The year has certainly started with a bang within our industry, from discussions of changes to licensing in New South Wales and Queensland, to issues with Pre Construction Treatments in Western Australia and Codes of Practice about to hit the press for Pre Construction Termite Control.  The drafting of codes for Termite Control in Existing Buildings and Training in the Industry are in full swing, not to mention membership renewals and the organising of the FAOPMA Conference on the Gold Coast. Have faith, our Executive Office will as always tackle these tasks with professionalism and support from the Board, State Councils and working parties.

The issue of applying a product not registered for termite control in Western Australian has generated a lot of discussion and record levels of enquiries to our National Office. Whilst the news story has been negative, there is a positive dimension to this as our industry has been well represented by our Western Australian State Council. The National Office has become a consumer resource for people looking for answers.  This tells me that we are well on our way to becoming more recognised within the public arena. Also having the Code of Practice up our sleeves and ready for publication means this document should get some good traction within the market as consumers, builders and members are looking for answers. I am sure there will be more to come on this matter and as this information comes to hand we will keep you updated either through our emailed newsletter, direct email to members or through this report.

Licencing reform seems to be the flavour of the year with New South Wales and Queensland governments looking at how to best structure Pest Management licencing going forward. Once again our position within the industry has meant that we are in deep conversations with both governments ensuring the best outcome we can possibly achieve for our members.  Both State Councils supported by the National Office are leading the charge on this matter, so should you wish to be more informed, please get involved.

The Code of Practice working parties are due to meet in mid-March for both the Termite Control in Existing Buildings and Training.  Interactions between both working parties have been extremely encouraging.  We are very excited about these two documents and can't wait to have them ready for release at the FAOPMA Conference later in the year.

The FAOPMA Conference planning is in its final stages and with all but a handful of exhibitor booths to be snapped up, the marketing of the conference is about to hit the presses and we are genuinely excited. We have never been this organised in all facets of arranging a conference which means that you, our members, are going to get the best experiences possible with great take-home value. 

This year has started with a bang and it is our hope that it continues to be exciting, with challenges and initiatives tackled head on by our skilled and motivated State Councils, Working Parties, National Board and National Office.

I look forward to reporting on our progress in the next issue on all of the happenings at AEPMA.

Until next time, I wish you all the best and trust all is going well within your business.

Vasili Tsoutouras
AEPMA President 

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