Review of activities - uq.edu.au · PDF fileWe launched a UQ-speciﬁ c online employ- ......

The University of Queensland Annual Report 2004

The James and Mary Emilia Mayne Centre opened in April as a cultural asset for the nation following a 12-month, $6.5 million architectural transformation of the former Mayne Hall.

Review of activities

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In 2004 we employed 5081 staff. Our total operating revenue was $736.01 and our total assets grew from $1.42 billion to $1.45 billion

Objectivesto provide professional, client-focused management structures, information services, policies and practices

to devolve resource management, increase non-government funding and manage resources for optimal outcomes

to recruit, retain and develop high-quality staff

to coordinate widespread strategic planning supporting the University’s overall Plan

to provide high-quality physical, teaching and research environments

to build effective relationships with prospective students and staff, business, government, the professions, alumni and the community

Key outcomesenhancements to SI-net to comply with Higher Education Reforms

rolling program of reviews of administrative and central service units

71 percent of total income additional to the base Commonwealth Operating Grant

comprehensive Marketing and Communication Plan

inaugural Equity and Diversity Plan for staff and students

cited Employer of Choice for Women by Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency

Outlook for higher education sector

more income from non-government sources and students

partial deregulation of higher education fees regime

increased scrutiny by and accountability to Commonwealth Government

increased emphasis on governance

examination of Commonwealth and State responsibilities relating to universities

competition for international students

Our year aheadimplementation of Higher Education Reforms

impending Commonwealth legislation relating to voluntary student unionism and fees for student services

signifi cant infrastructure support for major research institutes

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Management and resources

Our systemsSupporting academeReviews, restructures (page 39, 68-69) and streamlined procedures boosted adminis-trative effi ciency and supported our core activities of teaching and research. Student and Administrative Services Division (SASD) initiatives included:

preparation for implementing new national governance protocols for Higher Education Reforms (page 12);increased management capacity to handle growth in undergraduate scholarships, plus introduction of Commonwealth scholarships and development of selection criteria;a new Aussie International Friendship Program for students (page 31);recoding course discipline descriptors to match DEST descriptors, as part of Higher Education Statistics Agency reforms and changes to course-based fees;new accommodation options for visiting academics and staff, using under-utilised property assets;a feasibility study assessing strategic options for the future use of our property assets; andimprovements to Health Service (page 31).

Benchmarking

Numerous review and benchmarking activi-ties (pages 32, 39, 65) helped lift standards.

Our Environmental Management System added pre-assessment certifi cation to ISO 14001 standard to its credentials.

Personnel Services participated in a Univer-sity Benchmarking Program coordinated by Queensland University of Technology; and surveyed structure, staffi ng and reporting lines at other Go8 and Brisbane universities for presentation at the Division’s review (page 68-69).

Our Equity Offi ce initiated the Inter-national Equity Benchmarking Project (page

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50); and Information Technology Services benchmarked its activities via:

the Educause Core Data Survey (comparisons with 600 universities in Australia, New Zealand, North America, UK and Europe); andCAUDIT IT (detailed comparisons with Australian and New Zealand universities).

Making the most of IT We launched a UQ-specifi c online employ-ment service for students seeking jobs in their fi elds of study. In its fi rst eight months of operation, UQ CareerHub registered more than 800 employers and advertised 1000 jobs. In 2005 we will upgrade the site and launch a UQ Careers portal.

We developed a system enabling managers to monitor and control Internet traffi c spen-ding in their organisational units.

MyUQ and myAdvisor websites are under review with the aim of introducing a myServices site to host all student-related services.

SASD initiatives included:implementation of UQOrg, enabling every one of our reportable entities to link its systems to an authoritative public information source;implementation of a new class and examination timetabling system, Ad Astra Blue, via mySI-net (with plans to implement the Platinum version from fi rst semester 2005);modifi cation (in partnership with PeopleSoft and other Australian universities) of SI-net student administra-tion system to accommodate changes due to the new Higher Education Reforms; a fee calculator to help students calculate tuition fees; andsuccessfully trialling electronic transfer of students’ study details from SI-net to Centrelink, to help avoid youth allowance debt.

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REVIEW OF ACTIVITIESM A N A G E M E N T A N D R E S O U R C E S

ANNUAL BUDGET CYCLE

Stage Time Action

Review current year’s budget July Finance Committee July Senate

Budget assumptions July Finance Committeeand parameters July Senate

Review key operational priorities July Senate

Budget Paper 1 July – early August Secretary and Registrar’s Offi ce Late August Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Committee of Executive Deans

Budget Paper 2 September Secretary and Registrar’s Offi ce Forward look Late September Vice-Chancellor’s ExecutiveAsset Management Plan Committee of Executive Deans Finance Committee

Final Budget Papers October Vice-Chancellor’s Executive November Finance Committee November Senate

OPERATING BUDGET AND ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

2003 2004 2004 2005 Actual Budget Actual Budget ($ ’000) ($’000) ($’000) ($’000)

INCOME

337,491 Commonwealth Government assistance 345,313 345,364 374,280 102,781 Other income 115,179 120,350 129,747 440,272 TOTAL INCOME 460,492 465,714 504,027

EXPENDITURE

Academic activities 213,127 Faculties 231,755 234,286 255,262 6,274 Scholarships 8,229 8,568 10,938 34,986 Research only 30,348 27,705 32,507 12,872 Strategic initiatives 14,000 15,029 15,000 19,036 Ipswich campus 16,700 21,086 17,313

Support services 25,126 Library 26,850 26,967 28,343 7,172 Information Technology Services 7,155 7,149 7,742 32,125 Central Administration 34,606 35,368 37,169 3,251 Student Services 3,393 3,245 3,423 24,365 Property and Facilities 25,501 25,408 27,467

University overheads 5,750 Power, lighting and heating 5,660 5,982 5,990 16,326 Other overheads 18,909 18,452 19,171

Other costs 1,328 Commercial services 1,000 1,538 1,000 969 Public services 1,026 1,168 1,107 150 UQP Operating Grant 150 150 150 2,159 Minor works 2,200 2,032 2,253 Budget adjustment 1,000 1,000 26,387 Capital 29,910 30,345 37,092 79 Teaching hospitals excess expenditure

431,482 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 458,392 464,478 502,927

8,790 SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR 2,100 1,236 1,100

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Our fi nances(Full details Appendix A, separate volume)

IncomeOur 2004 fi nancial operations produced a defi cit of $19 million, compared with the $31.7 million surplus recorded in the pre-vious year. Several “abnormal” items (as detailed below) impacted on this year’s outcome. When these were added back, the underlying result of our 2004 fi nancial op-erations was a surplus of $16.6 million.

The largest “abnormal” item resulted from a DEST decision this year to change the timing of regular grant payments.

Up to 2003, the University received the fi rst payment for the coming year (repre-senting eight percent of the total recur-rent funding for that year) in December of the previous year. Consequently, our fi rst payment for 2005 was made in January 2005 instead of, as would have occurred under the previous arrangements, in December 2004; and the effect on our 2004 results amoun-ted to $25.6 million. A detailed explanation of this event is provided in note 1(d) to the Annual Financial Statements (Appendix A, separate volume).

Other major “abnormal” items involved adjustments. We made a $6.1 million adjust-ment in 2004 to change the classifi cation of funds received in 2003 from the Smart State Research Facilities Fund (SSRFF). In the previous year, these funds were recognised as grants instead of loans from the SSRFF. They are now recorded as liabilities in the Annual Financial Statements.

Other adjustments totalling $1.4 million were made to write down or write off in-vestments in several external companies in-cluding two companies related to the CiTR Group (page 10). The product, customer base and CiTR staff transferred to a new company, CiTR Asia Pacifi c, during 2004.

Total fi nancial assistance provided by the Commonwealth Government amounted to $411.1 million, an increase of 0.6 percent on that provided in 2003. The Queensland Government’s contributions to building pro-jects for the Institute for Molecular Bioscience and the Sustainable Minerals Institute (page 50) continued with $14 million received in this year.

Revenue from fees and charges, particular-ly tuition fees paid by international students, was $98.6 million – 17.7 percent more than



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in 2003. This refl ects a continuing trend for increasing numbers of fee-paying internatio-nal students at our University. Commencing on January 1, 2005, the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Reforms contain a complex new system of funding and administration for higher education. This is likely to herald a similar trend for rising numbers of Australian undergraduate fee-paying students as opportunities become available and universities compete increa-singly for fee-paying students.

Changes to Commonwealth fundingIn September 2004, our Vice-Chancellor signed a funding agreement under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 arising out of the Commonwealth reforms men-tioned above. This provides more funding opportunities, subject to compliance with conditions, than were available under the former Higher Education Funding Act 1988 triennial funding system.

For 2005, we are expecting to receive an additional $162 million under the Commonwealth Grants Scheme and an es-timated $107 million from contribution charge liabilities incurred by students. Part of the latter sum (estimated at $6 million) will come from the enhanced student contri-bution income and will be used to improve

Fees and charges $129.59m 17.61%

Investment income $10.62m 1.44%

Higher Education Contribution Scheme $92.24m 12.53%

Consultancy and contract research $40.96m 5.57%

Commonwealth loan programs $15.8m 2.15%

Other revenue $105.71m 14.36%

Queensland Government fi nancial assistance $21.11m 2.87%

Commonwealth Government grants $319.98m 43.47%

TOTAL UNIVERSITY REVENUE AND EXPENSES 2004

Depreciation and 8.13% amortisation $60.85m

Utilities and insurance 2.81% $21.12m

Buildings and grounds 6.82% $42.37m

5.11% Other expenses $38.3m

Operating expenses 6.59% $49.35m

Scholarships, prizes 4.74% and grants $35.48m

Travel, staff development and entertainment 3.14% $23.52m

Teaching and lab materials and 5.66% Services $51.04m

Employee benefi ts and 57.00% on-costs $426.86m

REVENUE EXPENSES

TOTAL $736.01million TOTAL $748.89million

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

Total market value $93,520,243

Cash management

trusts10.71%Fixed

Interest trusts

11.63%

Propertytrusts7.46%

Venture capital 0.85%

Equity trusts 69.35%

student:teacher ratios (page 30), undergra-duate learning environments and the quality of teaching and learning facilities.

ExpenditureTotal expenditure on ordinary activities of the University was $749 million in 2004 and 57 percent of this ($427 million) was at-tributed to the payment of salaries to staff and the on-costs on those employee benefi ts. Salary expenditure and associated on-costs were 55 percent of the total expenditure in the previous year.

Expenditure on property, plant and equip-

ment amounting to $87 million was capi-talised during the year and depreciation of $59.6 million on property, plant and equip-ment was charged in the accounts.

Although our Operating Budget income exceeded actual expenditure by $1.2 million during 2004, expenditure commitments to-talled $39.5 million against budget alloca-tions at the end of the year.

After adding the cumulative budget po-sition brought forward from 2003, the ope-rating budget for 2004 showed a defi cit of $18.6 million. We plan to reduce this defi cit to no more than $15 million by 2006.



A review of administrative arrangements within the School of Journalism, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences resulted in a restructure of general staff positions. We created two new positions and reorganised the duties of other positions. All general staff were accommodated within the new structure.

In the Faculty of Arts, a review of IT services and administration in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History affected two positions and resulted in one voluntary redundancy and one retrench-ment.

Restructuring administrationOur Vice-Chancellor’s Executive agreed a timetable for review of our central services and divisions. This accorded with policy im-plemented in 2003 requiring regular reviews of administrative and central service di-visions similar to the external reviews of schools conducted under the auspices of the Academic Board.

The review process involves self- and peer analysis and benchmarking of the area, including future directions. Internal Audit (page 13) and our Library (pages 34-35) were reviewed in 2004.

The Board of UQ Press (UQP) initiated a major review of UQP Publications Division. The subsequent restructure affected all staff in the unit and nine staff took voluntary redundancies.

Business Services Division also under-took a major review. The subsequent restruc-ture aligned the unit with current best practices in centralised fi nancial manage-ment and reporting. A signifi cant number of staff were redeployed and 12 staff opted for voluntary redundancy.

Changes included the merger of Salaries/Salary Packaging and Superannuation sec-tions into an Employee Benefi ts section. This section transferred to HR Division on January 1, 2005. Benefi ts include tailoring of information and systems to meet client demand.

We also reviewed three Academic Board committees: Academic Programs Policy; Academic Programs Review; and Teaching and Learning.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and the Secretary and Registrar commissio-ned a widespread review of the personnel function across the University. Results in-cluded:

renaming of Personnel Services, to be –

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CONSULTANCIES

Category Expenditure $

2003 2004

Management 202,117 155,985

Human resource management 1663 27,283

Information technology advice 41,580 48,015

Communications 102,897 37,163

Finance and accounting advice 48,120 86,480

Professional/technical* 7,845,459 6,798,535

Total 8,241,836 7,153,461

*includes fees of $6,494,552 in 2004 ($7,543,213 in 2003) relating to consultancy fees paid by Property and Facilities Division

Our investmentsThe value of our long-term investment port-folio was $94 million at the end of 2004 (compared with $83 million at the end of the previous year).

Our investment policy is to earn a rate of return which allows a long-term distribution of 4.5 percent of the initial value of the portfolio, indexed to the Consumer Price Index for all future years.

Our long-term portfolio is managed by four external specialist managers appointed in 2002. They are required to operate within defi ned asset allocation benchmarks, and each has separate responsibilities for invest-ments in:

Australian shares;overseas shares;private equity; andlisted property, fi xed interest and cash.

The combined return by all managers for the year was 17.8 percent compared with the benchmark return of 16.8 percent. Comparative returns for the previous year were 8.9 percent and 8.8 percent respectively. Asset allocation benchmarks were:

Australian shares 40 percent;overseas shares 29 percent;listed property seven percent; andfi xed interest and cash 24 percent.

Organisational changeRestructuring academeWe reviewed the School of Engineering and the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architec-ture (EPSA). Various course and program changes affected seven academic positions with a combination of voluntary severances and retrenchments.

Closure of the Cattle Blood Typing Unit at Pinjarra Hills, a cost recovery unit within the School of Veterinary Science, resulted in two voluntary redundancies and one rede-ployment to the St Lucia campus. We also endorsed a proposal to relocate our School of Veterinary Science by 2008, with the in-tention of replacing ageing facilities at its current St Lucia site with state-of-the-art facilities at UQ Gatton.

In the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Greenslopes Private Hospital Academic Unit closed when funding from Department of Veterans’ Affairs was withdrawn. Four staff accepted voluntary redundancy.

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Student Kirsty Pappalardo and Property and Facilities staff member Peter Luck set up possum boxes as part of a staff-student project at UQ Gatton. The former golf course and Lake Galletly area was transformed into a 10-hectare bushland park with wildlife shelters, bird-watching hides and revegetated native forest. This will serve as a conservation park for native plants and wildlife and an educational resource for environmental programs.

known from 2005 as Human Resources (HR) Division; and faculty human resource coordinators, to be known as HR consultants;amended reporting lines for HR consul-tants (to report formally to HR Division but remain in faculties and the IMB);new reporting lines for Staff System Support Group (still located in HR Division and now reports to Information Technology Services);streamlined business processes in Aurion, our HR information system;a HR strategy for the University; anda cost benefi t analysis of Aurion and the Peoplesoft HR system Version 8.9 with a view to determining if change is warranted.

In April, we convened a project team to review core business processes and associ-ated staffi ng arrangements underpinned by Aurion. Recommended changes have been delayed pending the outcome of the review of Aurion and Peoplesoft HR systems.

Our staffTraining our people

Coordinated by our Teaching and Educational Development Institute (TEDI – page 33), our 2004 Staff Development Program included 726 courses for 7445 participants. We also granted fellowships, educational opportuni-ties and subsidies for selected staff to attend workshops presented by the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee and the Association for Tertiary Education Management.

Our 2004 Staff Development Program budget of $350,000 (unchanged from 2003) supported:

induction, career advancement, performance enhancement and self development training;Graduate Certifi cates in Education; and staff development at outlying sites.

A new policy enabled staff with carer res-ponsibilities to request professional develop-ment support for activities such as attending conferences, workshops, symposia essential to their research or careers, and organisatio-nal unit retreats.

We also:rolled out Aurion Training Reports to HR consultants, enabling them to access staff development information relevant to their faculties;

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introduced practical training in policies and procedures;reviewed training needs identifi ed in the Strategic Record-keeping Implementation Plan and implemented information management training;revised our curriculum of courses on teaching and learning; and began a TEDI pilot of mentoring activities (including teaching and learning).

Enterprise bargaining

Uncertainty about future government funding and workplace reforms for univer-sities affected negotiations on new enter-prise agreements for academic and general staff.

The academic agreement was close to acceptance in late 2004, but a staff ballot was delayed pending the outcome of discus-sions about extending the agreement beyond June 30, 2006, as negotiated previously.

The general staff agreement was not fi na-lised and negotiations will continue in 2005. We maintained the practice of administra-tively applying salary increases with a further three percent paid on January 1, 2005.

Negotiations for a new ICTE/TESOL (page 60-61) Enterprise Agreement began early in 2004 and we expect to fi nalise this in 2005. TESOL staff received a four percent pay increase on July 1 this year.

Equity and diversity

We developed our fi rst Equity and Diversity Plan for staff and students (page 29) for im-plementation in 2005. Features include in-creasing numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff; more support for parents; and initiatives to increase numbers of senior academic female staff.

Our University became the fi rst in Australia awarded breastfeeding-friendly accreditation from the Australian Breast-feeding Association; and for the third year in a row, the Federal Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency designated us an Employer of Choice for Women; and .

Equity Offi ce activities ranged from staff development and support for Diversity Week (page 54) to maintenance of and training for networks such as equity contact offi cers, dis-crimination and harassment contact offi cers and Allies (page 29).

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Streamlining HR managementThe Human Resource System Support Team in Personnel Services worked with Manage-ment Information Systems Section to develop a set of Workload Key Performance Indicator reports. These will streamline management by identifying situations where staff:

accumulate excessive balances for recreation or long service leave;take frequent sick leave or fl exitime; andwork excessive overtime within a six-month period.

We customised enquiry access to the Aurion HR System for all our managers. The new menu gives each manager access to HR, leave, payroll and superannuation data for staff in his or her own organisational unit.

Continuing appointments and promotions (academic)Sixty-two people at all levels applied for promotion or confi rmation of continuing ap-pointment, and 48 candidates were success-ful. These included nine new professors.

General staff classifi cationsWe classify general staff positions in levels ranging from Higher Education Worker (HEW) 1 to HEW 9, using the Hay Group Methodology. New and existing positions are assessed via questionnaire and then eval-uated by a computer-assisted job evaluation system.

Of 302 positions classifi ed this year, 60 were referred to a manual panel for further evaluation. Eighteen of these improved from their current levels, and the rest either remai-ned unchanged or decreased from the levels set via the computer-assisted job evaluation. Three positions were ultimately determined by our Review Committee.

SuperannuationUniSuper member benefi ts accumulate within the Defi ned Benefi t Plan (DBP), Investment Choice Plan (ICP) and/or Award Plus Plan (APP). The Trustee’s Report for the year ended June 30, 2004 noted:

combined DBP/ICP membership of 72,491 (up from 68,724 the previous year);APP membership of 160,610 (up from 139,280); andtotal assets under management of $12.6 billion (up from $10.1 billion).

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at March 31, 2004

STAFF FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT

2003 2004

Academic

Teaching and research 1263 1273

Research only 716 805

Non-academic

Research only 436 455

Other 2450 2548

All staff 4865 5081

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UniSuper expanded its national seminar program and launched an advisory service addressing superannuation and other fi nan-cial matters.

In July 2005, UniSuper will simplify its system for member accounts, replacing each member’s multiple accounts with a single account. This will streamline administration and improve product development, inclu-ding investment choice splitting. This move, along with a new UniSuper administration system, will coincide with implementation of the Federal Government’s Choice of Fund legislation.

UniSuper has advised that the legislation will not cover Defi ned Benefi t Plan arran-gements or arrangements certifi ed in an en-terprise bargaining agreement. Our current round of enterprise bargaining agreements (page 70) will specify our current superan-nuation arrangements as the appropriate ar-rangements for the life of the agreements.

Health and safety Our Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Unit implemented a new University-wide risk management system to further reduce accidents and incidents. Other initiatives included:

development of an electrical safety management plan; an external safety management systems audit (results exceeded the benchmark set by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland); andtraining for more than 1400 staff and students.

The OH&S minor works funding alloca-tion increased from $360,000 to $400,000 and was used to address urgent issues and improve facilities and systems, for example:

the dust extraction ventilation system (Princess Alexandra Hospital Biological Research Facility);oxygen monitoring and ventilation systems (Gehrmann Laboratories);scissor lift installation (Warehouse mail room); andsafety equipment and systems for our diving and boating facility.

Early provision of ergonomics and rehabili-tation (E&R) services to 278 staff with mus-culoskeletal symptoms minimised frequency and costs for workers’ compensation claims. E&R interventions also helped reduce the

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number of musculoskeletal injuries precipi-tating workers’ compensation claims requir-ing medical treatment and sick leave.

Self-insured workers’ compensationOur onsite workers’ compensation program focused on early intervention through man-agement and rehabilitation as a way of re-turning injured workers to full health and work functionality.

We managed 187 statutory workers’ com-pensation claims in our third full year of self insurance. This was about the same as in pre-vious years (185 in 2003, and 181 plus two damages claims in 2002). Total costs also remained stable, with a marginal increase attributable to higher fees for medical treat-ment and University wage increases.

Independent audits by the Queensland Regulatory Authority, Q-Comp, external auditors and the Trisafe auditor all con-fi rmed full compliance with the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act and Regulations and associated Regulatory re-quirements.

Data and statistics provided by the Regulator on our performance within the Queensland scheme confi rm we are excee-ding industry standards and benchmarks in virtually all criteria set down for assessment and comparison.


ACCIDENT STATISTICS – TIME-LOST INJURIES (LOSS OF ONE OR MORE WORK DAYS) *

Number of incidents

Incident Class 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Slip/trip/fall 18 17 7 10 11

Needle or sharp 2 0 2 1 0

Muscular effort single 17 15 13 4 12

Step/struck against object 8 5 5 4 4

Chemical single contact 1 2 2 2 1

Equipment/tool non-powered 1 0 0 1 0

Struck by falling/moving object 2 6 0 3 7

Muscular effort repetitive postural 6 8 6 7 5

Equipment/tool powered 2 0 1 1 1

Other agents 18 8 3 4 2

Total number of incidents 75 61 39 37 43

*This year’s increased total refl ected an increase in single event manual handling injuries.

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Strategic planning Our strategic planning cycle and quality management framework is described on page 13 of this Report.

In November, Senate received a report on progress towards achievement of the opera-tional priorities in our 2004-2008 Strategic Plan. Senate also noted revised faculty and central services Operational Plans (including specifi c sections on risk management) and approved an Asset Management Plan, subject to State Treasury approval of a new Treasury Management Policy. These support initiati-ves outlined in our 2005-2009 Strategic Plan.

These measures, together with planning initatives in teaching and learning and re-search, support and extend our central Strategic Plan (pages 18-21).

Information fl owsMarketing and communicationsOur Offi ce of Marketing and Communi-cations (OMC – page 54) provided direction and leadership University-wide, extending the University’s profi le and strengthening relationships with internal and external com-munities. It also developed a comprehensive Marketing and Communications Plan, inte-grating all activities undertaken by OMC.

Activities included advice and work on in-ternal and external communications, media relations, branding and corporate standards, marketing, advertising, major corporate pub-lications, website development, design and publishing, events assistance with domestic and international graduations, protocol and community relations.

OMC Web Services helped enhance our Web presence by:

implementing new website templates and guidelines; training 600 staff using the Online Content Management system; and developing new sites such as a University-wide calendar of events www.uq.edu.au/events, UQ CareerHub (page 65) and UQ International www.uq.edu.au/international.

Self-review of OMC operations included: market research measuring effectiveness of the 2003 You can corporate advertis-ing campaign (led to launch of Inspired thinking campaign in June); andthree reader surveys: magazines UQ News and Graduate Contact, and weekly

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Oscar winner, University graduate and 1997 honorary degree recipient Geoffrey Rush opened a foyer honour-named for him at the Cement Box Theatre – where as a student performer he remembers making racy political statements and appearing nude.


e-newsletter UQ Update (led to re-evaluation of content and presentation).

Informing our staffInternal communication included Web-based publications such as:

UQ Update (page 54) weekly e-newsletter;staff portal;NRAVS News, produced at UQ Gatton; UQ Ipswich Update;UQ Staff Bulletin (HR-related matters);Student and Administrative Services Weekly; andResearch Bulletin.

Our environmentDeveloping our campusesProperty and Facilities staff managed a capital program totalling $66.9 million – $14.2 mil-lion more than in the previous year, when we completed several major building projects.

Three of these won Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Awards:

General Purpose North Three ($15 million) – Brisbane Building of the Year and Subtropical Design Award; Queensland Bioscience Precinct ($105 million) – Regional Commendation; andnew teaching and seminar facilities, Heron Island Research Station – Central Queensland Building of the Year.

This year’s increased expenditure refl ected continuing major construction projects to house two of our four world-class institutes (page 50):

the $18.2 million Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), due for completion in 2005; andthe $73 million Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), due for completion in 2006.

Other continuing projects included: design phase of a building to house the $53.7 million Queensland Brain Institute (page 50), due for completion in 2007;refurbishment of the Chemistry Building (fi rst stage completed in 2004 at a cost of $14.5 million, next stage estimated at $12.5 million for completion in 2005); and$400,000 on works addressing OH&S issues (page 67).

We completed a $7.55 million refurbishment of the Hartley Teakle Building (page 33) and an $8 million conversion of the former Mayne Hall to The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre (pages 58, 64).

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Other completions included a fi t-out of space in Central Plaza One, Brisbane CBD as a city base for the UQ Business School, plus refurbishments of:

the E.S. Meyers Lecture Theatre, Mayne Medical School, Herston, featuring an historic wooden domed ceiling built by craftsmen in 1939 ($900,000, including signifi cant donations by medical alumni);part of the Hines Building for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research ($500,000); andthe Central Analytical Laboratory in the John Mahon Food Studies Complex, UQ Gatton ($950,000).

We again spent $1.6 million on deferred maintenance, the same amount as the pre-vious year. Projects included resurfacing Glasshouse Road ($92,750), a new switch-board for UQ Gatton Dining Hall ($86,977) and our roof repair/replacement program at St Lucia ($104,000).

We contributed to a $6 million University of Queensland (Student) Union revamp of the Schonell Theatre – the fi rst since the building was constructed in 1970 – to in-crease patronage and create lecture space. Schonell houses the Cement Box Theatre and two cinemas. Cinema One has been con-verted to provide about 400 seats for lectures and conferences during the day, and movies and live performances at night. Cinema Two retains its original 240 seats.

Sustaining our environmentOur environmental practices focus on sus-tainability: conserving resources for the benefi t of future generations. Expenditure on environment/energy conservation in 2004 was $284,737.

Proactive steps this year included:developing a Green purchasing guide to minimise waste at its source;signing up our vehicle fl eet with Greenfl eet to counter carbon dioxide emissions; expanding recycling systems in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Wastewise program; subscribing to EcoSpecifi er to assist in sourcing environmentally-preferred construction materials;developing an energy management policy to help reduce our energy load; andimplementing a water management plan at St Lucia.

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Our faculties

Faculty of ArtsTelephone (07) 3365 1333International +61 7 3365 1333Facsimile (07) 3365 2866International +61 7 3365 2866Internet www.arts.uq.edu.auEmail [email protected]

Faculty of Biological and Chemical Sciences (BACS)Telephone (07) 3365 1888International +61 7 3365 1888Facsimile (07) 3365 1613International +61 7 3365 1613Internet www.bacs.uq.edu.auEmail [email protected]

Faculty of Business, Economics and Law (BEL)Telephone (07) 3365 7111 International +61 7 3365 7111Facsimile (07) 3365 4788 International +61 7 3365 4788 Internet www.uq.edu.au/belEmail [email protected]

Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture (EPSA)Telephone (07) 3365 4777 International +61 7 3365 4777 Facsimile (07) 3365 4444 International +61 7 3365 4444 Internet: www.epsa.uq.edu.au/Email [email protected] (student and course enquiries)Email:[email protected] (all other enquiries)

Faculty of Health SciencesTelephone (07) 3365 5342International +61 7 3365 5342Facsimile (07) 3365 5533International +61 7 3365 5533Internet www.uq.edu.au/healthEmail [email protected]

Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science (NRAVS)UQ GattonTelephone: (07) 5460 1279International: +61 7 5460 1279Facsimile: (07) 5460 1204International: +61 7 5460 1204St LuciaTelephone (07) 3365 7916International +61 7 3365 7916Facsimile (07) 3365 1949International +61 7 3365 1949Internet www.uq.edu.au/nravs/Email [email protected]

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (SBS)Telephone (07) 3365 7487 or 3365 7954International +61 7 3365 7487 or 3365 7954Facsimile (07) 3346 9136International +61 7 3346 9136Internet www.uq.edu.au/sbs/Email [email protected]

74

The year 2005

We will upgrade our UQ CareerHub online employment service for students and launch a UQ Careers portal.

We will remodel space at UQ Gatton as a collaborative learning centre, using Commonwealth Government capital funding.

Implementation of our fi rst Equity and Diversity Plan will include annual reporting to our Senate on progress towards meeting the Plan’s strategic priorities.

Signifi cant planned reductions in recyclables going to land fi ll, water and power consumption will help sustain our environment.

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Our environmental management system at St Lucia is certifi ed to ISO 14001 standard, maintained since 1996 via regular review by National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) Certifi cation Services International. In 2004, we did not receive any non-compli-ances (including fi nes) for breach of environ-mental legislation.

An annual review highlighted our areas of environmental risk as construction activities, maintenance operations, transport, general waste and parking. We addressed these by:

revising contractor induction and site management plan acceptance proce-dures;investigating future options for parking and alternative transport;drafting design guidelines for construc-tion works; andcontributing to an Australasian guide for sustainability in facilities manage-ment through the Tertiary Education Facilities Management Assocation.

We set goals of a 30 percent reduction by 2005 for recyclables going to landfi ll and for water consumption; and a 10 percent reduction by 2008 of our off-peak power consumption. Initiatives to achieve these goals included:

reviewing energy consumption, including an audit of electrical equip-ment left running in non-working hours; installing a managed lighting system in the Molecular Biosciences Building to achieve an annual reduction of 410.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (equivalent in volume to 50 Olympic-sized pools); and reviewing Properties and Facilities design guidelines and recommending use of T5 energy-effi cient lighting technology in new projects.

Our Utilities Management committee com-pleted Stage One of a database for utilities management, with the full database due to fi nish in 2006.

Plans for 2005 include:partnering with Monash Environment Institute on a Green steps program;using a lighting system which adjusts for daylight in the Biological Sciences Library refurbishment;re-tendering our energy supply contract to include a 2.5 percent green energy component; andconducting waste audits to boost recycling.

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