BHP Australia

The strategic partnership between the Department of Defence, led by Army, and BHP Australia, led by Operations Services, began as a pilot in December 2019. In in late 2020 the Chief of Army and BHP’s Vice President Operations Service agreed to extend the pilot December 2021. The purpose of the partnership is to advance Australia’s national interest, collaborate and increase the value of each organisations human capability. Our organisations are working together in four streams:

Education and Training

To share knowledge and experience on training and educating workforce, including systems and delivery.

Leadership

To improve both organisations application and understanding of leadership.

Technology

To collaborate on automation and secure communications, electrification, and quantum technologies.

Workforce

To establish the conditions for partners to share workforce, have ongoing secondments, short-term exchanges and support initiatives associated with recruitment and inclusion.

Chief of Army Lieutenant General Rick Burr, AO, DSC, MVO, (left) and BHP Vice President Operations Services, Mr Mark Swinnerton, sign a contract to extend a strategic partnership at Duntroon House, Canberra.

Recent Meeting

In October 2020 Army, on behalf of the Department of Defence, came together with the BHP Australia Operations Services leaders to discuss an extension to the pilot that was agreed upon the previous year. Due to the devastating bushfire season and the COVID-19 pandemic the original pilot program did not develop to the extent desired by both organisations. The extension will build on the progress made over the past year which highlighted the potential and opportunity that exists in the original three streams – Education and Training, Technology, and Workforce. In 2020, due to the cooperation and lines of communication developed between our organisations, the extension will see the creation of a fourth stream – Leadership.

The 2019 pilot showed the need for strong people to people links to drive small initiatives that create an environment for bigger initiatives. It demonstrated that streams need to adapt and move quickly, so that we can be agile in seizing opportunities when they arise. During the COVID-19 pandemic workforce visits and exchanges stopped, however our organisations were able to share experiences, opportunities and lessons learnt to assist business operations. This is a fundamental part of the partnership pilot and will continue into the extension.

The focus of the extended pilot is to reinvigorate initiatives and refine the functioning of the partnership. This year will see increased collaboration, an emphasis on secondments and short term workforce exchanges, and a deeper dive into apprenticeships, in-career training programs, and reservist opportunities.

The meeting concluded with Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, and BHP Australia Vice President Operations Service, Mr Mark Swinnerton, signing an agreement to extend the partnership pilot for another year. It will be reviewed again at the end of 2021.