Lamond had been abroad for work before. He’d navigated the fast pace of Singapore in 2014, the unfamiliar roads of the U.S. in 2016. But this time felt different. Two months in Melbourne didn’t bring the same wide-eyed nerves. Instead, it felt like stepping into a life he could ease into.
With each passing week, Lamond grew more fluent in the rhythm of the city. Whether it was getting around or picking up groceries, there was no more friction — just flow. That anxious energy from previous trips was replaced with quiet confidence, shaped by experience and softened by the easy charm of an Australian summer.
Winds, Waves, and Coffee
Melbourne’s coastal weather reminded Lamond of his hometown Qingdao. But this wasn’t a gentle summer. The days swung between chilly 10-degree mornings and blistering 38-degree afternoons. Strong sea winds turned hot days into something harsher — heatwaves that seemed to barrel through the streets.
And yet, there was something enchanting about the long daylight hours. The sun rose before 6 a.m. and lingered until nearly 9 p.m. Evenings felt like stretched-out afternoons, blurring the line between work and rest.
But life in Melbourne moved to a different beat. Most shops closed by 5 p.m., some as early as 3. Even restaurants and cafés wound down early, valuing rest and family time more than staying open late. Lamond’s wife, visiting during the Spring Festival, joked about opening a 24-hour noodle shop — “We’d dominate!” she laughed.
Driving added another layer of adjustment. Australia’s left-side traffic, inherited from its Commonwealth roots, was tricky at first. Lamond rented two cars during his stay, each with a different setup: one with turn signals on the right, one with them on the left. It kept him on his toes. And yet, over time, the roads too became familiar.
Coffee culture was its own discovery. Melbourne is known for it — and rightly so. Lamond, a fan of giant cups of coffee, was surprised that most locals preferred small ones. “It’s easier to have a second cup,” they explained. “Too much milk in a big one makes you stop at one.” With hundreds of varieties in the supermarket, from beans to capsules, it was a ritual, not just a drink.
A Fast-Growing Partnership
Lamond wasn’t in Melbourne just for the experience. He came for two important missions: helping Shinetech expand its partnerships in the city, and supporting the fast-growing MPG (Maple Plan Gateway) project — one he’d been part of since its early days.
MPG was the core system behind Maple Plan, an Australian NDIS (disability insurance) provider founded by Andrian Putra in 2018. It began with just three employees and quickly grew to 60–70 staff, serving over 8,000 clients — roughly 2–3% of the national NDIS population. It was ranked seventh in the country by client volume.
Lamond and the Shinetech team had been working with Maple Plan since the beginning. As their services expanded, so did the development team, growing to six by the end of 2023. That year, something big happened: nib, Australia’s fourth-largest insurance provider, acquired Maple Plan.
Building OTIS: A Unified Future
nib’s vision went far beyond a single acquisition. In 2023 alone, they invested AUD 1.5 billion to purchase five more NDIS companies and a disability services company, bringing together around 50,000 clients under a new brand: nib Thrive.
But unifying six companies came with major tech challenges. Each one had its own CRM and claims system. After several rounds of evaluation, nib Thrive chose the MPG system — Lamond’s team’s system — as the foundation for their future platform. They renamed it OTIS.
With that decision came a tidal wave of work: new business modules, extended functionality, continuous integration, robust security measures, data migration, performance testing — the list grew every day. The current team couldn’t handle it alone. More developers were needed, and fast.
In January 2024, three leaders from nib Thrive — David Coombs (Project Manager), Nathan Anstess (IT Manager), and Brody Duggan (BA) — flew to Melbourne for a week of face-to-face discussions with the team. Lamond felt the momentum shift. These meetings weren’t just about plans; they were about alignment, trust, and shared purpose.
Working with third-party vendors, the team enhanced OTIS’s security and integration. They charted out complex data migrations. They didn’t just build software — they built the backbone for nib Thrive’s future. It was a daunting task, but Lamond and his teammates embraced it. “Great power,” he thought, smiling, “great responsibility.”
A Lunar New Year, Far from Home
The timing couldn’t have been better. During the Lunar New Year holiday, Lamond’s wife and child came to Melbourne. They spent a unique Spring Festival exploring the city, savoring its food, and walking along sun-drenched beaches. His child saw animals that before only existed in storybooks and absorbed a different way of life.
Those two months weren’t just about work. They were about building something meaningful — a system, a team, a bridge between cultures. Lamond left Melbourne not only with a deeper understanding of the city, but with renewed energy and gratitude.
He hoped for more journeys like this one. More chances to walk alongside partners, to embed himself in their world, and to grow together — not just as a developer, but as a person.