A Word from The Boss

Connected for Life, Race to Launch

Welcome to our Spring newsletter for 2025!

In this edition read on to discover how Mipela GeoSolutions “Launch” digital Transformation Stage revolves around the cloud to enable our clients to Implement and Scale their day-to-day activities. Recently Graham Budby, Director at Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, visited the Mipela team and presented an overview of the Cultural Heritage Services his team delivers across more than 20 mining, gas, and exploration tenements on Barada Barna country. We also showcase how Mipela is supporting Australia’s Renewable Energy Zones.

With the confluence of two key generational challenges well underway – the energy transition and the growth of artificial intelligence – pressures from rising electricity demands, geopolitical shifts, and digital advancements are converging to redefine the way we produce, manage, and consume energy. Energy and infrastructure projects are notoriously complex, spanning diverse stakeholders including cultural advisors, regulators, landowners and environmental groups. What’s more, these assets stretch across geographically dispersed locations, have multiple lifecycle phases, and often operate for decades. With such complexity, fragmented systems and siloed data breeds inefficiency, miscommunication, delayed decisions, mounting costs, and elevated risk. Organisations are scrambling to manage people, visualise spatial relationships, and optimise assets across portfolios, often without a unified approach. Effectively managing land access and stakeholder management is critical to achieving your social licence to operate and is fair to say would be one of the key issues for developers of infrastructure in Australia and elsewhere in the world. The build out of transmission and distribution networks, onshore renewable generation and firming and the investment increasing capacity of existing gas infrastructure, with development of supporting infrastructure for offshore wind, will all impact upon significant parcels of Australian land. Appropriate identification and engagement with indigenous custodians of this land and local community groups will be critical to these projects proceeding on time. If you are interested in a solution that bridges these gaps. By “Connecting for life” what we call the three “P’s”, ‘People’ (enhancing stakeholder engagement and communication), ‘Places’ (enabling spatial data visualisation and location based intelligence) and ‘Portfolio’ (managing diverse assets and activities across their lifecycle), centralising everything in one coherent whole, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Client Success Team for more information.

On an exciting note, Adam Herbert, Alek Hillier, Jaci Button, Justin Fielke, Karen Thompson and Hayden McDonald look forward to seeing our clients and industry colleagues in our hometown of Brisbane 18-21 October for the 2025 Australian Pipeline Gas Association Annual Convention & Exhibition. This is the event for anyone serious about shaping the future of Australia’s pipelines, energy infrastructure, and gas sectors. We look forward to catching up with you over the course of the event and invite you to our comfy lounges to understand your most pressing cloud hosting or data management needs. Drop by Stand 47 in the exhibition to fuel your business sessions with some M&M’s on us.

Hayden McDonald
Founder and Managing Director

Supporting Australia’s Renewable Energy Zones

Extract from Energy New Bulletin article – Analysis: Inside Australia’s REZ pipeline 30 September 2025

Over the past three years, the phrase ‘renewable energy zone’ has increasingly crept into policy papers, press releases and political talking points. Federal and state governments alike have spruiked their creation as a central plank of Australia’s transition strategy.  

The idea is simple enough – cluster new generation, transmission and industry in designated hubs where wind, solar, hydro and storage resources overlap. The hope is this not only accelerates decarbonisation but also cuts costs and minimises disruption to the grid. 

Renewable energy zones – let’s call them REZs – are the on-shore cousins of the Commonwealth’s offshore wind “declared areas.” They identify where strong wind and solar resources overlap with grid capacity, then funnel new generation and storage into those corridors in a coordinated way. 

How the model works

Think of it like a funnel:

1. Government defines a REZ boundary and modelled hosting capacity
2. A transmission project and operator are progressed
3. Developers bid for “access rights” to connect
4. Winning projects still need normal state and federal planning or environmental approvals
5. Steel only goes in the ground when access rights, planning consent and transmission delivery line up.

So, where does Mipela fit in?

We have often referred to the lifecycle of a project or an asset, as shown in the following diagram. Along the way, there are several activities that take place that require engagement with stakeholders and landholders. These needs change as each project matures but the core data remains consistent.

Mipela specialises in providing software solutions to best manage these processes including it’s commercial off the shelf software called X-Info Stakeholder Management. X-Info Stakeholder Management is designed to get a new project up and running for stakeholder data collection, management and reporting perspective.

We appreciate that every project is slightly different but they all start from the same fundamentals relating to stakeholder data of Add, Search and Report. X-Info Stakeholder Management can then be updated to best align to each project’s business processes and workflows.

X-Info Stakeholder Management is currently being utilised by several REZ projects, right across the country, to support newly stood up project teams who need to hit the ground running.

Written by Karen Thompson

Cultural Heritage and Community Responsibility: Insights from Barada Barna

Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation provide specialist cultural heritage and support services to corporations and individuals, particularly in the resources sector within the QCD2016/007 Native Title Claim area.

Mipela and Barada Barna have worked together on various projects over the years.

Recently Graham Budby, Director at Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, visited the Mipela team and presented an overview of the Cultural Heritage Services his team delivers across more than 20 mining, gas, and exploration tenements on Barada Barna country. Their work ensures companies meet their obligations under the Cultural Heritage Act 2003. It was insightful for the Mipela team to hear how tools such as the X-Info Suite play a central role in supporting compliance and day-to-day operations.

In more detail, Mipela provide Barada Barna with a data management regime for cultural heritage that is technically sound and business based. X-Info Suite provides Barada Barna with risk reduction, improved coordination of field teams and cost savings, not just in cultural heritage management but also in any other project component or process that might depend on cultural heritage clearance.

Field workers can capture information, photos, videos and audio recordings using mobile data capture app, X-Info Aware. Any information captured in the field is immediately sent to a cloud hosted server and made available for consumption by all users of X-Info Suite. X-Info Aware also has an offline capability that captures the data point in time in remote areas with poor data connectivity, automatically caching the data back to the cloud hosted server as soon as the mobile device returns to mobile or wireless coverage. Using tools like X-Info Aware significantly expediates the notification and assessment of any cultural heritage finds.

“By moving to digital mapping and recording, it has made the process of doing our Cultural Heritage surveys and Cultural Heritage clearance work more streamlined and efficient,” said Graham Budby.

As with its other cultural heritage clients, Mipela looks forward to an ongoing successful relationship where continuous improvements can be made to these processes into the future.

Written by Karen Thompson

Kamapim Update

The convergence of people, process, and technology

As we lead up to Christmas (only 10 weeks away), reflection on our recent Kamapim sessions has been thought-provoking, with a diverse range of presentations, discussions, and insights that have highlighted the critical intersection of technology, regulation, and cultural responsibility in our sector.

Client Insights: Efficiency in Compliance with X-Info Connect SPEAR

We began the quarter with a client-led perspective, Gail from Jemena kindly shared her experience using X-Info Connect SPEAR. It was valuable to see how our clients are using the system in real time, ensuring that every referral is tracked, actioned, and completed with full compliance. Gail noted that the efficiency gains are significant, with X-Info Connect SPEAR saving around 25 minutes per application.

Strengthening Cyber Resilience: Lessons from the Global Threat Landscape

The quarter also brought important discussions on security. The Fortian Security Update examined the dynamics of the global cybercrime ecosystem, with the Qantas breach as the point of discussion. This incident highlighted both the sophistication of attackers and the vulnerabilities within large organisations. The update also introduced the concept of vishing (voice phishing), outlining practical strategies to mitigate against this increasingly prevalent threat.

Policy and Legislative Updates: Staying Informed in a Changing Environment

In July, Di Evans provided a comprehensive overview of the Annual Policy updates, including the latest changes in workplace legislation. With an ever-evolving regulatory environment Di keeps our team informed and educated.

Driving Operational Improvements: Change Management in Practice

Adam Herbert introduced the new Change Management software and process. With transparency, both for clients and for internal teams. This process provides consistency, transparency and minimal disruption for both clients and internal teams.

Written by Jacqueline Button

Are Your Low Cost Digital Services Scrutinised?

When it comes to digital services, procurement rules often mean that lower priced solutions don’t always undergo the same scrutiny as higher-value contracts, and in my experience, a lot of the time the deciding factor has been price. But times have changed and what if a lower price engagement with less purchasing/compliance conditions sees you engage a vendor that doesn’t tick all the best practice boxes?

Price alone can’t be what decides how we handle the purchase or contract renewals of digital services. The reality is that a low-priced service can still hold personal information or high-risk data. And that risk ultimately affects the community.

Recent updates to the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act and Australian Privacy Principles have raised the bar to prompt us all that no matter the value, check that all the compliance boxes are ticked! The price tag might be small, but the consequences of a security of data breach could be enormous.

To ensure your business aligns with Australian data sovereignty laws and best practices, here are some key resources:

• Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC): Offers guidance on securing your data and protecting against cyber threats. Visit cyber.gov.au for resources and updates
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): Provides information on the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. Learn more at oaic.gov.au
• Digital Transformation Agency (DTA): Offers advice on digital transformation and data handling within Australia. Explore resources at dta.gov.au
• Australian Government Business Website: A resource hub for businesses navigating compliance and data management. Visit business.gov.au.

At Mipela, we work with energy and infrastructure owners and managers across Australasia to help them meet and exceed security requirements. Our security benchmarks are the same, regardless of the service we provide or the client’s profile. From national energy supply companies to the smallest of Local Government Councils, you all get the same suite and high standard of protection services, monitoring, tools and assurance.

We’re proudly Australian-owned, with no offshore ownership or investment, and our products are designed, built, and supported entirely in-house from our Brisbane HQ.

Written by Jacqueline Button

InFocus

Updated Change Management Process for Support

Earlier this year we refined our change management process as part of our IT Service Management (ITSM) deployment – the system that manages our Support Requests – transforming how we handle change.

Q1. What happens to my Support Request when I log it?

A1. Each Support Request is firstly triaged and categorised under the following conditions, with the change type driving workflows and timelines accordingly:

The Support Request is then prioritised and assigned to the most appropriate resource to resolve.

Q2. What happens after a change Support Request has been completed?

A2. All changes, whether cloud infrastructure updates, software deployments, or configuration adjustments undergo an evaluation process, including impact analysis, and client approval before being finalised.

Q3. What if I need to escalate a Support Request?

A3. In the first instance, reach out to the Actioning Officer. In the second instance, contact the Support Team Lead, Alek Hillier. If you’re still having trouble, contact your Account Manager.

Written by Alek Hillier and Karen Thompson

Product Update

Heading into the Future: Our Next-Gen Software is in Progress!

The Products Team is hard at work on the development of the next generation of X-Info Connect. We are making significant progress on the fundamental platform, with major milestones to reach over the next eight months.

Our focus is on delivering increased flexibility, allowing X-Info Connect to adapt more seamlessly to your specific workflows and operational needs. The system will also feature significantly enhanced performance, aimed at making your daily tasks more efficient and responsive.

A key objective is to provide a streamlined user experience across all platforms. Whether you are accessing X-Info Connect from your desktop, through a web browser, or via a mobile device, our goal is a consistent, intuitive, and unified experience that supports your work wherever you are.

Utilising an agile development approach with sprint cycles, the team is focused on hitting weekly objectives that work towards our major milestones. This iterative process ensures all the pieces come together to deliver a robust next-generation of X-Info Connect.

Written by Kirsty Beer

Staff Update

Welcome to Edward Carroll.

Edward has joined Mipela’s Support Team off the back of four years working for Esri as part of the BYDA Helpdesk Team. When asked what led Edward to Mipela he said ”connecting people with the right information at the right time” resonated with him.

Excited about learning the why behind our products and services, he is keen to further his knowledge around stakeholder needs and how we deliver aligned solutions.

Video games, woodworking, and painting as well as 3D printing to have some fun with added creativity and problem-solving to keep him enthusiastic and interested.

If able to choose a fictional character as a mentor Edward’s choice is Kaylee Frye from Firefly. She’s a positive, technically savvy problem solver, all traits that Edwards finds inspiring.

Written by Jacqueline Button