Icon representing Australia Australia
New Zealand New Zealand
New Zealand New Zealand
Icon representing Australia Australia
ASX Share Price:
  • About us
    • About us

      Downer is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and employs more than 26,000 people.

      Learn more
      • Overview
      • Executive Leadership Team
      • Our Purpose
      • Our Expertise
      • Our Policies
      • Our Culture
      • Board of Directors
      • Company history
      • Overview
      • Our Expertise
      • Board of Directors
      • Executive Leadership Team
      • Our Policies
      • Company history
      • Our Purpose
      • Our Culture
  • What we do
    • What we do

      Downer is a leading provider of integrated services in Australia and New Zealand.

       

      Learn more
      • Sectors
      • Transport
      • Energy & Utilities
      • Facilities
      • Defence
      • Sectors
      • Transport
      • Energy & Utilities
      • Facilities
      • Defence
  • Investors
    • Investors

      View our latest ASX announcements as well as financial reporting, key dates and shareholder information.

      Learn more
      • Home
      • Results Centre
      • ASX announcements
      • Webcasts and presentations
      • Share price
      • Key dates
      • Corporate governance
      • Annual General Meetings
      • Shareholder information
      • Dividend information
      • Other information
      • Home
      • Share price
      • Shareholder information
      • Results Centre
      • Key dates
      • Dividend information
      • ASX announcements
      • Corporate governance
      • Other information
      • Webcasts and presentations
      • Annual General Meetings
  • News and media
    • News and media

      View the latest news from Downer as well as our capability brochures.

      Learn more
      • Latest news
      • Media contact
      • Whitepapers
      • Downer podcasts
      • Latest news
      • Media contact
      • Whitepapers
      • Downer podcasts
  • Sustainability
    • Sustainability

      We understand the importance of having a responsible and forward-thinking approach to sustainability.

      Learn more
      • 2024 Sustainability Report
      • Relationships
      • Modern Slavery
      • Case studies
      • ESG materials
      • Climate Change and Decarbonisation
      • Governance
      • Environment and climate change
      • Safety, health and wellbeing
      • People
      • 2024 Sustainability Report
      • ESG materials
      • Environment and climate change
      • Relationships
      • Climate Change and Decarbonisation
      • Safety, health and wellbeing
      • Modern Slavery
      • Governance
      • People
      • Case studies
  • People and careers
    • People and careers

      Our people are fundamental to the culture and success of Downer.

      Learn more
      • Home
      • Our people
      • Downer benefits
      • Life at Downer
      • Current opportunities
      • Own Respect
      • Inclusion and belonging
      • Report a concern
      • Home
      • Life at Downer
      • Inclusion and belonging
      • Our people
      • Current opportunities
      • Report a concern
      • Downer benefits
      • Own Respect
  • Contact us
    • Contact us

      Downer has over 300 sites across Australia and New Zealand with our head office based in Sydney.

      Learn more
      • Contact us
      • Supply to Downer
      • Construction partners
      • Contact us
      • Supply to Downer
      • Construction partners

Sustainability Report 2022

  • Sustainability Report 2022
  • About this report
  • Sustainability snapshot
  • Chairman and CEO message
  • Materiality and stakeholder engagement
  • Material topics
    • Governance
    • Health and safety
    • Environment
    • People
    • Relationships
  • GRI Standards
  • Climate change report
We have detected you are accessing the site from
Do you want to be redirected to the Downer site?
Go to Downer
Stay on  Site
Are you sure you want to leave this page?
This link is taking you to a site outside of Downer
Go to Site  Stay on Site
Embedded Video

Latest News

  • Home
  • News and media
  • A story of survival… and success

A story of survival… and success

28/10/2021

A story of survival… and success

If Rasha Al-Badry had not moved to Australia in 2000, she may never have had the opportunity to become an award-winning engineer. More importantly, she may not be alive today to share her story.

Rasha was born in Iraq and graduated from The University of Technology in Baghdad with a Bachelor of Science in Building and Construction in 1993.

For most of us, attending university classes would not be considered a life-or-death situation. For Rasha, it was. 

Going to class was dangerous – at the time, Iraq was involved in the Gulf War with coalition forces, which brought economic sanctions against Iraq.

The raging war and economic uncertainty meant Rasha was forced to make some life-changing decisions.

Two days after her wedding, Rasha decided to leave Iraq secretly, because professionals were banned from leaving the country.

Rasha persevered and worked hard to ensure her engineering qualifications would be recognised by Engineers Australia, which would then enable a pathway for migration to Australia as a skilled worker.  In 2001, Rasha started her Australian career providing engineering services in Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek and Richmond in north-west Queensland. She also worked in the Northern Territory at the Rio Tinto Gove Mine. 

However, moving to Australia was only the first hurdle for Rasha. It was great that she was able to find work, but it was still a challenging time for Rasha and her family. Adjusting to a new culture and lifestyle, while not speaking English fluently made the situation difficult at times.  

Nonetheless, Rasha was determined to create a new life for her and her family, enrolling in multiple English language and TAFE courses to educate herself and learn more about this new country she was going to call home. 

Since joining Downer in 2018 Rasha has built a strong reputation by implementing her technical skills as an Engineer and assisting the project delivery team to deliver high-quality products to their customers.

Initially, Rasha was concerned about fitting in and being accepted at Downer. However, in her time in our Infrastructure Projects business, those concerns have been allayed. Rasha says she feels included and valued at Downer – she knows her voice will be heard, and she is able to make meaningful contributions in her team and through her work.

“I am overwhelmed with all the messages of encouragement and support; it has been amazing,” Rasha says. I truly have been supported at Downer and I am so happy.”

In her role as Project Engineer, Rasha assists the Project Manager in the planning, scoping and managing of projects by providing program updates, establishing project structures, project reporting and plan development.

Her hard work and dedication have been rewarded, with Rasha receiving the Achievement in Construction (Civil Works) Award at the 2021 National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Queensland Awards event.

This award recognises the achievement of an outstanding woman who has contributed to a construction project in civil works. And most importantly, her team think she is outstanding too. 

“Rasha’s work ethic and commitment is obvious in everything she does,” her manager, Guy Johnson, says. “She is a critical thinker, which combined with her tenacity enables her to consistently achieve successful outcomes. She has fulfilled an important role over the past three years, providing a critical interface between engineering and procurement at the front end of our projects, as well as providing engineering support during delivery. Congratulations, Rasha, for this well-deserved award!” 


Categories

  • People
  • Diversity
  • Downer Group

Related articles

  • Māori leaders graduate with bachelor’s degrees from Otago Polytechnic
    18/03/2024

    Māori leaders graduate with bachelor’s degrees from Otago Polytechnic

    Read more
  • Q&A with Jarrod Telford - Downer's Pou Matua
    14/03/2024

    Q&A with Jarrod Telford - Downer's Pou Matua

    Read more
  • Downer releases Modern Slavery Statement FY23
    08/11/2023

    Downer releases Modern Slavery Statement FY23

    Read more
  • Liz's YP conference experience
    19/10/2023

    Liz's YP conference experience

    Read more
  • Meet Matt. Our very own Mental Health warrior.
    28/09/2023

    Meet Matt. Our very own Mental Health warrior.

    Read more
  • We all have our own lived experiences of mental health
    19/09/2023

    We all have our own lived experiences of mental health

    Read more
  • Happy 1st anniversary to Downer Donate!
    19/07/2023

    Happy 1st anniversary to Downer Donate!

    Read more
  • Downer completes sale of Australian Transport Projects business
    20/06/2023

    Downer completes sale of Australian Transport Projects business

    Read more


  • Copyright © 2025 Downer Group
  • NSW Master Security Licences
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact us
Image Preview