"The Black Summer bushfires that took place 12 months ago still remain a vivid personal and emotional memory in our people’s lives.

The Braidwood Community Bank has a passion; a passion for each staff member, a passion for our community and a passion to ensure our existing and potential customers have the confidence that we can offer and fulfill their financial needs. Our ‘team’ passion shone through during our period of disaster.

Scott was basically not seen throughout the fires, but would come into the branch when he could to provide updates. If not, we would all receive text messages. There were staff who spent countless hours in the RFS shed making thousands of sandwiches for the volunteers when they came back exhausted and always giving them words of encouragement.

In between all of this, most of the staff had evacuation procedures in place with some being told to ‘get out’. What the branch also did was to try and remain open, not only for banking services but also as a point where people could come for support, updates, or a shoulder to lean or cry on. We are the most important and most trusted business in our community ,and we couldn’t let our people down.

But the Community Bank had support as well from the Bendigo Bank group. Each day I would receive telephone calls, not emails, from a variety of representatives such as regional managers, state managers, and executives. There is even a Bendigo & Adelaide Board Member that resides in Canberra who made it a point to come and ‘check in’ on us. We shared many tears.

Another important point to realise is that we were not the only local district affected by the fires. They were everywhere and Bendigo Bank made a point or contacting every branch that was affected. They also supported my decision when it was time to close due to staff shortages. After the fires were extinguished, we had many visits from Bendigo Bank staff to check in with us and give us support. I would make it a point to take them to the Braidwood Blaze Aid Camp to see the power of our donations in action.

The old saying that adversity brings us closer together could not be more truthful. We are closer as a branch, closer as a community and close to our Bendigo Bank colleagues."

"Few firefighters worked as hard through Summer as Captain Scott Hart and his crew to earn the NSW Premier’s Bushfire Emergency Citation. As a fellow RFS NSW firefighter and CAT 1 driver, I can attest that the bushfires of 2019/20 will be seared into our collective memories for many years to come. I too am very grateful Bendigo Bank released me to attend the emergency last Summer. Our brigade was deployed to the Gosper’s Mountain fire with many days and nights also spent on standby in my local district -although I didn’t spend anywhere near as much time on the fireground as Scott Hart and his crew. 

It’s easy to forget that Rural Fire Brigades like Scott’s in Braidwood - which is on the way to Canberra’s holiday coast - don’t just fight fires. They deal with car accidents too and are often called out to attend horrific accidents at all times of the night and day - holidays in particular.  Those incidents– especially with kids – are not so easy to forget.  

Last season was also different in that there were fires starting and spreading during the night too, which is usually when crews can expect some respite. The pagers just kept going off – and the expectation that it will likely go off doesn’t make for easy sleep. Our families also live with heightened anxiety whether we’re away on a Strike Team or fighting fires closer to home and of course some volunteers, tragically, don’t get to radio in a weary “Fire Control, Yellow. Returned to station and closing down”.  2019/20 was a biggie and our branches don’t come much bigger than Braidwood when it comes to giving their absolute best for the community."

Our people care deeply about the communities they live and work in. Volunteering and giving back to their local community are a way of life for many of our people, and we recognise the importance this has in strengthening a community's social fabric. Scott's contribution and the support of his colleagues at the Braidwood Community Bank undoubtedly saved lives and continues to assist in the recovery of severely fire-affected communities. Scott's integrity and character are a credit to him and show what's possible when people come together. I whole heartedly endorse this nomination.

Excerpt from parliamentary statement

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:11): “I rise to support this motion as well and to talk about the really hard time that the people of Kangaroo Island have had in the past 50 days or so as this fire snaked its way across the western end of Kangaroo Island. It touched people's properties but did not destroy them the first time around. It touched them again on the other side the second time around. It touched them for a third time, in some cases. People thought they had miraculously survived, only to be hit by this serpent that came a fourth time and wiped them out.

The fires started on 20 December. Priscilla and Geoff, friends of mine—Priscilla is here today—were the first to lose their home. Priscilla works in my office in Kingscote …….

I want to thank BankSA for their tremendous response to their customers and to those who are not their customers. I have never met a more generous person in my life than branch manager Kaytee Collins. She is amazing. Nick Reade is the CEO. We might have had our differences over the years, but I have to say that Nick Reade and the BankSA crew have really stepped up.

Not only did they help out their customers, but he rang me and asked, 'What do you think we can do?' I said, 'There are a whole lot of people out there who have lost everything. The only thing they want to do right now as part of the grieving process, as part of the cleaning process, as part of the rebuilding in the early stages, is to get back out on their property, so what they need is power. How about we get some generators for them?'

BankSA chipped in $35,000, the Hotels Association, $30,000, and Dudley and Irina Brown from Inkwell Wines in McLaren Vale, $25,000.”

"It has been a great privilege to see the commitment of our bankers working in disaster zones this year, particularly bankers such as Kaytee Collins. Kaytee is one of those exceptional team members who demonstrates that we are not just a bank who can provide financial support but a company with a deep connection and care for the community.

While Kaytee was coming to terms with the bushfires on Kangaroo Island and facing the longer term rebuild and recovery, she continued to do everything within her power to support affected customers and the community at large.

In what has been a challenging year Kaytee continues to provide extraordinary care for our customers, communities, and her immediate team."

“In many ways exceeding the challenging requirements and expectations of a small rural community during such a natural disaster event, Kaytee’s can do attitude, intelligence, and caring outlook was precisely what the Kangaroo Island community needed whilst in the grips of such a prolonged and devastating natural disaster.

Kaytee’s skills do not end with her office work. She also projects a warm, cheerful attitude to her customers. I have personally seen her resolve issues and handle other difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact.

In the community she went out of her way to help people in need and was always seen in the Incident Management Team and the broader community lending a hand where she could. Kaytee’s willingness to take on difficult projects like she did during the fire event and seeing them to successful completion has repeatedly impressed me.

She loves people, works hard, and always tries to lift the spirits of those around her. I believe these characteristics represent all that is good in her role as Branch Manager and a member of the community. I did not work for Bank SA during the fires but Kaytee’s demonstrated leadership helped in my decision to apply for the role here in Kingscote being able to start a new career.”

Simon is an extraordinary individual who has sought out opportunities to go above and beyond to help his community in a serious time of need. Altruistic people, like Simon, deserve to be recognised; when things get tough, they only think of what they can do to have the biggest positive impact. At EY, we are all proud of how Simon did more than help save lives, he used his business smarts to help evolve processes that support systemic change in healthcare, going straight to the heart of our purpose of building a better working world.

Simon has shown immense courage and selflessness by going straight to the COVID front line in Melbourne, where he was able to do more than help patients, he supported positive systemic change, combining his professional expertise with his skills as a doctor and intimate knowledge of the health system. He has gone above and beyond to support our vulnerable health system, acting humbly and with integrity. His actions exemplify our purpose of building a better working world. 

At Coles Group, we are immensely proud of our team members who fed and helped the community during the 2019/2020 bushfires crisis. John Appleby, in particular, embodied our purpose to sustainably feed all Australians to help them lead healthier and happier lives, showing our values of passion and pace and responsibility in supporting his team and the wider Batemans Bay community in a time of great need. John went above and beyond, ensuring our emergency services, volunteers and evacuees could get the food and suppliers they needed, as well as helping our customers feel safe and calm in our Batemans Bay store.

I commend John Appleby for his instrumental leadership and facilitation of support for the Emergency Services, and the community, during the catastrophic and unprecedented bushfires of 2020.
John provided unwavering support to our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Moruya. He assisted seconded police, charities, evacuation centres and anyone in need within the community, during this difficult time. He personally delivered supplies to the Batemans Bay Police Station without request which lifted the spirits of all police in the area.

Despite the adversity John and his team faced – fires raging around the area, no electricity, no phone service, roads in and out of the area blocked – he selflessly continued to operate his stores so that he could feed his community.

John was personally affected during this crisis by the loss of his mother-in-law’s home at Malua Bay, and his family relocated to Sydney so that he could focus on supporting his team and the community, working tirelessly, day and night.

His support has been unwavering, overwhelming and something that will remain in the memories of Emergency Services for years to come. I commend John to you unreservedly for any award or commendation that your organisation can provide him.

I strongly support this nomination.

The 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires resulted in many challenges for the community and business owners alike. These challenges included the closure of main transport routes and the loss of power. During these times, you went above and beyond to serve the community, emergency responders and your own team.

Following the initial impact on New Years Eve 2019, you donated a significant amount of food to the emergency evacuation centres, opened your store to community under difficult circumstances and raised money for our local fire brigades.

Your outstanding character and integrity during this time is something you should be very proud of.

Should you require any further clarification on this endorsement, please do not hesitate to contact me directly on 0417 411 851.

My name is Inspector Angus Barnes, Operational Officer, Far South Coast, for the NSW Rural Fire Service and I commend John Appleby, Regional Manager of Coles Supermarkets, for his dedication and support for the RFS and the community of the Far South Coast, during the unprecedented and catastrophic bushfires of 2020.

During what was the longest and most destructive fire event we have ever experienced, John worked tirelessly to support the RFS, and facilitated the donation of more than $50,000 in much needed food and supplies for our weary fire fighters other emergency services and the community.

John and his team also made packed lunches for the firefighting crews, provided daily logistical support also facilitating staff to work through the night so that our crews could be provided with fresh food around the clock. Not only did John assist the RFS field crews, he simultaneously provided nursing homes, evacuation centres, the Incident Management Team, Police and members of the community that needed help, with food and supplies, during a time when the town had no other supermarket or shop open.

With fires raging around Batemans Bay, no power and all major roads blocked, John overcame adversity and continued to help the RFS and his community when they needed it the most.

Thank you so much, Accenture Australia and to all of those who work for Accenture Australia. Your support, your donations, your pro bono expertise has been incredible, and it has really helped us do what we needed to do at Australian Red Cross.

I'd like to thank Accenture, Australia and New Zealand for their kind support in enabling us to do the things we do, to provide the assistance for these communities that have been impacted by these devastating natural disasters. Team Rubicon Australia is a veterans-based relief team, we have Australian ADF veterans and emergency first responders and civilians and we deploy our teams to assist the communities in times of need.

The team has been absolutely sensational. The amount of work they’ve put in is quite astonishing, and their hard work will allow us to take some huge strides forward.

We really are amazed by the volume and quality of the work from all of you. Know that your generosity and intellect will live on with the Eat Up team through the tools and documents you’ve shared with us! We’ve been fortunate to have been a part of skilled volunteer programs in the past, and whilst they have each been positive, our collaboration with you has undoubtedly been the best and most valuable.

It’s been such a valuable project in an incredibly short timeframe and already I am seeing how we can use the tools for broader opportunities as well. Thank you for getting the crack team together again and for all your support.

Corporate citizenship is intrinsically embedded in Accenture’s culture. In response to the events of this extraordinary year, we have adapted and innovated to keep our communities running. Our people have a passion for creating solutions to make a positive impact on society. They have brought their professional and technical know-how to bear; helping not-for-profits who need our support navigate uncertainty and pivot to digital in a responsible way. It’s great to see the impact of the 360˚ value delivered. Our ability to not just handle, but embrace change, equips us to do that; and that makes me extremely proud.

As a longstanding member of the Australian community (60 years!) we saw it as our responsibility and privilege to support the Australian bushfire recovery efforts. I am proud to work with people and for a company which cares about and wants to help communities in need and so pleased to partner with the BCA and local trades to make it happen with appropriate urgency. The fundraising efforts from across our company demonstrate that we are part of a global family and that's one of the things that make ATCO such a wonderful organisation to be a part of.

The size and scale of these fires in many parts of Australia was unprecedented. But so was the incredible wave of support we saw from people and businesses around the country and overseas. Your donation will ensure our trained staff and volunteers can continue to be there for the long-haul, helping people slowly but surely get back on their feet. We are also giving out emergency grants to help people cover essential costs as they start to rebuild.

We'd like to thank ATCO Employees for leading this incredible initiative and showing such generosity to our emergency teams and the people we help.

After the disastrous fires of 2019/20 the Business Council of Australia reached out to our community to assist, and ATCO then immediately reached out with the generous offer of supplying temporary buildings.
In 4 weeks a plan was implemented and the buildings were on their way. During this planning stage, there was a shortfall in installation, ATCO then supplied the resources for installation. During installation, the weather had shifted from hot and dry to wet and cold, and the ATCO team continued to install the foundation in torrential rain and ankle-deep mud. The staff continued working in these conditions to help our community and will always be in my gratitude.

To date this kind and generous offer have enabled:

1. Fire effected business to continue trading and serving the community through employing local community members
2. Charities to utilize the buildings to give support for local residents who have lost all their personal belongings including their homes
3. A mental health worker to set up office one day per week since the installation
4. A meeting place for Mogo Village Chamber meetings to help our community.

As an essential service, I am incredibly proud of the way bp has supported our communities across Australia in 2020. This year has shown it is not just what we do as a business, but how we do it that really matters. I am grateful for the countless hours, the energy, resilience, and level of care demonstrated by our people in service of our customers. bp was called upon to help keep Australia safe, in a time when our communities needed us most; I am delighted we have been able to deliver on those expectations. This is the essence of bp, with safety and community at the heart of our operations.

On behalf of Meals on Wheels® Australia, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to BP Australia for your incredible generosity. It’s been an incredibly challenging few months for many of our volunteers and their local communities. Many were impacted by the bushfires and were just coming to terms with that devastation when COVID-19 emerged as potentially an even greater risk. Then, when volunteers who were over 70 years of age were asked to self-isolate to keep themselves safe, things became particularly difficult. When organisations, such as yourselves, stepped in and offered support it sent a message right throughout the organisation that we were not on our own. BP Australia’s generosity has had a dual impact. Not only have you provided tangible support by offering vouchers for fuel, coffee or food items, you have also sent an important message that the work of MoWA really matters.

Staying on the roads so we can service all Victorians is now more vital than ever. Thanks to the generosity of BP, St John Ambulance Australia has received $100k towards fuel to keep us going during COVID-19 relief. Thanks to the kindness of the people at BP, this means that in Victoria we can continue to transport unwell people using our NEPT vehicles, take the elderly to medical appointments through the Community Transport service and ensures our volunteers can take vulnerable people with no form of transport for COVID-19 testing.

On behalf of the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), I would like to share our heartfelt thanks to BP and its staff for supporting RRT, and our volunteers during this time. Across Australia, our volunteers continue to step up to the challenge to support people in self-isolation for COVID-19 through our Food Box initiative. Every day, our volunteers are going out of their way to deliver RRT Food Boxes, which act as an emergency food bank for people in crisis. BP’s donation will certainly put a big smile on our volunteers’ faces, and will allow us to continue to provide this much needed support to people in need. Thank you BP for assisting people impacted by COVID-19 in this way, your support is much appreciated.

Since the COVID pandemic began, Coles has proudly embraced our role as an essential service to the community, guided by our purpose to sustainably feed all Australians and help them lead healthier and happier lives. Throughout every challenge, our values of working with passion, pace and responsibility to the community were at the heart of our decision making. I am grateful for the collaborative approach adopted by industry stakeholders, government and our suppliers which ensured we kept all Australians fed and safe, and am incredibly proud of our 118,000 team members for their tireless work to safely serve our community.

When COVID-19 hit, it put Australia's most vulnerable into immediate isolation. Families with children who have cancer in hospitals, receiving treatment or recovering at home could no longer be out in public with fear of passing on the virus to their immunocompromised child.

Everyday tasks that once were a convenience, could now be the thing that jeopardises the health and safety of your child. On top of that our families could not access basics like hand sanitisers, antibacterial wipes and other basic products that are an absolute must when you have a child with cancer.

It was Coles Online Priority Service that immediately came to the rescue. Families facing childhood cancer received an instant access for to on line priority shopping and contactless delivery so they could get the supplies they needed and kept their immunocompromised child safe. Coles Online Priority Service provided critical and essential support to nearly 2000 families around the country and helped them stay strong in the face of COVID-19.

I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary support of SecondBite from Coles as they back our mission of ending waste and hunger across Australia, not only this past year but the previous ten.

2020 presented many challenges for families across the country including drought, bushfire, and the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the increase in demand for food relief has risen exponentially.

Coles immediately came to the support of SecondBite providing essential food donations from its distribution centres, building on the surplus produce we collect from around 800 supermarkets nationwide. This support enabled us to keep up with the increasing number of people in need.

Coles ability to pivot in highly unprecedented circumstances and deliver highly nutritious, appropriate food products in bulk is a credit to their team and their priority of helping Aussies who need it most.

We are extraordinarily grateful for the team at Coles, as are hundreds of thousands of people that the Coles team will never see but have impacted their lives on a daily basis - the difference they have made can never be underestimated.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Coles and other supermarkets have played an important role in supporting people and communities in need. The Coles community shopping hour and priority delivery service were examples of assisting elderly and vulnerable people to access supplies when demand was high. Coles also provided support to public housing residents in lockdown, including substantial donations of food relief. 

I’d like to acknowledge the responsiveness, dedication and care of the Coles staff involved in that operation, who went above and beyond to supply basic food and groceries to residents. All the supermarkets have contributed to communities in their own ways. The cooperation between supermarkets and government during this challenging time has been exceptional and will be a lasting legacy of COVID-19.

It was a privilege for EY to be able to play a role and support communities devastated by the bushfires and later COVID-19. Every member of the Bushfire Recovery Team went above and beyond to proactively support people who faced unimaginable challenges and hardship. They acted with integrity, compassion and dedication while using their expertise to add real value, rebuild businesses and help restart local economies. There is no better example of our purpose - building a better working world.

Thanks so much for contacting us and organizing a meeting with us to express the difficulties that we have had over the past 8 months and to give us advice on potential assistance to help us through an 8 month crisis which included road closures, bush fires, longer distance travel causing additional cost to our small business, robbery, floods and now the Covid virus, It was very reassuring as a small business that there are organisations out there which can maybe assist us in our recovery of a service that is much needed in our area. Thank you so much for your follow up on our needs, we appreciate everything that you have done for us.

The Drop-In Centre project is a very successful initiative that has been driven by Ernst & Young since its inception in Kangaroo Valley in the immediate aftermath of the 19/20 bushfires.

EY developed a unique model that ensures service delivery is locally led, proactive and agile in responding to business needs. Through leveraging their networks, EY also secured additional pro-bono services and funding for community organisations and facilitated better coordination across state and federal government business support services.

The Drop-In Centres have delivered significant social and economic outcomes across the Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Bega Valley and Snowy Monaro: 

• To date, the Drop-In Centres have supported 563 businesses to access over $1.381 million in financial assistance.
• The value of the emotional support and referrals to mental health services is much harder to quantify. Anecdotal evidence from businesses suggest this is significant.
• The underlying emphasis of this project is to support communities to help themselves – giving them the skills and confidence to navigate their recovery.

 EY’s substantial pro-bono commitment to this project is to be commended.

It was heartbreaking to see the devastating impacts the bushfire crisis had on Australia people, communities and wildlife. I am proud of both Fortescue Metals Group and the Minderoo Foundation's commitment and cooperation during such a difficult time.

I formally endorse this application, as it was through an unprecedented collaboration between business and philanthropy, that we worked together, hand-in-hand to support a wide range of philanthropic initiatives which reflect our values of each organisation.

Through partnership and trust we have forged a long-standing enduring relationship.

Minderoo is noun. This year has been life changing. Life was stripped to its essence in a disaster so big it encompassed everything and everyone around us. We looked to governments and our desolation deepened when we found them wandering in aimless circles. We discovered the sharp truth—in these life-defining moments there are few places to lean upon. Despair creeps in. The choices you contemplate take you in drastically new directions, or towards a cliff face from which there is no return. It was into this emotional landscape that the Minderoo Foundation stepped, providing the dignity of shelter and safety, and the gift of remaining with our feet on our land and the time to breathe, look, and plan for the opportunities that might unfold.

The pods arrived like giant presents being unwrapped. These were not vacuous gifts of torn jeans, worn out socks, and dirty t-shirts. These were opportunities. The crews laughed and bantered, their eyes mirrored courage, not despair. This year Minderoo became a noun that means hope, time, and gratitude.

Just, yeah, amazing really that someone could care enough to do all that for us. Just brilliant.

This pod is life-changing. A small deal to you but a massive deal to us!

Our Prime Minister has spoken of 'quiet Australia', just as President Obama spoke of 'quiet heroes' when describing those that are not famous, work hard every day, don't seek the limelight and just try to do the right thing.

I am exceptionally proud of Woolworths' 200,000 'quiet Australian heroes'. Our entry recognises their contribution, first and foremost through COVID-19, and for many off the back of the tragic bushfires of 2019/20.

The Foodbank family cherishes its long-standing partnership with Woolworths Group, and whilst we have always delighted in the passionate, professional and invaluable support that has been displayed from right across the business, we could not be more grateful for the generosity we have experienced from the Woolworths team this year.

When Black Summer bushfires hit, Foodbank was called upon to lead the emergency food relief efforts across all affected states and territories, drawing on stock from every Foodbank warehouse in the country. Once the crisis phase had passed, replenishment of stock was the highest priority to ensure the 815,000 Australians relying on food relief each month could continue to access these essential supplies. In response, Woolworths began weekly donations specifically to help us replenish our stock and reach those most affected by the disasters.

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic reach our shores, panic buying not only affected the Australian food and grocery industry, but so too, Foodbank. Supply chain interruption was experienced across a number of key categories, placing inordinate pressure on our already stretched network. At the height of lockdowns, the increase in demand for food relief skyrocketed by 78%, coinciding with a 27% reduction in supply through food rescue. Woolworths stepped up once again to help us find strategic, impactful solutions. Woolworths also donated $300,000 for us to proactively purchase essential items, bolstering our supplies by the equivalent of 600,000 meals to help the newly unemployed, international students and others so significantly affected by the economic impacts of the pandemic.

As COVIDSafe restrictions took hold, we had to revamp our distribution model, shifting to a focus on food hampers. Woolworths supported this challenging process by donating thousands of their innovative Basics Box to help us reach more people both efficiently and safely.

In addition, Woolworths continued to champion their Primary Connect freight support, donating $500,000 worth of transport to move emergency food assistance around the country to where it was needed most.

This year has been a struggle for so many people - especially our country’s most vulnerable - but thanks to Woolworths, hundreds of thousands of families were able to access the food they needed.

The Qantas Group is pleased to endorse the Woolworths Group (Woolworths) for the Business Council of Australia’s Big Impact Award for their significant contribution to provide secondary employment opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the aviation industry and meant that, in March this year, the Qantas Group made the difficult decision to stand down the majority of our people.

As a longstanding partner of the Qantas Group, Woolworths stepped up and offered their support in several ways, including offering priority, short term employment for impacted Qantas Group employees.

Within a week, this suggestion became a reality and in the first 24 hours, 2,500 Qantas Group employees registered their interest to work with Woolworths. Within four weeks, 2,200 Qantas Group employees began working with Woolworths across their stores, distribution centres, and corporate office. As of November 2020, the Qantas Group still has 1,200 employees working at Woolworths.

The generosity that Woolworths continues to show our people has been extraordinary – with every member of the Woolworths team going above and beyond to make the transition as seamless as possible and provide our people with training, development and support. This initiative provided immediate relief to many our people at a critical time and has been our most successful secondary employment partnership.

Throughout the pandemic, the Woolworths Group has shown what it is to be a good corporate citizen – not just through its support for our employees, but for the support they’ve shown to the Australian community more generally.

We could not think of a better recipient for the BCA's Big Impact Award than Woolworths.

When the pandemic struck and most of The Bread & Butter Project's cafe/restaurant sales fell away overnight we reached out to Woolworths for help because bread was flying off their shelves and we knew they were great advocates for refugee employment. With unbelievable speed for a national retailer dealing with a small local social enterprise bakery, we were suddenly stocked in over 15 Woolworths Metro stores. This has since expanded to 27 stores. This kept our ovens full and our trucks delivering and allowed us to retain employment for our 55 employees, many of them refugees and asylum seekers who would not have been eligible for welfare support. Here is a video made at that time.

Since those early days, the partnership with Woolworths has thrived. In November we launched our first Bread Bar in Woolworths' Erskineville Metro store; the first time a national supermarket has outsourced its bakery to a third party, let alone a social enterprise! Woolworths entrusted The Bread & Butter Project with one of the most important sections in the supermarket -fortunately it has been a phenomenal success and will generate at least half a million dollars of sales and sustainably employ 4-5 refugee bakers/trainees.

We are immensely grateful to Woolworths and very much looking forward to expanding our partnership so together we can support many more refugees into sustainable employment in an industry suffering chronic labour shortages in Australia.

When COVID19 first struck Australia in April 2020, our business was hit with an overnight business downturn of 30% due to all our restaurant customers having to shut shop and we really had no end in sight as to when this would change. Regardless of what was happening outside our farms, our hens did not know any different and were still producing the eggs every single day. At the same time, most of our local Woolworths stores had bare egg departments and it reignited the conversation of the pros and cons of putting our product on Woolworths shelves.

So back to the drawing board we went and after some insightful conversations with our contacts back at Woolworths, we really felt that they had the best interests of our business at heart. They put the ball in our court, letting us make decisions for our business which we did not think would be an option. For example, the stores we wanted to supply, the days we needed orders to be received, the days we deliver, the frequency of our stock going on the shelves to ensure its freshness and a big factor for us, our trading terms.

Following what felt like a whirlwind of paperwork, we officially had our first dozens hit the shelves of the 15 most local stores to our farm by the start of June 2020 and we have not looked back. The orders are automated and consistent, deliveries are done with ease and we have no problem communicating with the correct members of the Woolworths team at times when we have had to reach out.

All of our concerns we had, giving our family owned brand to a big business like Woolworths have been quashed, and it has allowed us to keep all 16 employees we have at their full capacity of employment throughout the COVID closures and even more so, it has allowed us to stick by our main goal, of not keeping eggs onsite for longer than 48 hours.

The Woolworths team have been great to us and have really made us realise there is a person behind every email and every phone call we have with them.

In 2021, we have fortunately been given further expansion opportunities to appear on Woolworths online as a 'click & collect' option and we are looking forward to expanding into more stores and growing with them in months to come.

Gratitude and congratulations must be given to Woolworths who over the past 9 months since covid restrictions kicked in, have helped save our small local business.

When Covid 19 hit we lost 80% of our business as we mainly supplied the Cafe industry. This was absolutely gut wrenching for us. We desperately needed a life line and it was thrown to us by Woolworths.

Having a shortage of supply from other large suppliers because of the panic buying we contacted Jonathan at Woolworths in Sydney and asked if we could help top up the shelves as we were desperate to move some milk. Our prayers were answered and we started filling the shelves at Woollies with enough milk to keep our heads above water. We posted on our social media channels and the community really got behind us. If Woolworths didn't provide us with such amazing shelf space and the ability to restock daily I hate to think where we would be.

Woolworths continue to support our business today and we are most grateful. Not only have we survived this pandemic but we are now flourishing. The impact large companies can have is just amazing, too many people have negative opinions about large multinational companies when realistically they provide amazing opportunity for small business like ourselves.

With the increase in sales due to the support of Woolworths we are able to employ three more full time staff and look at being able to take on more local farmers to which we pay a fair farm gate price.

Hugo Crystal is an exemplar of how Bupa people bring to life our purpose: to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives. Hugo’s big heart is evident in all his efforts to improve the quality of life of residents at our Bupa Ballarat aged care home – never more so than during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hugo created hand drawn character portraits of all 144 residents to help them feel loved, listened to and valued. Hugo worked to keep spirits high and happy as our team focused on the health, safety and wellbeing of the people in our care.

Thank you for your support of the City of Ballarat’s Be Kind initiative. With so many people in Ballarat feeling anxious and isolated in the face of the COVID-19, the Be Kind initiative was designed to help lighten the impact of the pandemic.

You’ve demonstrated how kindness to ourselves and each other is something we all need right now, and your efforts to help the community with your portraits of Bupa Aged Care Home residents has no doubt brought a smile to many local people. 

I am incredibly proud of all Ashurst volunteers and the spirit in which they have contributed to our Pro Bono practice and Social Impact programme throughout 2020. This year has been devastating for many but especially for communities who were already facing years of marginalisation and disadvantage. By dedicating and applying our legal and non-legal skills, Ashurst employees have been able to support those most in need during a difficult period. I commend the work of our Pro Bono and Social Impact team for leading us in this work.

Ashurst's support through its LRP during COVID-19 has been invaluable. We see first-hand the impact systemic failures have on marginalised individuals and their families. Ashurst have allowed us to focus on supporting our clients through the pandemic by providing us with research and updates on the legislative and policy changes affected by COVID-19. The information we obtain is invaluable for us and remote community agencies to whom we share it.

Grateful for Ashurst's quick resource response for both NSWCLC and various impacted CLCs. Deployment of resources during crisis is critical for sustained community response.

Bendigo Bank has not been immune to the challenges of 2020. For our business though, our strong values have guided how we are leading through this period and, importantly, supporting our customers and communities in their time of need. To be meaningful, values must be matched by behaviour. The way our organisation and people responded to the Black Summer bushfires demonstrates our dedication to going above and beyond for our customers and communities. The significant impact our appeal has had in bushfire-affected communities is directly attributable to the energy, responsiveness and dedication of our people. I wholly endorse this application.

Windermere Child and Family Services is an independent community service organisation who co-ordinated the distribution of housing relief payments to Victorians on behalf of the appeal. Funds helped secure accommodation and replace household and personal items lost to the fires.

Dr Lynette Buoy, CEO Windermere Child and Family Services, said the provision of funds provided much needed relief and reduced instances of financial hardship.

“We sincerely thank all Victorians who donated so generously to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal over the last number of months. Without this support, hundreds of Victorian households would be facing a very uncertain time. Our purpose - as an organisation - is to make a practical difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities,” Dr Buoy said.

Lara Tilbrook’s property and business, Bush Organics Kangaroo Island, sustained significant damage in last summer’s fires. Her 400 acres of high conservation heritage listed bushland was devastated by the fire with beehives, workshops, tools and irrigation systems all lost.

To assist with immediate recovery and to aid in rebuilding her business, Bush Organics received a generator funded by the National Bushfire Appeal.

This generator provided power to Lara’s off-the-grid home as well as to volunteers from local community organisations - Kangaroo Island Conservation Landowners Association (KICLA) and Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network (KIWLN) - who used Lara’s property as a base for supporting the conservation of habitat and wildlife impacted by the fires in western Kangaroo Island. With two-thirds of this area wiped out by fire, including Flinders Chase and Western River National Parks, KICLA and KIWLN volunteers worked to assess the damage caused, assemble nesting boxes for pygmy possums, birds and bats, and monitor wildlife affected.

As some of the last refuge areas for wildlife and threatened species in the west of the island, Lara and her neighbours have worked hard to restore infrastructure and preserve, protect and renew the biodiversity of their community, farms and natural heritage.

Since the fires, Albury Wodonga Regional Food Share (AWRFS) has experienced a sustained 40 per cent increase in demand for food. AWRFS Chair Simon Welsh said, ‘For many people, it’s the first time they’ve ever had to ask for help like this. For proud, hard-working people that can be really hard in itself.

‘Our great challenge is not just securing the volume of food needed, it’s making sure we get that food to everyone who needs it. We won’t leave anyone behind.

‘The grant from the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund will enable us to ensure our food supply and make it easier for people in need to access food and other essential items.’

AWRFS provided food for more than 2,500 people.

I just want to say a huge thank you for the enormous support you showed Scott during these fires and over the years. Not many companies are as generous as De Martin & Gasparini. Scott felt extremely guilty taking time off…He’d had only eight hours broken sleep over the four days but felt guilty for not being at work. [You] let him know he’d still be paid and to return once the job’s done (or words to that effect).
Words cannot express my gratitude for what you did for us. You took an exhausted firefighter off the roads and put him where he can help his community...Being the Captain of the Putty Rural Fire Brigade comes with great responsibilities during these times. Without a chain of command plus local knowledge of terrain and houses, the RFS would be at a loss. This puts great pressure on people like Scott as not many can replace them. They are torn between family, work and a long fire season. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
So when I say ‘Thank you from the bottom of my heart’, I hope you realise they are not just words.

During the bushfires of 2019/2020 in Australia Zoo, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital treated various fire-effected patients including koalas both from Queensland and Kangaroo Island. Ensuring the koalas had access to vital food sources during recovery was paramount and the hospital was thankful for the support of fodder harvested from the Boral Petrie Quarry plantation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Boral for supporting me and other volunteers like myself throughout this unprecedented fire situation. Without your ongoing and continuous support and emergency services leave, we would not have been able to do what we do, so thank you. I’m proud to say that I’m employed by Boral and Boral supports me.

I’m proud of our people, and their commitment to and passion for the communities where we operate.

They have demonstrated generous and selfless actions during the bushfires at the beginning of the year, and more recently, during the pandemic.

Their commitment illustrates what makes Boral special – resilience, community spirit, a focus on safety and a strong sense of teamwork.

Thank you to our Boral community for our combined efforts to remain connected, support each other and to continue to help our customers and communities build a better Australia.

In this unprecedented year, Bupa joined other businesses in providing leadership, assistance and support to our community as we managed through the COVID-19 crisis. There has never been a time in our history, when bringing our purpose of helping people live healthier, happy and longer lives has been so important. We had a specific focus on our aged care residents who were particularly vulnerable, our customers, our people and communities, together with governments and regulators leading the health and economic response to the pandemic. We intend to build upon all we have learned in 2020, to ensure Bupa continues to make a significant and meaningful contribution as we reset and rebuild our nation for the future.

"Bupa was very understanding earlier this year when I was stood down from my job due to coronavirus (I still am). I have appreciated Bupa extending financial relief on my membership fees for 3 months."

"When COVID hit and we were placed into lockdown, my job was made redundant. I phoned BUPA to try and put my payments on hold for a couple of months and to my absolute surprise, BUPA offered to cover my payments for 3 months. It was a wonderful surprise in a tough time and amazing customer services."

"I've been with Bupa for a long time, happy with the benefits, happy with the support during COVID i.e. pause on monthly repayments and complimentary 3 months access to Sam Wood program."

"When I was struggling to pay my health cover during COVID they gave me six weeks grace to get on my feet."

"Bupa was responsive to their members' needs in the current COVID-19 world/lockdown restrictions when they provided a free 3 month subscription to Sam Wood's 28 program. This was an appreciated proactive measure."

"I've been with Bupa for over 20 years non-stop and they have been quite helpful during these challenging times of COVID. Their staff are always really helpful and explain things really well, that's why I stayed with them all these years."

Without doubt, communities and government organisations did an outstanding job supporting one another during the bushfire crisis. In our case we were able to provide immediate help to our customers and communities with our teams going above and beyond their day job to provide practical support on the ground. We were able to donate water to impacted customers and communities without sufficient drinking water, as well as Powerade, Coca-Cola and water for firefighters. We also supported our employees to assist the firefighting and recovery efforts too and provided an ongoing support package for over 2000 of our impacted customers.

I was very proud of all our teams in Australia, their efforts and generosity, and how Coca-Cola Amatil truly came together to help those affected by the devastation of the fires during our busiest time of the year.

Coca Cola Amatil’s support - our rep, the delivery drivers and as a Company - was invaluable at a time when our Community was totally decimated by Bushfires. The deliveries continued, and we received an uninterrupted supply when we needed it most. Our rep Michelle rang asking where she could deliver free water, Powerade and juice to best help the Community - this was delivered to the evacuation center at Cobargo Showgrounds.

In Cobargo, the towns folk couldn’t leave, we had no power, roads were covered in debris, and we had no communications. There was very little water pressure, and it was contaminated with soot, leaves and other fire debris. The donated supply of Mount Franklin was invaluable as water was like hens teeth, and vital to our survival - many folk had no access to potable water.

The small things mattered - our rep ringing and checking on us regularly, this made us feel we weren’t alone. Suppliers like Amatil reaching out, offering anything to help, all added up and was so important to our community and our business - as we were one of the only businesses that were still open providing drinks for our town which was quite isolated.

People noticed that Coca-Cola Amatil supported us, this firmed up relationships locally. There was recently a Local luncheon with members regarding the bushfires - and Coca-Cola Amatil was mentioned as being a supplier of choice due to their local support.

The deferred payments assistance was also helpful. People were overwhelmed, and didn’t know where to turn for support, or even have the mental power to carry out the task. Assistance from people on the ground was important and reaffirmed our faith in humanity and the Australian spirit - Coca Cola was a big part of this, and we will be forever grateful for that support. 

I cannot begin to thank Coca-Cola Amatil enough for all the support and help they have offered us over the past six weeks, and to hear that there is even more help to come is extremely overwhelming. A huge fire ripped through our community, leaving us feeling devastated and isolated in our town for four weeks, and we truly appreciate you helping us with donated drink stock when everyone needed it most! The stock you gave us arrived via a black hawk helicopter, and then hand delivered by the army - a sight I will never forget! The Christmas trade makes up 90% of our yearly trade and losing that could mean that we won’t survive this year. However, with the help we have received from suppliers like Amatil and the generosity of the community, we know we will survive. It will be a tough year, but we will get through this!

Being there when we’re needed most is an essential part of what we stand for. This year I’ve been immensely proud of what CommBank has been doing to help.

Difficult times show the importance of our purpose – to improve the financial wellbeing of our customers and communities. Through the challenges 2020 has presented, our people have gone above and beyond to support our customers and the wider community.

We know our programs have had significant impacts on Australian communities and I fully endorse this submission. While it’s never about recognition, I’d love the team to be acknowledged for their efforts.

When the bushfires first started in September 2019, CommBank was the first corporate partner to engage with us to understand the impacts and explore how we might work together to respond and support impacted Australian communities. As the fires continued and public interest grew, in December 2019 CommBank activated its CanGive donation platform so customers could easily donate to Australian Red Cross and support bushfire impacted communities. This led the way for many other businesses and organisations to help. CommBank customers raised $2.9m and CommBank and their staff also supported, collectively contributing $4.1m to our response. We know CommBank works with us in solidarity. In January 2020 we met with bank managers, so that as local branches in affected bushfire communities they could help spread the word about the financial support that was available including grants for people whose homes were lost or damaged. One bank manager from Bateman’s Bay shared that they were with a customer when they heard the grants had increased from $5k to $10K and they both started to cry. We are grateful for CommBank’s help in explaining to customers how the funds have been used and the long journey of recovery for people and communities.

Despite membership quadrupling over the past three years, the Mallacoota Pony Club was in desperate need of financial support following the devastation of the 2019 / 2020 bushfires.

The previously thriving club lost its clubhouse, office, round yard, jumping area and cross country course, as well as the club’s holding yards, fencing, gates, maintenance tools and all horse-riding equipment.

After applying for a CommBank Bushfire Recovery Grant, the Club received $50,000 to rebuild and replace those vital clubhouse resources.
Cate Tregellas, Club Secretary, said:

“There are no words to describe how challenging these past few months have been, and the only thing that has got us through it is our wider community. The support we’ve received is what kept us going after the total devastation of our club and we’re incredibly grateful to those who helped us or simply offered a shoulder to cry on during these painful times.

“CommBank have been incredible. We’re not CommBank customers but they have been so supportive… Now we can look to the future with this $50,000. It will go a really long way in rescuing our club, bringing it back to life and open again once we’re past the coronavirus.”

The Sapphire Community Pantry in Bega is a volunteer pantry service offering free grocery staples to locals in need. Its services were stretched beyond their limits when the bushfires hit and in their aftermath, when local residents who had lost or been displaced from their homes and jobs needed extra support.

The service applied for and received a $50,000 grant to help fund better transport facilities to expand and improve community outreach capability.

Christine Welsh, Community Pantry President, said:

“Our Pantry works hard to provide food and groceries free of charge or at a minimum cost to those in need across the Bega Valley. After the bushfires, we identified a need to extend our services to some of the smaller locations in the area to assist people who have been reluctant to leave their communities – be it due to lack of transport, funds to travel, or trauma from recent events. This grant from CommBank will allow us to create a mobile pantry and transport food and goods to those areas that need our support most.”

COVID-19 has really shown me how well we come together through the toughest of times to help each other and those in need. All working towards one common goal, I am incredibly proud of how we have responded in supporting the broader community within which we operate. We really dug deep to evolve our service, stand up new production facilities and work as teams across sectors to come together and make it happen safely.

Without Compass Group helping us to keep alive, we would literally have to consider closing our doors and all of our staff becoming unemployed.

The entire food service sector is destroyed since the announcement of clubs, pubs, restaurants and cafes closing down and has left us facing if whether we could continue as a business.

This business has been established from the ground up some 15 years ago and works towards growing/training and providing employment opportunities for people from vulnerable groups in society such as people with a disability, Indigenous and/or older persons.

We have been devasted in the last three months with bushfires, flooding now COVID-19 and we didn't know how we were going to survive. Three weeks ago, we let three staff go and made one person redundant (sales person), we literally have no customers other than government orientated accounts which totals to 3.

With this business from Compass Group, we were able to keep 3 staff on a casual basis that has meant the world to those staff members and their families.

We live and work in a regional area that struggles with having enough employment for the population and low disposal income. We can continue to pay our bills and expenses such as utilities and debt to the ANZ bank without looking down the barrel of insolvency due to losing 70% of our customers.

Now with this Drinks project it has lifted the spirits of staff seeing stock coming into the warehouse. I'm thrilled that we are helping the Defence force as it has always led the way with inclusion and equality even if it wasn't the community standard of the times. I say a well and truly heartfelt thanks,

I don’t know how to thank you, Defence and Foodbuy enough for keeping a SME alive during these times of crisis, if there is anything I or my team can do please let me know.

Continental Patisserie Australia has been providing our premium desserts to Hotels, Event Venues, RSL Clubs, Function Centres and Catering groups like Compass Groups since 1984. We have always taken great pride in producing the best possible quality products at the best possible price to ensure all our clients maintain a high standard and a consistent product.

From our humble beginnings of a small factory unit in Oxford falls with 5 full time staff to our current 3000sq metre facility with 72 Full time and casual staff, we have always maintained our integrity and put a huge emphasis on keeping our “family business” mentality and attitude toward all our staff. Over the years we have had low staff turnover and many of our staff are celebrating their 25, 20 & 15 year anniversaries with the business and with some of our staff including myself (17 years) our whole working career has been with continental Patisserie Australia.

We have always seen a steady growth with our business over the years which has allowed us to grow and expand our reach over the whole of Australia even though we have seen our tough times over the years we have always pulled through and come out stronger on the other side. Having said that, the current COVID-19 crisis is nothing like we have ever faced before with a 95% drop to our turnover in the space of a week. This crisis forced us to stand down all of our staff which took effect as of Monday 30th March 2020. With the lifeline that was given to us by Compass Group to supply the Defence Force we have been able to keep 16 staff (25%) on for now with the possibility to take on more in the coming weeks.
The fear we were facing with this crisis was that with next to no turnover our overheads would continue to build up putting the business deeper into financial stress and leading to the risk that we may not be able to sustain the business over the next unknown period of time till things return to normal which would result in our business closing for good.

Now with your help, we are able to keep our business afloat and guarantee that we can keep some staff employed now and ensure the business is still around to re hire more staff as things return to normal.

Myself, our Managing Director and all the staff at Continental Patisserie cannot express enough our gratitude to Compass Group for this opportunity that has saved our business.

We have been strategic with which staff we have been able to roster back on most importantly we have brought back key staff to ensure business runs as usual and secondly staff that have no entitlements outstanding which means they would have been in a position where they would be making no income at all. We have 2 staff members who have recently returned to full time duties after an extended period of leave due to major health issues who in that time have used all possible entitlements and would now be in a very uncomfortable financial situation, these are the people that we have been able to roster back on and who’s lives will have a very positive impact.

Again, from Myself and the Team at Continental Patisserie we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the entire team at Compass Group for your continued support over the years and in this very difficult time.

I wanted to send an email today to say a massive thank you to the team over at Compass Group for their support during this COVID-19 period. Our bakery, Wildflour has been able to produce and supply a large volume of daily slices and treats to numerous Defence bases around the ACT via Compass Group contracts. These daily orders have enabled both Espresso Room and Wildflour staff to stay attached the businesses on a more regular basis and has helped the turnover of the bakery! This in turn has helped ease concerns staff may have had about employment and the wholesale team staying busy during this time. It is also very positive for our suppliers of products such as local egg farmers and wholesalers because it creates a domino effect for everyone involved.

The ordering and systems Compass have in place has been fast and effective and dealing with their senior team members Joanne Hooper and Yvonne Atkinson has been a pleasure.

On behalf of all of my team, I would like to say big thank you to the Department Of Defence for referring us to Compass Group and for your business and support. We hope your customers and staff are enjoying the products we have been sending out to you each day and hope to keep a connected and strong relationship into the future.

I would like to thank Compass Group for their continued support. Each year Compass support us to help feed those in need. And this year, the donation of 1,500 Essential Boxes was greatly appreciated during a time where food donation across the country decreased yet more people needed support.

One sign of the strength of Jennifer’s determination is that when Tim had asked Jennifer how she was and if she was safe, her first instinct was not to answer about her own wellbeing, but to focus on the help she was trying to give to others. We think this is a testament to her character and determination to be someone not just with a big heart, but someone able to take practical action to find solutions to support those in need.

EnergyAustralia is very proud to have Jennifer as a customer and we are happy that, thanks to Tim, we were able to identify someone who truly deserves a Big Heart Award.

Jennifer’s story is a wonderful example of the community spirit in Northern Tablelands and shows just what is possible when we come together to support each other in times of need. I’m hugely grateful to all the amazing people who responded so bravely and brilliantly in our time of need last summer when the fires caused so much devastation. Jennifer’s first thought was not for herself or her business but to provide food and shelter to people who had suffered the devastating tragedy of losing their homes. I fully support her nomination by EnergyAustralia for this award. We will never forget all those affected by the tragedies of the bush fires and we mourn those whose lives were lost.

I could not be prouder of the EnergyAustralia team. The massive commitment and efforts made by everyone, not only to keep services operating but also to help so many people and communities facing disaster, was extraordinary.

At a time when Australians were already facing difficulties the whole company came together, I saw all of our company values put into action - doing the right thing; making customers our top priority and leading change. In doing that, I hope we were able to make an impact and support the communities we are proud to service at a time of need.

To our wonderful friends at EnergyAustralia thank you so much for your support through the bushfires. Your donation helped provide the equivalent of 97,989 meals going to families in need, just shy of 100,000!

As part of our immediate response Foodbank Victoria worked tirelessly alongside Red Cross and the Australian Army to get thousands of hampers out to the families that had been devastated by the events that unfolded. Since then, we have continued to provide food to our charity partners through the region and have distributed more than 126,000 kilos of food. We know our role in supporting those affected by the fires is far from over and we are in it for the long haul.

Funds raised towards the Bushfires have been invested in a 3-year recovery program developed to support the communities impacted by the bushfires.

This includes but not limited to:

• Regular delivery of ambient stock and newly implemented purchased fresh food program to the regions.
• Developing a hamper program that includes food education; providing recipe cards & nutritional information together with the produce.
• We are scheduling regular Farms to Families markets in the region at Bairnsdale & Lakes Entrance.
• We are also planning a large community event to encourage people from all around Victoria to come and visit East Gippsland region, to give back to community and provide a boost to the local economy.

We cannot thank you enough for your continued support. None of this would have been possible without you. Stepping up at a time that we needed you most to support families across the state shows your dedication to the cause and we are forever grateful.

Historically, we endure a wild bush fire every 8 to 10 years. It is very difficult to evacuate and leave as this can induce life threatening stress to the animals. We have always stayed and despite being on town water, we have found that we cannot rely on having water when we need it the most, as was the case in the December bushfires.

With thanks to EnergyAustralia and BLN Transport, these tanks will help secure a future for the wildlife in both dry climatic conditions and any future threats from bushfires.

This year we’re recognising 20-years of Infosys in Australia, and while we couldn’t celebrate in a traditional sense, reflecting on the past 12 months, we’ve had some silver linings through giving back to our community in Australia. Learning is part of our DNA at Infosys and enabling pathways to learn for our community given the disruptions caused by the pandemic in many ways has been the best way to celebrate an important milestone of our journey in the region. Re-imagining our existing programs, while conceptualising and executing on new ones, required a tremendous cross-functional effort by our teams and partners

In comparison to the frenetic nature of much of our lives this year, Infosys' internship program was grounded, engaging and personal. Experiencing the Infosys culture remotely, I felt nurtured and capable while aboard the internship program, and so I gladly celebrate the news of Infosys' continuing involvement in the New Colombo Plan Scholarship.

Infosys support of GovHack as the lead international sponsor enabled us to run the first ever fully virtual GovHack for participants across Australia and New Zealand. This year we had to adapt the model of GovHack due the exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic. The digital tools provided by Infosys including Infosys Wingspan and Infosys NIA along with guidance from mentors allowed participants to leverage the learning tools and resources at GovHack 2020 and beyond

We're looking forward to continuing our relationship with Infosys and being able to offer world-class mentoring opportunities to students everywhere. The Infosys Summer of Ideas program will offer students a global collaborative learning experience which will give them an advantage on a world stage. Our Faculty is committed to the use of information technology for social good and we are glad to be able to use this platform to amplify this mission in partnership with Infosys, during what is a difficult time worldwide

This year, we have been able to accomplish far more than we originally thought possible, thanks to the commitment of our exceptional employees.

At all times, but perhaps during the pandemic more than ever, we realised the significance of our role to support our colleagues and the community. We all have a common goal, which is to help rebuild a more inclusive economy that creates access to opportunity for far more people, especially the most vulnerable in our community.

I am proud of the collective efforts of J.P. Morgan employees and our firm, and wholeheartedly support this nomination.

Since June, we have been working with the City of Sydney to provide cooked meals for their Home Delivery Service. Some of the meals our drivers collect from J.P. Morgan go to this program. The Home Delivery Service was developed to ensure those who were unable to access food through other avenues, due to health issues, financial reasons, and accessibility reasons, that these individuals and families were not forgotten.

To date this small but meaningful program has supported 73 households and delivered over 10,000 OzHarvest cooked meals.

“Phillip* lives in social housing with his elderly father. They struggle financially and have limited cooking skills. Prior to Covid-19 they would often rely on cheap fast food options.”

“Mark* is an Aboriginal elder who has a lung condition. He is currently awaiting a lung transplant and is fearful to go outside during the current health pandemic. He tells us that the program has allowed him to safely isolate at home during this time will still having access to food”.

“Lisa* is a single mum with two children. She lost her part-time job in the pandemic.  She accessed the program to help feed her family during a time of crisis..”

ABCN’s mission is to support disadvantaged young people to thrive in the future world of work, and we do this through workplace mentoring with business volunteers. J.P. Morgan has been an outstanding member of ABCN for over 14 years, almost from our inception, with hundreds of their staff mentoring thousands of students throughout this partnership. As well as supporting our core programs, J.P. Morgan has supported us to innovate, particularly in supporting young people with reduced options into employment post-school, and helped ABCN develop its own organizational capacity. 

In 2020, J.P. Morgan has adapted its support to meet the needs of our students in such a difficult year. J.P. Morgan’s staff, including its most senior leadership, have continued to mentor the disadvantaged students we work with, adapting to the digital environment. Appreciating the vital role of technology at this time and the widening digital-divide, J.P. Morgan is supporting our students with over 120 laptops and desktops. They are taking an active role in creating non-traditional pathways for young people through their Traineeship program, and we are delighted that J.P. Morgan has worked with us and Talent Rise to employ a disadvantaged young person in their team.  

Hatch is an Australian startup that matches university students to jobs. At the start of Covid-19, we saw an opportunity to rapidly redeploy stood down workers within Australian employers using our matching technology, based on their transferable skills.

I mentioned the idea to Warren Davis from J.P. Morgan, one of our customers, and immediately he and the firm sprung to action activating their network. Within a week over 50 Australian employers had joined the Covid-19 Hatch Exchange from Qantas to Country Road Group to Marriot Group, representing 100k+ stood down workers. A week later we had already redeployed the first 150 workers.

The support from J.P. Morgan was breathtaking. They saw the opportunity to help impacted workers and brought countless ASX100 Directors and CEOs and Government leaders to the initiative, asking for no media recognition.

I recall one early April Saturday where Warren and I spoke more than ten times, coordinating the business community. I kept thanking him, and he kept saying no thanks it’s just the right thing to do.

To date, over 1,500 stood-down workers have been placed in new jobs they wouldn’t have accessed. Like a Virgin Airline pilot who within days was managing a Government contact centre. 

Our ability to provide an economic lifeline to the many Australians affected by Covid-19 was only possible because of the altruistic vision and speed role of the J.P. Morgan team.

I’m incredibly proud of the teams across Jemena who rallied together to go above and beyond to support our customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many businesses, Jemena has faced new challenges in 2020 that required us to make changes to how we operate. During these uncertain times we have continued to be driven by our core value of Customer Focus with the knowledge that we can and should make a difference to the lives of our customers at a time when they need it most.

Jemena gave three weeks’ prior notice of the power outage via post. Then they called a number of days prior and also sent out another letter to remind people of the expected outage listing the date and expected outage times.

On the day Jemena turned off the power at the time they said they would and then turned it on 30 minutes prior to the expected time. They even sent a text message afterwards to provide notice that the power has been turned on. All in all, Jemena cannot be faulted and should be widely applauded for the business practices they have implemented.

Obviously they replace power lines and do this sort of thing every day so the amount of communication to just one household, let alone the thousands that they would contact every week has been tremendous. Jemena and all of its employees should be extremely proud for the outstanding business they are a part of and have helped become.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic Jemena engaged with Vinnies Victoria as part of our ongoing partnership for input and feedback on the best way Jemena could help community members in the Jemena Electricity Network during these challenging times. They listened to our feedback on how to communicate with vulnerable members of the community and were open to trying new ideas to better support the community.

The need for education assistance became a priority for families who faced challenges home-schooling their children when schools closed across Victoria. One of the ways they made an important and tangible difference was by donating more than 100 recycled laptops. One great example of how this support provided immediate and tangible assistance was when two of these laptops were donated to a family with three young girls who had all been using their mum’s phone to access their online learning. If it wasn’t for this donation, we wouldn’t have been able to provide the laptops and – together -  we’ve been able to assist them to continue their education.  

We had worked closely with Jemena prior to COVID-19 and will continue to work together to support our community in 2021.

Through Uniting’s community partnership with Jemena, and more specifically the Power Changers Community Connections Program, together, we’ve been able to make a difference in the lives of 200+ people struggling to understand and/or afford basic life necessities like energy. An example of that is Client A.

Referred by a friend who’d previously been through the program, Client A was elderly, from a non-English speaking background and struggling to balance new caring duties, ongoing family issues and high household bills, all while on a pension. This resulted in them falling behind on their energy accounts for the first time in their lives. Through the program, we were able to help Client A (‘in language’) access available hardship support, learn advice to save on energy use while staying comfortable in the home, and also connect to broader social services. Their feedback “I can’t believe how much help I have received just by making one phone call. I was really struggling before and now I am grateful of the help”.

As a community services organisation, we are so proud to work with partners who are dedicated to changing their core business practices to focus not only on the financial, but physical and mental wellbeing of people across our communities.

La Trobe Financial was formed in 1952 on the fundamental principle of putting “others before self.” For seven decades, we have lived this principle in all of our dealings with staff, customers and the community.

Our impact over this period has been considerable. We have assisted 180,000 Australians achieve financial independence and have generated $80 billion in economic activity. We have created meaningful employment for the thousands of staff who have served our customers with us.

Now, more than ever, La Trobe Financial and the La Trobe Financial Foundation are leaning in to help the most vulnerable in our community.

At the outbreak of COVID-19 La Trobe Financial immediately responded with a $1 million donation to support Epworth HealthCare's rapid response, which was focused on caring for COVID patients, supporting community care and ensuring the safety of our staff. The generosity of La Trobe Financial supported the purchase of a range of medical equipment and the training of staff so that the Epworth Team were ready to respond to the pandemic and care for the Victorian community. 

Equipment purchased included the Australian made Cleanspace Halo personal respirators, which were made to provide critical care for staff in the Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments. These masks have since been tested in our COVID wards and operating theatres. The battery operated and reusable personal respirators provide safety to our critical care staff whilst preserving Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

La Trobe Financial underpinned Epworth's swift and effective response to COVID and was a critical part of caring for our patients.

Australian Red Cross would like to express our sincere gratitude towards La Trobe Financial for their generous support of our response to the devastating Australian bushfires. We are humbled by the goodwill and giving spirit that surrounds those affected by the fires. Thanks to all of the generous supporters like La Trobe Financial, Red Cross was able to support Australian communities with critical immediate and long-term support. Since September 2019 Red Cross has supported over 49,000 people, through 37 fires, across 5 states and territories and at 176 evacuation, relief and recovery centres. There will be many challenges still to face and Red Cross is committed to being there to support the communities on their long recovery journey.

The 2019/2020 Bushfires had a devastating impact on thousands of Australians who are still on a journey to recovery. People like Kaye*, a Blue Mountains resident who barely escaped the flames, has received much-needed financial support to help her on the road to recovery.

While Kaye was relieved to discover roof-sprinklers had saved her home, she was disheartened to learn her insurance wouldn’t cover the essential work needed to make her property livable again. “It was absolutely devastating”, Kaye shared.

The Salvation Army worked closely with Kaye and provided her with the financial assistance she needed. “I’ve never asked for hand-outs, I just struggle through by myself, I always have … but this time I was in over my head. To receive the assistance I did, was a tremendous relief.”

Because of La Trobe Financial’s support and generosity, many others, like Kaye, received the support they needed to restore their lives.

“I want to extend a heart-felt thank you to the team at La Trobe Financial Services for their generous contribution of $500,000 to our 2019/2020 Disaster Appeal. We are truly grateful we were able to stand together, side-by-side, to give hope and respond to this national crisis in such a meaningful way.” Major Bruce Harmer, Head of Public Relations, The Salvation Army.

*For privacy purposes, the name of the beneficiary has been changed.

In less than two years, FutureSteps (FS) has provided significant financial and in-kind support to established NFPs in Australia enabling them to provide much needed shelter and support to people at risk of homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen FS deliberately support NFPs which support women at risk of domestic violence. The success of FS is testament to the broader contribution large companies like Lendlease can make to the community. I am very proud we have been able to leverage our capability to support our most vulnerable Australians.

Spending time with these students is like looking at my own kids. It is comforting to know there is a safe place for them to go and be supported. I really am looking forward to helping with this program.

I really like to help young people because I like to see them when they can achieve things, do things on their own and be able to go out in to the community feeling confident.

This year has been a difficult one for our organisation which has experienced an increase in the need for all the services we provide. Since February there has been a 51% increase in Domestic Violence impacted young people requiring our services and a 101% increase in mental health issues and the work carried out by Lendlease partners goes a long way in helping vulnerable young people.

The significance of building a transitional home for women and their children cannot be underestimated. It has a far-reaching positive impact, way into the future and supports many families. When families arrive at our refuge they are often extremely frightened, experiencing post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. Its takes time for them to believe they are safe and can move forward to rebuild their lives again. If not for refuge and the ability for yourtown to move families on into a transitional house, many could become homeless or return to the perpetrator. For a family to thrive it is critically important they are able to move on in a local community where they can be supported by refuge staff to continue rebuilding their future. A transitional house it not just bricks and mortar, it is a home, and a safe place they may have never had before. It is a place where they are in control and independent to create a safe and happy future for themselves and their children.

Innovative strategic pivots like this are only possible if the team feels genuine passion for our vision and purpose. We asked our colleagues to go above and beyond, learn new skills and keep Australia connected when our customers needed it most – and they did.

Optus has taken a long-term view, putting people first in all our decisions we so we can emerge from the pandemic stronger. We are optimistic that our customers and our teams will benefit from the changes we have made and the learnings we have absorbed as we strive to delight customers and keep them connected.

“I rung up with a bit of financial distress due to COVIDrestricting my work and my issues were all alleviated.”

“The agent listened to my circumstance and found a solution for me in COVID times, enabling me to continue remote working with now additional costs, while my plan kicks over next week. Unexpected and refreshing service. It had made me more interested in remaining with optus, evidence that they will” 

“Amazing service even through Covid-19 and being inundated with calls and queries!!”

“A very understanding response to the financial hardship our family has encountered due to COVID-19.”

I am delighted to endorse this nomination, recognising the extraordinary efforts of Origin volunteer Mark Bernhardt and the incredible power of the Origin Energy Foundation and our employee volunteering program to make a difference to our people and the community organisations they support.

Mark lives the Origin values and is an inspiration not only to those he mentors, but also to his colleagues. I congratulate him on his upcoming 50th MyRoad mentoring sessions and commend him for his steadfast commitment to volunteering and the young people whose lives he wants to better.

Mark Bernhardt joined as a Beacon Foundation MyRoad mentor in March of 2017.

In every MyRoad session Mark is always excited, energetic, and enthusiastic about speaking with the students, sharing the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead for them and his experience about what has enabled him to excel in his career, from the importance of communication and respect right down to having the right attitude in the workplace.

The students love engaging with Mark and are always interested to hear about his career journey and how it relates to where they are now. He gives great tips and advice that helps make students feel more confident and comfortable about this transitional time in their lives. He uses props including his 40kg dog Gypsy as well as the history of the bicycle to engage students and get them engaged and thinking about career pathways they may not have thought about.

Amazingly, Mark always encourages and supports fellow mentors in the “greenroom” at the start of MyRoad sessions, always sharing a joke and lightening the mood to put other mentors at ease when they are nervous, especially for those first time mentors!  

We would be lost without Mark’s contribution to our programs.

I am immensely proud to endorse this nomination, celebrating the determination of the Origin Energy Foundation to support our community partners, and the enthusiasm of our employee volunteers to give back, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19.

This year the Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary. The innovation and commitment shown by the Foundation and our people in responding to the events of 2020 is a fitting tribute to their collective achievement over the past 10 years and a demonstration of how we strive every day to deliver on our purpose of getting energy right for our customers, communities and planet.

We are incredibly appreciative of the support from Origin staff who worked with us to deliver a new service, COVID Connect which enabled us to connect with thousands of people negatively impacted by Covid-19. Your contribution enabled us to make over 8,500 calls to support vulnerable people who were battling social isolation and loneliness. Origin volunteers offered people the opportunity to have a connection with their community and reduced their stress by giving them a normal pattern of social interaction. Together, we lead with compassion, humanity and courage. Our work together in COVID Connect called for leadership and adaptation and the enthusiasm and commitment from Origin staff meant that we were able to make a real difference in the lives of so many Australians when they really needed it. It was a privilege to share this humanitarian journey with the team at Origin.

The young women in STEM event held earlier this year at Chinchilla State High School was an inspirational event for the young women in our school, and other schools across the region. The event had guest speakers present in our school and those who could not be present were stream via zoom. This whole event was streamed to another eight schools. The guest speakers spoke of their STEM-based subjects. We imagined that the students might find the event interesting and that they might learn about new careers in STEM, but we never envisaged how they would be networking with the guest speakers or how it would influence their future career choices Students spoke with wild enthusiasm of the event for weeks following.

I strongly support the continuation of the event into the future. Young women in STEM is a meaningful event with long-term benefits for the young women in State schools, who do not live in metropolitan areas where access to quality guest speakers is readily available. I believe, because of the event in 2020, that this event will lead more young women to choose STEM-based careers into the future.

Our partnership with Origin Energy has put simply, been incredible. When COVID-19 hit, the SolarBuddy team saw a huge decrease in donations due to the fact schools were closed and events were no longer happening.

It was a scary time for us. But after one conversation with the team at Origin, we came up with a solution to still enable Origin staff to engage with us and also students.

We created the new ‘FamilyPack’ program where Origin staff families were able to assemble lights together at home and have the opportunity to volunteer and learn remotely.

This really gave us oxygen over such a difficult time.

We were still able our fulfil our purpose, by supporting children living in energy poverty who were also struggling themselves from the impact of COVID-19.

As our partnership develops, we are constantly innovating and coming up with ways we can support each other. We are so grateful for the constant support and passion from everyone at Origin.

We can’t wait to continue to positively impact the lives of children all over the world, creating brighter futures for them all.  

Regardless of the challenges, as a business this was not a year to hold back, but one to lean in, with arms wide open.

With so many people experiencing extreme hardship and uncertainty in the midst of the bushfires and then COVID, we were compelled to do everything in our power to aid communities across the country.

We are fortunate to have highly engaged owners like TPG contributing with a worldwide fundraising drive adding $120,000 to our contribution.

It’s been a rough ride, but never has a year in business felt so rewarding, being able to give back as much as we have.

I was headed to the burnt-out south coast in January to help distribute much needed pet food and supplies. 

Petbarn literally opened the South Strathfield store and I was told to take what I need, no questions asked. 

I loaded a truck with pallets and pallets of lifesaving food and medicine and donated it to the Bega community. This level of support from Petbarn was critical in helping the RSPCA NSW provide assistance at scale, to pet owners who had lost everything during the time of the bushfires.

Not only do Petbarn support during times of crisis but they have been helping us find thousands of cats and dogs’ homes through their instore adoption program for many years. We are truly grateful for their incredible support.

Kev and I have been volunteering wildlife rehabilitators for 20+ years.

It has been extremely difficult with the bushfires and price of formula and feed has risen due to COVID19. We have never asked or received assistance in the time we have been doing it and it was very humbling to be nominated for Petbarn Act of Kindness.

We had always said that if we could not care and feed the kids properly, then we would stop or at least back off. We were honestly at that point. 

Your donation gave us breathing space. You helped us save our kids in care. You gave us hope.

When the fires first hit, ARC reached out to Petbarn to help our rescuers in bushfire zones.

Straight away Petbarn donated 50 tonnes of food and supplies. It was a massive undertaking but within days we were able to get food into the mouths of animals.

And then COVID started… we had people fleeing from domestic violence, experiencing homelessness and literally thousands of Australians who were struggling financially and unable to care for their pets. Again and again Petbarn continued their generosity to helping us deliver positive outcomes to people and pets in need. We are incredibly grateful to Petbarn, their team and customers for all the help they have given the rescue community and the animals of Australia.

As the national carrier, the emergency repatriation flights out of Wuhan and Tokyo, and our bushfire relief efforts, are something we were proud to do for Australia, and I am delighted to endorse Qantas’ application for the Big Impact Award.

This year has been the most difficult year in Qantas’ 100-year history. Despite these extraordinary circumstances, our people have shown incredible resilience and unfettered commitment to answering the call for help.

As a CEO in 2020 I have never been more challenged but I have also never been more hopeful. Hopeful because of the commitment and spirit I have seen from our people and customers to support each other.

Never have our values as a company been more important than when we were faced with the impact of drought, bushfires and Covid-19 on lives, livelihoods and our communities. 

We’ve always believed that businesses have a responsibility to give back and 2020 has solidified that belief. I am incredibly proud of the work our team has done.

This year has demonstrated just how important it is for big business to be connected to the communities they operate in.

After 12 months of bushfires, floods, pandemics, isolation and economic hardship, we have a responsibility to give back and support the towns and cities around the country that are finally finding their feet again.

At Stockland, our purpose is that ‘we believe there is a better way to live’. Our mantra, our work and ultimately our responsibility is linked to the health of the communities we create and the people who live in them.

I’m proud to endorse this submission, knowing the contributions we’ve made to the lives of thousands of Australians this year.

This is more than our responsibility, it’s something we believe in and is core to our success.

Stockland Nowra stayed open to assist travellers and local Shoalhaven customers who were trapped because of road closures. On New Year’s Eve over 40 people sought refuge there from the fires, including local resident Perry Tsang and his family.

“Penelope and her team of security guards kept the doors open for us, lifted and shifted centre couches around, and even came around with supplies of water/fruit/snacks. We are truly thankful for the goodness in humanity during the crisis.”

Stockland directed $100,000 to the NSWFA’s Bushfire Appeal Fund, which was given as $3,000 grants to three hundred and fifty-seven farming enterprises across thirty-four regional areas in NSW. Eurobodella – Beekeeping and Honey Production was one such recipient

 “We lost our home along with all our honey production sheds, machinery and all equipment needed for our business. We have been unable to produce any honey as the fires also took out most of our forestry. We have been slowly trying to rebuild our lives and business, but are struggling....

“We have purchased a couple of shipping containers and converted them into a packing shed and extracting shed. We have also connected power and have water now. We are purchasing new equipment needed for getting our beekeeping and honey production up and going."

With a blazing backdrop of fire impacting Australian communities over the 2019/20 summer, tragic east coast bushfires tore through communities, razing homes, destroying farmland and wiping out countless livestock and wildlife. Bushfires live long in the memory and legacies of such a disaster lingers on. For Stramit, many were impacted by the all too imaginable events and felt the lonely helplessness faced with such real adversity. There was, however another legacy, that of unifying purpose, the power of common good and ultimately the return of 'we'.

Mallacoota Pony Club President, Stephanie Mew said that the club lost their club facilities on New Years’ Eve in 2019 during one of Australia’s most devastating fire events in Victoria’s Gippsland region.

“We lost everything – we’ve had to re-build our club with the strong support of organisations like Stramit, Fair Dinkum Sheds and Riviera Barns and Garages (our local Fair Dinkum Sheds Distributor).

“Mallacoota is a small community of about 800 people, so when a club like ours is affected like this, it hurts so many – our members range from 3 years old to those in their 60’s.

“Our new 9 metre by 9 metre shed from Stramit and Fair Dinkum Sheds means that our members will now have a clubhouse again, plus a place to store materials and equipment.

“Our club has been around for about 30 years, so we’re ecstatic that we can stay open for our members after the fires,” she said.
National Franchise and Distributor Manager Mark Cash said that the initiative was in full swing and the first sheds were now rolling off the trucks.

“We feel like we’re making a real difference to local communities, after those terrible bushfires.

“So far, we’ve committed nearly $200,000 in the value of the sheds, as well as time into engineering the sheds specifically to these sites so they meet our usual high standards and building codes.

“The sheds range in size and have been dispatched from Stramit’s Knoxfield (VIC), Queanbeyan
(NSW), Erskine Park (NSW) and Coffs Harbour (NSW) branches.

“We haven’t done this alone – we’d like to personally thank our project partners Bluescope®, Selection Steel®, Larnec Doors, Bremeck, Stoddarts, freight partners JWL and local FDS distributors for their valued support,” he said.

The initiative is part of Stramit’s Communities First initiative, which has involved a raft of fundraising initiatives including staff leave arrangements to support personal volunteering efforts and a new 1% levy so customers could contribute funds to the Red Cross National Bushfire Appeal.

On behalf of Sydney Airport, I am pleased to endorse our entry into the 2020 BCA ‘Biggies’ Awards. I am incredibly proud of the conduct and actions of the Sydney Airport team in an extremely challenging year.

While there are many aspects to our submission, it is best captured by the testimonial from Superintendent Andy Holland, Commander, South Sydney Police Area Command:

“I would go as far to say that the work put in by the Sydney Airport has been instrumental in restricting and reducing the transmission of the COVID-19 spread across NSW.”

Our relationship with Sydney Airport is a long-standing– over 15 years we have built a portfolio of five Amcal stores across the Airport. But you never know the strength of your relationships until they are tested. Sydney Airport’s behaviour over the last 9 months proved that this is a genuine, two-way partnership.

When the travel bans started all of the tenants at the Airport were worried. The relief when Sydney Airport called to say they were deferring our rent was incredible. We then got a follow-up letter to say that, as a long-term retail partner, our rent would be waived to allow us to get through the crisis. This not only gave us the hope we would survive, but assurance that we would survive.

Sydney Airport have also helped in other ways and made it as easy for us as possible to trade through the period. They helped us with rolling out measures in our stores to keep customers safe. They deployed additional signs and wayfinding in the airport to reassure travellers we were open.

I highly commend Sydney Airport for the way they have treated their tenants through this crisis and support them wholeheartedly in the award submission.  

Sydney Airport gave both our franchisees 100% rental abatements. One of our franchisees actually got quite emotional during the conversation because they were so relieved.

Sydney Airport have been head and shoulders in front of other landlords in terms of the way they have engaged with and supported small businesses and franchisees over the last 9 months. In our case it’s been the difference between two businesses being able to keep operating or not.

Not only have they given rent abatements, but they are also working really closely with us on marketing and promotions to relaunch now that borders are opening – I feel like they have our back.

I can’t speak highly enough of the collegiate and collaborative approach that they have taken over the past 9 months. The truly understand that we are all in this crisis together and the best approach is to share the pain and make sure we all get through to the other side.

The New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) and Sydney Airport have always had a strong affinity given the potential for an emergency management situation. The impact of COVID-19 only served to reaffirm and strengthen this bond to a point where I believe that there isn’t a challenge which cannot be achieved or overcome given the trust which has been built during this crisis.

When the first overseas passengers returned and were to be quarantined, it was Sydney Airport Management who assisted me in facilitating meetings between all stakeholders. Within 24 hours we developed processes which were flexible, yet rigid enough to protect the Australian community from what was then an unknown threat. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the Sydney Airport Team who went out of their way to ensure that every request was completed without question. I watched as we transformed a functioning airport facility into a maze of channels, segregated areas, medical check points, cross-checking zones and finally a passenger bus loading area ensuring not a single person moved through the airport without being accounted for.

I would go as far to say that the work put in by the Sydney Airport has been instrumental restricting and reducing the transmission of the COVID-19 spread across NSW.

I’m extremely proud of Tabcorp’s history of giving back to the community. We take responsibility for the role we play in communities and we’re committed to making a positive impact, especially during times of hardship.

Not only has Tabcorp donated significant funds to many good causes this year, our people have also contributed through donations and volunteering, all of which we support through dollar-matching and volunteer leave.

Giving back has always been an important part of our organisation. We’re proud to be a part of a business community which meaningfully helps the communities it operates in and builds a stronger Australia.

Through Play For Purpose Love Your Sister has raised over $620K to fight cancer. They provide us with a free fundraising platform and awesome prizes, and we have been thrilled that so many of our supporters have won.  

The team at Play For Purpose are genuinely committed to helping us fundraise to fight cancer and we’re very grateful for the support. 

Tabcorp have been long time supporters of Rural Aid. The relationship commenced with the Buy a Bale campaign and Tabcorp have helped provide financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood and fire. Tabcorp have been regular partners with Rural Aid on initiatives to support the vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded, ensuring their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. 

Rural Aid was thrilled to announce recently that Tabcorp will be supporting Rural Aid’s major fundraising effort in 2020; the “Good Onya Mate concert” through a dollar-matching campaign from the concert event on 28 November right up until Christmas Day. Additionally, Tabcorp have also been providing expertise from their Play for Purpose team to boost Rural Aid’s revenue from this lottery program to further drive fundraising efforts to support Aussie farmers. 

We sincerely appreciate Tabcorp’s ongoing support for Rural Aid and rural recovery. 

In the midst of the pandemic, TCS' Secure Borderless WorkSpaces framework enabled Australian organisations to maintain critical services and take full advantage of their talent ecosystem. healthcare, energy, banking, and other services were maintained, directly benefiting more than 40% of Australians.

SBWS is a vision for the future of work: Any place. Any time. On any device in a secure and flexible manner. And more importantly, borderless. Meaning talent can be anywhere in the world.

I am proud of the contribution and widespread impact TCS has made in helping Australian business amidst COVID-19.

On behalf of the AMP Australia Client Services Leadership Team I would like to sincerely thank you and our TCS team for an amazing job over the last nine weeks, particularly since the first curfews in India. In particular:

• Mobilising over 500 staff to work remotely for the first time
• Design and testing of technology solutions to facilitate remote working
• Dealing with local government, police and logistics to deliver equipment
• Co-ordinating overtime and longer work hours to tackle backlogs and extra volume, bringing them within tolerance Supporting the training of our onshore surge capacity
• And finally making an incredibly early start to successfully clear work queues ahead of the SFT weekend

We could not have asked for more!

You have all played a crucial part in helping AMP to continue to deliver services to our customers and address the impacts of covid-19.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to this effort (colleagues, friends, and family), and an especial thank you to you for your daily communications, good spirits, and positive atitude.

I look forward to the day that I will be able to say thank you to you and the team in person – we came so close to a trip in March

I wanted to take the time to write to you and express my personal thanks for your contribution to the rapid roll-out of Arrow's work-from-home solution.

There was an incredible amount of work completed, and completed well, in a very short space of time, and with a strong demonstration of Arrow's values.

During the COVI D-19 pandemic, Arrow has an important role to play through providing energy to Queensland. The ability for as many staff and contractors as possible to effectively work from home is important to helping ensure their health and safety, and that of our communities.

You contributed to an outcome that has greatly mitigated our risk in this area, and our new work­from-home capability has given us greater resilience than previously existed. It will also stand us in good stead for any future emergencies.

I have been greatly impressed with the ICT team's thorough response and very rapid delivery. Other Arrow Leadership Team members also appreciate the dedication and sheer effort that every member of the team put into the task, while keeping all other work in hand.

Please accept this letter as my personal acknowledgement and thanks for your outstanding efforts. 

This year has given all of us much to think about. Between devastating bushfires and threats from the pandemic, the fragility of the world in which we live has been exposed in 12 short months. These challenges have served to highlight the importance of connectivity, and its ability to foster a spirit of closeness.

Through extraordinary disruption, Telstra was challenged to adapt. To find new ways of supporting our customers, our people and the country in a time of need. I am very proud of the way our team responded.

Connected technologies are now right at the heart of the lives of most Australians and increasingly pivotal in shaping our economy, our society and our prospects for the future. Connectivity is changing and shaping how we live, work and learn, and our ability and willingness to embrace a digital future will be central to our post-COVID-19 recovery and long-term competitiveness.

“Service staff from the telcos - with support in the field from emergency services personnel and the Australian Defence Force - have worked long hours in difficult circumstances to keep networks running, and to fix network outages as quickly as possible.

“By the end of the week, the majority of base stations were restored - but around thirty were still out of service.

“Where a base station has been damaged, network operators can install a temporary facility, called a "cell on wheels", to provide an interim mobile service. In recent days Telstra has deployed these temporary facilities in Mallacoota, Corryong and Walwa in Victoria.

“Telstra's work to equip many of its payphones as Wi-Fi hotspots has offered another important option in towns where the mobile network was down - allowing people with Wi-Fi equipped mobile handsets to get connectivity near those payphones.

“We have seen some great work done by our network operators in responding to these severe bushfires - but we must not shy away from asking if we could be even better prepared in future.”

“I want to pay special tribute to the regional general manager for Telstra, Chris Taylor, and his team. They have been incredible.

“We are in touch on an hourly basis…and his teams have been stretched to the limit. Their infrastructure has been smashed; their redundancy systems tested like never before, and damaged because of the scope of what has happened across the landscape.

“He has done a tremendous job, and I really want to thank him and his teams who have been out there, at personal risk, from the very first day of the loss of the telephone exchange in Tumut—for other reasons, but it just snowballed from there. There are a lot of lessons to take away from that.”

In The Star Entertainment Group's 2020 Annual Report, I addressed the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and added: "I want to take the opportunity...to extend my sincerest gratitude to our committed team members whose efforts in such difficult times have been inspirational." Our workforce is the heartbeat of our business. Their resilience was extraordinary during 2020 after more than 95% of staff had to be temporarily stood down, but as a Board and Management team, we also needed to focus on their physical and mental wellbeing. To ensure our most vulnerable team members were provided with financial support in such unforeseen circumstances was never in doubt.

I'm one of those blessed team members who got the chance to get the SOS and I really appreciate and thankful to the Star from the bottom of my heart thank you, to all the people who made SOS possible thank you and god bless you all.

So grateful to the company for the SOS initiative that totally kept me afloat during testing times in the absence of work.

The financial industry plays a key role in giving back to the community and as a leading investment bank we are proud of the significant contribution UBS' employees and clients have made through financial and in-kind support in 2020. We encourage all employees to leverage UBS resources to give back as was seen at our Brokerage Day in February where clients and staff worked together to the benefit of impacted communities.

I am writing to thank you and everyone at UBS Australia for your incredible contribution of $423,892 to our Australian Disaster Relief and Recovery efforts. The outpouring of support we’ve seen in response to the bushfires has been humbling.

Thank you for your donation which will go towards our bushfire grants, helping people cover urgent expenses and make choices that are right for them. As of 25 May, $102 million has been spent or disbursed. This includes $91 million paid in bushfire grants to 4,053 people, as well as the cost of our teams on the ground ($5M), where 2,800 Red Cross Emergency Personnel were deployed to support over 50,000 people in evacuation and relief centres and administrative support costs, reconciled quarterly and currently at less than 4c in the dollar for each dollar donated ($6M).

As you can imagine, these same communities and people are now dealing with the overlay of COVID-19 and the associated economic uncertainty and social anxiety. In response to this, Red Cross is adapting our approach to recovery programming, shifting our operations to provide support remotely and working closely with our partners to explore innovative and creative ways of bringing people together and providing support.

Your donation will also help us deliver community-based recovery programs over at least the next three years. Our experience from a century of disaster responses is that recovery takes time. The right support can go a long way, and that includes having someone to talk to, trauma counselling and mental health support, good social networks, access to information and services, and community connections. Our recovery programs address these needs in ways that are specific to the experiences of each community. Our Recovery Officers are working with bushfire survivors, community leaders, other service providers, and government to understand the pain points and challenges on the ground.

I personally want to thank you for your note; and extend to everyone involved in the Brokerage Day our appreciation for your very generous donation to Lifeline. These past few months have been extraordinary for all of us and your support couldn’t have come at a more critical time.

Lifeline has never been more needed. From December to now, we have experienced a sustained 25% increase in requests for support. We are receiving more than 3,000 calls per day, and in April and now May we received a record of almost 90,000 calls a month. That is a call every 30 seconds to the service.

The collective mental health burden of the bushfire crisis and the virus is something we have not seen or experienced before. Recent Government modelling has suggested that deaths related to the mental distress of COVID-19 fears and physical isolation will far outstrip those caused by the disease itself.
The unique circumstances of this latest crisis have presented several challenges to the funding and delivery of our services, that your generous support will help us to bridge.

Our most pressing and urgent priority is to meet the increased need for crisis support. Your donation will enable us to maintain a much higher number of our volunteers on the phones – helping us to maintain an increased team of frontline supporters to answer more calls across this crisis.

In times of stress, isolation, anxiety and uncertainty, people turn to Lifeline for support. Our teams and Crisis Supporters across the country have pulled together like never before to meet this unprecedented need.

You have shown that you are a critical part of that team by responding with such generosity.

Thank you again for your tremendous support, it really is saving lives.

On behalf of the students and families we support, I extend my sincere thanks for your letter dated 26 May 2020 and the generous donation from UBS Australia. The fundraising from your February Brokerage Day was certainly an extraordinary effort from the team and the response from UBS during these trying times is inspiring.

We know that the impact of COVID-19 will be significant and far-reaching for all of us. Yet for Australian children and families already living in poverty, it will have an even more devastating and enduring impact, so these funds come at a vital time.

I understand that our corporate partnerships team will continue to work with the UBS Foundation over the coming months to explore further engagement opportunities and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of these conversations.

Thank you once again for your very kind support.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks for your exceptional generosity and support by donating almost $64,000 towards WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery work. Your contributions towards drought, fire and COVID-19 relief are truly outstanding. Thank you.

Your support will play a vital role in helping to provide both relief for bushfire recovery and long-term support to ensure we have a future for people and nature in Australia. My colleague, Sharlene Dadd, Head of Impact Partnerships, will share our latest reports which detail the work we have and are continuing to do in this regard.

This year we faced an unprecedented, catastrophic bushfire season and so much has been lost. The disaster has touched nearly every Australian. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones, the communities who have lost homes, the brave firefighters who battled the blazes and the wildlife carers who continue to work tirelessly to recover injured wildlife.

We have and will continue to deploy funds to wildlife rescue and care organisations in affected states so they can respond at scale. It will allow us to help restore forests and damaged wildlife habitat, protect Australia’s natural resources and help implement Indigenous and rural fire management.

You are also helping us drive innovative solutions to mitigate climate change and help species adapt to our changing conditions.

I am so grateful for the generosity of UBS clients, staff and the UBS Australia Foundation. I hope you feel proud knowing that you are making a difference for our native species and habitats.

I write to express my sincere appreciation to Kelvin Barry, Caroline Gurney, Charlie Daish, Katrina Smith and all your many colleagues who have been so instrumental in enabling Skyline’s achievements this year.

This has been an exceptionally difficult year for our students and UBS’s support has been critical to enable continuance of our impact...I am so very grateful on behalf of our disadvantaged gifted and talented students. 

On behalf of the University of Sydney, I present our Peer Support Advisor (PSA) Program's nomination for the Big Impact Award.

This initiative has provided invaluable support to thousands of students impacted by COVID-19, through approachable remote support, assistance in navigating services and peer connection, to reduce stress during a time of great disruption.

For student advisors this program has developed vital graduate attributes of cultural competence, effective communication and problem-solving, through structured training and development opportunities.

I am pleased to endorse this unique initiative that reflects the values and graduate qualities we strive to cultivate at the university.

Peer Support Advisor program was created around March 2020 under the background of COVID-19 global pandemic. The situation was rapidly changing and had huge impact on majority of the international students who are or planning to study in Australia. It was identified that something new need to be created to support our students. As the situation was changing on daily basis, we will need to a better way to communicate to our students, providing them timely accurate support.

We Care

I think this program was a great initiative. By creating a program what was specifically designed to support students who were affected by COVID-19, it is passing along a message that we care our students, we want to help our students and we are here for them all the time. Peer Support advisor program were able to solve many students’ problem in a very timely manner if not we were able to provide students with the right information about where to find help. Lots of time students wants to ask for help but they simply do not know where to. This program is specifically designed to solve this problem.

We understand

It is especially true for new students that are afraid to talk to authorities. They feel intimidated when talking to something who is in power, even though all the staff want to do is to help them. This is not a problem when it comes to our program. The entire team is made up by current students, we understand their position and we know exactly what they are going through. This helped us to better support the students. In addition, because we are their peers, we are closer to them, they know that they can say anything to us. Peer Support Advisor program are like a bridge between the university and all students, we know students’ questions and help them to solve them by highlighting it to the relevant department across the university.

We Connect

Peer Support Advisor program really helps to bring all the students together and creating a vibrate student community despite that everyone has been separated in space due to COVID-19. By creating social group chat, helping students to know people that are in the same boat as them, providing the opportunity to meet friends over the internet, connect to each other. This increase their sense of belonging and letting them know that we are not alone, we are all together handling this global pandemic. We periodically run social event to all suspended students, which really mimic the original student experience, make them feel that they are part of the student community. They are study with many students like.

We Develop

Not only the peer support advisor program helped many suspended or new students, but it also provided a great opportunity for peer support advisors to develop their very own skill. I found this really amazing by getting students involved in this support process not only we are able to engage students better but also making ourselves (which is student as well) better. We were able to gain a range of skills (public speak, video editing, mentoring etc.) by participating this program, enable us to develop/demonstrate USYD graduate qualities.  

Having a fulfilling role in the peer support advisor program means that I have the opportunity to be the first point of contact for the international students during this pandemic, whether they are in quarantine or self-isolation in Australia, or back home. This enables me to utilise a wide range of skill sets, which I have learnt from professional supervisors and guest speakers, to further support these students on behalf of the university. Throughout the months, online trainings were provided to better assist international students in this period of uncertainty, by improving my empathetic skills through emails and calls; developing my communication skills with stressed students; and understanding the verbal and non-verbal cues during these interactions. Looking back, this program was built from the ground up; from replying four emails per day to hosting informative Zoom sessions for hundreds of students weekly, and I am proud to have played a part in the process to say the least. If this is what the peer support advisor program has achieved in the last six months, I cannot wait to see its future.

At the end of January, I was able to visit some of the worst impacted areas following the bushfires around Albury, Wodonga, and Wangaratta. It was humbling to meet some of our customers affected by the catastrophe, hear their stories and how our bankers and local branches were doing everything they could to help them.

I'm incredibly proud of everything we did to support Australians and offering interest-free home loans was something I knew would ease the burden for many of our customers under significant financial stress.

Helping is what we do at Westpac...it's part of our DNA.

We had been in the place 25 years and had built it ourselves. [After the bushfires] there was nothing. I left home with a top, pair of pants and shoes. When you come back and you see that you’ve lost everything, every photo, every memory… people say you’re insured but you can’t get those back. Lloyd (Pigram, St.George Bank Manager) as soon as he knew was just this beautiful, caring person. St.George really helped. They actually deposited in our account, $2,000. $2,000 is a lot when you’ve got nothing. In these times of devastation they’ve just come through. I think they’ve gone above and beyond.

It took about three days before I could actually face coming back. Even imagining it doesn’t prepare you for the extent of what you’ve lost when you’ve lost absolutely everything. As a result of the fires we’ve not only lost home and infrastructure, and all our shedding and all of our farm machinery, farm vehicles but we’ve lost our business. It’s not about the value of things, it’s just your life. It’s the stuff that defined you and your family and it’s not there anymore.

Pretty much straight away Westpac, they were right there. Our lovely person Jenni (Emonson, Westpac Bank Manager) has looked after us from day 1… Out of the blue I get a call from her a few days later and there was a business grant…That $15,000 has really enabled us to just breathe and know that bills won’t go unpaid. You tend to think that the big corporations will just keep rolling on and will not necessarily be interested in a small time business operator like us but that’s definitely not the case. It’s definitely a community enterprise and Westpac have been fabulous. The bank has actually been our friend and we’re very grateful for that..”

There’s a lot of people who are too scared to rebuild, too scared to start again and they’re grieving. Everything was on fire…It’s like half and half.. do you rebuild or do you not? We are in our brand new home (now) to replace the one we lost…we love it out here.

WSP is proud to be involved in two key BizRebuild projects supporting recovery and resilience for the community of Kangaroo Island following the devastating 2019 bushfires. At the heart of our Guiding Principles are people, reputation, collaboration and empowerment. Our team has demonstrated all of these through working with the many stakeholders with empathy, professionalism, high-level skills, experience and excellence.

As problem solvers, our people are dedicated to helping communities thrive. This is evident on Kangaroo Island where our people stepped up to provide pro-bono emergency assistance services to help individuals, businesses, interest groups and community members get back on their feet.

On behalf of Kangaroo Island Council, it is with pleasure that I prepare this testimonial for the Probono work that WSP has contributed supporting the Business Council of Australia's BizRebuild on Kangaroo Island providing a range of community-based initiatives to support the recovery of Kangaroo Island following the Black Summer bushfires.

WSP has offered Probono staff including Jennifer McDonnell, Stacie Reeves, Jodie McPhee and Joanne Chong to provide project management and community engagement and facilitation since March 2020 to develop and deliver several key projects on the island. We have witnessed first-hand their work being undertaken in close collaboration with the broader BizRebuild team, National Bushfire Recovery Agency, South Australian Government, Kangaroo Island Local Recovery Coordinator, Kangaroo Island Council and the various business, agriculture and tourism organisations, which make up the Kangaroo Island community. WSP staff have played a significant leadership role in development of implementable solutions whilst being attentive to the community's needs. They have shown wonderful community spirit and expertise, cohesively bringing parties together and facilitating genuine participation with the community to self-determine and lead these projects, recognising and building upon the strengths of the community and connections on Kangaroo Island.

The initiatives they have led and supported on the island includes the West End Recovery Project which is a welcome and necessary investment in the provision of workers accommodation at the west end of the island, supporting Kl Shire Council to seek funding for support to deliver high priority strategic projects, listed in their Kangaroo Island draft Prospectus and Bushfire Response document, and funding for the Parndana Community Hall Refurbishment.

After the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 it has been fantastic to have people such as Jennifer McDonnell, from WSP working on the BizRebuild KI projects. Jennifer and the rest of the BizRebuild team have been a breath of fresh air in what was a positively horrible year as we faced the aftermath of the worst bushfires on record and then COVID-19. We look forward to seeing our wish list of items at the Parndana Town Hall come to fruition thanks to the team, so that our community can move forward while rebuilding, reconnecting, and recovering. Without the positivity from results driven people such as Jennifer and some exciting projects to look forward to our community may not have had the drive to move forward. Well done to all involved and thank you to WSP for allowing your staff to conduct this extremely beneficial work for our community.

The West End KI Recovery Project -Workers Accommodation project is a BIZ Rebuild initiative that will house the workers needed to rebuild the many businesses after the devastating Black Summer bush fires on Kangaroo Island.

The Project and we as the proponents have much to be thankful for the input of the WSP team.

With Jen McDonnell acting probono as Project Manager/facilitator for a period of some eight months ensuring all communication and meetings produced the outcomes needed, the project has been able to go from an initial concept to actual buildings. Jen’s behind the scenes team of Stacie Reeves, Jodie McPhee and Joanne Chong all contributed to this extremely worthwhile bushfire recovery project.

Jen has been ever willing to provide direction and seek clarification for us when we needed it and her can do attitude made working under difficult circumstances such as COVID much more productive and enjoyable.

The community of the western end of Kangaroo Island is indebted to Jen and her colleagues and the wider WSP organisation.

I am the South Australian Government appointed bushfire Local Recovery Coordinator – Kangaroo Island.

I write to offer my strong support for WSP’s nomination for the Business Council Australia annual awards, ‘The Biggies’.

Kangaroo Island was severely impacted by the bushfires that commenced on 20 December 2019 and affected approximately 49 per cent of the Island. Tragically two people lost their lives.

Recovery from such a catastrophic event requires a resilient community, support from all levels of government, engaged non-government organisations and a can do attitude by all involved. WSP’s Adelaide team of

Jennifer McDonnell, Stacie Reeves and Jodie McPhee have epitomised this approach. They have been supported by WSP’s management to deliver project management services pro bono to a series of projects that are now either underway or under funding consideration including the West End Community Recovery Project at the Western Caravan Park, KI, an upgrade to the Parndana Community Hall, energising the Kingscote

Farmer’s Market proposal and assisting the Kangaroo Island Local Government authority to progress businesses cases identified in Council’s Prospectus and Bushfire Response.

The WSP team have added considerable value to Kangaroo Island’s recovery and their efforts have been widely appreciated by all Islanders.

The team at WSP, led by Jennifer McDonnell, was on the ground on Kangaroo Island within weeks of our bushfire disaster and proved versatile, hard-working and flexible in its approach to the Island’s needs – business and community.

Jen and her team brought a compassion and discipline to the process that was much appreciated as they set about working out how they could best help a community that was reeling from the enormity of the disaster. There was not one person untouched by the disaster here – a large island of just 4500 residents. Our resources and resilience were sorely stretched.

It sometimes felt we had been forgotten in the shadow of the Eastern Seaboard disaster, but Jen, Jodie and Stacie just rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. Jen quickly formed strong working and personal relationships with key stakeholders on Kangaroo Island and did not shy from the tough decisions; adjusting the program of works in response to community and business feedback.

We fully commend the team at WSP for its generosity in helping our Island to recover.

The pro bono services of Jennifer McDonnell from WPS through BCA / BizRebuild has been integral to the recovery and rebuilding of the decimated western end of Kangaroo Island.

From March 2020, Jen has worked on several projects on the island as the program manager and community facilitator role supported by her WSP team including, Stacie Reeves and Jodie McPhee. A major part of this engagement was on the development of workers accommodation in the Western KI Caravan Park. This accommodation will assist in expediting an efficient western rebuild for the community inclusive of homes, infrastructure and the Flinders Chase National Park. All of which greatly impact the economic viability of the island.

Jen is an exceptional person who has shown great empathy and has always acted with integrity in achieving the desired outcomes. She has guided the team in a very difficult and often challenging environment to deliver good outcomes, to support the rebuild of this devastated community. We truly appreciate all Jen has done and look forward to long and enduring friendship.