Register

Buyers (BHP / BMA)

BHP and BMA employees can register at any time to use the Local Buying Program for their procurement needs. Buyers will be required to validate their registrations via their BHP email. Once registered, buyers can source goods and services from Local Buying Program suppliers by raising Work Instructions.

BHP / BMA Employee Registration

Buyers (Tier A Contractors)

Tier A Contractor employees can register at any time to use the Local Buying Program for their procurement needs. Buyers will be required to validate their registrations via their Tier A Contractor email. Once registered, buyers can source goods and services from Local Buying Program suppliers by raising Work Instructions.

Tier A Contractor Employee Registration

Queensland

Events

27 Aug

Horizon Applications Open

Mackay and Sarina

The HORIZON Program is delivered by First Nations X, Atomic Sky & Project Play Up – Leadership for Women, and made possible by support from the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s New Industries Fund X-tend grant, Local Buying Foundation, Gold Fields and the Mt Burdett Foundation, as well as the following companies

04 Sep

Microsoft Suites Automation

TBA - Greater Whitsunday region 3.30 - 5.00pm

An 8 week program to take control of your workflows, eliminate repetitive tasks, and unleash the full power of Microsoft 365.
Over eight weeks, this hands-on program walks you step-by-step through practical tools, AI features, and automation workflows that will transform the way you work.

10 Sep

Fair Work – Navigating Awards (2025 – 26 Priority Industries)

Online 11.00am - 11.45am AEST

Awards are legal documents that set the minimum pay rates and entitlements for most industries and jobs in Australia.

Join our webinar to learn how to read and apply them. We’ll cover: • An overview of awards • A live demonstration on how to find your award, and • The tools you can use to understand award entitlements

Introductory level – this webinar is suitable for all knowledge levels and will not cover complex information. A recording of this webinar will be made available for 30 days to everyone who registers for the session. You can find more upcoming webinars at www.fairwork.gov.au/webinars.

10 Sep

EMERALD LEAN MANUFACTURING AND CULTURAL MATURITY WORKSHOP

Emerald 8.00am - 3.00pm

This is not your typical LEAN Manufacturing Workshop. This series has been redesigned for 2025 based on industry feedback and will provide fresh insights into LEAN Thinking and the challenges of sustainably improving business productivity.

10 Sep

Can’t Be What You Can’t See Expo

Moranbah 4.00 - 8.00pm

Join us for an inspiring afternoon celebrationg opportunity, inclusion and the future of women in resources

11 Sep

Capability statement webinar

Online 10.30 - 11.30am

This webinar will provide tips to help your businesses develop and prepare an effective capability statement.

16 Sep

B2B Brews

Mackay 8.00 - 9.00am

This B2B Brews is proudly brought to you by the wonderful team at Mackay Women’s Services. Mackay Women’s Services is the lead accredited agency for domestic and family violence (DFV) support in the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions. Their service provides a range of crisis intervention supports, counselling and case management, and group programs for adult and children victim-survivors.

17 Sep

Mine Pitch – Greater Whitsunday Innovation

Mackay 12.00pm - 2.00pm

Mine Pitch is a unique opportunity for Queensland innovators; start-ups and scale-ups to get a foot in the door to showcase their product and/or service solutions that can benefit the Mining, METS and Resource sector. Its a platform for some of Australia’s largest and most profitable companies to procure innovative new products and services locally, providing direct access to a panel of decision makers to gain feedback, advice, and connections to relevant parties for product trials.

Mine Pitch is a quarterly event throughout the year. Startups and Scale-ups will be joined by a panel of industry representatives that will provide feedback, advice and connections to the presenting companies. All parties will have opportunities to connect one on one following the event to further commercial discussions.

17 Sep

Casual Employment overview

Online 2.30 - 3.00pm ACST

There have been several changes to casual employment laws. These include changes to:
• how casual work is defined
• the pathway to full-time or part-time employment
• employee and employer responsibilities.

18 Sep

Women in Manufacturing

Mackay 7.00 - 9.30am

Join us to celebrate women in the manufacturing industry in the Mackay region!

24 Sep

Fair Work – Guide to Regulated Workers (independent contracts, the gig economy and sham contracting)

Online 11.00am AEST

Do you know the difference between an employee and an independent contractor? Whether you’re a worker or you’re engaging workers, we can help clarify your understanding. Also, find out more about ‘employee-like workers’ and what to do if you’re employee who thinks they’ve been misclassified as a contractor.

In this webinar we will also explore the following topics: • Changes to definitions and protections for independent contractors and regulated workers • Minimum standard orders and protections for employee-like workers in the gig economy • Where to find more information relating to regulated workers.

Introductory level – this webinar is suitable for all knowledge levels and will not cover complex information. A recording of this webinar will be made available for 30 days to everyone who registers for the session.  You can find more upcoming webinars at www.fairwork.gov.au/webinars.

25 Sep

Hiring and Paying Workers

Online 11.30am - 12.30pm

Have the opportunity to speak with experienced tax officers, ask questions and gain insights tailored to your business needs.

26 Sep

Integrated Manufacturing Systems Masterclass

Online 8.00am - 10.00am

In this practical 2 hour workshop, digital transformation expert Glen Fry, will assist you as a manufacturing leader to:

  • Gain a comprehensive understanding of digital foundations and systems integration, and how adoption of these can benefit your business.
  • Assess your digital position and access practical tools, including a personalised roadmap, and resources to maximise your profitability and resilience
  • Learn all about the latest and cost effective technology trends that drive efficiency and resilience
  • Hear insights from industry leaders who have successfully integrated their business systems.
26 Sep

Supporting small businesses in Queensland

Online Various

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) offer a suite of masterclasses designed to strengthen your small business knowledge.

During these free online sessions, you will have the opportunity to speak with experienced tax officers, ask questions and gain insights tailored to your business needs.

Access the free resources now at – https://smallbusiness.taxsuperandyou.gov.au/

To get the most from the masterclasses we recommend you complete the online learning before attending. This will give you time to consider what you’ve learned, reflect and prepare any questions you have to ask at the webinar.

30 Sep

Microsoft Outlook: Revisit a classic

Online 10.00am - 12.00pm

Discover the full potential of Outlook! This workshop will show you how to transform Outlook into a powerhouse for productivity and efficiency, covering email management, calendar organisation, and task scheduling.

30 Sep

Qld Manufacturing Month – Mackay Regional Networking

Mackay 4.30pm

The Mackay Manufacturing Hub Regional Networking Event on the 30th of September is an opportunity to meet the local Manufacturing Hub team and hear from Industry Leaders from across the State.

You will be able to provided with information on Queensland Government support for local manufacturing businesses and our 2 guest speakers are:

Brad Parsons – An ecosystem orchestrator at Rely Ability, a company that provides digital transformation and industrial data solutions for sustainability; and

Jordan Morris – Manufacturing Skills Queensland – Industry Development Manager and Queensland Industry Skills and Jobs Advisor – Manufacturing and Engineering Stream

08 Oct

Boost Performance with Lean Thinking

Paget 8.30am - 3.00pm

Join the Mackay Manufacturing Hubs for a two-day, hands-on workshop tailored to SME manufacturers, designed in response to industry feedback. Learn how lean thinking can drive productivity, reduce waste, cut costs, and boost employee engagement.

09 Oct

Indigenous Business Expo

Mackay 7.30am - 3.00pm

Local businesses and procurement professionals are invited to the 4th annual Indigenous Business Expo for the Mackay, Isaac, and Whitsunday regions.

The event highlights culture, innovation, capability, and diversity of First Nations businesses across many business sectors. It’s an opportunity for procurement teams and decision-makers in mining, manufacturing, government, health, tourism, arts, education, construction, and agriculture to connect directly with Indigenous suppliers and explore future partnerships.

14 Oct

Cyber Security and AI for Small Business

Online 2.00 - 4.00pm

As AI becomes more accessible, small businesses face both new security risks and powerful protection tools. This workshop will help you understand how AI impacts cyber security and what you can do to safeguard your business.

15 Oct

Password Management

Online 1.00 - 2.00pm

Learn how to secure your business by implementing strong passwords, using password managers and adopting safe password management practices.

22 Oct

LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION CONFERENCE 2025

Mackay 7.15am - 4.00pm

New Horizons: Leadership for Tomorrow

This year’s conference will provide you with the skills, knowledge and insights to facilitate your journey to becoming a strong, informed and inspiring leader. Learn the importance of creating a healthy workplace culture and motivating your team for optimum performance.

  • Cultivate a workplace culture of learning with personal development.
  • Benefit from new skills, new ideas and new perspectives to support an individual’s professional development.
  • Provide your teams with the skills, knowledge and insights to facilitate their journey to becoming strong, informed and inspiring leaders.
  • Create a healthy workplace culture and motivate your teams for optimum performance.
23 Oct

Reclaim your time: AI for Small Businesses

Online 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Participants will learn how to use AI to save time, reduce admin tasks, and streamline marketing efforts. This workshop is ideal for any business owners uncertain about Artificial Intelligence and are keen to learn how to use it to optimise activities and support business growth.

23 Oct

Tendering Top Ten Tips Webinar

Online 11.00am - 12.00pm

This webinar will provide you with practical tips to help you to prepare comprehensive and conforming bids to tender for government and private sector contracts

23 Oct

Stop being attractive to hackers

Online 1.00 - 3.00pm

Most small businesses are accidentally left open to hackers, we will cover two factor authentication, password managers, types of attacks and security software.

29 Oct

Building a WordPress website using the Divi Theme

Online 10.00am - 12.00pm

In this “live workshop”, you will see every step to set up your WordPress website and start building it using the popular Divi theme.

Steps include:

  • Installing WordPress on your hosting account
  • Installing the Divi theme
  • How to set up your background options
  • How to use the Divi builder to add sections and rows to your website
  • How to edit text and upload images

Participants can either watch and take notes, or if you would like to follow along, you will need to have a hosting account set up with your domain pointed to the hosting account, and a subscription for the Divi theme from Elegant Themes.

29 Oct

Net Zero Economy – Webinar

Online 12.00pm - 12.30pm

Join us for this informative webinar, where we will break down climate disclosure obligations and government policies to explain how this will affect smaller businesses, as well as highlight some of the exciting new opportunities within the net zero economy.

ICN’s National Climate Director – Dr Vanessa Rauland will help you to:

Unpack the essentials of upcoming mandatory climate reporting for businesses
Understand the downstream impact on your business as a supplier
Learn how to prepare your business and take proactive steps
Understand the emerging opportunities in Australia’s net zero transformation

05 Nov

Managing your digital reputation

Online 1.00 - 2.00pm

Learn how to monitor and respond to online reviews, manage your brand’s reputation, and engage with customers effectively.

25 Nov

An introduction to Australian Government procurement for suppliers workshop

Online 11.00am - 12.00pm

This session is intended as an introductory session to help potential suppliers understand how to participate in Australian Government procurement and contracting opportunities.

What you’ll learn:

  • Why you may want to sell to the Australian Government
  • What the Australian Government buys and how
  • Procurement methods and industry engagement
  • How to start the process to sell
  • Responding to an approach to market
  • What to expect if you win a contract
  • What to expect if you don’t win a contract
27 Nov

Microsoft Excel: Complex Functions and Automations

Online 11.00am - 1.00pm

In this hands-on session, you’ll learn to use advanced Excel functions like IF, SUMIF, and VLOOKUP, along with conditional formatting to automate routine calculations. Ideal for small business operators who want to reduce manual data entry, create efficient workflows, and confidently present accurate figures to accountants, partners, or stakeholders.

02 Dec

Prepare your business for end of year

Online 1.00 - 3.00pm

Learn how to set up auto replies, update office hours, create effective social posts and marketing strategies to prepare your business for the holiday season.

For more information on the Local Buying Program in Queensland contact:

Emma McCullagh

Business Development Lead

emma.mccullagh@c-res.com.au

1800536663

Lindsey Durnsford

Business Development Advisor - East

lindsey.durnsford@c-res.com.au

1800536663