Anywise disclosure statement - working in the defence industry

About Anywise Consulting Pty Ltd

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Anywise is a boutique consulting firm based in Melbourne, Australia. Launched by Adam Evans and Meaghan Barry in 2014, the firm is specialised in complex project mobilisation, agile project design and delivery, consulting services, digital transformation, innovation lab, project management office (PMO), solutioneering, and logistics support.

Anywise provides support to the Australian government, including the Department of Defence and defence industry. Approximately 80% of the company’s annual revenue comes from clients in the Defence Sector.

This percentage has been decreasing since 2017 as it continues to diversify into the department of industry, innovation and science and State Government.

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There are many reasons we may say no to a contract, project, supplier, or client. Anywise does not work on mission systems that involve the design, manufacture or supply of weapons or ammunition. The company closely controls project and engineering interfaces to ensure that it is not involved in systems that actively deliver lethal force, preferring systems that deliver humanitarian, logistics or personnel training. Its industry clients are screened for ethical conduct and the directors are involved in the decision to pursue work for clients that are or may have been or could be involved in arms trades or supply of systems that profit from war. The firm is not involved in any projects related to offensive weapon systems or offensive weapon carrier; projects related to controversial weapons and emerging technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence and neurotechnologies with a capability to harm people and the planet in disproportionate and indiscriminate ways; nor is involved in any projects serving clients that have a high likelihood of misuse (e.g. governments involved with alleged human rights abuses).

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Anywise provides professional services to Defence Industry clients inclusive of Project Management; Integrated Logistics Support and Engineering services into Federal Agencies capability acquisition (Deployable camps and humanitarian supplies); Safety and equipment asset management systems (Bridging equipment) and training support (Personnel training for military police and protective services); and Safety cases and engineering support for user safety manuals for laser equipment. The company has a stated and resourced strategy to grow its impact in circular economies, data management, safety systems, asset management and renewable technologies. 

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Anywise Consulting Pty Ltd Policies and Practices

Anywise has policies and practices in place for carrying out due diligence of its clients, so as to ensure that the services provided by the company are not used for harming people and the environment. These include client qualifications, bid no bid decisions and Project Management Office reviews. In addition to this, all staff that work on defence related projects receive training on the contents of the company’s due diligence policy.

The following selection criteria are used within our due diligence policy for the selection of suppliers, clients and projects:

Suppliers

Guiding points for decision-making:

• The service can be performed better or less expensively by a third party provider

• It would be cost-prohibitive or otherwise unreasonable to perform this service in-house

• Outsourcing the service will positively affect the quality of this service

• The cost of the service is worth the benefit and the risks associated with outsourcing the service are worth the benefit

Once the decision to outsource a function has been made, selecting the appropriate provider is critical to the success.  Due diligence must be performed after the potential providers have been reduced to a short list of two to three companies. Due diligence must always be performed prior to a provider being selected.  

The process should include an evaluation of the provider's ability to perform the requested services, and must specifically cover the following areas:

• Technical ability of the provider

• Ability to deliver the service

• Experience of the provider

• Reputation of the provider 

• Policies and procedures related to the service

• Financial strength of the provider

• Service Level Agreements related to the service

If the outsourced service will involve the provider having access to, or storing the company's or our stakeholder’s confidential information, due diligence must cover the provider's security controls for access to the confidential information. The provider must be given the least amount of network, system, and/or data access required to perform the contracted services.  This access must follow applicable policies and be periodically audited.

Projects

Even though the company has limited information about how its projects are used, were it to discover that its projects were being utilised for maleficent ends, it would immediately stop working on such a project and discontinue relationships with the related client. During the project execution phase, the company, through its Project Management Office, conducts regular check-ins with its engineers to check if it has ethical concerns or feedback about the projects. Although Anywise works across a wide range of projects in a variety of markets, the company is willing to step away from projects that do not align with its core values. 

Clients

To address the risk of corruption, the company has an Ethics and Anti Corruption Policy that maintains an expectation “...that all of our team members, regardless of level, responsibilities or authority will remain safe and endeavour to ensure that others also remain safe.” In addition, “All employees must protect our company’s legality. They should comply with all environmental, safety, and fair dealing laws. We expect employees to be ethical and responsible when dealing with our company’s finances, products, partnerships and public image.” The company promotes honest and transparent business practices.  

Failure to comply with this company policy, or any other policy, may result in disciplinary actions for those that do not comply, going as far as termination of employment.  This policy is shared with all staff and specific training on the policy is provided periodically for new and existing employees that are part of the management, support, and sales teams. The policy also promotes the reporting of breaches of the policy without any fear of retaliation.  

Anywise’s Whistleblowing Policy details the steps to be taken in case concerns are received from whistleblowers. Such concerns are managed by the company secretary. If this is inappropriate, any Senior Manager (Principal Consultant) or Director is to be notified. Failing this, submission to the board of Directors can be made in writing. The governing member decides on preventative and remediative measures to be taken. The Corporations Act restricts any retaliation against a whistleblower and gives them a civil right, including seeking reinstatement of employment.