A FEW OF OUR RECENT WINS

We have enjoyed a number of advocacy wins throughout the past twelve months – here are some of the recommendations that have been adopted by state and federal governments through our advocacy efforts.

• In April 2020, the ARA worked with the ACCC to introduce the ability to bargain collectively on rents with landlords to support members affected by COVID-19. An industry-first, this enables members to discuss and share information relevant to negotiations, except for sensitive rent information, which helps level the playing field between retailers and landlords.
• Following further advocacy by the ARA, recently, the ACCC granted extended authorisation for ARA members to bargain collectively and share information in relation to commercial leases until 1 September 2021.
• We also worked to spearhead the National Mandatory Leasing Code of Conduct and support its successful rollout within each State and Territory. This pioneering piece of legislation allowed SMB tenants to significantly reduce their financial outlay during lockdowns and beyond by both deferring and receiving rental waivers from landlords. This significant Covid support measure helped prevent thousands of retailers around the country from financial collapse. The ARA successfully lobbied for the leasing code provisions to be extended beyond September 2020, with a positive outcome in almost every State and Territory.
• Our other advocacy wins under COVID-19 included successfully appealing for a delay on the Annual Wage Review (AWR) for the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The decision was delayed until February and only for the retail sector and was a direct result of ARA negotiations.
• Our advocacy also contributed to the extension of Federal support measures JobKeeper, including the introduction of tapered payments for workforce casuals, along with the extension of JobSeeker. Both have also been monumentally important to the survival of our sector through the pandemic.
• Other COVID wins included successfully lobbying for retail trading hours to be extended in multiple jurisdictions and the introduction of a range of retail-focused SMB business grants and support programs by State governments around the country.
• Victoria has remained a strong focus for the ARA throughout the pandemic, with extended lockdowns unfortunately creating devastating outcomes for retailers in that state. The ARA efforts directly resulted in the elevation of retail as a priority category along with the introduction of important measures such as the allowance of online trading throughout the lockdown period, the ability for distribution centres and dark stores to return to normal staffing levels and the early access to dark stores prior to reopening. We also contributed to earlier easing for hair and beauty retailers.
• We have also put an intense focus on our contribution to the important Industrial Relations (IR) reforms being negotiated with Federal Attorney General Christian Porter with participation in the Federal Working Party on workforce casuals alongside collaboration around Enterprise Bargaining, Award Simplification and Penalties. We saw a significant number of IR reforms stem from this work in 2020.
• In broader advocacy work, many of the ARA’s recommendations around Single Use Plastics and Container Deposit Schemes around the country have now been adopted.