Fair Work Australia (FWA) has recently completed a review of the Fitness Industry Award 2010, as part of the statutory requirement under the Fair Work Act 2009, that sees the contents of all Modern Awards subject to scrutiny by that tribunal.

Background:

In 2011, Service Skills Australia finalised the SIS Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package which has subsequently been fully endorsed. This development led to United Voice, the union representing the majority of workers in the sector, making an application as part of the award review process seeking “to apply proper minimum rates of pay for the Award, fully reflective of the qualifications required for work covered by the Award.” [Read more...]

Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor is the Principal Consultant at HMT Consulting (www.hmtconsulting.com.au). Michael has over 30 years experience in Industrial and Employee Relations, from a workforce perspective, and holds a Graduate Diploma in Employment Relations. HMT Consulting specialises in assisting small to medium sized enterprises cope with the complexities of the new IR Laws and related Human Resource Issues.

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A couple of weeks back I attended 2011 FitnessBiz in Melbourne, hosted by JT Active Management and proudly supported by a raft of sponsors (as pictured).  This is the second year that I have attended this event.  Last year I went as a guest of Ezypay and gained so much value from it that I put my hand in my pocket this year and paid the $155 to ensure I wasn’t missing out on the latest developments in the fitness industry this year.  Whilst this event is pitched at the private health club owners and managers, it is as equally relevant for community leisure facilities and it was great to see some of the ALFA alliance members present such as Reservoir Leisure Centre and a couple of YMCA facilities.

Justin Tamsett commenced the day by providing an overview of changes in the industry in the past twelve months and predictions for the future.  It was interesting to see that whilst there has been a significant increase in the number of 24hr franchise gyms such as Anytime Fitness, Jetts and Snap Fitness 24-7 pop up all over the country, however there are no statistics to demonstrate that there is an increase in people working out (still only 9% of Australians are gym members).  This may be due to the fact that people who join 24/7 clubs are often members of two clubs (I fell into that trap initially and after 4 weeks cancelled my 24/7 membership as I had only used it once) or are they just poaching members from other facilities (i.e. yours)?

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Loren Bartley

Loren Bartley is the Executive Officer of ALFA and a life-long aquatics enthusiast. A former competitive swimmer and lifesaver, Loren has never been far from the pool. Loren's employment history has included the roles of Lifeguard, Duty Manager, Swim Teacher, Aqua Instructor, Lifeguard Trainer, Aquatics Manager and even CEO of Masters Swimming Australia, not to mention all the other sports she has worked with. These days Loren has swapped her goggles for the gym, but still gets to the pool once a week to watch her three kids in swimming lessons.

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