Environment Standards Division BOARD

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Agenda item: 3.g

1. ENVIRONMENT STANDARDS DIVISION BOARD

Meeting M5 10 May 2017

Agenda Topic: Internship program with the ANU Fenner School

Recommendation/s:

That the ESD Board agree in principle to an internship program with the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society.

Key issues

EPBC Act assessment teams experience difficulties attracting and recruiting trained assessment officers for short or long term placements. The small pool of trained and aspiring assessors limits the ESD’s ability to function as a mature regulator. An EPBC Act internship program to train EPBC Act impact assessors will directly address this problem.

The ANU’s Fenner School of Environment and Society have expressed strong support to collaborate with ESD to deliver an EPBC Act internship program based on ESD’s new training program.

The benefits to ESD and the Department include: an enhanced relationship with a leading tertiary institution committed to environmental sustainability and evidence based decision making access to high quality students to assist with environmental impact assessments or short term projects developing a pool of potential new employees with relevant workplace experience and motivational fit.

The benefits to the ANU include: a relationship with the Department that enhances its value proposition to students.

The benefits to interns include: specialised training on assessments under the EPBC Act and Matters of National Environmental Significance, which is currently being developed by the Environment Protection – Assurance & Reform (EPAR) Section. relevant work experience

The most likely duration for the internships is 130 hours (one unit of study) or 260 hours (two units of study) undertaken as an intensive during semester breaks or on a part time basis.

Responsibilities:

The Department would be responsible for the employment contract arrangement with the intern, supervision, formal in-house training, work space and IT access.

The Fenner School would be responsible for student selection and administration of course requirements (oral presentation, internship report).

Critical Date(s): For Official Use Only The first round of internships may be offered for the second semester of 2017, pending finalisation of arrangements.

Consultation(s):

This proposal has been developed in consultation with ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society (Director Prof. Saul Cunningham and Deputy Director Assoc. Prof. Janette Lindesay).

The Department’s Workforce Strategies Section have confirmed that procedural support is available to areas organising internships (e.g. recruitment, APS classification, salary, performance management, employment contracts etc, police checks).

Resource Implication(s):

Casual salary payments would total between $3,500 to$4,700 for a one unit equivalent course requirement or $6,900 to $9,400 for two units if based upon an APS1 pay scale. Funds would be covered from within the staffing budget of participating sections. The Department prefers to pay interns to avoid perceptions of unfair work practices, simplified insurance arrangements and clarity of intellectual property ownership and confidentiality requirements.

Each intern would require supervision from an EL1 officer and mentoring or coaching support from an APS6 officer.

Sensitivities:

Interns would require standard security clearances relevant to the work undertaken and sign an confidentiality agreement to manage inappropriate use of project specific information in future assignments, essays or reports.

13. Next steps

If Board gives in-principle support to the proposed internship program, details will be refined through discussion with the ANU and the Workforce Strategies Section.

Lead SES: Kim Farrant & James Tregurtha

Contact officer: Ross Rowe, Amanda Pohl

Attachments

For Official Use Only