TUESDAY 10 AUGUST 2010 ISSUE 40 ATFA EXHIBITS AT THE MASTER BUILDERS BUILDING AND HOME IMPROVEMENT EXPO ATFA is proud to have been involved with the 2010 Master Builders Building & Home Improvement Expo held in Melbourne on July 9 th -11 th. ATFA held a stand promoting the members and the industry for three busy days. ATFA s main message for consumers during the expo was to only use ATFA members, their products and services for any timber flooring needs. With a record breaking 24,796 visitors over 3 days, the expo is Australia's No.1 Building and Renovating Expo, providing great exposure to for ATFA and our members. NEW INSPECTOR FOR TASMANIA Tasmania now has an ATFA accredited timber flooring inspector. If you have an issue with a floor and need an independent inspection please log onto the ATFA website and complete the request for inspection form.
WAGES UPDATE MINIMUM RATES AND TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS Are you paying your staff the correct wage? There are many differences between the awards that applied prior to 1 January 2010 (pre-modern awards) and modern awards - and in some cases these differences affect rates of pay, loadings and penalties. In order to avoid a significant cost impact on employers, or a significant drop in pay for employees, these differences will be phased in over a period of time. By 1 July 2014, all transitional differences will disappear. Until that date, each year 20% of the difference between the old entitlement and the new entitlement will be add to or subtracted from the modern award entitlement. Emma Watt, ATFA s Industrial Relations partner can assist with the calculation of minimum enforceable rates of pay for adults, juniors and apprentices under a range of awards. If you would like information about current minimum rates of pay for a particular award or awards, please email Emma and specify which awards you require. Emma also has information on weekend rates. If you have any other queries about industrial relations, please call Emma Watt on (03) 8822 3712 or 0411 708 073, or email her at emma@emmawatt.com.au. MEMBER BENEFIT ATFA members receive 2 free 15 minute phone calls to Emma Watt for Industrial Relations Support each year. ATFA CONVENTION DRAWS CLOSER ATFA is proud to be partnering with Australian Exhibitions & Conferences (AEC) to deliver a new and improved event in 2011. The ATFA Convention will be run with the annual Flooring & Finishes Expo which will be co-located with Decoration + Design. This partnership will see the convention taken to new heights with a large increase in exhibitors and attendee numbers. The next ATFA Convention will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on the 2 nd to the 4 th of February 2011. The 2012 event will take place in Melbourne in July. Decoration + Design attracts over 7000 people in Sydney & 15000 people in Melbourne; being colocated with this event provides the ATFA Convention exposure to a large, varied audience including: Architects Building designers Interior designers Flooring retailers Contractors Builders Coatings, adhesives & abrasives manufacturers Timber flooring manufacturers Timber flooring suppliers. AEC will be in contact with ATFA members as we get closer to the event. If you would like further information please contact Conrad Patrick from AEC on conrad@aec.net.au or phone 03 9654 7773. 2
WA GETS THE LOW DOWN ON STAINING ATFA members in Western Australia enjoyed a trade event this month with a focus on staining. The event was a huge success with over 85 people attending to hear from staining manufacturers. ATFA thanks Bosh Timber Floors for providing the venue and Feast Watson, Loba, Polycure and Bona for sponsoring the event. ATFA SUPPORTS THE TIMBER DESIGN AWARDS FIRST QUALIFIED APPRENTICE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA The Australian Timber Design Awards are a national competition to promote and encourage outstanding timber design in the built environment professions. ATFA is proud to be sponsoring the Best Use of Timber Flooring Award for 2010. This partnership will provide exposure for ATFA to the large specifier market in Australia and encourage the use of timber flooring in new developments. Best Use of Timber Flooring (National) winner 2008. Architect: Cox Architects + Planners Project: Hepburn Mineral Springs Bath House Photographer: Derek Swalwell Taylor Gee is the first qualified Timber Flooring apprentice in Western Australia. Solid Floors Pty Ltd of Balcatta W.A is proud of their staff member, Taylor who finished his apprenticeship in May, a full 6 months early. If you would like information on apprenticeships please contact Randy Flierman on 1300 361 693. 3
NEED SOME QUICK ADVICE? Are you aware that ATFA members have access to fast, reliable advice for all technical questions through the ATFA hotlines? Hotlines exist for a range of topics including: Timber Coatings and Finishing Adhesives and Edge Bonding Installation Equipment and Sanding Training and Apprentices. Please call ATFA on 1300 361 693 to get the hotline numbers. TOP DOG WINS BUSINESS AWARD ATFA congratulates Ivan and Sam Kirton of Ivan Kirton Flooring for being the Services and Trades Winners of the Year for The Small Business Awards run by The Leader Newspaper. Ivan Kirton Flooring was also a finalist for the overall Business of the Year and Ivan was a runner up for Business Person of the Year. BUILDING APPROVAL TRENDS TO END OF JUNE 2010 (released 3 August 2010 by ABS) The trend estimate for total dwellings approved fell 2.7% in June 2010 and is showing falls for four months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 3.3% and has fallen for three months. The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 2.2% in June and has fallen for six months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses approved fell 2.5% following a rise last month. The trend estimate for private sector other dwellings approved is flat in June after rising for eleven months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector other dwellings approved rose 2.7% following a fall in May. The trend estimate for the value of total building approved fell 0.4% in June and has fallen for five months. The trend estimates for the value of building approved should be interpreted with caution. See the data notes on page 2 of this publication. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved fell 2.4% in June. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of new residential building fell 5.2% while the value of residential alterations and additions fell 7.3%. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of nonresidential building rose 4.4% Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) at www.abs.gov.au 4
ATFA UPCOMING EVENTS Be sure to register for the upcoming ATFA events. For registration details email lauran@atfa.com.au ATFA Advanced Timber Technology, Perth, Wednesday August 17 th ATFA Advanced Coatings Technology, Perth, Thursday August 18 th ATFA Parquetry and Cork Seminar, Melbourne, Wednesday August 25 th ATFA Floor Inspector Course, Brisbane August 31 st September 2 nd ATFA Timber Products Seminar, Sydney, Wednesday September 8 th ATFA Trade Night Machines, Melbourne, Thursday, September 9 th ATFA Queensland Trade Night, Brisbane, Thursday September 16 th ATFA National Golf Day, Sunshine Coast, Friday October 22 nd ATFA AGM, Sunshine Coast, Friday October 22 nd ATFA WELCOMES ITS NEW MEMBERS Colin Mitchell Classic Timber Floors Steven Vak Tuff Coat Australia Gale Budd-Doyle Classique Floorboards Abdul Nahalis Jarrod Main Liam Houison David Johnson Jarlath Waingott A-Z Floorsanders Ivan Kirton Parquetry & Floorsanding Wonson Bros Timber Pty Ltd Melbourne Flooring Company Larry Hill & Michael Tamplin Ashley Stuart-Smith Paul Rutledge Luke Stark Specialised Flooring Systems Coastal Floor Sanding Eco Wood Floors Gunnersen Pty Ltd Esteem group Gerry Madigan Mr Floorsander Jennifer Snyders House of Bamboo Philip Andrews Artcraft Timber Flooring Frank Calleja Crommelins Machinery Andrew Abbott Andrew James Abbott Raymond Butterfield Polivac International Jerry Zhang Timberland Flooring Bill Grogan Bill's Flooring Pty Ltd