Commercial Painting Contractors with Green Processes – What are the Perks?

By Higgins Coatings

Society is on a steady trajectory of improvement when it comes to environmentalism. ‘Going green’ is an increasing trend – we have hybrid cars, solar energy, eco-friendly beauty and household products and even green buildings.

An increasing number of people (including many celebrities) are looking to only partner with companies that employ green practices, including commercial painting contractors.

So what does it mean to be a green contractor?

Green contractors generally use processes and systems that are environmentally-responsible and resource-efficient to reduce their carbon footprint. Some of these contractors also use low VOC paint. The common objective of green contractors is to reduce the overall impact on human health and the natural environment by:

• Using energy and water in a resourceful way
• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
• Reducing waste and pollution

Here are some benefits of using commercial painting contractors with green systems:

Less hazardous waste

Hazardous paint waste can harm humans, plants and animals if they encounter these toxins buried in the ground, in stream runoff, or in groundwater that provides drinking water. Most green contractors have systems in place that provide a responsible way of washing out painting tools and removing hazardous waste. Some green commercial painting contractors make use of the EnviroWash System – it’s an eco-friendly process that converts waterborne paint washings into clear water and solid waste, making it easier and safer for disposal. The paint sludge is filtered and dried, turning it into non-hazardous solid waste.

Less impact on landfills

Commercial painting contractors are usually left with an excess of waste paint and packaging. Paint can become an environmental hazard if it’s incorrectly disposed of – and having stacks of leftover paint cans in the warehouse isn’t ideal either. Green contractors have ‘take-back’ solutions in place to responsibly deal with the remaining paint and cans. Certain organisations, like Paintback, will pick up leftover paint and packaging at their designated collection points and transport it to the necessary facility for treatment. This lessens the landfill impact as containers are recycled and the water from the waste solvent paint is used as an energy source.

Water conservation

According to a Scientific American blog, Australia faced the worst drought in the country’s recorded history from 1997 to 2009. Water is the planet’s most precious resource and we should do everything to conserve it. Cleaning systems like the EnviroWash use less water than traditional cleaning methods – and the clear water that separates from the paint sludge can be recycled into other trade-related applications, or used for irrigation, watering flat grassy areas and gardens. This process will preserve potable water and yield significant water savings (which essentially saves you money and resources).

If you are looking for an eco-friendly, ISO 14001 certified property maintenance service provider, consider Higgins Coatings. We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment. We have implemented an integrated management system that ensures the excellence and safety of our services and includes eco-friendly processes that are not harmful to the properties on which we work.

To find out more information on how Higgins can improve the condition of a property call 1300 HIGGINS or Contact Us.

SCA’s new National Partner

Savant Energy Power Networks (SEPN) is thrilled that we have entered into a National Sponsorship Agreement with Strata Communities Australia (SCA).  SEPN currently provide embedded electricity, gas and hot water network services to many strata buildings.  An embedded network allows SEPN to pool the buildings energy requirements together, providing access to cheaper energy costs.  This results in tenants receiving lower energy costs than they would otherwise be able to access by themselves.  Together with this SEPN also fund and provide Centralised Bulk Hot Water plant and Metering, creating a user pays system and reducing the impact on the Body Corporate fees and sinking fund.  These embedded networks in multi-tenant facilities, i.e. apartment buildings, are either procured or managed by SEPN.

As a part of the sponsorship, SEPN will become the National Utility Matters Partner for SCA, providing expert advice and education on utility matters to SCA members.

“A great deal of our business is with Strata Organisations and this sponsorship will significantly increase our visibility in the industry.  We are very excited with the opportunity to assist Strata managers deal with electricity, hot water and gas issues within their managed properties, as well as minimise the costs to tenants for these utilities.  SCA is an outstanding organisation representing the Strata Industry and we are proud to be associated” said Richard Mintz, Director of SEPN.

Recently on 17-19 October an SCA A100 National Introduction to Living and Working in Strata Communities was held in Canberra. There were 19 students in the class over the three days, including two from South Australia, one from Queensland and one from Sydney. As we take this course on a trip around Australia we are finding that the course is well received. We have experienced managers who complete the course as a refresher and less experienced managers and support staff who are looking for knowledge that will assist them to settle into their roles within the industry quicker and develop a long-term career in Strata Community Management.

The participants in the course were:

Jan Browne, Jennifer Burgess, Angelina Anderson, Sarah Welbeck, Clare Wilson, Lisa Langbein, Nyankor Adore, Jake Bolton, Konika Elphick, Heather Sanderson, Roslyn Edwards, Sally Wu, Georgina Newhouse, Nina Cannell, Kimberley Jonsson, Judith Doddridge, & Laura Kennedy.

All students also successfully completed the exam as the end of the course.

Canberra is quickly becoming the model for the A100 and Trainer the Trainer for SCA having also put six new Trainers through the Faculty Training Course.

Along with Western Australia and Victoria, Canberra will now have a full team of Trainers to conduct future SCA educational courses. Along with the Trainers from the ACT we also now have two new ones from South Australia, one from Queensland and one from New South Wales who have qualified as well. All of the Trainers who work as SCA Trainers or Industry Specialist Trainers donate their time back to the industry when presenting at SCA Educational programs. We would like to sincerely thank the companies who permit their staff as Trainers the freedom to assist with the education and training of others within the industry. A very big thank you to you. To the Trainers, we simply would not be able to do this without you. You are an integral component of the industry going forward.

Congratulations to these new Trainers

• Grant Taylor – SCI _ NSW
• Jan Browne – SCA Trainer – ACT/ NSW
• Kimberley Jonsson – CHU – QLD
• Judith Doddridge – CHU – SA
• Robert Craven – SCA Trainer – ACT
• Florina Fernandez – SCA Trainer – SA

Pictured above (left to right): Grant Taylor, Jan Browne, Kimberley Jonsson, Florina Fernandez, Judith Doddridge, Carole Anderson, Robert Craven, Steve Wiebe

With thanks to our National Education Program Partner

The Australian Consumer Law Interim Report
By SCA National

The ACL Review is being conducted by Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). As highlighted in the report, the Australian Consumer Law Review is one of a number of reviews into issues affecting Australian consumers.

The Interim Report is an opportunity for you to provide CAANZ with views on how the consumer policy framework could more effectively meet its objectives and address the risk of consumer and business detriment at an appropriate level of regulatory burden.

Making a submission

CAANZ is seeking feedback from as many stakeholders as possible, and in sufficient detail to test the issues and options presented in this Interim Report. In particular, we are interested in the viability and anticipated benefits and costs of options, including compliance costs. To help guide stakeholder submissions, questions are included throughout the Interim Report.

The closing date for submissions is Friday, 9 December 2016.

You may lodge your submission electronically or by post, however, electronic lodgement is preferred. For accessibility reasons, please submit responses sent via email in a Word or RTF format. An additional PDF version may also be submitted.

To view the report, please click here.

We thank our National Partners

South Australian sectors celebrates at their annual awards ceremonies

Marc Steen
Strata Community Australia (SA) President

Leaders of the South Australia strata property sector came together on Friday, 4 November to present the annual awards for excellence in strata. The SCA (SA) 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards recognised and rewarded the individuals and companies who make a significant contribution to the strata industry and community. In its first year running, the event was a huge success held at Adelaide Oval

“It was really exciting to recognise the achievements of local leaders. Our members collectively manage hundreds of thousands of strata title lots throughout the state so a lot of people have a stake in their performance.”

“The best structure for the strata sector involves all managers as members of an overarching organisation like SCA (SA), who establish benchmarks for professional practice, enforce strict codes of conduct, and provide education and training measures which in turn helps the greater community.”

Mr Steen says that beyond the organisation’s regular lobbying and advocacy efforts, it is more important than ever to maintain strict codes of conduct and levels of professionalism within the sector.

Congratulations to all winners and finalists.

• Best Support Team Member of the Year: Krystene Tremayne, Horner Management
• Rising Star of the Year: Jonathan Argent, Horner Management
• Professional Commitment to Ethics and Service: Whittles Management Services
• Strata Industry Leader of the Year: Carrie McInerney, Horner Management
• Innovation of the Year: Whittles Management Services
• Small Strata Management Business: Horner Management
• Large Strata Management Businesses of the Year: Strata Data and Whittles Management Services
• Strata Manager of the Year: Tony Johnson, Horner Management

Click here to view the event photos from the evening.

A100 – National Introduction to Working and Living in Strata Communities Visits Cairns 

The A100 travelling roadshow recently visited Cairns on 25-27 October. There were 10 students who attended the course:

Sophie Mc Donald, Dean Stoplemann, Brian Uy, Samantha Remmington, Amanda O’Shea, Mike Anstee, Darren, Kristy, Taryn  and Shane Devenish.

Some of the students were relatively new to the Strata Industry others were more experienced however they all expressed their gratefulness that the course had been brought to the area and that they had the opportunity to attend.

A big thank you to Kelly from TCM Strata for arranging the venue and the assistance she provided so that the course could proceed.

Trainers for the course were Melissa Butwilowski,  Shane Devenish – Devenish Legal,  Kimberly Jonsson – CHU and Carole Anderson – SCA National.

We thank Strata Community Insurance for being our National Education Program Provider.

Carole Anderson
Education Officer
Strata Community Australia

We thank our National Education Program Partner

The Increasing Pace of Change

Article supplied by StrataMax

In 2015 we published an article based on a presentation by Daniel Borin called "Tomorrow’s Future Technology Today”. At the time, some of the items in this article did seem rather futuristic but it is surprising how these new technologies are now a part of our daily lives.

So what has changed from these original observations?

Processing Power

In the year 2000 one of the biggest and best computer was the HP Superdome, which sold for more than $1.5M USD and weighed in excess of 1.2 tonnes.  Last year this was equivalent to the processing power of three smart phones  at a cost of under $1500USD and weighing less than half a kilogram (1000 times cheaper and 3000 times lighter).

One Year On

The processing capacity of one Samsung S7 worth $750 (as opposed to three S5’s one year ago) would exceed the processing power of this super computer by 17%. According to Wikipedia, the cost reduction in processing power per GFLOP has reduced from $1,300 in 2000 to just 0.06 cents in January 2015 – that’s 21,666 times cheaper in just over 15 years.

Storage Capacity

In the year 2000 people shared files on 3.5 inch floppy disks with a mere 2.88MB in storage capacity, not big enough to store a single photo from your current phone. A year ago we reported people were using Micro SD cards with a storage of 64GB, representing an increase in capacity of more than 20,000 times plus a decrease in physical size of over a hundred times.

One Year On

SanDisk have announced their 1TB SD card. This represents a 347,000 times increase in capacity over the floppy disks on something not much bigger than a fingernail.

Network Speed

One of the most common ways to connect to the internet in the year 2000 was via a 56K dial up modem. A year ago people were mainly connecting via ADSL, cable or wireless offering 24.7Mbps – 441 times faster than in 2000.

One Year On

The NBN is now rolling out across Australia and is on track to put Australia ahead of the world for high speed, universal broadband access. The NBN offers customers up to 100Mbps download speeds and upload speeds of up to 40Mbps. 

Networks

A network offers the ability for a device, computer, or piece of technology to communicate with another network or a user. Without some form of communication, devices are essentially useless. But there also needs to be an appropriate level of speed and quality of service for the technology to be effective. This diagram represents the progress of networks, where they have come and where they are going.

One Year On

We predicted the 5G network to be a reality in 2020 but already Telstra are testing this network in Melbourne achieving 20Gbps, and have announced a trial of their 5G on the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Wearables/Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things refers to the collection of traditionally passive objects that are being given smarts and connected to the internet. A year ago the technology which was emerging still seemed out of our reach or not within our reality.

One Year On

The IoT industry has grown rapidly with thousands of everyday products now having a smart connected version. In the wearables space, fitness has been one of the biggest areas to embrace the technology with an entire market of smart watches having evolved in the last 18 months.

Some other items to be introduced include the connected Nespresso machine that not only makes your coffee buttracks how many pods you have left and lets you order more from the machine. Another is the ‘Click and Grow’ pot plant which is a small robot farm that can water, light and feed your plants automatically, allowing you to have fresh herbs, tomatoes or even strawberries growing on your kitchen counter. The mission, to bring technology to apartment dwellers all over the world as vertical farms.

Underlying Technology

The IoT is driven by the access we now have to all-in-one processing chips which are affordable and capable of supporting this new technology. Last year Intel launched the Edison with dual CPU, 5GB of RAM and Bluetooth all for under $50 USD. Prices, capabilities and form factor are improving at such a rapid pace that the idea of including smarts into every kind of everyday object will be common place in no time.

One Year On

Intel has now introduced Intel Euclid. This new integrated micro computer not only boasts all of the processing power of the Edison but is 3D aware of its surroundings via dual cameras and includes an accelerometer. All this packed into the size of a small chocolate bar. With full 3D vision and other sensors this simple add on could turn a simple robot into an affordable autonomous machine.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way since IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Chess Champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. IBM’s AI system, simply known as Watson, defeated two champions of the popular TV game show Jeopardy and has since seen remarkable progression.

One Year On

Over the past 18 months all areas of Artificial Intelligence have seen improvements in application, underlying hardware and algorithms. Watson has now been deployed in Oncology wards in hospitals around the world helping to diagnose patients and provide individual care. Watson considers supporting evidence and draws from information contained in 15 million pages of text from medical journals, textbooks, patient cases and other sources. 

For consumers, the biggest advancement has been the accuracy and speed of voice to text and natural language understanding. These developments have occurred through one particular type of artificial intelligence known as machine learning. This natural language understanding has now spawned virtual personal assistants which work off an audio interface that listens for a user to ask a question or issue a command like “Order me a ride to work” or “What does my schedule look like today”. The capabilities of these virtual assistants are growing exponentially especially as the companies involved are opening up their assistants through APIs to any company that has information or services that users might want.

Robots

The well-known robot duo Baxter and Sawyer are examples of an emerging technology known as multipurpose robots. Whereas typical automation through robotics would set back companies hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars, these multipurpose robots can start at just $29K USD.

One Year On

Another explosion for an emerging technology with smart machines such as robots being purchased from over 2,500 technology vendors across the globe. The technology has now evolved from the domain of small factories and into our homes. Domino’s Pizzas first introduced the technology called the Dominos Robotic Unit (DRU) here in Australia to deliver your pizza fresh and hot to your door. A controversial introduction at last year’s Consumer Electronic Show was the robot nanny called iPal launched by AvatarMind. Its current model sells for around $1500USD in China, stands at 3 foot tall and includes a surveillance camera, touch screen tablet and a choice of hundreds of apps.

When we first wrote this article the idea of self-driving cars sounded like science fiction to most of us. But a year on almost every car company is developing a self-driving prototype with expectations that we will see models on the road very soon. The US government has paved the way having released their Federal Automated Vehicles Policy on September 20, 2016. Here in Australia, South Australia has made self-driving car trials legal, paving the way to attract automotive companies from around the world. 

A new strata industry partnership supporting professional education

Article supplied by Strata Community Insurance

Strata Community Insurance and Strata Community Australia announced the signing of a National Education Partner Program. This partnership’s mandate is to increase and formalise a professional and recognisable career path within the Strata Management sector while supporting a number of initiatives that Strata Community Australia is spear-heading.

Paul Keating, Managing Director, Strata Community Insurance states; ‘this exciting partnership demonstrates the recognition the association places on our strength of experience in providing truly valued and authentic products to the industry, along with educational support. 

This is an exciting opportunity and demonstrates the recognition the association places on our strength of experience and expertise in providing truly valued and authentic products, along with educational support to the industry. 

The partnership seeks to increase and formalise a professional and recognisable career path within the Strata Management sector and supports a number of initiatives that Strata Community Australia is driving:

• The A100 Introduction of Strata course for new participants;
• New Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Strata Community Management qualifications;
• An Owner’s Corporate Committee on-line workshop (in development).

Back in March 2015, the nation’s peak industry body for Strata and Community Title Management, Strata Community Australia confirmed the Federal Governments support for a range of upgrades to industry training and education. This important step in bringing a new level of professionalism to Australia’s $500 billion-plus strata sector was supported by Strata Community Insurance.

Kim Henshaw, CEO Strata Community Australia states “Over the years, Strata Community Australia have been advocating for the introduction of standards to protect our stakeholders. SCA believes strata owners deserve the highest level of professionalism from strata managers. Its why we’ve been advocating for these changes for years and vigorously applying our own Code of Conduct for members.

About Strata Community Insurance

Strata Community Insurance provides specialist products and services to the Strata and Community Title sector. Strata Community Insurance is an independent private company partnering with the Allianz Group – the largest property and casualty insurer in the world.

Strata Community Insurance is a business founded, owned and staffed by a group of Australia’s most experienced strata insurance professionals.  The founders have four decades of experience across six countries developing products and writing this form of insurance business.

As we deal exclusively in strata insurance market, we understand the complexities of the sector and its governing legislation.

For further details, please contact:

Paul Keating
Managing Director
Strata Community Insurance
[email protected]

Making the most of your strata management technology

Article by Ruth Smyth, Business Relationship Manager at Rockend

Technology has become a pivotal part of any business in the 21^st century, but with so many new technologies on the market it can be difficult to identify the valuable technology from the gimmicks. Software and the processes and functionalities of this technology often underpin a strata management business, but many businesses often forget to evaluate the value of this piece of technology. Are you gaining value from the product? Is it automating manual tasks and saving you time? The stark reality is that most strata software can provide your business with functionality but more often than not, most people are only using a small percentage of the features of any given software system.

Your strata management software is no different. You use it on a daily basis to run your business, but are you making the most of your investment? Software, like most pieces of technology, is constantly evolving. Any good software program will have a structured release cycle which constantly releases new features, which are designed to improve your business and day-to-day operations. At Rockend, our products are developed using a structured process which consists of six month cycles for each major release. There are two major version upgrades each year which include many new and enhanced features designed to help our clients grow their businesses.

Although most software providers have structured releases, businesses that have taken the first step to build a strong team and implement the best software should not overlook the importance of maximising the investment they’ve made in both people and technology. The most successful businesses not only take advantage of each new upgrade but also of any relevant training. Learning how to use the new features of any software is fundamental for your success.

I recently sat down with Sarah Dawson, Head of Sales at Rockend, who believes that too many businesses are using less than 60% of their strata management software. When I asked her for some key tips on how you can find out if you’re using your software to its potential, Sarah gave me some great advice, “Training is key to using any software to its full extent. For what is generally a small investment of time and money, users who are professionally trained get the full benefit of any new features”.

Secondly, Sarah’s advice is to speak to your software supplier about how to find out which areas need work. ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’ says Sarah, ‘call your supplier and ask the question. At Rockend, we will talk to you about your business goals and how Rockend can help you achieve them. We find that we can always identify areas for improvement, whether it be through staff training or use of software’.

Businesses that do this understand how to use the product to its full potential to automate mundane tasks, grow the business and increase profits.

How efficient is your Strata business?

​​​​​Macquarie Bank has launched a calculator that allows you to find out.

Macquarie’s benchmarking research shows efficiency is the essential driver of high profits in strata management, and that a few key changes can help to lift business performance from average to extraordinary.

Read Macquarie’s five tips to increase business efficiency and calculate your efficiency score.

Article supplied by Macquarie Bank

Is your balcony safe?

Article supplied by Antigrabbity

What if, in a matter of minutes, you could prevent balcony falls, essentially saving lives or preventing serious bodily harm?

If you live in or own a building with a balcony, chances are the thought of you or someone else falling off has crossed your mind and for good reason. Over 50 children a year fall from windows and balconies in Australia, in fact injury has now replaced disease as the biggest single cause of death for Australian children after their first birthday. Around 1,300 children attend hospital each week in NSW alone due to injuries in the home.  

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 28 deaths in the year 2015 are due to people falling from a building or structure. This is more than triple the amount of deaths by drowning in a bath and more than the amount of deaths by drowning in swimming pools.

On top of the tragedy of a human life lost, balconies pose a legal risk if not deemed safe and someone falls, along with a tarnished reputation to the complex. Could you recover financially if you were at fault of a balcony not being safe? How would you feel if you knew you could have prevented a tragedy such as someone falling from your balcony?

While it is tragic, over 50% of all accidents in the home are preventable, including balcony falls. Anyone involved with buildings that have balconies can take steps to prevent balcony deaths.

1.) Ensure the balcony is in good repair. While balcony collapse is extremely rare, the first step to ensuring balcony safety is checking there are no cracks, loose poles or rails and if there are, arranging for the repairs immediately.

2.) Install safety features. Double locks, screens, protective glass and automatic closing doors are all great, however expensive and time consuming to install. Anti Grabbity is a balcony safety option that is less than $20 per metre and can be installed in minutes. It is barely noticeable, can be removed without leaving a trace in the case of renters and can prevent anyone from pulling themselves over the railing.

3.) Strata, Body Corporates and Building Managers: Provide information about balcony safety to residents of complexes to ensure they know the best practices such as keeping balconies clear, lacking doors when the balcony is not in use, installing safety features and always supervising those who need it such as children and drunk adults.

With some knowledge, 10 minutes inspecting the balcony and installing a solution like Anti Grabbity, you reduce your liability and can save lives. For more information, click here.

Hollie Bell
W www.antigrabbity.com
E [email protected]
P 0413 666 345

We thank our National Partners

Unit Titles Act Review 2016

New Zealand Update – 21 December 2016

 
This evening I met with the Minister of Building and Housing, Hon Dr Nick Smith and MP Hon Nikki Kaye, along with colleagues from MBIE who have been involved in the review. Tonight they released the discussion document and spoke to the proposed changes and the path forward.
 
The Unit Titles Act (UTA) is being reviewed to ensure that the law regulating unit titles is functioning well and fit for a growing market. I am delighted to report they have taken on many of the suggestions from our working group report and have included the promotion and support of SCA (NZ).
 
The consultation process is targeted at proposed reforms that relate to:

• Improving the disclosure regime
• Strengthening body corporate governance provisions
• Promoting professionalism in body corporate management
• Ensuring adequate long term maintenance plans and funding
• Accessibility of dispute resolution processes.

There is also discussion on a proposal to introduce unit title complex size thresholds which would trigger different levels of legislative requirements.
 
You can read the full discussion document on proposed changes to the UTA on MBIE’s website. Simply follow this link: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/housing-property/consultation/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-unit-titles-act-2010
 
They have advised that there will be workshops in February 2017, with submissions due 3 March 2017. I will keep you updated accordingly! Happy reading & Merry Christmas all.

Learn more about strata in New Zealand at the SCA (NZ) website

Joanne Barreto
SCA (NZ) President

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

The direction of Strata Community Australia

Dear members,

Recently the SCA National Board met in Sydney for their final Board meeting of the year.  It was agreed that there is a need to refresh the SCA strategy to ensure our effort and offerings are meeting member needs and furthering the aims of the organisation.  For some time now, unification of the states has been a long-term priority, but it is accepted that this has been all-consuming for the limited resource within SCA executive and administration teams, both nationally and in the states.

In response to member feedback, we have decided to pause this work for the foreseeable future in the interests of furthering initiatives that bring greater value-add to members in the short and medium term.  The National Council, including the SCA National Board and senior State representatives, will meet in February to progress the plan for 2017 and beyond.  It is expected that this will include a focus on increasing shared-services for back office functions from National Office. We will share outcomes from that meeting late February

Kind regards,

Erik Adriaanse
President, Strata Community Australia

Sent to the Financial Administrative & Professional Services Training Council, WA

RE: SCA Western Australia application for Traineeships for the Certificate IV in Strata Community Management.

To Whom It May Concern.

Strata Community Australia (SCA) is the peak national body representing the strata industry in Australia. We have offices or Chapters in every state who support and represent in excess of 4,000 members involved in the strata industry across the country. We are writing to you to support the SCA Western Australia application for Traineeships for the Certificate IV in Strata Community Management.

In Western Australia there are around 74,000 registered community title schemes; some of these still under construction. 

Landgate in WA has produced the following table which clearly shows the growth of the industry to date and into the future. The rapid growth of the strata sector, whilst being a boon for the WA economy has bought with it the associated problem of finding and training enough professional managers to effectively handle the ever increasing burden.

SCA has made the development of education programs for the strata sector its highest priority over the last three years. This is to ensure that strata communities are properly served by appropriately trained and qualified managers. In conjunction with our sister organisation in the USA, we have developed an introductory course for new industry participants. Additionally, through a partnership with both our Industry Skills Council and RMIT University, SCA has recently introduced a new range of nationally recognised qualifications – the Certificate III, Certificate IV and Diploma in Strata Community Management.

The Certificate IV in Strata Community Management is an integral part of the SCA education program for Strata Managers and was developed with a particular strategy in mind; that Strata Managers are thoroughly versed in all aspects of Strata Community Management. Many Western Australian strata management companies are SME’s who find it increasingly difficult to release their people from the workplace to attend training.

Traineeships will enable strata management companies to take advantage of the training available whilst also gaining appropriate experience in the workplace.

 As strata is a major growth industry, there is a real need for trained/educated staff to fill vacancies in small, medium and large companies. The current industry growth has already outstripped the cohort of available candidates and the gap will continue to grow unless there is access to an education programs, including traineeships that provide appropriate learning outcomes and equip the participants with work ready skills. A traineeship has the ability to fulfil the needs of the employers i.e. workplace based and the educational needs of the employee.

Kind regards,

Kim Henshaw
CEO, Strata Community Australia

We thank our national education program sponsor

Introducing Strata online book: Body Corporate for beginners

A key aim of Strata Community Association New Zealand is to bring about greater clarity and transparency to the bodies corporate sector. This SCA (NZ) Introducing Strata ebook is an electronic resource aimed to help explain the body corporate complexities to you and your clients.

Please note this link directs you to the SCA (NZ) website.

The nbn network rollout

nbn is rolling out fast broadband services throughout Australia. Our current plan it to take advantage of existing network infrastructure, and upgrade it to work with the rest of the nbn™ network rollout. nbn assesses what network technology may be available, and then utilises this infrastructure to deliver a fast broadband solution for each area.

Strata Managers, you can check your address to find out if your building is in a fibre rollout area. If you are in the rollout area, please register your contact details with us today using the link below

http://www.nbnco.com.au/connect-home-or-business/register-your-building-or-apartment-block.html

Registering your contact details will streamline the installation process so that your building is connected as fast and efficiently as possible. As our rollout is progressive, you may not be connected immediately. nbn and our approved delivery partners will be in touch with you when the rollout reaches your building.

Multi-technology Mix on the nbn™ network

nbn™ fixed line connections utilise a physical line running to the premises (FTTP, FTTN, FTTB) are considered nbn™ Fixed Line connections. The difference between each type of connection simply comes down to how nbn utilise existing technology in connecting the nearest available fibre node to your specific premises. To find out more about nbn™ Fixed Line connections and the differences click here. 

Fire and Lift Register

The nbn™ network will soon replace most existing fixed phone and internet networks. This switch will affect the operation of important services such as your premises monitored fire alarm and lift emergency phone. The Fire and Lift Register is an important government initiative to help support the safe migration of monitored fire alarms and lift emergency phones from most existing networks. For more information on the Fire and Lift Register and how you can register your premises equipment click here.

Important information for Strata Managers

For apartment blocks, unit blocks, retail complexes, commercial, industrial, government and high rise buildings nbn needs to engage with the body corporate or the building owner (depending on building type) to connect these properties to the nbn™ network. These types of buildings also require more extensive internal cabling.

Register your building

If your building is in a rollout area, please register your contact details with nbn today www.nbn.com.au/registerbuilding

Registering your contact details will streamline the installation process so that your building is connected as fast and efficiently as possible. nbn and our construction partners will be in touch with you as the rollout gets underway.

Lift emergency phones and fire indicator panels

If you’re responsible for a fire indicator panel or emergency lift phone service in a building, please register your details www.nbn.com.au/fireandlift. Supplying the FNN (full national number) of the service also helps identify premises that might be eligible for a deferred disconnection until 1 July 2017.

• ACT

   

  Acton Amaroo Braddon Canberra Franklin

  Gungahlin Harrison Jerrabomberra Karabar Mitchell

  Ngunnawal Nicholls Palmerston Queanbeyan Queanbeyan East

  Queanbeyan West Turner Watson

• NSW

   

  Alexandria Allambie Heights Armidale Arndell Park Artarmon Ashtonfield Auburn Balgownie Balmain Bateau Bateau Bay Bellambi Berala Berkeley Vale Blacktown Bligh Park Blue Bay Boambee Boambee East Boambee Valley Bomaderry Bondi Bondi Junction Bonville Bradbury Brownsville Bulli Burwood Cambridge Gdns Cambridge Park Campbelltown Campsie Canterbury Chatswood Chippendale Chittaway Bay Coffs Harbour Colebee Concord Coniston Corrimal Cranbrook Cremorne Crestwood Crows Nest Croydon Cundletown Dapto Darlinghurst Doonside

  Dubbo East Corrimal East Gosford East Maitland Elizabeth Elizabeth Bay Erina Erskineville Eveleigh Fairy Meadow Fernhill Forestville Fountaindale Frederick Gillieston Heights Glenning Valley Gosford Greenleigh Greenwich Gwynneville Haymarket Hobartville Homebush Homebush West Horsley Huntingood Jamberoo Jamisontown Kanahooka Kieraville Kembla Grange Kensington Kiama Kiama Downs Kiama Heights Killarney Vale Kings Park Kingswood Koolewong Koonawarra Korora Lalor Park Leichhardt Leumeah Lidcombe Liverpool Londonderry Long Jetty Lurnea Magenta

  Maitland Mangerton Manly Manly Park Mayayong Marsden Park Mascot Mayfield Mayfield East Mayfield West Metford Millers Point Milsons Point Morpeth Mount Keira Mt Pritchard Mt Saint Thomas Narara Naremburn North Boambee North Boambee Valley North Gosford North Nowra North Strathfield North Wollongong Nowra Oaks Estate Penrith Penrose Point Clare Point Frederick Potts Point Prospect Pyrmont Queanbeyan Queanbeyan East Queanbeyan West Raworth Redfern Regents Park Richmond Riverstone Rookwood Rosebery Rozelle Russell Vale Sandgate Sapphire Beach Sawtell Schofields

  Seven Hills Shellharbour City Centre Shelly Beach South Matiland South Nowra South Penrith South Windsor Spring Hill Springfield St Leonards St Peters Strathfield Surry Hills Sydney Tamarama Tapitallee Taree Tarrawanna Tascott Tenambit Terara The Entrance The Entrance North Tinonee Toormina Toowoon Toowoon Bay Towradgi Tumbi Umbi Ultimo Vineyard Warabrook Waratah Waratah West Warwick Farm Waterloo Werrington West Gosford West Nowra West Wollongong Windsor Wingham Wollongong Woolloomooloo Woonona Wyoming

• NT

   

  Alawa Anula Bakewell Bayview Brinkin Casuarina Coconut Grove Darwin Darwin City Eaton Fannie Bay

  Farrar Gray Gunn Jingili Karama Larrakeyah Leanyer Ludmilla Lyons Malak Marrara

  Millner Moil Moulden Muirhead Nakara Nightcliff Palmerston Parap Rapid Creek Rosebury Stuart Park

  The Gardens The Narrows Tiwi Wagaman Wanguri Woodroffe Woolner Wulagi Yarrawonga

• QLD

   

  Acacia Ridge Aeroglen Aitkenvale Algester Ascot Aspley Banyo Belgian Gardens Bellbird Park Bohle Boondall Bridgeman Downs Brisbane City Buderim Bundamba Bungalow Cairns Cairns City Cairns North Calamvale Carole Park Carseldine Castle Hill Centenary Heights Churchill Clayfield Clontarf Collingwood Park Cranbrook Currajong

  Darling Heights Dinmore Drewvale Eagle Farm East Mackay East Toowoomba Ebbw Vale Edge Hill Eight Mile Plains Ellen Grove Fitzgibbon Fortitude Valley Gailes Garbutt Geebung Goodna Gulliver Hamilton Harlaxton Heatley Hendra Hermit Park Hyde Park Ipswich Kallangur Kearneys Spring Kippa-Ring Kirwan Mackay Manunda

  Middle Ridge Mount Lofty Moung Louisa Mount St John Mundingburra Murrumba Downs Mysterton New Farm Newstead North Booval North Toowoomba North Ward Northgate Nundah Ooralea Paget Pallarenda Parkinson Parramatta Park Petrie Pimlico Pinkenba Portsmith Railway Estate Rangeville Redbank Redbank Plains Riverview Rockhampton City Rosslea

  Rowes Bay Runcorn Sadliers Crossing South Mackay South Toowoomba South Townsville Spring Hill Stretton Sunnybank Hills Teneriffe Taigum Thuringowa Central Toowoomba Toowoomba City Townsville Townsville City Vincent Virginia Wacol West End West Ipswich West Mackay Westcourt Whitfield Willawong Withcott Woodend Woody Point Yamanto Zillmere

• SA

   

  Aldinga Aldinga Beach Blair Athol Broadview Carrickalinga Collinswood Dudley Park Encounter Bay Enfield Fitzroy Gawler Gawler East Gilberton Hayborough

  Highbury Holden Hill Hope Valley Ingle Farm Kilburn Macclesfield Manningham McCracken Mclaren Flat Mclaren Vale Meadows Medindie Medindie Gardens Moana

  Modbury Modbury North Nailsworth Noarlunga Noarlunga Downs Old Noarlunga Ovingham Para Hills Para Vista Port Elliot Port Noarlunga Sth Port Willunga Prospect Seaford

  Seaford Meadows Seaford Rise Sefton Park Sellicks Beach Strathalbyn Thorngate Vale Park Valley View Victor Harbor Walkerville Yankalilla

• TAS

   

  Austins Ferry Battery Point Bellerive Berriedale Binalong Bay Blackmans Bay Blackstone Hts Claremont Deloraine Derwent Park Dynnyrne East Launceston Geilston Bay George Town Glebe Glenorchy Goodwood Granton Hobart Howrah

  Huntingfield Invermay Kings Meadows Kingston Kingston Beach Launceston Lenan Valley Lindisfarne Low Head Lutana Mayfield Midway Point Montagu Bay Montrose Moonah Mornington Mount Nelson Mount Stuart Mowbray New Town

  Newnham Newstead North Hobart Norwood Prospect Prospect Vale Punchbowl Ravenswood Relbia Risdon Risdon Vale Riverside Rocherlea Rose Bay Rosetta Rosny Rosny Park Sandy Bay Scottsdale Smithton

  Somerset Sorell South Hobart South Launceston St Helens St Leonards Stieglitz Summerhill Tolmans Hill Trevallyn Triabunna Warrane Waverley West Hobart West Launceston West Moonah Youngtown

• VIC

   

  Airport West Bacchus Marsh Bakery Hill Ballarat Ballarat Central Ballarat East Ballarat North Black Hill Braeside Brookfield Brown Hill Brunswick Brunswick East Brunswick West Bundoora Canadian Carlton Carlton North Chelsea Heights Congupna

  Cranbourne Cranbourne East Cranbourne West Creswick Darley Docklands Essendon Fields Eureka Fitzroy North Footscray Frankston Frankston South Gladstone Park Golden Point Gowanbrae Grahamvale Invermay Park Keilor Park Keysborough Kingsville

  Kurunjang Lake Wendouree Langwarrin Maddingley Melbourne Melton Melton South Melton West Mill Park Mooroopna Mount Clear Mount Eliza Mount Pleasant Nerrina Newington Noble Park Orrvale Parkville Princes Hill Redan

  Seddon Shepparton Shepparton North Soldiers Hill South Melbourne South Morang Southbank Springvale South St Kilda Strathmore Heights Tottenham Traralgon Tullamarine Werribee West Footscray Westmeadows West Melbourne Yarraville

• WA

   

  Applecross Ardross Bayswater Beachlands Beresford Bluff Point Booragoon Brentwood Bull Creek Burswood Carlisle Como Crawley Dudley Dudley Park

  East Perth East Victoria Park Geraldton Golden Bay Greenfields Inglewood Karawara Kensington Kewdale Lathlain Leeming Mandurah Manning Maylands Meadow Springs

  Menora Mount Lawley Mount Pleasant Perth Pinjarra Rangeway Ravenswood Rivervale Salter Point San Remo Secret Harbour Silver Sands Singleton South Perth Spalding

  St James Strathalbyn Utakarra Victoria Victoria Park Webberton Welshpool West End West Leederville West Perth Wonthella Woorree