Building service contractors’ administrative imposts are again being increased. Attendees at the Building Service Contractors Association of NSW March members meeting were cautioned on the impact changes to both workplace health and safety and superannuation legislation will bring.
Held 26 March 2013 at the Stamford Grand, North Ryde (Sydney), BSCAA NSW president Rick Gesterkamp welcomed members and guest speakers as well as proffering individual mentions for major sponsors and special guests in attendance.
AustralianSuper’s account manager Anjalee Walker spoke about the updated changes to superannuation legislation, announcing that MySuper will replace the current default fund as of 1 January 2014.
Her message to BSCAA members was that as employers, they need to ensure they are offering the new default fund MySuper to their staff by 1 July 2013.
SuperStream, another topic Walker discussed, makes it mandatory for all employers that employ more the 20 staff to submit all superannuation contribution data electronically.
Companies employing less than 20 staff have a grace period of one year before having to comply with the same legislation.
Risk management’s complexity
Tackling the ever increasingly complex world of workplace health and safety, the Cruse Partnership’s Norine Cruse and Kobi Simmat from Best Practice Certification delivered some valuable information and advice to delegates.
“The nationalism of WHS has moved the ‘risk bar’ for organisations,” explained Cruse. “Previously held responsible for contraventions, organisations must now show proactive due diligence, and failure to comply with obligation of due diligence can be civil penalty or criminal prosecution.”
And with due diligence comes verification and validation. “Duty of care remains an obligation to provide a safe working environment, but there are now 11 elements of due diligence that need to be adhered to, and a process of validation – or independent proof – that is required,” stated Cruse.
Simmat stepped forward to offer BSCAA members Best Practice Certification Initiative – a viable option to AS 4801 as a measure of due diligence. The BSCAA intends to promote this option as an industry alternative to safety standards recognition – for half the price.
“It’s the lobbying strength behind the industry association supporting this program which enables us to deliver this program so cost effectively,” noted Simmat.
“The reason we’re doing this is to combat the auditing by the FWO of the services industry and to find solutions to ongoing regulatory compliance,” added Cruse.
For further information about superannuation legislation, visit www.australiansuper.com
For more details about Best Practice Certification Initiative, visit www.bestpracticecertification.com.au
For all event photos, visit www.picasaweb.google.com/incleanmag