Welcome
 
Welcome to the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association April 2018 edition.  Please read for more details below or visit our website for online version
AEPMA Conference Program released on website

The program for the forthcoming AEPMA Conference, held 19-21 September 2018 at The Star Gold Coast, is now available to view on the conference website.

AEPMA is pleased to announce that Mr Steve Simpson, “Australia’s leading Customer Care Guru” will be presenting the Keynote presentation at the conference.  Steve is an internationally renowned speaker, consultant and author.  An expert in customer care and communication, one of Steve’s talents lies in helping companies gain advantage from outstanding customer service —and how this can affect the bottom line.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Pest Management in a Changing Market” – the program highlights include a day dedicated to all aspects of Termite Management, such as recent changes to the industry standards, the release of AEPMA’s Industry Termite Management Codes of Practice, along with Shane Clarke’s  presentation on the “How To” of Termite Inspections.     
 
Day 2 of the conference will focus on other pests, the day will commence with a working breakfast and a session dedicated to Rodent Control, kindly sponsored by Ensystex.  While Stream 2 of the program will assist business owners and office staff in providing practical and informative sessions on all aspects of running a pest management business.   For the complete program visit the conference website.
 
Don’t delay, secure your place early - BOOK NOW & SAVE!!!  It’s an event not to be missed!!
 
Register online or download the registration form, complete and return with your payment to info@aepma.com.au.  Further details regarding the conference can be found by visiting https://aepma.com.au/conference.  
Ask Rapid Solutions your burning business question

How would you like to win 2 tickets to the AEPMA 2018 Conference with flights and 3 night’s accommodation valued at over $6,000? All you have to do is come up with a business related question and submit it at rapidsolutions.com.au/ask-an-expert

Rapid Solutions is giving away a major prize of two tickets including travel and accommodation to the AEPMA 2018 Conference on the Gold Coast in September. The winner and a guest will enjoy 3 night’s accommodation in an Executive Deluxe King Room at the Star Gold Coast, with flights and transfers included. In addition, two minor prizes of iPads will also be awarded during the competition.

Rapid Solutions is looking for questions on topics that are important to you and your business. A panel of pest management and building inspection experts will provide advice and information on practical, technical or insurance topics. The questions will show what challenges you’re facing and help ensure that the services Rapid Solutions provides are tailored to your needs.

Questions can now be submitted and the competition will close on 31 May 2018. Winners will be randomly selected and the major prize winner will be announced on the 6th of June 2018.

A selection of questions will be published on the Rapid Solutions website and distributed to all participants at the end of the competition.

You have from now until 31 May 2018 to enter so don’t delay.

BASF sponsoring the search for 2018's Pest Managers of the Year

Entries open on 3rd April for the 2018 Pest Manager of the Year Awards, once again organised by AEPMA and sponsored by both AEPMA and BASF.

Once again this year the awards will be made to pest management companies in four categories:

  • Companies that employ more than 10 people, 
  • Fewer than 10 people 
  • Fewer than 3 people; and
  • Companies of any size operating in the South Pacific.
The winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner at the AEPMA Conference in September 2018. Entry forms should be forwarded by COB 15th June 2018 to the AEPMA National Office via email to info@aepma.com.au or fax 07 3268 4213. More information is available on the AEPMA website.
Changes to NSW Pesticides Regulations

The NSW Pesticides Regulation 2017 commenced in September 2017 and incorporates some changes that are relevant to pest managers. The changes have been summarised below.

Training Permits – Pest Management Technicians and Fumigators – From 1 July 2018, if you are doing PMT or Fumigator work and do not hold a licence, you must hold a Training Permit and be undertaking an approved course of training for that work. You must also be over 17, carrying out your work under the supervision of a supervisor and maintaining records of your work.
 
Licence and permit applications can be made on eConnect at http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing-and-regulation/licensing/econnect-epa
 
Fumigants – From 1 July 2018 the list of fumigants for which a Fumigator licence is required will change. If you use any of these products you are required to hold a Fumigator licence. The new list is:
  • 1, 3-dichloropropene (new)
  • chloropicrin
  • dazomet (new)
  • ethanedinitrile (new)
  • ethyl formate (new)
  • ethylene oxide (except single dose canisters)
  • metham sodium (new)
  • methyl bromide
  • any product that liberates phosphine gas (new)
  • potassium-monomethyl dithiocarbamate (new)
  • sulfuryl fluoride (new)
Licence and permit applications can be made on eConnect at http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing-and-regulation/licensing/econnect-epa
 
To find out more details:
Call Environment Line on 131 555
Family gets $2M settlement after 3-year-old was scarred by bedbugs

A family in California whose son was permanently scarred by bedbug bites has been awarded nearly $1.6 million ($2 million) by a civil jury.

It was the highest amount ever paid to a single family in a U.S. bedbug case, according to the family's lawyer.

Lilliana Martinez, 34, said the problem began in 2012, two years after she and her husband moved into an apartment in Inglewood, California. They discovered that their 3-year-old son, Jorge Maravilla, had red spots all over his body, including on his face.

Concerned, they took him to the hospital. The diagnosis? Bug bites.

"As soon as I found out, I was horrified, because I had never seen something like that before," she said.

The doctor told the couple to search their house for pests, and that's when they found the bedbugs.
Is it time to increase your pest control pricing?

Pricing is one of the most powerful ways you can improve your business’ performance.

Consider the following:

  • An effective pricing policy will keep you profitable and successful.
  • A mediocre pricing policy will keep you frustrated and barely in business, wondering what needs to be done to succeed.
  • An ineffective pricing policy will put you out of business.

Staying successful by employing an effective pricing policy means increasing profit, beating the competition and creating wealth. Price increases or decreases have a magnification effect on profit. The reason is simple: Price increases usually reach the bottom line in one piece, whereas the advantages of lower unit costs or higher sales are diluted.

Once breakeven is achieved, price increases are extremely powerful and have a significant effect on the bottom line. Thus, for a company with 10 percent net margin, a 10 percent price increase could produce a 100 percent increase of profit to 20 percent. This works the other way as well: A 10 percent decrease of price decreases profit 100 percent, taking a 10 percent net margin to zero, or breakeven.  

Click here to view full article.


 
Notice of AEPMA Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association is to be held at the AEPMA National Office, Unit 6, 12 Navigator Place, Hendra and by teleconference on Thursday 24th May, 2018 at 9:30am AEST. 

For further information, proxy form and dial-in details (for members only) visit the AEPMA website.


 

 

 

Bullying and Liability - an IR Update

It is rare for employees to be ordered to pay costs after losing unfair dismissal cases. If it weren’t rare, the expression ‘go away money’ might not have been coined. But it is even rarer still for an employee to be required to stump up a security before trial, but that has happened in the Fair Work Commission.  

When employers realised the Fair Work Act’s anti-bullying regime had no monetary compensation attached, there was a collective sigh of relief. But a recent Victorian Supreme Court case highlights the prospect of vicarious liability where an employer knows, or ought to know, that bullying can cause psychological injury to an employee. 

WHS statutes emphasise employers’ obligations to provide safe workplaces – and that means a safe system of work. Taking that one step further, it has been held to mean that employees must be competent to support a safe work system. And a competent employee does not bully, harass, demean, abuse, intimidate or humiliate their colleagues. 

Click here to read full article.

A new name announced for DowDuPont’s Agriculture Division – Corteva Agriscience

In February this year the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont™ announced the name of the intended company once it is spun-off, which is expected to happen by June 1, 2019.  The Agriculture Division will be called Corteva Agriscience™. The Materials Science Division will be called Dow, and will retain the Dow diamond as its brand, building on the company’s globally recognized 121-year history of innovation and value creation. The Specialty Products Division will be the new DuPont, carrying forward a 215-year legacy of science-based innovation.

Corteva Agriscience (pronounced the same as ‘forever’) is derived from a combination of words meaning “heart” and “nature”; it speaks to growth (rooted in our positioning of ‘growing progress’), but also conveys innovation and change.  

“It’s a truly exciting time, to be part of the beginning of something new,” said Rob Kaan, ANZ Managing Director, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.  “Corteva Agriscience is bringing together three businesses, all of whom have had extensive histories and success in the Australian and New Zealand markets.  Uniting the people, their experience, expertise and passion, along with the resources now available with this merger, will allow Corteva Agriscience to integrate better with the market; to find new paths forward.”

Click here to view full article.

‘Killer’ caterpillar invasion hits Queensland

THE SUNSHINE Coast could be in the grip of a ‘killer’ caterpillar invasion, with sightings of masses of hairy caterpillars reported.

Sightings have been reported via social media today with a long procession of the bugs spotted in Noosaville.

A species of the caterpillars, known as processionary caterpillars, which are a subspecies of the bag-shelter moth, pose a threat to horses with mares able to ingest them as they pupate in soil.

Doing so can lead to miscarriages and birth defects in foals and they are also know to make dogs sick, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

They can also cause skin irritations like dermatitis, itching, swelling and burning sensations in humans who come into contact with the caterpillars which are also known as itchy grubs.

Click here to read full article.

Queensland Biosecurity Strategy 2018-202

Biosecurity Queensland have released The Queensland Biosecurity Strategy: Our Next Five Years (2018–2023), which has been endorsed by the Queensland Government.

The strategy was co-developed by the Queensland Government, more than 30 peak industry organisations and members of the community.

It focuses around six key themes which will now develop separate action plans so they can be rolled out and achieved across the state.

Click here to view QLD Biosecurity Strategy

Changes Flagged to Employee Flexibility Requests – Another IR Update

Despite rejecting union claims for employees with caring responsibilities to have the right to change working times, the Fair Work Commission is prepared to make changes in this area. Citing the need for greater workforce participation, the FWC’s provisional views cover three areas. Assuming these go through, first, the classes of employees eligible to request changes will be broadened to cover on-going and casual employees with six months’ service. Second, the employer will be required to confer with the employee and to genuinely try to reach agreement. Thirdly, if the request is refused, the employer will be required to furnish comprehensive written details justifying the refusal.  

The proposal includes a reminder to employees that the FWC can assist in resolving disputes about award matters. The FWC will hear from interested parties about the details in May with award changes likely to be in place before year’s end.  

Have you got your copy of "Modern Bed Bugs"

We have been advised by the publisher that, 'Advances in the Biology and Management of Modern Bed Bugs', will not be released in Australia until July.

If you have been attempting to order your copy, you will see an 'Out of Stock' message on the Wiley web site, however you can still pre-order the book and receive a 20% discount using the code 'BUG18'.

For more information on this ground breaking text (the first of its type for over 50 years), go to:

www.abmmbb.com

Newsletter contributions/comments

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