AEPMA’s Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 18th May, 2017 at the national office.  Mr Vasili Tsoutouras was re-elected unopposed as President of AEPMA.  Other elected delegates confirmed at the AGM were:-

Victor Morgan - National Vice President / National Director – WA 
Gary Stephenson - National Director - NSW
David Gay - National Director - VIC
Shane Osborne - National Director - QLD 
Eris Hess - National Director – Associates/Treasurer
Trevor Scott - National Director – SA}  Shared
Neil Raw - National Director – SA}
Stephen Ware - Executive Director

Mr Vasili Tsoutouras also placed on record his thanks for retiring members:
       Tommy Stewart
       John Graham

In his address to the AGM, Mr Vasili Tsoutouras reported to the meeting that the Association had benefited financially from a successful FAOPMA conference.  He indicated the work on the Code of Practice and the promotion of AEPMA and its members through the website was ongoing.  He indicated that Training Codes of Practice would continue to be areas of focus by AEPMA in the coming 12 months.  He also put on record his thanks to the head office for their support and his fellow board members during the year.  He indicated that AEPMA’s year had been successful. 

AEPMA is pleased to provide members with a Checklist of matters which are important to know when employing staff.  It covers basics such as where to find details about minimum employment conditions.  It contains links to trusted sites which are included to enable members to access source details on the various topics as needed.

Attached to the Checklist are sample documents provided as guides for members to enable them to construct employment documents/records. There are brief references to the basic taxation categories which employers need to be aware of.

The Checklist also includes commentary about enterprise bargaining, contracting versus direct employment and termination of employment. 

As with any such checklist, it is provided in good faith as a guide for members and is not intended as legal advice, nor does it purport to cover every circumstance that can arise in an employment relationship. 

Every effort has been made to make this Checklist as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied.

To view the checklist and sample documents, please visit the AEPMA website.

A Termites munching on Aussie homes are causing more damage than floods, fires and storms combined, a state building authority says.

The pest's voracity across the nation has prompted calls for a nationwide action plan to stop it in its tracks.

Archicentre Australia director Peter Georgiev says he wants all state governments to make it mandatory for councils to declare termite infestation zones.

"The termites are eating people out of house and home," Mr Georgiev told AAP.  "They don't care about state boundaries. All these boundaries are man-made and they are not in the natural order of things; termites are everywhere."

He said Tasmania is the only region in Australia that's safe from the risk of damage caused by the tiny but "voracious pests".

A nationwide plan could include termite treatment of all sites and inspections on houses before they are sold, Mr Georgiev said.

Current attempts to combat termite infestations vary between the states.  In Victoria, local councils "may declare" areas within their municipality that are likely to be subject to infestation by termites, and people should check before they build or buy, the Victorian Building Authority said.

The pests cause more damage than floods, fire and storms combined, the VBA added.

What does body language have to do with the pest control sector?

“Mr. Body Language” himself, Allan Pease will be the keynote speaker at the pest management sector’s peak event, the 2017 Rapid Solutions Conference to be held from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 August 2017 at Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. 

Communication expert and bestselling author, Allan Pease, is recognised as a relationship, sales and negotiation expert renowned for his motivating talks and advice on winning people over.

Allan will be joined by more than 40 leading speakers and commentators from the pest management and building inspection industry at the event. There are four streams of seminars and workshops at the 2017 event covering topics such as the latest pest control news and products to business operations, insurance and compliance, inspections and personal and professional development.

Click here to read full article

From the office of Tim Nicholls, LNP Member for Clayfield

Federal commitment on Fire Ants welcomed

The Federal Government has committed to extending the fire ant eradication program.  The National Fire Ant Eradication program has kept the level of infestation low and to a relatively small area. 

Left uncontrolled the cost impact of fire ants in Australia is estimated to be between $5.3b and $45b over 20 to 70 years.  The Federal Government’s budget commitment to eradicate fire ants has been welcomed by the Queensland Liberal National Party.

LNP Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Dale Last, said the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement on fire ants gave a strong commitment to continuing and upgrading the eradication program.

Click here to view full article.

Safety in food preparation areas is becoming increasingly important within the pest management industry.

AEPMA is pleased to announce that we have developed a course entitled "Field Biologist – Pest Management".  For more information, please visit the Course Flyer.

Please direct your expressions of interest to the National Office on 1300 307 114 or info@aepma.com.au. 

There seem to be no worries that German cockroaches are becoming extinct.  In fact, the number and incidence of these pests on Pest Management Professional accounts is on the rise. Thus, it’s time to sharpen your knowledge and skills to take on this formidable foe.

Since one female German cockroach has the ability to produce as many as 500,000 offspring in a single year, it doesn’t take long for German cockroaches to give Pest Management Professionals a headache.  To prevent a few cockroaches from quickly multiplying into a colony, PMPs should use the most effective tools to control these impressively productive pests.

Click here to read the full article

Contrary to public belief, a high earning employee can still pursue an unfair dismissal claim if they are covered by a modern award. 

In a recent FWC (Fair Work Commission) case, a former regional director claimed that a multibillion dollar real estate business unfairly dismissed him when it made him redundant.  

The employer made a jurisdictional objection to the application, arguing that he was not a person protected from unfair dismissal. This was on the basis that the director’s earnings were in excess of the high-income threshold and the general accountabilities/requirements of his position were beyond the classifications in the Real Estate Industry Award.    

Click here to read full article

A meeting of the NSW ACT State Council was held on 1 May 2017 at the offices of Agserv.  

Patrick Legey (Chairman) welcomed members and guests in attendance including Life member, Mr Greg Moon.

After apologies and the acceptance of the previous minutes, the meeting commenced.
Topics of discussion included Code of Practices (some being updated), the review of AS 3660.2-2000, the QLD Licencing review and many more.  Mr Patrick Legey also noted that he had attended two Prior to Purchase Timber Pest Inspections Code of Practice meetings recently.

The deadline for the Pest Manager of the Year has been extended to 30 May and further nominations, especially from NSW /ACT, would be welcomed.  The winners will be announced at the 2017 Rapid Solutions conference on 11-12 August 2017 at the RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.

Click here to view full article

MELBOURNE is being gripped by a mice plague, with the rodents migrating from the state’s west in droves.

Peter Taylor, a Pest Controller from Melbourne, said the mice population was booming in Melbourne. 

“Spring was very conducive to the breeding of mice, and lots of other insects and animals,” Mr Taylor told 3AW.

“The population’s quite large, and because we’re now getting colder weather, they’re all coming inside.

“It sort of started in the country, now it’s moving into the city, first to the outer suburbs, and now into the CBD.”

Mr Taylor said mice were more likely to be found scurrying in the cereal as the cooler weather attracts them inside while looking for shelter from the wind and rain.

This comes as the CSIRO issued a warning earlier this year to farmers and residents in western Victorian be on high alert for plenty of mice.

They warned the wet spring and bumper harvest created the perfect breeding conditions for the mice to reach “plague proportions”.

Edited article and images from the Herald Sun (22 May 2017)

Mr Scott Morrison, the Federal Treasurer, has handed down his second Budget. Mr Morrison said the Budget is focused on boosting the economy and households, so that “we live within our means and are able to return the Budget to balance in 2020/21”. 

The government is proposing to address the housing affordability crisis with a package of tax, superannuation and other measures. Additionally, the Budget contains measures intended to ensure the integrity of the tax and superannuation system. 

Click here to view the tax and superannuation highlights.

Following the recent publication of the above from the Public Tropical Health Services in Cairns in this newsletter, please click here for version 2.  A few errors have been corrected and the article has been updated.ELBOURNE is being gripped by a mice plague, with the rodents migrating from the state’s west in droves.

AEPMA welcomes any contributions or suggestions for articles that you feel are relevant to the industry. Simply forward to info@aepma.com.au.

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• Pestech 2017 - July - September 2017
• AEPMA QLD Branch Executive meeting – 27 June 2017
• ​Rapid Solutions Conference - 11-12 August 2017
• AEPMA NSW/ACT State Council Meeting – 28 August 2017
• SAVE THE DATE!  AEPMA 2018 National Conference on the Gold Coast - 19-21 September 2018