90percent Consulting

02/01/2026

When physical safety and psychological safety work together, workplaces don't just comply - they thrive.

Meet Digby, our Health Safety Environment and Quality (HSEQ) specialist who brings both lenses to every intervention.

With extensive experience across NT mining, oil and gas, construction, tourism, public transport, and sports and recreation, Digby understands that true workplace safety isn't just about hard hats and protocols - it's about creating environments where people feel safe to speak up, challenge the status quo, and bring their whole selves to work.

He's led trade delegations, refereed sports at a national level, and now applies that same rigour and fairness to helping Northern Australian organisations build psychosocially safe cultures.

Because when you integrate physical and psychosocial risk management, you're not just ticking boxes - you're building resilience from the ground up.

🌏 Proudly locally owned and operated, deeply NT-informed.

29/12/2025

As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to celebrate someone who brought our vision to life in 2025...

When we started exploring the idea of a new 90percent Consulting website, I knew we needed a skilled provider who could translate complex ideas into a website which was clear, accessible, and genuinely 'us'.

Enter Ash from By Ash Brand Studio - another brilliant local Darwin business.

From the outset, Ash just got it.

She understood what we wanted to say, took initiative, and brought a design eye that elevated the site beyond anything we had anticipated.

She didn't just build a website. She created a digital space that reflects who we are and what we stand for.

I'm extremely proud of her fabulous work, and so grateful for the care and skill she brought to this project.

I also want to acknowledge the NT Government's Business Growth Program, which made this wonderful collaboration possible.

The program provides funding to reimburse up to 50% of the costs of eligible services from approved providers - and it's been a game-changer for us.

If you're a Territory business looking to invest in your growth, I can't recommend it enough.

And if you're looking for someone who can bring your brand to life with creativity, professionalism, and genuine understanding...

Talk to Ash.

Thank you, Ash.
This has been a fantastic partnership.

- Margi

30/11/2025

Some of your employees won’t return after Christmas…

and not because they’ve moved interstate.

In the NT, turnover is the highest in the country.

While we often assume it’s about pay, the data tells a deeper story.

Only 7% of people leave for compensation.
Far more leave for career advancement, isolation, or lack of work-life balance.

🧠 Employees are craving opportunity, connection, and a workplace that supports their wellbeing - not just their output.

As we head into the break, now is the time to:

✔️ Check in honestly (not just cheerfully)
✔️ Recognise the invisible effort some have carried
✔️ Start 2026 with retention by design, not by default

Sources: NT Government, Australian HR Institute, Australian Bureau of Statistics; industry surveys 2021-2023

26/11/2025

Is the Northern Territory one of the most challenging places to work in Australia?

…Well, it depends who you ask.

I was recently watching the Kakadu Rangers on TV, and it reminded me of some of the more intense aspects of their work - crocodile management, feral animal control (pigs, buffalo, donkeys), first response to car crashes, poor decisions, and helping lost tourists, just to name a few.

There’s a lived intensity in remote and regional work in the NT - where roles often involve physical risk, emotional load, cultural responsibility, and ongoing vigilance.

Supporting the Kakadu Rangers reminds me just how complex these roles can be.

When I Visited Igoymarrwa (Mary River) Ranger Station two weeks ago, the team were managing the potentially lethal hazard of death adders around the station and accommodation areas.

Hazardous stuff, indeed.

These environments need more than 'support available if needed.'

They require embedded, proactive, whole-team approaches to psychosocial wellbeing.

Not because people are unskilled, but because the work is incredibly demanding.

Workplace support shouldn’t be a backup plan. It should be part of the system.

When support is built in and expected for everyone, it removes stigma and helps people stay well, long before things escalate.

- Margi

13/11/2025

Not everyone leaves because of pay.

Sometimes, it's the quieter things:

How welcome they felt.
Whether support showed up, not just strategy.
If values were lived, not laminated.

In the NT, where emotional bandwidth is often more stretched than budget, these subtleties matter.

They’re often the reason good people quietly disengage, long before they ever resign.

You won’t always get a warning sign.

Sometimes it’s just a shift in tone.
A calendar that's suddenly harder to fill.
A team that feels a little flatter, a little less open to conversation.

This week’s post is for the leaders noticing that shift, and wondering what’s really behind it 👉

10/11/2025

I'd like to talk about why I care so deeply about trauma-informed practice...

We all experience events that overwhelm our ability to cope - especially when we’re young, vulnerable, or unsupported. Over time, those moments can shape how we show up in the world (and at work).

It might be getting lost as a child.
Being bullied.
Living through a natural disaster.
Navigating neurodivergence.
Facing illness, betrayal, violence.
Or making mistakes that everyone saw.

Trauma isn’t always what happens to us.
It’s what happens inside us when we don’t feel safe, seen, or supported.

And every workplace is full of people quietly carrying these wounds.

My own experience of trauma came in 2001. I was in New York when the World Trade Centre buildings came down. What followed was two decades of post-traumatic stress, and the reality of trying to hold a job while my nervous system was in survival mode.

It was hard.
But it galvanised me to take action.

I committed to learning everything I could about trauma...

→ how to recognise it
→ how to respond to it
→ creating environments that don’t add more harm.

That path led me to counselling, psychology, trauma-informed coaching
..and eventually to becoming an endorsed organisational psychologist.

- Margi

06/11/2025

For those of us living and working in the Top End, The Build-Up isn’t just a change in weather.

It’s an atmospheric pressure cooker - hot, humid, and relentless.

And it impacts more than just our comfort levels.

We might call it Mango Madness with a smile, but the data is serious.

Research shows this season correlates with higher rates of:

→ Emotional distress
→ Sleep disruption
→ Conflict at home and at work
→ Mental health problem flare-ups; especially for those living with trauma, anxiety or PTSD

What looks like apathy or short tempers is often fatigue, overstimulation, or emotional exhaustion.

And when you combine that with high-pressure roles or low-support environments...

You have a psychosocial hazard.

So what can leaders do?

This isn’t just about fans and cold drinks, though they help.

It’s about recognising seasonal strain as a legitimate workplace risk.

Here’s where to start:

✅ Flexible hours
✅ Cool, calm spaces
✅ Focus on connection over KPIs
✅ Model boundaries from the top
✅ Name it in your WHS strategy

The law is clear: psychological hazards must be managed year-round.

And the Build-Up is no different.

Need support? 90percent Consulting is based in the NT.

We understand the pressure, and how to meet it with care.

📩 DM Margi or email hello@90percent.com.au

04/11/2025

The work environment is NEVER neutral.

It either supports wellbeing, or it contributes to harm.

The NT’s Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice outlines 14 key risks - like poor role clarity, high demands, bullying, and isolation.

Where two or more are present, the risk grows.

But here’s the good news: most of these hazards are preventable.

And with the right support, they’re manageable.

I’ve worked with people who loved their jobs, but were injured psychologically because their organisation didn’t know what to do.

The cost of that is real.

Time lost. Trust lost. Talent lost.

💸 Recruitment is expensive.
💚 Retention is priceless.

When we build inclusive, psychologically safe workplaces, we protect the people who’ve already chosen to show up.

And that’s good for business, and better for people.

31/10/2025

It’s that time of year when the sweat starts before sunrise, and the Build-Up does what it does best…

I’ve just wrapped up another monthly round of Embedded Workplace Supports with the inspirational ranger teams in Kakadu.

I’m working across five different regions of our beautiful Kakadu National Park - an incredible opportunity, and a real privilege.

The EWS targets the preventative end of mental health and is a supportive workplace initiative designed to maximise access to confidential, culturally sensitive, yarning-based interventions for all team members.

The important work these rangers do is incredibly varied, demanding, and often confronting. And this heat adds to the pressure.

EWS is not about 'fixing problems' in a team.

It’s about walking alongside people doing essential work - making sure they’re seen, supported, and sustained.

28/10/2025

28/10/2025

“It’s not worth speaking up, it won't make any difference.”

That’s the quiet resignation that creeps in when people feel they’ve lost control over their work.

When every part of the day is dictated by someone else - when tasks are handed down without explanation, processes are fixed without input, and decisions are made above their heads - it slowly erodes purpose and motivation.

They stop asking questions.

They stop offering ideas, because they know the outcome’s already been decided.

If you’re told what to do, how to do it, and when (with no room for input) it wears you down.

Over time, that stress builds.

Productivity dips.
Morale erodes.
And capable people disengage, not because they don’t care, but because they no longer feel their voice makes a difference.

Low job control isn’t just a leadership issue, it’s a recognised psychosocial hazard under workplace health and safety law, and it has real consequences for people and performance.