Welcome to the Consultants Society Q2 2026 Newsletter

This past quarter has been a particularly active and successful period for the Consultants Society. Highlights included our flagship one-day Forum held in Perth on 8 May, following the GRX Conference, as well as the final two events in the 2025/2026 Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series, held in Perth and Melbourne, featuring Deborah Lord (VRM Director).

The 2026 Forum was our third consecutive event and built on the strong foundation established by last year’s program in Brisbane. This year’s Forum brought together consultants and industry leaders for a highly engaging program featuring expert speakers and practical, real-world case studies.

Under the theme “The Evolving Consultant – Human Insights on Emerging Technology”, the Forum explored both technical and human dimensions of consulting in a changing landscape. The morning session focused on emerging technologies, including the business case for adoption, AI applications, and the critical role of strong data foundations in successful implementation. The afternoon shifted to the human aspects of change, with discussions on workforce upskilling, engagement, and achieving organisational buy-in.

 We were privileged to have AusIMM CEO Stephen Durkin open the Forum, with closing remarks provided by AusIMM President Chris Carr. I would also like to extend special thanks to Matt Kuc (Aust Brokers Director), who expertly facilitated the event. Matt’s insightful commentary, thoughtful introductions, and energetic moderation of the panel discussions made a significant contribution to the overall success of the day.

The Forum was exceptionally well received, with strong audience engagement throughout. This was evident not only during the formal sessions and panel discussions, but also during the post-event networking function, where conversations continued with enthusiasm.

In late 2025, the Consultants Society launched its inaugural Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series. We were delighted to secure Deborah Lord as our inaugural speaker. The series comprised four events, commencing in Adelaide in October, followed by Brisbane in November, and concluding this year in Deborah’s hometown of Perth in February and Melbourne in April.

The Consultants Society gratefully acknowledges the support of the Branch Committees of Interest (COIs) who hosted these events.

Deborah generously shared the following reflections on her experience:

“I am honoured to have been the AusIMM Consultants Society inaugural Distinguished Speaker. In late 2025 and early 2026, I presented in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne and a talk in Sydney is also planned. Having worked as a geologist for 35 years, much of which were consulting, I decided to share with the audiences what worked for me in ‘Ten Rules for Thriving and Surviving as a Consultant in the resources sector’. Some topics might be obvious; others more contentious but hopefully some of the themes and associated discussions resonated with attendees and can make their careers more fulfilling.

While I enjoyed preparing for the lecture series and reflecting on a career that has taken me around the world, it was the audience engagement that was the highlight for me participating in this Series. During the Q&A people asked great questions and prompted plenty of discussion but the best feedback I got related to how I had energised their consultancy business, given them some practical tools, offered them a new network of contacts or given them confidence to explore new paths going forward.”