The First Nations company leading the way in secure e-waste disposal

Setting the standard for e-waste disposal

WV Tech is an award-winning First Nations company focused on secure and sustainable information and communication technology (ICT) decommissioning.

Built on a philosophy of transparent partnership, WV Tech ensures its customers know exactly how their data is destroyed, their e-waste is recycled and how the asset remarketing (the process of repurposing used or outdated IT equipment) has been performed. In addition to this, WV Tech gives clear reporting on disposals, First Nations employment and community donations. 

As a technology disposal company with a mission to grow Indigenous employment opportunities, we knew that if we could build a partnership with Telstra, we could create a lot more jobs given the unique size of Telstra and the volume of equipment it must be dealing with.

- Jamie Miller, Co-founder, WV Technologies

Certifications

WV Technologies is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID AAA) and is endorsed by the Australian Government to handle top secret information and assets.

NAID AAA Certification is a prestigious certification for companies that provide secure data destruction services. It verifies that a company complies with all known data protection laws through rigorous scheduled and surprise audits by accredited security professionals.

The Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) outlines the Australian Government's approach to protecting its people, information, and assets. The Australian Government endorses WV Tech to the highest level of security: Top Secret.

Building a lasting partnership

When Telstra and WV Tech connected in 2019, they both saw an opportunity to build a new partnership. Initial work with Telstra saw WV Tech:

• securely decommission data centres in Melbourne and Sydney
• recycle or repurpose 2,000+ pallets of slow moving and obsolete inventory
• decommission and recycle over 1.3 million kg of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for 250+ Telstra Exchanges. 

These projects built trust in the partnership and demonstrated WV Tech’s high level of capability. Since then, WV Tech has:

• securely sanitised or destroyed over 35,000 data points
• increased its recycling capacity from 400kg per day to 1 tonne per hour with a new dual stage hammer mill
• reported less than 2% of its disposals going to landfill. 

We saw so much alignment opportunity when we met the WV Tech team. From the cybersecurity focus to the sustainability focus and First Nations business engagement. We saw very quickly that the model at WV is authentically structured. The more work that goes into the organisation the more direct outcomes you can see on the other side.

- Adrian Mayer, Responsible Procurement at Telstra

WV Tech is leading the way for First Nations businesses

The demand for security assurance and sustainable disposal practices is at an all time high. It can be difficult for smaller organisations to gain access to defence industry contracts, but with its top-level certifications and security clearances, WV Tech set itself apart as a trusted ICT disposals team for important Telstra partners such as the Australian Defence industry.

Telstra saw WV Tech as a service provider for its own ICT disposal needs as well as a trusted supplier they could refer Telstra partners to. In coming together to supply WV Tech services to Telstra customers, the partnership delivers critical high security disposal services to organisations, and also exposes businesses to a tried and tested First Nations procurement and social enterprise partner, which can help organisations meet their own procurement targets.

What's been clear at Telstra is that their commitment to supporting First Nations businesses and social enterprises is really built into the culture of the company. It's meant that as we are introduced to more and more areas of the company it keeps opening doors for the WV Tech partnership to grow.

- Jamie Miller Co-founder, WV Technologies.

Giving back to young First Nations Australians

The expanding partnership has enabled WV Tech to provide more job opportunities, employing 54 young First Nations people over the past three years. Their increasing revenue has also increased their donations back to their major shareholder, Worldview Foundation (a registered charity aimed at changing the futures of First Nations Australians). In total, WV Tech donated $300,000 to support First Nations community projects in 2024 alone. 

Telstra is one of the biggest and most visible Australian companies. To see its efforts to partner with us and promote us as a First Nations owned Australian company with roots in helping First Nations youth really shows it is being true to its brand values.

- Kurt Gruber, Co-founder of Worldview Foundation and WV Tech

Innovating for the future

Looking to the future, WV Tech is developing new cyber tools to further enhance its capability in managing secure data destruction and is continuing to explore new areas where it can work with Telstra and its wider customer networks. As Telstra continues to introduce the WV Tech team to other areas of the business, the strength of the partnership is expected to continue to grow even further. 

Telstra is open to ideas and has great people who are empowered to make things happen for social enterprise partnerships. They’re walking the walk, and we repay their support by being a great partner in return.

- Kurt Gruber, Founding Director, WV Technologies