QAA – delivering excellence in Arboriculture since 1992.
It’s a Wrap – Business Protection Zone (BPZ) Event Results
In keeping with our new values QAA are committed to being accountable for our results. We want to share both our wins and short falls with our members, and we were very pleased with the results of BPZ.
Firstly, we are proud to announce that we raised $10 towards the Trauma Fund for 2021 events, bringing our Trauma Fund Balance to $1,317. Keep an eye out for our new voting system at future events.
Fitzpatrick @ BPZ
Engagement from attendees during the two presentations was more than we could have hoped for. Fitzpatrick’s Rashmi and Charlene, appeared via video link announcing new QAA Member Discounts (as seen on Social Media, contact Office for more information) and a special QAA only Policy Price Match Deal. The ladies used case examples to explain how each policy type works. They even explained the concept of insurance embargos. The information presented was excellent. Next time we hope to have the team attend in person which is what our ticket holders would prefer.
We approached Fitzpatrick for their feedback on the day and the questions and concerns of our guests. This is what Rashmi and Charlene had to say:
“It is so inspiring to see that the QAA members prioritise safety and would like to regulate the Arborist industry. We appreciate that just like plumbers and electricians who are licensed – it would also be beneficial for the Arborist industry to be regulated either by state or at a national level.
Currently we do our due diligence by ensuring we only offer insurance to those who have had extensive on the job training or have completed their Cert III in Arboriculture.
Business Protection Panel
Our panelists worked well together providing detailed information and questioning each other to enhance the panel experience. We even ran over time by unanimous attendee vote to accommodate for everyone’s questions.
Tim Early – Employment Grants @ BPZ
Tim provided information on employment grants and how to subsidies wage expenses.
We learnt that there are many different types of grants available for Arborist businesses, you just need to know where to look. There are also other avenues to pursue wage grants through apprenticeships, traineeships, or disability employment subsidies.
For more information and support applying for grants contact Tim at tim@timelyprojects.com.au or on 0405 548 506.
John Smith – WSQ IPaM Program @ BPZ
John talked to us about the free WHS auditing service IPaM.
We learnt that the program helps Arborist businesses to be WHS compliant by reviewing your business practices and documentation. Protecting your businesses when accidents happen. They will also identify areas of lax or limited compliance without penalising you.
To find out more about the program and how he can help your business contact John at john.jsmith@oir.qld.gov.au or on 0422 489 828. Peter Westcott – WSQ Compliance @ BPZ Peter was extremely informative discussing WHS compliance and investigations.
We learnt that you can report incidents for your own business and also incidents that you witness for other business’. Failure to do so could result in penalties. We also learnt about liability in court cases being assigned to both the business and the injured party. Using the IPaM services could prevent you from being investigated by WSQ.
For questions about compliance and incidents please contact Peter at peter.westcott@oir.qld.gov.au or on 0439 746 287.
Jess Jennings – HR & Fair Work Investigations @ BPZ
Jess focused on how to be an equal and fair employer to protect your business from Fair Work investigations. She also answered some common industry concerns around which Modern Award to base wages on.
We learnt that to be a fair and equal employer you need to do the same thing at every stage of employment for every single employee. This is not as hard as it sounds once you break your operations down into manageable buckets. Your documentation should match the culture, size and practicality of your business.
For any HR questions, queries about documentation or being an equal and fair employer contact Jess on office@qaa.net.au or at 0413 369 615.
Thank you so much to our industry support partner Fitzpatrick and Co. Insurance Brokers and the rest of our sponsors for allowing us to put on such a fantastic event.