ABSA Member Update 4th March

An exert taken from the ASBA's member update, dated 4th March.

ABSA, has been able to secure a meeting with Senator Wong's office next Wednesday. As you know there has been a transfer of responsibility for Green Loans from Minister Garrett to Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, ABSA Chairman, Wayne Floyd and CEO Alison Carmichael, and ABSA's adviser, Australian Public Affairs, will attend the meeting in Canberra.

It has been a frustrating few weeks both for ABSA and for our members, as unanticipated changes to the Green Loans Scheme and then Ministerial changes have delayed our ability to get some meaningful answers to our members about the future of the scheme and move forward.

Senator Wong's office responded very quickly to our request and we will be seeking answers to questions previously raised with Minister Garrett and DEWHA and how the recently announced changes will affect members in the short and long term and proposing ways in which ABSA can work with her department to provide some certainty for the future.

In addition, ABSA has been in regular contact with other senior politicians, including Opposition Environment spokesman, Greg Hunt, and Greens Senator Christine Milne, to keep them up to date with issues.

Meanwhile ABSA has been engaged in a number of other initiatives:

* A number of members have asked us to make representations to Government that HSAS assessors be afforded the same Centrelink package as has been promised to home insulation installers. ABSA will initiate discussions with Minister Wong. However, it should be noted that on previous occasions when ABSA has raised this with DEWHA, they have informed us that unlike home insulation, Green Loans was never part of the economic stimulus/job creation package and that no guarantees of employment were ever made. In fact this was an express term of the DEWHA contract with individual assessors – see clause 3.2: "No guarantee of work".

* In the light of turmoil in the Green Loans Scheme, ABSA is developing a HSAS refunds policy to address the changes to the program. However, it is not practical to announce this policy until we have met with Minister Wong's office and we are certain that there will not be further changes to the Scheme and the policy itself.

* After waiting for the Continuing Professional Development modules promised by DEWHA many months ago, ABSA now has three staff members working full time on developing its own CPD structure and content. Significant membership funds are being committed to developing and implementing these modules.

* As a result of questions raised at the AGM about our disciplinary process, as stated in our Constitution, and Code of Practice matters raised by members, an ABSA Working Group is developing enhanced disciplinary processes to support the Code of Practice. This will be on the agenda for discussion at the first meeting of the HSAS and HERS Member Sub-committees which will meet later this month.

ABSA, through consultants Australian Public Affairs has been engaging with media, clarifying inaccuracies when necessary and communicating the position of our members and of ABSA.