End-of-Year Reflections 2022
Charles Kettering once remarked that every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas. At the ACA we’ve tried to bring you new and improved ways of doing business under a series of ‘post-pandemic’ scenarios as they unravelled over the course of the year. We hope that our industrial relations advice has been timely and useful, whilst we navigated the highs and lows of wellbeing issues for the profession intertwined with a series of events and useful editorial resources on equity in practice. We also pulse checked our profession to ensure your voices are being heard and actioned.
As members, you are the lifeblood of our Association, and we can’t do our job without the support of our financial members. Nationally, we are delighted to report that our membership has grown solidly over the past few years with a particular increase in technical staff numbers, where we’ve seen growth of almost 23% year on year. We thank you for your continued commitment to be part of the ACA community.
Together with our members, we are fortunate to have the support and dedicated efforts of our national principal partners. Planned Cover, Deltek, Macquarie Bank, Ardex, Central Innovation and Assa Abloy complement our national knowledge partners Mecca Events, informed lawyers and the Built Environment Channel. Our national partnership program provides specialist advice on products and services to assist you with fulfilling your business operations more productively.
Our advocacy efforts, through our membership of the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF), saw us participate in meetings last week at Parliament House where we spoke with Federal Ministers, Shadow Ministers and key crossbenchers, including Senator David Pocock who clarified the series of concessions obtained from the Labor Government for his support for the Industrial Relations bill. The main area of discussion centred on the definition for exclusions from multi-employer bargaining, including raising the definition of small business from 15 to 20 employees and excluding construction. Whilst negotiations on the details are ongoing, our group will be advocating with the relevant stakeholders for the exclusion of much of the construction industry. See Tom Earls’ overview of the legislation amendments and their implications for employers.
A big thank you goes out to our elected branch committee members who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Their relentless efforts and outstanding contribution to not just the ACA, but the profession at large is to be commended. They are supported by dedicated executive officers, together with our national MarComms, editorial, membership, partnerships and online events team, who have been an integral part of the ACA. We can’t do what we do without you!
So, as the new year dawns and another leaf is torn off that calendar, we look forward to sharing our new ideas with you. A focus on regional practice support, enhanced engagement with the University sector, an Employee Assistance Program offering for small practices, a Reconciliation Action Plan for the ACA, an amplified voice for the profession, and a thorough review of our member benefits scheme are just some of those new ideas…
On behalf of the ACA, we would like to extend our warmest wishes for a safe and restful Christmas, and an enjoyable festive season!