Portfolio.
1997-2004
Having determined to wind up the AIDC - a statutory government backed merchant bank - the Commonwealth entered into a sale agreement for part of the AIDC’s assets to Babcock & Brown in 1997. We were tasked with the management and orderly wind up of the residual assets of the AIDC over several years, including the sale of the complex residual assets and wind down of the $3.2bn asset backed bond portfolio held by the AIDC. We successfully managed the wind down and disposal of the AIDC’s interests in:
Australian Submarine Corporation
Optus (30% share capital)
Fairmont Resort Leura
Services provided included provisions of management, secretarial and legal advice.
1999-2004
The Australian National Lines (ANL) was the owner and operated of a significant fleet of cargo, container and bulk carrier vessels and was until 1998 owned and operated by a Commonwealth owned company. Following the sale by the Commonwealth of ANL in 1998 we were tasked with winding up the residual vessels the subject of complex finance leases that were unable to be sold.
We provided management, legal and secretarial services.
1997-2004
The first two tranches of shares in Telstra Corporation were offered by way of Initial Public Offering by the then novel Instalment Receipt structure, requiring an initial and final payment in respect of the total share price. We provided management for the Telstra Instalment Receipt Trustee Ltd which was responsible for holding the shares post payment of initial price instalment and pending payment of the final price instalment and for the collection of the share price final instalment. Working closely with Commonwealth Treasury, Telstra, the Telstra Share Registry (and numerous contractors and advisers) we successfully navigated numerous complex legal and commercial issues and facing fixed deadlines, successfully collected final instalment proceeds and issued shares for each of the T1 and T2 share offerings totalling approximately $12bn ($6bn each offer).
We provided commercial advising, management, secretarial and legal advices.
2000-2006
Having provided $20m in seed funding, we assisted the Commonwealth to establish and manage a new company - Indigenous Community Volunteers Ltd - and in obtaining specific listing of the company in the Tax Act as a deductible gift recipient. The company provided a novel way to link motivated volunteers with Indigenous Community’s requiring specific services to improve outcomes in their community.
We provided in-house legal, company secretarial and chief financial officer services to the company.
1999-2004
We established ComLand Ltd to hold two large parcels of ex-defence land in St Marys, Sydney and Footscray, Melbourne for development into multi-suburb residential sites in a joint venture with Lend Lease. The initial task was management, corporate and legal advice and oversight of the remediation of the sites as they were military ex-munitions storage, assembly and testing sites and once certified to move to the development phase. We managed a significant array of complex development and relationship issues with Lend Lease, who ultimately purchased the Commonwealth’s interest in the land in 2004 for $165m.
We provided in-house legal, company secretarial, commercial advising and corporate governance services
2002-2008
The Strategy provided the framework for developing and implementing a partnership between the food industry and the Australian Government. It delivered their shared vision of increased output, profitability, investment, innovation, export sales and employment in the Australian food industry. The Government budgeted $114.4 million to deliver the Strategy over a five year period (1 July 2002 to 30 June 2007). The partnership for delivering the Strategy was formalised in a contract between NFIS Ltd and the Government in October 2002. The contract was designed to manage the risks associated with the outsourcing arrangements and to achieving the Strategy's outcomes. NFIS Ltd delivered the following four key programmes:
Food Innovation Grants;
Food Centres of Excellence;
Food Market Development; and
Food Chain.
We provided in-house legal counsel and company secretarial services to NFIS Ltd, including attending to all wind-up issues on conclusion of the project.
2006-2010
The John James Memorial Hospital is the largest private hospital in Canberra and had been operated on a not-for-profit basis by its resident medical specialists for approximately 40 years.
However the hospital ultimately became non-viable in this structure and having made the decision to sell the hospital business in 2006, we were appointed to provide in-house legal and company secretarial services to the (then) John James memorial Hospital Ltd. We were intrinsic in preparing the business for sale and negotiating and completing the sale to Calvary.
Having sold the hospital business but retained the hospital land and buildings (subject of a long term lease to Calvary) and having received a significant tranche of cash funds on completion, we were then appointed to provide Chief Executive Officer services and to “reinvent” the company into a new philanthropic organisation carrying on various focussed charitable activities in the health sector, drawing on the medical expertise of the specialist membership of the company.
We provided all management services to the company, engaged staff and developed a range of programs including a volunteer visiting medical specialist program in remote areas of the Northern Territory and Queensland. We also established a scholarship program with the James Cook University in Townsville to provide the valuable opportunity for their medical students to visit the John James Hospital and work with its medical specialists.
The programs and management structure we established continue to this day and the company continues to provide a broad range of charitable services int he health sector, including those we initially established.
2012-2015
SupportLink provides a national referral and diversion gateway for police and other emergency services to participate in early intervention.
The role of SupportLink is to firstly establish and support formal referral partnerships with government and non government agencies for police to refer to. Secondly to provide a single referral and diversion gateway for operational police. Thirdly to Monitor and support the referral process for clients, agencies and police officers.
The aim of Supportlink is to see a reduction in crime, suicide, violence, substance abuse, family breakdown, juvenile offending and to establish improved support for victims of crime.
We were appointed as in-house counsel to negotiate, review and manage the contractual arrangements and corporate governance and compliance matters for SupportLink. We assisted in:
negotiating major contracts with various state police and emergency service organisations;
revising and updating the company’s governance and company compliance processes;
revising and updating all internal human resources policies and processes and resolving internal employee issues; and
revising and updating all contracts and online systems to ensure suitability and compliance with the law.
2010-2022
We acted as Special Counsel/Practice Leader for the Commercial & Major Projects team, providing legal advice to the Territory on its major projects, complex commercial transactions and provision of leadership and guidance to the commercial practice and to ACT Government Solicitor lawyers generally on complex commercial matters. A selection of key matters attended on behalf of the Territory included:
Sale of ACTTAB and ongoing advices in relation to the Totalisator licence and Sports Bookmaking licence held by Tabcorp;
Casino Canberra licence transfer and ongoing licensee issues;
ACT Law Courts Public Private Partnership – initial and ongoing advices in relation to the complex contractual arrangements;
Light Rail Stage 1 Public Private Partnership advices and oversight of Light Rail Stage 2 project for the Territory;
ActewAGL Joint Venture and Icon Water - providing complex ongoing advices in relation to the partnerships and joint venture;
Toll Rescue Helicopter negotiations and amendments to the complex agreements between the joint ACT/NSW operating company and Toll and winding up the Southcare Helicopter Trust;
West Belconnen Joint Venture – providing a broad range of governance, structural and commercial arrangements pertaining to this billion dollar ACT (and cross border) residential land development;
Adviser to Treasury in relation to key finance and investment matters, including billion dollar custodial, investment management and bond portfolio arrangements.
Tuggeranong Ice Sports Centre - providing early advice on structure and key documents in relation to the proposal to develop the facility.
Throsby “Home of Football”- providing early advice on structure and key documents in relation to the proposal to develop the facility.
Sustainable Household Loans Program and Flammable Cladding Rectification Loans- detailed advices in relation to the Territory government offering these novel loan programs, contractual negotiations and settling of agreements and ancillary documents in relation to the programs.
Whole of Government Banking Agreement - providing ongoing advices for 10 years in relation to the banking services of the ACT Government and more recently the procurement of a new banker.
University of NSW - A multi-million dollar development of a new UNSW campus on prime land in the Canberra City precinct. Working closely with the client to structure the arrangements with the UNSW, negotiating and settling key agreements and documents in relation to to the project and providing on-going advices in relation to matters arising.
Advices regarding significant national and international sport and event funding and major venue hire arrangements
Major airline agreements
Advising and negotiating Telstra and Optus agreements for the roll-out of 5G networks in the ACT.
Providing oversight and advice in relation to the settling and establishment of e-conveyancing arrangements in the ACT.
