habitat for Springbrook’s rare fl ora and fauna.

eTrees demonstrates the key to success is community commitment – from landholders, local governments, community groups and schools – to nurturing their trees and ensuring their long term survival after fi ve years.


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 Queensland Plan, the SEQ Regional Plan and local government plans.

Our Strategic Plan is supported by the SEQ Catchments Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), which defi nes what we delivered with our project partners over a fi ve 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 undertaken during the 2013-14 year.

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 PRIORITIES LOCAL GOVERNMENT / COMMUNITY PRIORITIES

STATE PRIORITIES / QUEENSLAND PLAN

Learn more at:

www.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2014-plans-and-policies


Land for Wildlife (LfW) is a voluntary, community conservation program that supports landholders to conserve wildlife and habitats on their properties.

SEQ Catchments has been coordinating the program in South East Queensland in partnership with 12 local governments since 2004. Over those ten years, the number of LfW members has doubled, the number of LfW Offi cers has tripled and the level of local government investment has increased tenfold. LfW in South East Queensland is now a robust and highly respected program.

During July 2013 we helped conduct a survey of 1,124 LfW members who collectively manage 27,740ha of land for conservation across South East Queensland. Conducted every 5 – 7 years, the survey assesses environmental outcomes and helps improve the program.

Another highlight of the year was the Open Property Scheme in May 2014, bringing together like-minded LfW property owners from across the region to share knowledge and experiences. A total of 25 properties and 450 people participated; this was the largest single event that SEQ Catchments has managed.

The Open Property Scheme highlighted the range of community conservation initiatives underway across the region. Activities range from looking after wetlands, eucalypt woodlands, rainforests, creeks and forests to preventing erosion, bringing back threatened species by restoring habitats and planting food plants for koalas, butterfl ies and fruit-eating pigeons.

This past year also saw the development of a three year strategic plan to guide funding and activities. Additionally we have migrated members to a new sophisticated, secure online system to manage LfW data, in partnership with SEQ Catchments’ subsidiary company, Tactiv, replacing an out-dated paper-based system.

With ongoing support from the National Landcare Programme and excellent coordination structures now in place, LfW looks set to continue to grow and attract investment over the next decade.

More about the LfW programwww.lfwseq.org.au

More about the Open Property Scheme www.seqcatchments.com.au/news/open-property-scheme-welcomes-landholders-to-explore-land-for-wildlife-properties

More about the LfW Survey Summarywww.seqcatchments.com.au/land-for-wildlife-survey-summary


RELATIONSHIPS

MEMBERS PLANT

3 people in SEQFOR EVERY

CONSERVATION COVENANTS

is a

towardsFIRST STEP

For every

RELATIONSHIPS

For every

40,000

4,000 PROPERTIESNE

ARLY

hectaresconserved

new members

ANNUALLY

SNAPSHOTLand forWildlife

SOUTH EASTQUEENSLAND

Full report available from www.lfwseq.org.au

RESULTS FROM 2013 LAND FOR WILDLIFE MEMBERSHIP SURVEY


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).

SEQCMA

www.seqcatchments.com.au/company-information-seqc-members-association.html

COMSEQ

www.councilofmayorsseq.qld.gov.au

AUDIT & FINANCE COMMITTEE

PLANNING & INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

ICM and Landcare 64

Environment 29

Traditional Owners 13

Coastal and Marine 13

Local Government 11

Urban Industry 12

Rural Industry 9

Recreation, Sport &Tourism 9

Research & Education 7

Other 16

Total 183 Members

SEQCMA SECTOR REPRESENTATION

Landholders Landcare, community & volunteers groupsLocal CouncilsSchools & UniversitiesLocal BusinessesIndustry groupsState agenciesEnvironmental groups

Council of Mayors

50%ownership

SEQ Members Association

50%ownership

DeliveryPartners

SEQ CATCHMENTS BOARD COMPOSITION

SEQ Members AssociationCouncil of Mayors Independent

4: G4-24


As a social enterprise and a community based business, our ownership refl ects our stakeholders including clients, collaborators, delivery agents and suppliers.

Clients include Australian, Queensland and local governments, Government Owned Corporations, other Not For Profi ts and private companies.

Suppliers include consultants who assist in project design and modelling, plant nurseries, quarries and

materials suppliers (e.g. geofabric) and contractors.

We host the SEQ Fire & Biodiversity Consortium and Reef Check Australia which are community organisations.

While SEQ Catchments organises some projects through contractors and some directly with landholders, much of the project delivery utilises community groups (e.g. Landcare) to build upon their capacity and networks.

SEQ Catchments Ltd operates a number of separate entities. We have these 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 only undertake activities that support SEQ Catchments’s mission and objectives.

Our consolidated group includes SEQ Catchments Ltd, SEQC Operations, SEQC Services, SEQC Offsets (trading as Natural Asset Solutions)5

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

Learn more at: http://www.tactiv.net5: G4-17


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 confl ict of interest are

managed through their appointment letters and

specifi c policies.

The SEQCMA Board nominates four Directors to the SEQC Board. The Board delegates authority for economic environment a 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 SEQC Board committees – Audit and Finance (A&FC) and Planning and Investment Advisory (PIAC).

The A&FC oversees SEQC’s risk management framework, including the statutory and management fi nancial reporting process.

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.

Left to right: John Brent, Bardhold Blecken, Jim Dale, Robert Smith (Chairman), Margie Milgate (Deputy Chair), Peter Matic, Victor Atwood, Simon Warner (CEO)


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

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

Risk Management

SEQ Catchments has developed a robust risk management system that underpins all of our activities, which is refl ected in the company’s Risk Management Policy. The Board has delegated the oversight of risk management to the Audit and Finance Committee which assists the Board in ensuring that there are effective systems in place to manage risk across the business. The Directors, through the Audit and Finance Committee, review the systems that have been established along with

their effectiveness. The Workplace, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee also review specifi c health, safety and environmental risks, the outcomes of which are reported through the CEO to the Audit and Finance Committee.

All external complaints are bought to the attention of the Board. During 2014 the company received less than fi ve external complaints, which were resolved.

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


Aff ected stakeholder engagement

SEQ Catchments has a range of initiatives to ensure effective stakeholder engagement, both internal and external, in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our policies and programs.

We seek to continually improve by implementing initiatives that advance our interaction with the community in our programs. We are always seeking a greater amount of collaboration, partnership, empowerment and self-determination, rather than simple information sharing and dialogue.

These initiatives are detailed in the Our Stakeholders section on page 28 of this report.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning

SEQ Catchments regularly measures and monitors activity and uses the results to enhance our services. Our operational systems and processes are managed to continuously improve our operational impact, effi ciency, appropriateness and effectiveness and legacy.

SEQ Catchments uses program logic to link project activities with an agreed system of project outputs and outcomes. This fi ts into our planning, monitoring evaluation reporting and learning system. We have an effi cient recording and reporting system to support the contractual obligations for the 232 projects we managed during the 2013-14 fi nancial year.

We use the enQuire database as our single point of truth and reporting to our clients.

A number of programs also have steering committees, annual, mid-term and fi nal reviews formally designed into the system.

We monitor the effectiveness of our systems and contractual reporting using a six monthly second party audit. These are conducted on fi ve percent of projects completed in the previous two years to ensure that outcomes were delivered and that lessons learnt are incorporated into our systems.

Our quality assurance process and third party auditing procedures are reviewed annually for relevance and improvement.

Transparency and resource allocation

SEQ Catchments ensures that the highest standards are upheld for the accountable use and allocation of resources. There are a number of initiatives and systems which are maintained to track our resource use and provide transparency to ensure funding is used for the purpose intended by funders, whilst also meeting our mission. The reporting against the allocation of resources is externally audited annually in accordance with Australian Accounting and Auditing Standards.

We use a multi-criteria analysis depending on the reporting requirements of the project funder or funding stream to decide investment priorities. This often includes input from program reference groups comprising our staff and relevant stakeholders.

Our Planning & Investment Advisory Committee reviews our investment allocation every six months.


During 2013-14 we continued to successfully collaborate with the Quandamooka people of North Stradbroke Island on a wide range of initiatives.

The Quandamooka People, represented by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), are the Traditional Owners of Land and Sea Country within the world-renowned pristine waters of Queensland’s Moreton Bay.

During the year QYAC for the fi rst time started monitoring the health of North Stradbroke Island’s mangroves working with SEQ Catchments, MangroveWatch and James Cook University, which monitors and analyses information collected by volunteers.

Mangroves are vital to the health of the bay, providing protection from storms, fi ltering water and providing habitat for fi sheries and small crustaceans. To date QYAC has recorded 43km of coastline, with further assessments to be conducted in the coming year.

We also brokered a collaboration between QYAC, Reef Check Australia and SEQ Catchments to train members of the Quandamooka community to monitor the condition of Moreton Bay’s rocky reefs, which are home to 61 coral species.

This training will build on established SCUBA monitoring sites, and provide an opportunity for Traditional Owners to be involved in science based monitoring of their traditional country.

In June 2014 QYAC welcomed world renowned turtle expert, Dr Col Limpus, who over two days trained the local community in catching, tagging and recording the health of turtles.

Turtles are of great cultural signifi cance for the Quandamooka people and with this training the local community can monitor the health of turtles and contribute to collecting long term data essential to addressing threats to this marvellous creature.

Turtle populations have fl uctuated signifi cantly over the past few decades, due to deaths caused by getting caught in nets, boat strikes and more recently ingesting plastic waste which turtles mistake for food.

Some of this work was recognised in 2013-14 with QYAC wining the Indigenous Land Management at the 2013 Queensland Landcare Awards and the Indigenous Award at the Healthy Waterways Awards 2014. This also builds on the recognition of Darren Burns and QYAC at the 2013 Healthy Waterways Awards.

Read more about our work with QYACwww.seqcatchments.com.au/news/straddie-s-sea-country-focus-for-traditional-owners

Watch the turtle monitoring on Moreton Bay www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vxNkrYQDR8&noredirect=1


OURSTAKEHOLDERS

PARTNERS & INVESTORS

COMMUNITYLANDHOLDERS

GOVERNMENT

EMPLOYEES

Community Partnership Managers

ClientManagers

Social media

eNewsletter

SEQC Members’

Association*Annual General Meeting

Stakeholder survey

Community Partnership Managers

Website

Website

Projectreporting

W

Projectreporting

Projectreporting

ctg

Website

Website

Website

Social media

eNewsletter

eNewsletter

Annual General Meeting



Policy submissions

Briefings by SEQC CEO

ReportingFunder survey

Funder survey

Staff workshops

Daily management supervision

Performance reviews

Ongoing Quarterly Bi-annually ContractualAnnually

* In 2013-14, 56 grants up to $500 in value were made to SEQCMA members for activities related to on ground works or building membership and included support for purchasing hand tools, herbicide etc.

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.6

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

6: G4-24, G4-25, G4-26


Key topics and concerns that were raised through stakeholder engagement, which stakeholders raised these concerns and how we responded to these is detailed in our 2014 Materiality Report www.seqcatchments.com.au/resources-annual-reports.html.

More about our government stakeholderswww.seqcatchments.com.au/government.html

More about our corporate stakeholderswww.seqcatchments.com.au/our-partners-corporate.html

More about our community stakeholderswww.seqcatchments.com.au/community.html

More about our collaborationswww.seqcatchments.com.au/collaborations


In our workplace, employees are aware of what is expected of them. They trust, respect, and encourage the work of their colleagues. We promote a fl exible supportive workplace where safety, security and family are our highest priorities and work is challenging and rewarding.

We offer an inclusive, diverse workplace which includes people that may identify as belonging to a minority group. All appointments and promotions are made on the basis of performance and ability.

Following staff consultation when preparing this report, two of our people reported that they self-identifi ed as belonging to minority groups, despite the 2013 report indicating no staff or board members identify as belonging to minority groups.

We continued the use of annual performance reviews with all but one male staff member from management being reviewed in the 2013-14 year. The grievances and dispute resolution policy remained in place during 2013-14 dealing with most issues simply through the nominated contact offi cer.

We maintained our commitment to professional development spending 3.24 percent of our expenditure on wages on training for staff in the 2013-14 year.

We pride ourselves in our ability to attract, retain and develop outstanding talent. This is demonstrated by our low staff turnover, with only four of our people leaving during the year.

SEQ Catchments leverages volunteer support through member and community groups across the region, in particular the Water Quality Monitoring Team who engage with over 400 part time volunteers.

We maintained an excellent safety record in the 2013-14 year with only 0.5 days of lost time injuries (0.005 percent injury/lost day rate) coupled with a low absentee rate of 2.49 percent for females and 1.98 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.

More about our Healthy and Safety Committeewww.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2014-work-health-and-safety

More about our Employee Engagement Management and Feedback policieswww.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2014-employee-engagement-management-teamwork-and-feedback

More about our Employee Retention and Development policies www.seqcatchments.com.au/annual-report-2014-employee-retention-and-development


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 Statistics2013 - 2014 SUMMARY

TOTAL STAFF2013 - 2014

NUMBER OFFEMALE EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFMALE EMPLOYEES

AGE GROUP <30 30 - 50 50+

27

51

24

53

59

1712

STAFF LEAVING IN2013 - 2014

NUMBER OFFEMALE EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFMALE EMPLOYEES

AGE GROUP 30 - 50 50+

3

4

1

13

NUMBER OFNEW STAFF HIRED

1

% OF STAFFLEAVING IN 12 MONTHS

7.8%

Not included in Percentage of staff leaving within 12 months are 2 staff who completed their fixed term contracts and 2 staff who were employed as casuals.


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.

Our emissions

While SEQ Catchments is awaiting its bi-annual Greenhouse Gas assessment (see page 33) for the 2013-14 year, it is on track to achieve its 25

percent carbon reduction target by 2019-20 (based on baseline 2007-08 levels). To meet this target we have maintained the Brisbane Offi ce’s 5 Star NABERS energy rating by refi tting effi cient light globes and switching systems; we are also ensuring where appropriate, our vehicles have a minimum 7.5 Greenhouse Rating and operate on ethanol fuel blends; avoiding air travel where possible and encouraging use of public transport. Remaining CO2 is offset to ensure we meet the target.

The following tables identify the breakdown of the emissions per employee (vehicle and electricity) as well as the offsets required to meet the carbon reduction targets agreed with our community.

More about our Carbon and Waste Reduction Strategy

www.seqcatchments.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=67447


*GHG report standard & ISO 14064-1

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory covering the time period from the 1st July 2011 to 30th June 2012 was conducted by Tiptoe Carbon and Energy Reduction. Energy use and costs were established from an analysis of monthly electricity statements and fuel invoices for the 2011/12 fi nancial year. Energy related greenhouse gas emission factors used in the report were obtained from the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Systems Measurements - Technical Guidelines, July 2011.

Year

tonn

es C

O2/

emp

loye

e

7.00

6.00

5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00

2007/08

2009/10

2011/122013/14

2015/162017/

182019/20

Offset (anticipated)

Offset (actual)

Target

Emissions

Year

7.00

6.00

5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00

2007/08

2009/10

2011/122013/14

2015/162017/

182019/20

Electricity (anticipated)

Electricity (actual)

Vehicle (anticipated)

Vehicle (actual)

tonn

es C

O2/

empl

oyee

Source of Emissions

Our Emissions


This report applies a self-declared GRI application ‘in-accordance core’ level, with no external assurance for any disclosures.

General Standard Disclosures

Page Number (or Link)External

assurance

Strategy & analysis

G4-1 7, 8, 9, 10 –

G4-2 7-10, 17 –

Organisational profi le

G4-3 4 –

G4-4 6 –

G4-5 36 –

G4-6 4 –

G4-7 22 –

G4-8 3, 22 –

G4-9 13, 22, 23, 31 –

G4-10 31 –

G4-11 31 –

G4-12 23 –

G4-13 3 –

G4-14 16 –

G4-15 19 –

G4-16 4 –

Identifi ed material aspects & boundaries

G4-17 23 –

G4-183, www.seqcatchments.com.au/resources-annual-reports.html

–


–


–


–

G4-22 3 –

G4-23 3 –

Stakeholder engagement

G4-24 22, 28 –

G4-25 28 –

G4-26 11, 28 –

G4-27 11 –

Report profi le

G4-28 3 –

G4-29 3 –

G4-30 3 –

G4-31 35 –

G4-32 34 –

G4-33 34 –

Governance

G4-34 24 –

G4-35 24 –

G4-36 24 –

G4-37 24 –

G4-38 24 –

G4-41 24 –

G4-52 30 –

Ethics & integrity

G4-56 www.seqcatchments.com.au/strategic-plan.html –

Specifi c Standard Disclosures, DMA and Indicators

Page Number(or Link)

External assurance

Category: Economic

Material aspect: Economic performance

G4-DMA 8 –

G4-EC1 12 –

G4-EC4 12 –

Material aspect: Resource allocation

G4-DMA (former NGO7) 26 –

Material aspect: Ethical fundraising

G4-DMA 8 –

G4-NGO8 12 –

Category: Environmental

Material aspect: Emissions

G4-DMA 32 –

G4-EN15 33 –

G4-EN16 33 –

G4-EN19 33 –

Category: Social

Sub-category: Product responsibility

Material aspect: Affected stakeholder engagement

G4-DMA (former NGO1) 22, 26, 28 –

Material aspect: Feedback, complaints & action

G4-DMA (former NGO2) 25, 30 –

Material aspect: Monitoring, evaluation & learning

G4-DMA (former NGO3) 26, 16 –

Material aspect: Public awareness & advocacy


Material aspect: Coordination

G4-DMA (former NGO6) 11, 19, 22, 26 –

Sub-category: Labour practices & decent work

Material aspect: Employment

G4-DMA 30 –

G4-LA1 31 –

Material aspect: Occupational health & safety

G4-DMA 30 –

G4-LA5 30 –

G4-LA6 30 –

Material aspect: Training & education

G4-DMA 30 –

G4-LA11 30 –

Material aspect: Diversity & equal opportunity

G4-DMA 30 –

G4-LA12 31, 24 –

Material aspect: Labour practices grievance mechanisms



Thank 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.

Please take a few minutes to complete the following questionnaire and send responses regarding the report or its content to:

Sibel Korhaliller, Communication Offi cer [email protected] or fax to: 07 3211 4405

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4. Other opinions:

5. Which of the following best describes you?

Community group

Private Company

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Non-governmental Organization

Academic

Staff or Board member of SEQ Catchments

General Public

Other, please specify:

6. Which aspect(s) of the report would you like to have more information?

Economic please specify:

Social please specify:

Environmental please specify:

Governance please specify:

Other(s) please specify:

The information will be kept strictly confi dential and used for communication and statistical purposes only. All personal data are handled in accordance with the SEQC privacy policy.

www.surveymonkey.com/r/SEQCatchmentsAnnualReport

Feedback on this report


Brisbane Offi ce

Level 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

Directors

Robert Smith (Chairman)

Margie Milgate (Deputy Chairman)

Victor Attwood

Bardhold Blecken

John Brent

Peter Matic

Jim Dale

Simon Warner

Public Offi cers

Simon Warner (Chief Executive Offi cer)

Anne Conlan (Company Secretary and Chief Financial Offi cer)

Tony Costantini (Chief Operating Offi cer)

Auditors

Whitehouse Audit Pty Ltd

27 Mayneview Street

Milton Qld 4064

seq catchments 2014 annual report

Documents

e n t s c o

n d s u s t

b i n e d

s e q c

i t y r e p o r t

chairmans report

g4 framework

selfdeclared report