E-Flashes

The Australian Government has launched a new $558 million National Workforce Development Fund that will provide support over four years for training and workforce development in the areas of current and future skills need.

The funding is available to enterprises, professional associations, industry bodies and employment service providers to meet identified current and future business and workforce development needs.

Government funding will be supplemented by an employer contribution which varies for small, medium and large enterprises.

All enterprises from Local Government and Water Industries can apply to participate in the program (there is a section in the guidelines which is ambiguous about some government entities but this has been clarified).  The “priority occupations list” referred to is very broad and most roles in our industry would fit the classifications, however it is possible to apply to have new roles included as part of the process.

Copies of relevant documents are available here:

http://www.governmentskills.com.au/news_details.php?event_id=309

In summary:

-        2011/12 projects must involve a partnership of at least one employer/ industry body/ enterprise, Government Skills Australia and one Registered Training Organisation.

-        There is a focus on workforce planning and skills needs analyses to develop training solutions which are beyond your standard training commitments.

-        Proposals must be submitted by 30 September.

-        Training must commence by 31 March 2012 and be completed by 31 December 2014.

-        The requirements for workers to be trained are not very restrictive. 

-        For new workers, Cert II up to Vocational Graduate Diploma are eligible.  Minimum Cert III for existing workers.

-        If the application is for skill sets, rather than a full qualification, the worker must hold a Cert III or higher.  Skill sets are single units or combinations of units of competency from an endorsed training package which link to a licence or regulatory requirement or defined industry need.

-        Not eligible if training can be covered by other State or Commonwealth sources.

-        Training must offer recognition of prior learning.

-        Support services which are not provided through another government fund may be eligible (e.g. mentoring, other learning support, literacy and numeracy training).

-        Costs including RTO pricing need to be included in the application.

-        They look favourably on having a supporting workforce plan/ training needs analysis.

-        Funding provided by the Commonwealth: 67% for organisations with up to 99 employees, 50% for 100-199 and 34% for 200 and above. Note this is only applicable on training costs.

Please contact Dave Cameron (dcameron@qldwater.com.au, 07 3000 2257) if you are interested in qldwater helping to coordinate an application.

A reminder that applications for the $45 million pool for the new Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program (LGGSP) are due by 30 September.

The annual application process was announced by Minister Lucas on Tuesday, August 02 and is open to all councils. Application forms and guidelines available from http://www.dlgp.qld.gov.au/grants-and-funding/local-government-grants-and-subsidies-program.html.

Applications are open from all councils but the guidelines note that: “a financial analysis conducted by the department will assess the extent to which councils have a limited capacity to fund the project. Priority may also be given to projects in council areas affected by the series of natural disasters over the summer of 2010-11.”

The assessment criteria listed in the guidelines are as follows:

• council’s limited capacity to fund the project from its own funding sources
• council’s proven ability to deliver projects funded under State grants and subsidies programs
• council’s capacity measured against community needs
• community and council support of the proposed project
• incorporation of greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation in the project
• council’s commitment to completing the project within assigned funding periods
• project plan for the proposed project including construction and final approval timelines, key performance indicators and a risk analysis
• council’s verification that the proposed

The subsidy is for a maximum of 40% of the cost to councils and funding for water infrastructure is explicitly included as an example of appropriate projects. The appendix to the guidelines lists “Assisting the delivery of safe and reliable infrastructure” including “water source and treatment” and “sewage treatment” as appropriate projects for applications.

For further information contact:

qldwater - Rob Fearon: refearon@qldwater.com.au

LGAQ – Ross Kirkman: ross_kirkman@lgaq.asn.au

SWIM is now open for annual data submission. As the NPR handbook has now been finalised, the indicators for the 2010/2011 financial year have been settled on and data submission can begin.

As always, please make sure that before you begin submitting data you CHECK YOUR METADATA! This can be done by logging in to SWIMonline (http://www.swim.qldwater.com.au/) and clicking “Submit Metadata”. It is essential that the organisational metadata is kept up to date so that SWIM can generate automatic notifications. It is also essential that your scheme's metadata is updated BEFORE downloading a template or accessing the Webforms, otherwise you will find that you are unable to submit your data.

Once you have checked your metadata, you may access the webforms or download a data import template from the “Submit Data” section of SWIMonline.

For WSPs required to submit BoM data, the submission deadline is 31 August 2011. For those WSPs not required to submit BoM data, the submission deadline is 30 September 2011. Please remember to start collecting your data well before this date to ensure no last minute rushes!

Please contact qldwater on 07 3000 2228 or 07 3252 4701 if you have any questions or concerns about submitting your data (swim@qldwater.com.au). We are more than happy to help as much as possible. Also please remember that help is available from the ‘Help and Information’ section of SWIMonline.

In early August Logan and Redland councils made decisions about their ongoing involvement in the Southern SEQ distribution/retail business, Allconnex Water. These decisions follow the announcement on 25 July that Gold Coast Council would withdraw from the jointly-owned Distribution and Retail entity (see e Flash #128) at a projected cost of $60 million dollars.

A few weeks later another of the joint owners, Logan City Council voted to remain in Allconnex (http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/media-releases/logan-to-remain-in-allconnex-water). The council cited the high costs to decommission the business and uncertainty over some conditions controlled by the State Government as their reasons for staying in the entity.

Then, on the 8th August, Redland City Council announced a decision to withdraw from Allconnex, see (http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/EnvironmentWaste/Water/Pages/Water-Challenges.aspx). The Council noted the expected high costs of decommissioning but preferred the known risks of reforming their council water business versus the unknown risks of a Distribution and Retail entity jointly owned with Logan City Council. Interestingly, the Council media release states that they have advice “from the Minister for Energy and Utilities stating that Council would be entitled to recover direct and consequential costs from Gold Coast City Council”. 

Redland City Council’s press release noted that it has been a difficult period for water employees. That is putting it mildly. Over 800 industry workers are now faced with the uncertainty of moving from the centralised organisation back into Councils. This follows previous changes when councils were amalgamated and then when the institutional arrangements were commenced. The roller-coaster ride appears to be continuing.

The history:

• In 2008 the State took control of bulk water assets in SEQ and mandated a restructure of local government-owned distribution and retail functions. Many staff shifted roles.
• In 2009, an SEQ-wide distribution retail entity was formed (briefly)
• In 2010 three local government entities were formed, namely:
  • Unitywater (servicing Sunshine Coast and Moreton local government areas)
  • Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU - servicing Brisbane, Ipswich, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim local government areas)
  • Allconnex Water (servicing Gold Coast, Redlands, Logan local government areas)
• This change resulted in many staff movements and uncertainty, but across the region water industry managers, operators and staff have worked tirelessly to come to grips with the new structures, imposed price caps, charges and reporting regimes as well as dealing with confusion and anger from customers over complex price increases. Given the massive changes and their early stage of development, progress was positive and rapid.
• On 7 April 2011 (see e Flash #114) the State announced that legislation mandating local government distribution and retail entities was to be repealed and water prices capped.  This meant that the local governments of SEQ had to make a decision about whether to pull water functions back under direct council management, or leave them with the council-owned entities.  The industry was again thrown into a period of a high-level of uncertainty. 
• In the North, council owners of Unitywater announced their support to continue that organisation (http://unitywater.com/news.aspx?NewsID=135) and councils in the central area of SEQ backed the continuation of QUU (see http://www.urbanutilities.com.au/uploads/file/Media_Releases/20110701-Councils_back_QUU.pdf).