Part of the Community

Wherever Toll Remote Logistics works, we are part of the community.

We adopt a partnership approach with local communities which provides significant benefits not just for the communities, but also for us and our customers. We employ local skills and knowledge and then add our training to ensure that our international quality standards are maintained. This training and the employment opportunities we create helps to build the capacity of the local community and the local economy. In return we gain all-important local knowledge and loyal and committed local personnel who enable us to provide the highest quality service to our customers – a win-win-win situation.

All Toll Remote Logistics personnel share a can-do attitude and are motivated by creating logistics solutions that work no matter what the situation. This, in combination with the logistics infrastructure and capabilities we offer in remote locations, means we gain unique opportunities to really make a difference in the communities we work with supporting local initiatives. Whether it is rebuilding an orphanage in Timor Leste, establishing safe community water supplies in Chad or transporting heart patients from Dili to Melbourne; Toll Remote Logistics’ personnel are always looking for new ways in which they can help.

Some of our recent projects include:

Tour de Timor

Toll Remote Logistics was proud to play a large part in the second Tour de Timor cycle race last year. As the main logistics provider in Timor Leste, we were able to provide an end-to-end logistics solution to enable this event to run successfully despite the challenges of its remote location. Catering Manager Catherine Byrne managed Toll Remote Logistics’ support operation, coordinating the delivery of catering for the entire event.

The operation started in Australia with the procurement of supplies by Toll Remote Logistics’ Darwin supply chain office. These were then transported to Timor Leste by air and seafreight. Meanwhile, four field kitchens were being mobilized in different locations around the race circuit. Menus were also being prepared to meet the varied requirements of the contestants and support crews.

Once the race began, Toll Remote Logistics staff provided more than 2000 breakfasts, lunches and dinners per day to feed the riders, support personnel, race officials, medics, physios and local volunteers.



Such was the success of Toll Remote Logistics’ effort, that Catherine and her team were awarded the Medal of Solidarity by the President of Timor Leste, Dr Jose Ramos Horta. The award certificate was inscribed: “Ms Catherine Byrne is to be commended for her professionalism, resourcefulness, positive attitude and commitment throughout the 2010 Dili ‘City of Peace’ events, particularly for her extraordinary personal contribution to the 2010 Tour de Timor.”

Toll Remote Logistics is proud of the efforts of Catherine and her team and are already looking forward to Tour de Timor 2011.

Chad Orphanage

It is said that Chad is one of the hardest places in the world to be a child. War, famine and extreme poverty have ravaged central Africa in recent years, and sadly, it is the children who suffer the most.

The Toll Remote Logistics team supporting the international humanitarian operation in Chad are doing their part to help relieve some of this suffering by providing practical supporting for a school and an orphanage in Chad. In Abeche, the Toll Remote Logistics has adopted an orphanage with staff using their spare time to carry out a number of projects to improve safety and conditions.  
The orphanage runs education programs, a health clinic and a small hospital for the children and is funded entirely by donations. Toll Remote Logistics team members have donated their time and expertise to carry out improvement projects to the orphanage, while Toll Remote Logistics has donated supplies and stationary to help make this possible.

The major project to date has been to establish a safe and reliable water supply. The previous water supply, from a well only 25 meters deep, provided water contaminated with so much dirt that it was not only not safe to drink but would also regularly clog the pump system leaving the orphanage with no reliable water source at all.

The Toll Remote Logistics team, with the assistance of a Norwegian drilling company drilled a new well to a depth of 75 meters and built a new pumping, plumbing and power system as well as a 5000 litre storage system to ensure safe and reliable water supply year-round. In N’djamena, the Toll Remote Logistics team also supports an international school that has fallen into a bad state of repair due to lack of funding. As well as providing essential supplies, stationary and educational resources; Toll Remote Logistics has helped repair electrical wiring, plumbing and broken walls, windows, doors and furniture to make the school safe for the students.  

Recently the Toll Remote Logistics upgraded the school kitchen which was struggling to feed 120 students on the equivalent of a camping gas stove. The team chipped in to help refurbish the kitchen and provide a new stove and refrigerator.

Although the challenges Chad must overcome are large and will not be solved quickly, the team from Toll Remote Logistics is pleased to be able to do their part to help, and the help they provide makes a world of difference to the children.

Hostpital Beds for Timor Leste

Toll Timor Leste combines the capabilities of Toll Remote Logistics, Toll Marine Logistics and Toll Global Forwarding who work together to provide logistic solutions that connect Timor Leste with the world. In March this year, Toll Timor Leste put its combined capabilities to good use in support of a great cause.

Wayne Leatham of the Mater Hospital, part of St Vincent’s Mater Health Sydney, volunteers his time to help the St Vincent’s Clinic’s  Outreach Program that provides much needed expertise and medical supplies to the Bairo Pite clinic in Dili, Timor Leste.  When the Mater Hospital had 16 hydraulic hospital beds to donate to the clinic, the only barrier was that they weighed 120kgs each and needed to get from Sydney to Dili. This is where Toll came in.

Wayne had seen Toll Remote Logistics supporting the Tour de Timor cycle race that he had participated in. So he contacted Toll to see if there was any way they could assist. The next day Barry Drape from Toll NQX was on the phone asking “how can we help?” Wayne outlined the challenge and shortly afterwards got a call from Toll NQX operations manager Craig Dunscombe to arrange pick up on Toll’s daily B-double curtain side road transporter. Ironically, it had been Craig who while working as a driver had delivered the same beds brand new from the manufacturer to the hospital some years earlier.

In preparation for the pick-up, Wayne called in his mates from the BLG Cycle Group to provide the person-power to get the beds packed up from the hospital and into storage ready for pick up.
Toll NQX transported the beds from Sydney to Darwin where Rod Clarke from Toll Remote Logistics’ Darwin supply chain office made customs and shipping arrangements while Fiona Goulding from Toll Marine Logistics arranged for the consignment to be packed and loaded onto one of their vessels headed for Dili.

On arrival in Dili, Toll Remote Logistics’ supply chain manager Robert Lachmund took delivery of the beds and handled the customs clearance and port duties before delivering the beds to the Bairo Pite clinic where they were gratefully received by Dr Dan Murphy. With the hard work of Wayne Leatham and the support of Toll, an opportunity had been translated into a great outcome for the community of Timor Leste.

Toll would like to thank Wayne for all of his efforts and are pleased that we could help

Toll Remote Logistics Local Training Program

Timor Leste’s president Jose Ramos Horta recently attended the award ceremony for the first graduates of Toll Remote Logistics’ local Timor Leste training program. In late 2008, Toll Today reported on the launch of the initiative to provide Australian accredited qualifications for local Timorese Toll Remote Logistics employees. In December 2009, the first group to undertake this training completed their Certificate 3 course in commercial cooking and were presented with their certificates at the graduation ceremony attended by President Jose Ramos Horta as well as Australian Ambassador Peter Heyward, New Zealand Embassy representative Ms Maria Cribb and the commander of the International Stabilisation Force, Commodore Stu Mayer of the Royal Australian Navy.

The calibre of guests attending this graduation ceremony is a reflection of the importance of this initiative and the value of providing training opportunities to help rebuild Timor Leste. Toll Remote Logistics provides comprehensive logistic support to the Australian Defence Force in Timor Leste and consequently is one of the largest private employers in the country. Both Toll Remote Logistics and the local community recognise the part that local training and employment opportunities will play in rebuilding of the local economy and this program represents Toll Remote Logistics’ initiative to enable local employees to fill skilled positions previously filled by Australian expatriates due to a lack of qualified local candidates.

This initiative also reflects Toll Remote Logistics’ ongoing commitment to Timor Leste, not only in support of the Australian Defence Force but as a developing nation and one of Australia’s closest neighbours. The training program, administered by the International College of Advanced Education in Darwin and coordinated by Toll Remote Logistics’ accredited trainer Peter McMillan who mentored participants through the training program. In order to maintain the momentum of this program, as one class graduates, another has already commenced with their course of study.

Toll Remote Logistics would like to congratulate the graduates and looks forward to their ongoing development within Toll Remote Logistics.