In 2011, the Federal Government barred executives from voting on approving their own pay at annual general meetings (AGMs). Due to a technicality, the chairman was also prohibited from voting on executive pay, resulting in retail shareholders losing their proxy votes directed to the chairman on executive pay.

Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) wanted to restore shareholders’ rights by ensuring their proxy votes were not discarded due to this technicality.

CallidusPR, in partnership with CSA, developed a comprehensive research and consultative program with JP Morgan, Computershare and CSA’s policy committee which revealed the significance of the issue, discovering over 66 per cent of retail shareholders had lost their proxy votes on executive pay at AGMs in 2011.

CallidusPR and CSA’s campaign was two-pronged: (a) convince the Government that the technicality had significant negative consequences on shareholder rights and (b) compel the Government to separate the correcting amendment from the contentious Consumer Credit Amendment Bill 2011 and urgently introduce the amendment as a standalone bill by Parliament’s 2012 Winter sitting.

RESULT

The Government separated and fast-tracked the amending legislation, and on 19 June 2012, Federal Parliament passed the Corporations Amendment (Proxy Voting) Act 2012. Therefore CSA’s goal of restoring shareholder voting rights on executive pay was fully achieved.

AWARDS

Highly Commended 2012 National Golden Target Awards in Public Affairs
Winner 2012 PRIA NSW State Award for Excellence in Public Affairs

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In a determined bid to establish temporary labour as an essential element of the workplace of the future, and to support the sales of its services, temporary recruitment company Adecco needed to build a compelling case explaining why Australian employers need a flexible workforce.

Adecco commissioned Australia’s first and only comprehensive research into the temporary labour market: the Adecco Group Temporary Labour Report (Report). Now in its second year, the Report explores the size and outlook for the Australian temporary labour market, labour trends and employee experiences.

Developed in partnership with CallidusPR, the Report is issued to a number of key stakeholders including politicians, policymakers, business associations, staff, clients, potential clients and candidates. It has been well received and referenced by stakeholders supporting the need for temporary labour in Australia.

The Report is a focus for an annual targeted media relations campaign refreshing and re-igniting public debate on the issue of temporary labour.

Data is also used on an ongoing basis through multiple channels including: proactive and reactive media campaigns, peer industry engagement, client and candidate engagement, internal communications and business networking.

RESULT

Sales have increased by over nine per cent following the launch of, and campaign surrounding, the Report.

AWARDS

Commended 2012 PRIA NSW State Award for Excellence in B2B Marketing

The Australian Senate Inquiry into Gene Patents is currently investigating whether patent laws covering genes should be revised.

Originally scheduled to report in November 2009, CallidusPR was approached by the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) in September 2009 to advise on increasing dialogue with the Committee, and moving the public debate from one of general disagreement to a more neutral and better informed position.

IPTA was concerned that all the potential consequences of a proposed amendment were not fully understood amid the sensationalist noise and ‘untruths’ that were being disseminated. CallidusPR developed a plan that gave IPTA a voice representing the views of its members by:

• Setting out its position on the proposed amendment
• Developing strong and clear messages
• Concisely rebutting mis-informing messages
• Opening up a two-way dialogue with the Committee

RESULT

The Committee has delayed reporting from November 2009 to September 2010 due to "the complex nature of many issues associated with this inquiry.” IPTA succeeded in achieving its goal, as it aimed to create an environment for all potential consequences to be carefully considered before making any changes to the Act and this is currently happening.

AWARDS

This PR campaign won the 2010 Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) NSW State Awards for Excellence in Public Affairs and was commended in the PRIA National Golden Target Awards in Public Affairs the same year.