Last updated: 11/11/2026

1. Purpose and scope

PreviousNext's social responsibility rests on two things we already do: contributing to open source, and moving ownership of the company to the people who work in it. This policy puts those commitments, and the standard obligations that sit around them, in one place.

It applies to:

• all PreviousNext employees, contractors and directors
• the Skpr managed hosting platform and its operations
• suppliers and partners, where this policy sets expectations of them

This policy works alongside the Employee Handbook, the Peak Performance Trust Employee Manual and the Shareholders Agreement. Where they conflict, those documents prevail.

2. Our principles

1. Profitability makes responsibility possible. PreviousNext's commitments are funded from profit. Staying above breakeven and protecting the three-month cash reserve comes first, because a business that fails can't contribute, employ or share ownership.
2. Give back to what we build on. Drupal and open source are the foundation of our business. We contribute code, leadership and funding back to them.
3. Shared ownership. The people who build PreviousNext should own it. The Peak Performance Trust is how we do that.
4. Good work for good clients. We build accessible, secure and sustainable digital services, much of it for government, health and higher education.
5. Act with integrity. We are honest with clients, staff, suppliers and the community, and we comply with the law.

Some commitments, such as non-billable contribution time, depend on the company meeting its profit targets. This policy says where that applies.

3. Open source and Drupal contribution

PreviousNext is Australia’s first and only Top Tier Drupal Certified Partner. We will keep contributing to Drupal and open source as a core part of how we operate, not as marketing.

3.1 What we commit to

• Code contribution. We contribute to Drupal core, modules and related open source projects, and release reusable work from client and internal projects under open source licences where clients agree.
• Contribution time. Staff who meet the 80% billable target can direct their 20% non-billable time to open source code and community contribution, as set out in the Employee Handbook.
• Credit and visibility. Contributions are credited to PreviousNext and, where relevant, the client on drupal.org, so the work is visible and counts towards our Certified Partner standing.
• Community leadership. We support staff serving in Drupal governance and community roles. Examples include the Drupal Association Board, the DrupalSouth Steering Committee, Drupal Security Team and Drupal core maintainership.
• Events. We sponsor and support DrupalSouth and other Drupal events. We cover travel for staff selected to speak at pre-approved Drupal conferences.
• Recognition. Open source contribution and community volunteering are factors in salary reviews.

We respect open source licences, including the GPL obligations attached to Drupal, and we don't publish client-confidential code or data.

4. Employee ownership

The Peak Performance Trust holds 40% of PreviousNext in 2026 for the benefit of employees. The long-term goal is for the Peak Performance Trust to own 100% of PreviousNext.

4.1 How it works

• Eligibility. Permanent staff become eligible for units after 12 months of continuous employment.
• Growth. When EBITDA exceeds the benchmark, PreviousNext contributes 25% of EBITDA to the Peak Performance Trust, which buys shares from the co-founders. 
• Returns. Unit holders receive dividends in proportion to their entitlement when PreviousNext is profitable and declares one.
• Fair treatment on exit. Vesting, good leaver and redemption rules are set out in the Peak Performance Trust Deed and Employee Manual, and apply to everyone equally.

4.2 Our commitments to employee owners

• Quarterly financial updates to all staff, so owners can see how the business is tracking against the targets that drive contributions and dividends.
• An Employee Owner Representative on the Governance Team.
• An independent annual valuation, currently done by Succession Plus.
• Confidentiality of individual unit holdings.
• Plain-language explanations of the Peak Performance Trust for new and existing staff.

The Peak Performance Trust depends on profit. That is why profitability is our first principle: every year PreviousNext clears the benchmark, ownership moves further towards the team.

5. Our workplace

PreviousNext aims to be a safe, fair and flexible place to work, where people are paid well and can speak up.

5.1 Health, safety and wellbeing

• We meet our obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and equivalent laws in other states, including for people working from home.
• We respect the right to disconnect and avoid overtime or on-call work outside agreed roles, such as hosting support.
• We offer flexible hours and location, and an annual subsidy for fitness and wellbeing programs, including mental health programs.

5.2 Fair employment

• All employment meets the Fair Work Act 2009 and National Employment Standards as a minimum.
• Salaries are reviewed against annual industry benchmarks for equivalent roles.
• We invest in training, conference attendance and professional development.

5.3 Diversity, inclusion and respect

• We recruit, pay and promote on merit and don't discriminate on any attribute protected by law.
• We take positive steps to prevent sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation, as required by the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
• We aim to widen the pool of people entering Drupal and web development, including through mentoring the broader Drupal community.
• Anyone can raise a concern with the Head of Operations or a Company Director without fear of reprisal.

6. Community engagement

Our main community contribution is to the open source and digital community (section 3). Beyond that, we support staff who give their time to causes they care about.

• Volunteering. Staff may request time to volunteer with community organisations. Requests are approved by the Head of Operations, with client work taking priority.
• Skills-based support. We may offer discounted or pro bono design, development or Skpr hosting to not-for-profits and community groups, approved case by case by the Governance Team.
• Knowledge sharing. We publish what we learn through blog posts, talks, meetups and open source releases so others can use it.
• Local presence. We support the Australian and New Zealand Drupal and digital government communities, including DrupalSouth and GovCMS.

7. Environmental sustainability

As a largely home office based team, PreviousNext's footprint comes mainly from hosting, devices and travel. We aim to reduce each.

• Hosting. Skpr runs on AWS, which has a policy to reach net-zero carbon footprint by 2040. We prefer regions and services with lower carbon intensity where performance and data sovereignty allow, and we right-size infrastructure to avoid waste.
• Efficient software. We build lean, performant sites that use less energy to serve and load, consistent with sustainable web design practice.
• Travel. We use video calls by default and travel when being in person adds clear value, such as our annual get-together and major Drupal events.
• Equipment. We extend the life of devices, and reuse, donate or recycle them responsibly.
• Suppliers. We consider environmental performance when choosing suppliers.

8. Ethical business conduct

• Anti-bribery and corruption. We don't offer, give or accept bribes, kickbacks or improper gifts. Gifts or hospitality above a nominal value are declared to a Company Director.
• Conflicts of interest. Staff and directors declare any personal interest that could affect a decision.
• Fair competition and procurement. We compete fairly and follow the probity rules of government and enterprise procurement processes.
• Modern slavery. PreviousNext is below the reporting threshold of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), but we take reasonable steps to make sure our suppliers, particularly hardware and offshore service providers, don't use forced or exploited labour.
• Paying suppliers fairly. We pay small business suppliers and contractors on time.
• Tax. We pay the tax we owe and don't use aggressive tax structures.
• Whistleblowing. Staff can report suspected misconduct confidentially to a Company Director, and are protected under the Corporations Act 2001 whistleblower provisions.

9. Clients and responsible technology

• Accessibility. We design and build to WCAG 2.2 AA as a minimum, so the public services we deliver work for everyone.
• Privacy and security. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and client security requirements. We are working towards ISO 27001 certification for PreviousNext and Skpr.
• Responsible AI. When we use AI tools in delivery, we use only tools approved under our information security policies, we're transparent with clients about it, protect client data, keep a human accountable for the output, and respect open source licences.
• Avoiding lock-in. We build on open standards and open source so clients own their platforms and can move providers if they choose.
• Honest advice. We recommend what is right for the client, even when it means less work for us.

10. Roles and responsibilities

11. Measurement, reporting and review

The Governance Team reviews these measures each year and publishes a short summary to staff, and a public version on the PreviousNext website if the directors agree.

The policy is reviewed annually, or sooner if the law or the business changes significantly.

12. Related documents

• PreviousNext Employee Handbook
• Peak Performance Trust Deed and Employee Manual
• Shareholders Agreement
• Information Security Policies