SSAA Insider Edition 123

SSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman – Michael Alafaci Storage King Group, New South Wales

Shaun Bain

Keepsafe Storage, Western Australia

Ryan Coom

National Mini Storage, New Zealand

Martin Coote

Lock Distributors, New South Wales

Ned Coten

City West Storage, Victoria

Wayne Dade

Glenelg Self Storage and Western Self Storage, South Australia

David Daddow

Able Self Storage, South Australia

Ivor Morgan

Jim’s Self Storage, Victoria

Thomas Whalan

Rent A Space, New South Wales

LIFETIME MEMBERS

Mark Bateman

Frank Cooney

Elaine Coote

Liz Davies

Dallas Dogger

John Eastwood

Simone Hill

Neville Kennard

Sam Kennard

Bob Marsh

Jim Miller

Jon Perrins

Phil Robbie

Mark Snooks

Richard Whalan

www.selfstorage.org.au

TOLL FREE – AUS:

1800 067 313

TOLL FREE – NZ:

0800 444 356

T: +61 3 9466 9699 Address:

Connect

Insider magazine (Insider) is published bi-monthly by the Self Storage Association of Australasia Limited (ABN 23 050 341 725). This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express, prior written permission of the publisher. While every care has been taken in the preparation and publication of Insider, none of the Insider’s publisher, editor nor any of the publisher’s employees, subcontractors or contributors give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of the publication’s content, nor do any of them assume any responsibility or liability for any loss, damage or expense which may result from, or arise in connection with, any inaccuracy or omission in the publication. The views or opinions expressed in Insider are not necessarily those of Insider’s publisher or editor. Furthermore, Insider has the right to accept or reject any editorial and advertising material. All letters addressed to Insider will be regarded as ‘for publication’ unless clearly marked ‘Not for Publication’. All submissions to Insider may be edited for reasons of space or clarity and opinions expressed in letters published in Insider are those of the author, not of Insider’s publisher or editor.

From the Board

As memories of summer holidays begin to fade and the work year begins in earnest, we asked the SSAA Board to share their hopes and aspirations for our industry.

Michael Alafaci: I hope this year, as an industry, we stand out and get recognition for the level of service we have delivered and will continue to deliver to our customers in the face of many challenging circumstances. I also hope the strong and sustained economic returns finally gets the recognition it so well deserves, to the extent that our storage sector gets elevated into an asset investment class of its own.

Ryan Coom: I hope this year, as an industry, we learn and expand from the changes to the way we have had to work during lockdowns to a more flexible way of working with the use of technology. Cloud-based software, remote access and functions, digital locks, online or app-based functions all benefit staff and facility operations and customers.

Wayne Dade: I hope this year we learn from the challenges the pandemic has presented and ensure we focus on our employees’ well-being, health and safety. We are fortunate we haven’t been hit as hard with employee retention as other industries have, but in a jobseeker’s market, I’m sure many of us in the future will be spending time on recruitment and training. Let's be ahead of the curve and focus on employee retention.

Shaun Bain: I hope this year as an industry, the trend of increased technology and automation continues to streamline our processes further, to deliver a faster and more customerfriendly experience to our valued customers.

Ned Coten: I hope this year, as an industry, we can think more about the critical importance of environmental sustainability. I’m very interested in how the industry (and other industries) can help leave the world in a better place for our children and grandchildren.

Ivor Morgan: I hope to continue to build on the solid growth across the industry and show the same resilience we have throughout the pandemic. It will also be nice to reconnect and get back to normality with face-to-face events and social catch-ups with members.

Martin Coote: I hope this year as an industry we recognise how well we’ve done throughout the pandemic and continue to thrive as our world reopens. I’ll be spending some time integrating the lessons learnt from COVID into my life and work.

David Daddow: I enjoy mentoring businesses who are starting out, so I hope this year, as an industry, we see new and current small operators reach their goals in an industry with so much potential.

Thomas Whalan: My hope is that we can procure various insurance options, making coverage accessible for members and their customers. In 2022 I'm also focusing on our people to support leadership development and growth.

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Makala Ffrench Castelli CEO SSAA

Welcome to 2022!

I hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready for another great year in self storage. We certainly are!

As you settle into the new year, no doubt you’ve turned your mind to what the year might have in store for you and your business.

We’ve done the same here at the SSAA and in the spirit of being forward-thinkers we’ve themed this edition around future insights. We cover the trends you should be across right now and others that forecast far into the future. I hope you find a few thoughtstarters or topics you might like to dive into a little deeper.

We’ve enjoyed showcasing the stories of our industry across our 30th anniversary celebration series and you’ll find all these important tales now archived online. This year we’re thrilled to be sharing more member stories

like that of Renee Reynolds, on page 24. Our industry has a great diversity of operators which we’re keen to highlight so if you’d like to share your storage story, please get in touch.

We’ve already been engaging with members this year and were delighted so many contributed to our Have Your Say survey to help determine our priorities for the year. You can review the results and read more about our plans for delivering member benefits on page 16.

Based on your feedback, we’ve prioritised projects and resources and delayed some of our event planning. We understand that many members are not yet comfortable travelling but are optimistic about plans for later in the year – we are too!

We’re looking forward to supporting you in 2022 and wish you every success for the year ahead. l

“ Based on your feedback, we’ve prioritised projects and resources and delayed some of our event planning. We understand that many members are not yet comfortable travelling but are optimistic about plans for later in the year – we are too!

Meet the new Chairman: Michael Alafaci

How did your storage story begin?

Prior to working in the storage industry, I was working in a small three partner accounting practice, considering working my way up to ultimately becoming a partner in that small practice. After just over a year of working in that practice, I was approached by a recruiter for a position with Storage King. I was interviewed by The Kings themselves; Michael Tate and David Scanlen. The timing was right for me as I was starting to think that working in practice was not quite for me and that I preferred working in the commercial world…. and well, the rest is history.

Since joining Storage King just over 16 years ago, I have had the great pleasure of experiencing, and being directly involved in, the amazing growth of the company and brand. And just when I thought I’d seen it all, yet again over the last few years, I’ve seen even more seriously amazing growth in the company and brand.

What does a typical work day entail for you?

Up until only a few months ago, my typical work day involved overseeing and working closely with the Finance Team, among other duties such as internal legal work. But since then, I’ve moved into the new role of Group General Manager Corporate Development which was created to help facilitate the Storage King company and brand achieve its aspirational growth ambitions… yep, you got it… even more growth!

What opportunities do you see for industry and the SSAA?

One of the opportunities I see for the industry is the continuation and further enhancing of the highly regarded industry research pieces delivered thus far.

Strong foundations have been laid and now the future of industry data availability looks very exciting. Clearly there is a thirst for this information, so to be able to keep delivering on this desire for information should truly assist members in gaining valuable insights.

I also see an opportunity to expand the SSAA’s learning, training and development offerings, with a view to continually lifting the standards across our industry. I was pleased to see this view is shared by members based on the recent survey results, so there’ll be more to come in this space I’m sure.

What are you most looking forward to as Chair?

I look forward to continually delving deeper into what the SSAA member base needs and wants and closely working with my fellow board members and Makala on how best that be delivered.

As a Board, we’re focused on positioning our industry as a standalone asset class. The acceleration of institutional investment and broader interest in the sector presents a unique opportunity for the SSAA as the peak body to advocate on behalf of industry. It’s exciting to be a part of such transformational change.

What’s life like outside of self storage for you?

Right before COVID took over the world, we decided to have a pool built at home, and since then it’s been a case of ‘thank goodness we pulled that trigger’ because as a family we may have otherwise been sitting inside thinking of the overseas trips we should have been away on, and probably moping around about it. We got so much use out of our pool and it’s become one of my favourite past times. We also really enjoy doing the occasional hike and visiting a waterfall. In researching hikes and waterfalls, we didn’t realise just how many of them were within a reasonable drive of our home in Sydney. What a magnificent country we are fortunate enough to live in! l

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New SSAA Board Member –Thomas Whalan

The SSAA is delighted to welcome Thomas Whalan to the Board, representing the Large Operator category. Thomas is the CEO of Rent A Space, established in 1979 with 14 facilities currently operating across Sydney and another four in various stages of planning and development.

Thomas joined the family-run business in 2013, working across legal, marketing, operations, acquisitions and development and now holds the role of Chief Executive Officer. In addition to his self storage career, Thomas has achieved great success in water polo, competing at Olympic level. He is the former Chair of Water Polo Australia, having served on the board for seven years until 2019. He is now bringing this wealth of knowledge to the Self Storage Association of Australasia. On his appointment to the Board, Thomas said, “Recent history has highlighted the importance of self storage in serving the community’s various needs. I am keen to serve the SSAA in supporting members to thrive in the growing market as we navigate various shared challenges and opportunities.”

Thomas sees the future of storage evolving over the years with further consolidation across storage providers and greater investment in technology and the overall customer experience offering.

SSAA has joined the Property Council of Australia

The Property Council of Australia is the leading advocate for Australia’s biggest industry and biggest employer – property. The property industry represents 13% of Australia's GDP, employs 1.4 million Australians (more than mining and manufacturing combined) and secures the future of 14.8 million Australians who have a financial stake in property through their super funds. The Property Council champions the interests of more than 2200 member companies that represent the full spectrum of the industry, including those who invest, own, manage and develop in all sectors of property

StoreLocal and Beyond Blue

Late last year, StoreLocal was delighted to partner with Beyond Blue, which helps many Australians feel supported and encouraged during rough times. With mental health being at the forefront of many conversations, StoreLocal made a generous contribution to help Beyond Blue continue with their incredible work.

FBA/FBNZ Alliance

For 24 years, Family Business Australia and New Zealand have been the Asia Pacific leaders in supporting family businesses, regardless of industry or age. You have the opportunity to talk to, learn from and build rapport with everyone from CEOs to next gens, from manufacturing specialists to retail specialists, from heritage businesses to start-ups. It’s a melting pot of experience and wisdom that enables you to consolidate your skills and those of your family members and employees.

For SSAA members, FBA & FBNZ are offering an Emblem Membership with the following additional benefits:

l A free discovery session

l A free Family Business Essentials workshop

l All Education courses at discounted member prices

Learn more about SSAA's alliance with FBA and FBNZ in the member portal.

SIP update

SSAA Storage Industry Gauge

The SSAA and Urbis have recently updated SIP. In what will be a very busy year for development in self storage, log in to your member portal and dive into SIP to see what’s happening in your local market. As the voice of industry, the SSAA is committed to measuring and mapping the continued success of the sector.

Phil Davies from Steel Storage retires

Phil Davies has been an integral part of the Steel Storage team for more than 17 years and has had a hand in the design and development of hundreds of self storage facilities. The SSAA congratulates Phil on an exceptional contribution to industry and wishes him well in his retirement.

What does the future hold? He is looking forward to spending time with friends and family and going to the gym.

Helping hand

TAXIBOX is very happy to be partnering with the Red Cross by supporting their mission to bring Australians together in times of need. At their Braeside, Melbourne facility, TAXIBOX invited their customers due for a declutter to drop off belongings they no longer need for donation.

Sentinel is with you from the start. Introducing Sentinel’s building site camera with solar and 4G that comes with push notification for any intruder events. It’s a FREE service up to 6 months, available to customers that have committed to Sentinel software, access control and unit alarms by 31st March 2022.

Unlocking the benefits of automation

Over the last two years, the pandemic has necessitated change and delivered years’ worth of transformations across all industries. Self storage has been no exception.

In the SSAA Industry Snapshot 2021, one of the trends leading operators cited as continuing to influence the industry was automation.

Many self storage owners in Australia and New Zealand are embracing automation to improve operating efficiency and enhance customer experience. The onset of COVID-19 created an imperative for operators to explore automation more seriously, as widespread pandemic restrictions meant contactless move-ins became commonplace.

While many had the foundation systems and technology in place, now is the time to consolidate the learnings and cement these processes as business-as-usual, since these digital habits are here to stay. Many customers are trying to limit their physical contact and it’s unlikely any industry will revert to the way things were. As we now know, everything can change overnight.

Operators with facilities under construction are embracing smart access systems and keyless entry,

The opportunities for automation in self storage now extend well beyond websites and contactless move-ins. How are you driving automation internally in your business?

citing customer expectations and future opportunities as the main drivers behind decision-making. Redesigning operating processes has become the norm for others, ensuring contactless operations can proceed.

The opportunities for automation in self storage now extend well beyond websites and contactless move-ins. How are you driving automation internally in your business?

Consider where you could be streamlining or digitising internal processes (we are all beyond paper now)? Would a custom dashboard with real-time key insights save you or your team time and add value to your operations? What about using the data and insights gained from

your digital footprint to optimise your marketing spend? These types of automations are now easily and cost-effectively achieved.

The extent to which automation is used to drive operational efficiency will be the key to unlocking greater productivity and performance. In this new era, operators also cite superior digital capabilities and seamless customer experiences as means of competitive differentiation. Having an exceptional digital customer experience that guides straight through from enquiry to move in is one way to improve your conversion rates. Ensure you’re meeting your customers where they are – be contactable via a range of channels including on socials or via chat. Customers now quickly grasp new technologies, so capitalise on this to improve their overall experience.

As needs and behaviours change, so too must the industry. Operators who can respond to these changes, refocus rather than resume, and reimagine their offering in this new normal are the ones who will thrive in years to come. l

For more insights, download the SSAA Industry Snapshot from the Member Portal.

“

Uncomplicated endings: Termination of agreements explained.

The SSAA Legal Help Desk has been fielding a growing number of enquiries about terminating agreements so we've asked the team at Hunt & Hunt to step through the process.

By Emily Clapp, Lawyer, Alexandra Culshaw, Lawyer and Tony Ratunic, Managing Principal.

Depending on the circumstances, the SSAA Agreements entitle a facility to terminate the contractual relationship, either with or without notice. At the beginning of a facility’s relationship with a new storer, termination may not be at the forefront of either party’s mind. However, over time circumstances change and may ultimately reach a point where a Facility wants or needs to terminate the relationship with a storer. This article provides a brief overview of termination under the current SSAA Agreements, but if in doubt, always refer to the CSA Guidelines or contact the Legal Help Desk.

When can the facility immediately terminate an Agreement?

The SSAA termination clauses in the current SSAA Agreements allow a facility to immediately terminate the relationship with the storer if specific circumstances arise.

A facility can terminate an Agreement without notice if:

l a storer has stored hazardous, dangerous, illegal, stolen, flammable, explosive, environmentally harmful, perishable, or living goods in the storage space, or any goods that are a risk to anyone else’s property;

l a storer engages in illegal activity or breaches any laws related to the use of the storage space;

l a storer is abusive, threatening or aggressive towards facility staff or other Storers; and/or

l the facility has discovered that no goods are stored in the storage space.

In these circumstances, the facility should make and keep a detailed file note recording events

as they occurred and reasons for termination, as it may be useful to rely on these later if the storer challenges the termination. It may also be prudent for the facility to attempt to resolve any issues with storers before electing to terminate.

When does a facility need to give notice of termination?

If the above circumstances do not apply, a facility can still terminate an Agreement with or without reason once the Initial Fixed Period has expired. If the facility elects to terminate the Agreement following the Initial Fixed Period, it must give the storer seven days’ notice (known as the Termination Notice Period). The storer can also terminate the Agreement with or without reason following the expiration of the Initial Fixed Period so long as they have complied with the Termination Notice Period.

The facility should set the Initial Fixed Period and Termination Notice Period on signing up a new storer. For example, an Initial Fixed Period may be set from the 1st of February 2022 to the 1st of March 2022, and parties are required to give seven days written notice of termination after the end date of the 1st of March.

These mechanisms appear under the Schedule of all SSAA Agreements and are often missed during the sign-up process. If this section is not complete, neither the facility nor the storer has an express right to terminate under the Agreement, leading to complications when it becomes necessary to end the contractual relationship. It is recommended staff are aware of the importance of setting the Initial Fixed Period to avoid any difficulties terminating down the line.

Tony

Managing Principal

Emily Clapp Lawyer

Alexandra Culshaw Lawyer

Raunic

Some key reminders

The SSAA Agreements provide a simple and effective procedure to terminate the relationship with a Storer. Here are some key takeaway points:

l Although it’s challenging to think about the end of a relationship when you’re at the beginning, the facility must ensure the Initial Fixed Period and Termination Notice Period mechanisms are correctly filled out during the sign-up process;

l Ensure that all Agreements have been updated to the most recent version available from the SSAA. This ensures consistency across your termination process and provides the best protection against Storer claims or disputes; and

l Refer to the resources available on the Members’ Portal for termination-related queries. The CSA Guidelines, template letters, and access to our Legal Help Desk are just clicks away.

After the decision to terminate has been made, a facility must give notice in writing and send the notice to the storer’s email or mobile or their postal address if they have not consented to receive electronic notifications. We recommend using the template letter (Form 1L) to terminate the Agreement, which is available on the SSAA Members’ Portal.

What if the storer is in arrears?

Understandably, facilities often seek advice on terminating relationships with Storers who are regularly overdue in their payments. If a storer is in arrears, the facility should first contact the storer to attempt to resolve the issue. However, if this is not possible, instead of terminating, the facility should follow the default procedure under Chapter 23 of the CSA Guidelines and use the default template letters available on the Members’ Portal. l

WHY IS THIS THE CASE?

l NEW and EXISTING buyer groups are competing heavily for Self Storage assets

l Significant weight of capital attracted to this stable asset class

l Historically low interest rates

For a confidential discussion regarding your facility/facilities, call

Matt Walsh

Highway Frontage Real Estate 0411 880 054 | 1300 661 950

L1. 146 Chapel St, St Kilda VIC 3182

mwalsh@highwayfrontage.com.au

www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au

HIGHWAY FRONTAGE ARE SSAA MEMBERS

“ The SSAA Agreements provide a simple and effective procedure to terminate the relationship with a Storer.

2022 is shaping up to be the strongest selling market we have seen for many years.

Member Survey Results & Roadmap

Your Say: Priorities for 2022

In January 2022 members were invited to provide feedback on projects, resources and events for the year ahead. We received a strong response with members across all categories sharing their views which has helped shape our roadmap for 2022. Based on member feedback, we'll be prioritising new resources including education, training and guides for members followed by some key projects including a storage agreement update, insurance solutions and sharing more operational knowledge. We remain committed to our research agenda and will be delivering quarterly updates to SIP and the comprehensive State of the Industry 2022 report towards the end of the year.

We'll turn our focus to events a little later in the year when hopefully both your association and our members can all plan with a little more certainty.

Your Say: Key Topics

75%

of those who responded are eager to learn more about technology and automation.

60% are interested in more legal and operational support, followed by sales and marketing.

40% are interested in market activity and investment which is likely linked to similar levels of interest in design and construction too.

Your Say: Events in 2022

Nearly 70% of those who responded indicated they wouldn't be comfortable attending a summit style event in March (or couldn't attend due to travel restrictions), which we understand.

We have some interest in international events pending borders and more interest in local dinner events. Pleasingly there's interest for Convention in November with nearly 50% of respondents keen to soak up some sunshine on the Gold Coast.

Your feedback has helped us understand how best we can support our members and what’s important to you. We’ve made a start on a number of these projects and we’ll be sharing more about our member benefit roadmap online and as the year progresses. Don’t forget to check STOReFLASH and your member portal for updates.

Given the current environment, we asked members whether they would prefer the SSAA focus on project work, member resources or events:

1 Resources

2 Projects

3 Events

We also asked members to help prioritise some of the projects on our roadmap for 2022:

Storage Agreements

Insurance Alternatives

Online Training

Operations Knowledge Base

StorerCheck

Development Guide

Tech | Automation

Legal

Operational Sales and Marketing

Market Activity

Design | Construction

International Events

NZ SKI Workshop

15% 35%

Dinner Events

Convention

Melbourne

Gold Coast

50%

50% 40%

All Secure Self Storage

New Zealand

partners with Southwell Lifts and Hoists

Since its humble beginnings in 1999, with the launch of its first greenfield operation in Lower Hutt, All Secure Self Storage has grown into one of the largest 100% Kiwi-owned self storage operations across New Zealand. They have developed a portfolio of 13 operational facilities with over 5,000 units and 130,000 square metres of land.

With this continued expansion, All Secure needed to find a partner to work with for multi-level storage facilities. In December 2019, Keith Edwards and his team decided on Southwell Lifts and Hoists. After several months of design, Southwell’s in-house engineering team came up with a specification that would suit All Secure’s requirement of a lift that could carry goods and personnel and comply with the New Zealand regulations.

Initially, All Secure had considered building a concrete shaft, which would have required Southwell to send an installations team from Australia to do the install. However, it was decided that a freestanding hoist would be the most economical. The hoist was fabricated and tested at the Southwell facility in Australia and shipped to New Zealand as a completed unit requiring only one to two days’ installation time on site.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the arrival was without any issues. Typically, Southwell would have sent their Australian-based installers to complete the installation. Without knowing when the borders would open, Southwell engaged a New Zealand contractor, under supervision, to complete the installation. As a result, Southwell has been engaged to supply All Secure’s lifts on three of their projects.

Keith Edwards said, “Southwell did everything. They coordinated the shipping, installation and New Zealand compliance PS2 and PS3. We are excited about working with Southwell again.

“ Southwell did everything. They coordinated the shipping, installation and New Zealand compliance PS2 and PS3. We are excited about working with Southwell again.”

“During 2020, 2021 and despite COVID-19, Southwell has managed to complete several projects in New Zealand.”

Southwell General Manager Hamish McGregor said, “COVID-19 meant we had to train and develop a locally based NZ team. We’ve done that and now we have a qualified team who can do the installations, plus the ongoing servicing and maintenance for our customers.”

All Secure’s development pipeline includes a further planned 1,200+ units available within the next two years across proposed new facilities and expansions currently at various planning stages and with the Councils. All Secure has always focused on a spread of locations rather than a single or small number of markets. This has led to a strong focus on development outside of traditional key markets such as Auckland, which has allowed All Secure to have a solid growth pattern since 2018 – a 35% increase in unit numbers with five new locations out of the 13 current operating locations. l

allsecure selfstorage

–Keith Edwards, All Secure Self Storage

Theselfstorage techtrendsto watchin2022

byCatherineMoyle, Storman

Self storage in Australasia has seen its fair share of challenges recently – a global pandemic, a tumultuous economy, and prolonged lockdowns to contend with. Throughout all of this change, we’ve seen some exciting shifts in the way we operate and our focus as an industry, particularly around the use of technology in facilities. We’re expecting some of these changes and trends to continue into 2022, and we think it’s going to be an exciting year!

The age of the Cloud

There’s no doubt about it – the Cloud is here to stay. The months we spent working out of our home offices (or any spare corner we could find) changed the way we connect and access our work, and self storage is no different. With cloud-based or online platforms allowing staff to work from virtually anywhere, we’re expecting to see a continued shift away from ‘on premises’ software that requires dedicated hardware and expensive ongoing maintenance in 2022.

‘Self-serve’ for storers

COVID-19 kicked it off, and convenience keeps it alive. Increasingly, different parts of your tech stack can work together to provide customers with quick and easy ways to ‘self-serve’ their needs online without the need for staff help. Giving your storers the tools to do everyday things – like get a price for the unit they’re interested in, reserve or pay for a space online at any time of the day, and update their contact information – can reduce the

administrative burden on your staff, and help you provide a great customer experience.

Digital convergence

A self storage facility has many moving parts: there are security systems, accounting software, and access control systems to consider. So it’s no surprise more and more facilities want those moving parts to talk to each other. Whether it’s integrations that empower facilities to view and use their data in a variety of reports, or a security system that allows storers to unlock their units with just their phone if they’re paid up to date, or management software that brings all your customer communications into one space – we think this will be a significant growth area in the next twelve months.

A focus on cyber security

Self storage facilities have always needed a lot of data to operate effectively, and this has only increased with the rise of online sign-ups and payments. After all –you’re always going to need to

know who your storers are, how to contact them, and how to make their payments. All of this information about your storers is sensitive and must be held securely and protected from unwanted access – more so now than ever before. Over the last financial year, the Australian Cyber Security Centre saw an increase in cybercrime reports of nearly 13% on the year before, with one cyber attack reported every eight minutes.

How you choose to keep your facility’s data safe can vary and is often a many-pronged approach. A cyber security strategy will typically include the use of firewalls to prevent unwanted visitors from accessing your data, the encryption of sensitive information, the use of appropriate anti-virus, and the restriction of access (both physical and virtual) to only those who need it. It’s also essential to ensure that your software providers and partners take steps to keep your data safe. With the amount of time we spend online and the volume of data we collect on the rise, we’re expecting to see a greater focus on cyber security this year. l

Investment perspectives: the year ahead

In January 2022, the Australian Financial Review’s property editor Nick Lenaghan hosted a roundtable with some of Australia’s leading investment bankers to uncover their expectations for the year ahead. With permission, we share their views and enthusiasm for alternative assets.

How will a rate rise affect the property sector?

Valli Arunachalam, Executive Director for Real Estate Investment Banking at JP Morgan: The reality is that many investors had already factored in an eventual increase in rates from the ultra-low levels we had seen in the last 2-3 years and this is why the yield spread to bonds had been steadily increasing up until this year. Notwithstanding the normalisation in rates we are seeing at the moment, the relative returns generated from real estate are attractive by historical standards and should support valuations.

Tim Church, Managing Director and Chairman of Investment Banking in Australia at Morgan Stanley: The Australian REIT (real estate investment trust) sector was the best performing sector on the ASX with a return of in excess of 27 per cent. With the REIT sector being an interest rate-sensitive sector, we should not be surprised by this outperformance given that the RBA cut rates three times in 2020 to a record low

official cash rate of 0.1 per cent, and it maintained this level for the entirety of 2021.

So, does the old adage of “What goes up must come down” apply here and now to the REIT and broader property sector? Well, eventually yes – but in the medium term I don’t think this will be the case and the reversal could well take some time. When you consider the indebtedness of the federal government and the Australian household then rate movements are likely to be relatively subdued, so as not to cause too many adverse economic shocks to the consumer and households.

Rahul Bharara, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Australia, Credit Suisse: My focus is on the real economy and the bounce we have been witnessing – a strong economy will invariably support rental growth and consequently outlook for real estate assets. Data supports the conventional wisdom that real estate performs well in an inflationary environment and inflation-linked rent escalations should provide some offset against rising debt costs.

Given the considerable upheaval across the sector from COVID-19, can we expect further adjustment to disruption in real estate?

Andrew Scade, Managing Director Co-Head of Real Estate Australasia for UBS: While further lockdowns appear off the cards for Australia (at least for now), tenant and consumer behaviours will continue to evolve as the situation with further variants develops. Hybrid working is likely here to stay and the continued ascendancy of e-commerce will continue to impact on both retail and logistics real estate.

Bharara: I think it’s more a case of evolution than disruption in real estate. Real estate constantly adapts to the needs of tenants and end users. You only have to look back a few decades and see how office and retail space have evolved significantly since the 1990s – the pandemic has accelerated some of these trends, but there is plenty of evidence about the importance of physical space, which is being evidenced by activity across all formats.

How much more scope is there for capital accumulation in the alternates sector?

Scade: There remains considerable capacity for further funds or floats in the alternative real estate sector – the ASX remains dominated by “traditional” real estate asset classes and the US listed market presents an indication of where our market could evolve to in the future, with more than 50 per cent alternatives in the REIT index. Investor demand for alternatives is underpinned by strong and growing mega-trends, which are not expected to wane in the near term, and we would expect any IPOs in the alternates sector would be well-supported.

Arunachalam: The prospects for IPOs and new unlisted funds in the alternatives sector is high. Ultimately, there are large amounts of capital on the sidelines from investors seeking increased diversification chasing relatively few existing funds/REITs with alternates exposure.

Bharara: The prospects for 2022 look good – significant capital is available for the right assets and good management teams from institutional, ultra-high net worths and traditional retail channels. Investors are actively seeking to diversify their real estate portfolios. Therefore, there continues to be strong demand for alternative asset classes that are under-represented in Australia. The key issue is achieving scale in emerging asset classes like self storage, data centres, build-to-rent, healthcare, life sciences and childcare, among others.

The use of this work has been licensed by Copyright Agency except as permitted by the Copyright Act. Originally published as “New year brings fresh opportunity for property bankers” in the Australian Financial Review on 6 January 2022.

Has the logistics boom peaked?

Bharara: Not from what we are hearing on the ground. The first part of the boom was led by declining cap rates, and now we are seeing rental growth coming through a number of portfolios. Logistic properties benefit from the demand for space from e-commerce and third-party logistics providers, which continues unabated.

Arunachalam: No, I don’t think so. Industrial and logistics real estate will continue to be highly sought after due to its critical role in the increasingly omnichannel supply chain. We think there will be growing interest in last mile logistics facilities in urban locations based on the investor demand seen for these types of centres in the US and UK.

Church: Whilst we have seen some significant yield compression in this sector over the last 24 months I believe the sector has plenty of tailwinds to keep it as one of the best-performing asset classes over the next few years. l

Helping tradies securing their tools

by Chris O’Connell, Midland Insurance

For tradespeople, their tools are central to their viability as a service and their living. They don’t call them ‘tools of the trade’ for nothing. Unfortunately, incidents of tool theft occur everywhere and far too often. Having a secure storage area for tools is imperative, and that’s where self storage can help, as a storage unit provides the ideal solution to storing tools in a secure environment for safe-keeping and peace of mind.

Here are a few facts. Visit any job site and at least one tradie will have a story about a time they had their tools nicked from the back of their ute or van while parked on the street. At least six out of 10 tradies have experienced some form of tool theft during their career.

It’s a significant problem in Australia, with annual losses attributed to construction equipment theft estimated at around $650 million.

For tradies, having their tools pinched is a substantial financial blow – often costing thousands

of dollars to replace – and makes getting on with the job near impossible. There’s also the time it takes to organise replacement tools and the delay in completing the client’s job.

Most tool thefts occur from vehicles parked outside a tradie’s home during the evening. Thieves are opportunistic, meaning they’ll drive around the streets looking for utes, vans, and trailers that appear to be easy targets. If a

vehicle is sitting out there it will be a prime target. They may also do a little reconnaissance work and monitor daily routines to improve their chances, mainly if they believe there’s potential for a big haul.

Keeping the tools that aren’t needed every day in storage is a clever business move to ensure equipment is safe from potential vtheft. Not only does it free up room in vehicles, but it makes for more space to work from and stock what is needed. It will also make tradies less anxious about leaving leave their vehicles unattended.

The most common ways thieves gain access to tradies’ tools:

l Toolbox padlocks cut

l Toolbox lid forced open

l Broken locks on garage door

l Vehicle windows smashed

l Trailer broken into with a grinder

l Ute canopy smashed

l Vehicle containing tools stolen

l Trailer containing tools stolen

l Vehicle keys stolen after breaking into the house

l Trailer chain cut

l Vehicle locks drilled out

A big challenge for tradies is having enough space to store all their tools. With a storage unit, they can keep more equipment than they ever could need in their work van. They can store spare parts and materials and never worry about a delayed job because they are waiting on a part or running around trying to source something.

So when you’re next thinking about growing your customer base, think of the trades. Reach out to your local business networks, chat to your favourite tradies and explain the benefits of self storage. l

“ Having a secure storage area for tools is imperative, and that’s where self storage can help, as a storage unit provides the ideal solution to storing tools in a secure environment for safe-keeping and peace of mind.

Insider : Tell us about your facility

Renee: We have one facility with 210 storage spaces in Orange, New South Wales. We have just completed stage four renovation and the landscaping beautification on the frontage of the block. With planning and insight from my husband Mark, we started building the new business from the ground up in 2012. Stage One with 84 units constructed and fully booked out was completed in the first six months. Stage Two began in 2013, building an additional 47 units, which were immediately full. In 2014, the third stage was a drive-through area, the first in Orange, complete with another 50 units and all spaces sold before completion.

Stage Four saw the second drivethrough area completed in May 2021 with another 32 units. This stage included finalising the frontage and improving the office area to look after clients.

Insider: What improvements have you made aside from the extensions over the years?

Renee: With the latest upgrade, we have value-added sensor lights in these units, wider, higher roller doors, bigger sizes, and a public restroom area. The reason for this is we have noted the majority of our clients in this area are tradies and small businesses who love the convenience of the storage space. The Orange area of New South Wales was completely sold when we gained occupancy, and we had 32 move-ins in three days. Our occupancy levels break all of the averages, with 100 per cent occupancy for the last five years, and the average length of stay is 28 months. A large percentage of our storers have been with us since the beginning in 2012.

Insider: Who helped you with the builds?

Renee: For the first stage of build in 2012 we used StorCo builders. My husband built stage two and three and StorCo did the latest build. The last build was completed in the expected time frame with plenty of communication despite the bad weather and a few obstacles thrown in which we believe were ‘character building’.

Insider: Before you were in self storage, what did you do?

Renee: For three generations and 40 years, our family had a Luxaflex window furnishings business. Being brought up in a family business, I learned that customer service was the key to success, especially in a rural setting. I have a lot of experience in that area and treat every person with warm regard, and as a result, we had a very good name around town.

We sold that business as we did not want the ongoing responsibility of 30 staff and the logistics of managing a growing business.

Insider: What skills have you brought from your previous business to self storage?

Renee: I learned from experience that every customer deserves a personalised approach to their storage needs, and we try to offer that to take the hassle out of storing. I learned how to sell our product and present our point of difference, consistently deliver what you promise and exceed expectations, or if you can’t, to be upfront quickly.

Our point of difference is that we are a business that cares, not just an investment. We ask many questions to quantify which details are essential and work out what size is required.

We have two drive-through areas on site, which are extremely popular with storers for convenience, weather protection when unloading, and security, and have a big following of tradespeople who will be ongoing storers for years to come.

Insider: How have the past two years changed the way you’ve worked?

Renee: The COVID-19 climate has not affected us in a negative sense as a business, and our town is booming. However, sensing the trends and predictions of when

people are vacating and when we can help place new customers with their storage needs has been a lot harder. The demand is huge, and we cannot service what we are asked for despite always running a standby/waiting list.

Insider: Given the demand for your facility, how do you choose the customers that are right for you?

Renee: I use my gut instincts to feel out potential customers. If I get a bad feeling, I tend to ask more questions. Not every contact made is a good fit for our business. I remind myself regularly that you don’t have to turn every potential customer into a storer. We offer excellent customer service and a great facility, but I also expect the customer to hold up their end of the bargain.

I can be tough when I need to. No one else is going to care about your business as you do. If someone is not adhering to the terms of the agreement that you both have agreed to, you have to talk to them in a confident, calm and assertive manner to rectify the problem; otherwise, you risk it never being resolved.

Insider: How do you feel about your self storage journey?

Renee: I am proud of the business we have built and excited to have new business partners (Simon and Lisa) on board for our final stage build and with whom to share future operations and planning.

My husband, Mark, does all the building maintenance and computer tech/security and our new partners assist us with operations and planning. I look after the management, customer service and operations. We have been 100 per cent full for a long time, and I feel that is due to the love and care we put into our business.

Insider: How has the SSAA helped you?

Renee: I have found the SSAA to be a fantastic resource and backstop if I deal with any problem storers. It’s great to have the security of legal support behind you and to grow your knowledge with the evolution of the industry. l

“ Our point of difference is that we are a business that cares, not just an investment.

Only occasionally in history do massive demographic changes combine with huge social shifts, ongoing generational transitions and unprecedented technological innovation so that within a decade society altogether alters. Australia is currently in the midst of one such transformation.

The world as we know it is changing. The demographic, consumer and attitudinal trends all combine to create a world that is different from the one we have known before. While innovation and change occur on a societal scale, this change will play out within our industry too.

It has been said that the only thing constant in life is change. For leaders in self storage, it is imperative to be aware of the broader societal trends and some of

the more nuanced trends that impact our industry and sphere of influence.

Our friends at McCrindle recently looked towards 2031 and we’ve complied some key takeouts for self storage from their insightful research.

Rise of the regions

An astounding 60 per cent of major city Australian dwellers have considered moving to a regional area. Even if only a small percentage of regional relocation comes to pass, this shift will create a change in demand for infrastructure, housing, education and services (such as self storage facilities) in regional areas. Younger Australians are more likely than their older counterparts to be attracted to moving away from the city.

Liveable cities

With the shift to working from home, the general decentralisation of work and the rise of the regions, it is likely that cities will look a lot different in the future. CBD’s will give rise to CLD’s – Central Lifestyle Districts.

More than four in five Australians agree that in the future, city centres will be the epicentre of arts and culture (85%) and the hub of main events (82%).

Supporting local 66% of Australians value shopping locally more than they did three years ago. The return to local understanding and investing into the consumer community matters now more than ever. It is worth considering regardless of the size of your storage business, how can you create and facilitate a local experience with consumers?

If you’re a family-owned, local operator then this trend could really play in your favour so ensure your customers understand and appreciate that you’re part of the local community.

Australians’ actions align with their beliefs, with three in five significantly/somewhat increasing their engagement with an organisation that supports local suppliers (60%) or behaves ethically in their interactions (57%).

Cashless society

With the growth in the rise of personalisation and the desire for a frictionless transactional experience, it is safe to say that consumer expectations are rising. It may come as no surprise that almost seven in ten Australians (69%) agree Australia will be a cashless society by 2031. While younger generations are driving the transition to digital, older Australians are not being left behind.

79% will increase the number of digital payments they make over the coming years

79% value the seamless integration of digital purchases in their everyday life

76% are comfortable making ‘tap and go’ payments with their mobile device or other payment-enabled devices

69% agree Australia will be a cashless society by 2031

66% expect to purchase more online than in-store in the future

HOW IMPO RTANT ARE THE FOLLOWING TO YO U IN A BUYING EXPERIENCE?

Keeping it simple

The most important buying experience for Australians is the simplicity of the purchase, plus authenticity, personalisation the alignment of brand values with their own. Almost two in five Australians see one-click purchasing options as extremely important, while more than a third value the community connected to the brand.

Preparing for the intergenerational knowledge transfer

There is still work to be done in the workplace to effectively prepare for the intergenerational knowledge transfer. Baby Boomers have a lifetime of experience, wisdom and relational capital that, if leaders are not

careful, will simply walk out the door as this generation approaches retirement.

This next decade is an opportunity for leaders and family businesses to be intentional about creating opportunities for the younger to learn from the older. This trend is already well underway in self storage, with many intergenerational family businesses having changed hands in recent years.

Currently, half of the Australian workers (49%) believe their workplace is effective at creating opportunities for older staff to impart their wisdom and learnings to younger staff and just 43% believe their workplace is actively preparing for transferring knowledge between leaving or retiring staff and other team members. l

Publisher: McCrindle Research Pty Ltd Authors: Mark McCrindle, Sophie Renton, Kevin Leung. Excerpts from the document titled: Australian towards 2031: The demographic, consumer and behavioural trends shaping the nation. mccrindle.com.au

Managing excessive leave

By Melissa Hay, HR Specialist

With the onset of a new year, businesses will need to consider leave requests while ensuring adequate staffing levels to maintain operational requirements.

The impact of managing COVID19 outbreaks over the last 18 months, through government ‘stay at home’ orders and isolation requirement has seen many employees working from home. Many employees have been restricted in taking holiday breaks, or have been reluctant to take leave when there’s nowhere to go, so employers may likely be dealing with excessive leave accruals that will need careful management.

In considering leave requests, businesses need to contemplate various factors to ensure minimal impact on operating capacity. These include:

l Typical patterns of customer demand during the leave period;

l Frontline staffing numbers required to manage customer needs;

l Support functions staffing numbers (Admin, IT, Finance);

l Management of staff and/or temporary reporting line changes;

l Relief resources if skeleton staffing arrangements are insufficient due to unexpected absences or events;

l Expertise/delegations required to be arranged before leave commencement; and

l Any 2022/2023 Christmas/New

Year closedown provisions listed in awards or employment contracts

What is defined as excessive leave accruals?

Many of the Federal Awards have defined excess leave as having an annual leave balance of 8 weeks or more, or ten weeks for shift workers.

How do I know that some employees have excessive leave accruals?

Employers need to review the leave accruals of their employees. As part of this review, employers need to look at:

l Current leave balance

l Any accrued leave to date not included

l Dates for next accrual

l Any known leave plans of the employee

l Dates when last leave was taken

l What award provisions, if any, are listed in relation to excess annual leave.

What can I do to manage employee excess annual leave?

Following that review, it may be a key priority to approve leave plans for employees with excessive leave balances. That is one measure for managing leave excessive leave balances. However, employees may be banking their leave for a future extended holiday. As the employer, you need to discuss with your employee what those plans are and how far in advance the leave will be taken. Consulting with the employee and getting their commitment to a written leave plan is another strategy for managing leave accruals.

Where an employer and employee cannot come to an agreement to manage the leave, if provided for in the relevant Award, an employer can direct an employee to take some of the leave. In this event, the employer must give the employee a minimum of 8 weeks’ notice of the start date of that leave. Employees can be directed to take at least one week of leave, but must retain a minimum of 6 weeks of annual leave in balance. Award provisions may vary slightly, so checking the specific award is the first step.

Some awards or agreements may also have provisions for cashing out annual leave. Specific rules apply: l an employee needs to have at least four weeks of annual leave leftover l a written agreement needs to be made each time annual leave is cashed out l an employer can’t force or pressure an employee to cash out annual leave

The payment for cashed out annual leave has to be the same as what the employee would have been paid if they took the leave.

If employees are not covered by an award (award-free), they can also enter into these arrangements to cash out annual leave.

The benefits of managing excessive leave

Ensuring that employees have taken breaks away from the workplace to remain productive upon their return is integral for both their physical and emotional well-being. Excessive leave accruals may be symptomatic of an overworked workforce and can represent health and safety risks for which an employer may be liable.

Work-life balance is often discussed and highlighted as a factor in positive workplace cultures. If employees are not taking annual leave but taking sick or personal leave, this may indicate a problem.

There are also financial benefits or cost savings when employers manage excess leave accruals. Many employees have salary increases and CPI increases if they remain with an employer for some years. If annual leave is not managed well, it means employers have to pay out annual leave at the date when leave is taken or if an employee exits. This will often be payable at a greater salary rate than when the leave was accrued.

At the end of the day, it is good business practice to manage excessive leave accruals for the well-being of your employees and the health of the business. l

If you would like any further information call the SSAA

HR

1300 01 SSAA / 1300 017 722

Trust me with your stuff

by Stephen Hughes, CMO @ R6 Digital

As we move into 2022 and (hopefully) into a postpandemic world, many things will return to normal. People will start travelling again, restrictions will lift, and the economy will steam ahead.

However, some things will not return to what they were before. In most cases, these are pre-existing trends that were merely accelerated by the onset of restrictions.

We know that most self storage customers are in some form of upheaval. Whether this is moving house, divorce, death, job relocation, or otherwise, individuals’ trust is sure to be tested.

Before the pandemic, RapidStor was the go-to tool for enabling customers to book online and was being adopted by more and more facilities. However, online move-in functionality went from helpful to critical when the pandemic ramped up. Customers needed to transact

safely and effectively without a site visit and trust that the move-in was all going to be taken care of without direct person-to-person contact.

As we exit the pandemic era, person-to-person contact will resume, and consumers will continue to expect to move in online. Does this mean we need to think about our online presence more than we did in the past?

Trust for consumers can be broadly defined as a customer’s judgement of the extent to which they expect to achieve a desired positive future outcome with a business. In the case of self storage, they want the confidence of a smooth experience and secure storage of their possessions, which is the cornerstone of the self storage industry.

Traditionally, the positive expectation was created through assets at storage locations, with

Stephen leads the R6 Digital Digital Marketing team, bringing a wealth of experience and strategic insight to help grow customers’ businesses.

obvious security, a clean site, professional signage, and skilled personnel all generating trust in your ability to safely store someone’s valuable possessions. This will ever change.

However, when customers no longer come to your physical locations to book storage, how is trust created?

Communicating necessary trust signals through your online presence, branding, and experience will be critical for every self storage business.

So what new trust resolutions can you make for your business to ensure that you win in the competitive online battle for self storage supremacy?

Five ideas to get you started: Five ideas to get you started:

1 Trusted brand

Are your branding and visual assets modern, compelling, and communicating the quality of your services and offers?

2 Social proof

Increasingly, people trust other people’s reviews of their experience with your business. Never underestimate the power of leveraging your Google reviews on your website. Equally, ignoring criticism and biting back hard adds fuel to the fire!

3 Demonstrate scarcity

Do you enjoy high occupancy? Don’t be afraid to communicate it. This tells your potential customers others have trusted you, demonstrating your business is a trustworthy provider.

This is just a start, and getting these key lessons right will show potential customers visiting your website that your self storage facility is worthy of their trust, in turn enabling them to trust you with their valuable possessions. l

Right: SSAA Industry snapshot is an excellent example of taking a traditionally ‘offline’ medium and executing it well online.

4 Quality website design

Does your website design tell your potential customers that you are a quality and trustworthy business? This is the online equivalent of your street frontage and your store window – keep it clean, tidy and modern so people know you care about maintaining the things you own and can trust you with their valuable possessions.

5 A great online experience

Your great online experience should match your customers’ online move-in experience. Ensure that all information a customer needs to decide if your facility is the one for them is on your site, and they can transact seamlessly online. You know your business, but your potential customers don’t.

What is goodwill in business?

As sales activity and consolidation continues across the self storage sector, have you thought about the value of goodwill in your business?

By Juston Jirwander, Director Bishop Collins

Goodwill is the value in a business created over time from of its name, reputation, brand strength, and/or the grand ideas it has developed. Goodwill is intangible. If you wanted a storage facility with a good reputation, a well-known brand-named storage facility would often have a leg up over an unknown storage facility. That powerful recognition is a priceless quality. If you were to purchase the storage facility business, a substantial amount of the purchase price would be represented by that intangible asset. This extra amount paid is goodwill. The stronger the goodwill, the greater its effects on the business by way of direct revenue increase or influence on associated assets. Specifically, goodwill is the part of the purchase price that is higher than the sum of the net market value of all assets purchased in the acquisition, less the fair market value of the liabilities included in the purchase.

Let’s get technical – how is goodwill recorded?

Goodwill is recorded as an intangible asset classified as non-current assets on the balance sheet of the acquiring business. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), it is a requirement that a company evaluates the value of goodwill on their financial statements at least once a year and records any impairments.

Complexities in calculating goodwill

The process for calculating goodwill is straightforward in principle but can be quite complex in practice. Remember goodwill is the purchase price less the difference between the

The value of a business’ brand/s is not the only influence on the determination of goodwill. The following additional areas will influence why goodwill exists in a business and the value placed on it:

l The customer base – think Facebook

l Customer interaction and engagement – think Amazon

l Staff/employee expertise – think Space X, a highly technical field

l Location, location, location. – think high traffic roads for storage facilities

l Proprietary technology –think Intel Chips

l Reputation – think Harvard University

l Operating procedures/ protocols – think McDonald’s Goodwill is essential to accountants to recognise the value assigned to the future earning capacity of the business. This must be recognised in the accounts of the storage facility to reflect the true value.

fair market value of assets and the fair market value of liabilities.

Fair market value for liabilities is pretty straight forward excluding provisions or contingent liabilities. There are, however, competing approaches among accountants to calculate Goodwill because of the many ways to determine the fair market value of assets. This is especially true in an entity that is not a publicly-traded company. If seven registered business valuers performed a valuation on a business asset involved in an acquisition, there could be seven different results, though they should not be wildly different from each other. Goodwill is a workaround for accountants and is necessary because acquisitions often involve estimates of future earnings of a facility and other unknown considerations at the time of the acquisition.

The complexity comes with determining the fair market value of assets in the storage facility being acquired and any previous businesses that the facility group acquired, along with the goodwill calculations made previously. For example, is the goodwill of that previously purchased business still worth the value reflected in the company’s balance sheet, or has the value increased/decreased?

Impairments

When the market value of an asset drops below its historical cost, this is called an impairment. This can

Juston Jirwander.

occur due to an adverse event in the self storage industry, such as increased competition or change in market forces/consumer habits/ technology. Companies usually perform an impairment test on intangible assets to assess whether an impairment is needed.

The two methods for testing impairments are the market comparison and the income approach. Using the market comparison, the assets of similar self storage businesses’ operating in the same industry are analysed. With the income approach, estimated future cash flow is discounted to the present value.

If a self storage business’ acquired net assets fall below the historical value, the company has overstated the amount of goodwill. Therefore, it must correct the balance sheet by doing a write-down on the asset’s value to record the impairment. The impairment expense is calculated as the difference between the current market value and the asset’s purchase price.

The impairment results in a decrease in the goodwill account on the balance sheet. The expense is then recognised as a loss on the income statement, which reduces the net income for the year. In turn, EPS (earnings per share) and the company’s stock price are also negatively affected.

The FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board), which sets

standards for GAAP rules, is considering a change to how goodwill impairment is calculated. Due to the subjectivity of goodwill impairment and the cost of testing impairment, FASB is considering reverting to an older method called “goodwill amortisation“. As a result, the value of goodwill is slowly reduced annually, like the depreciation of a car. The problem with this approach is that goodwill can appreciate over time.

Accountants like things to be black or white in business as it gives certainty; however, sometimes, we must be flexible and consider the shades of grey.

Goodwill vs other intangibles

Goodwill and other intangible assets are not the same. For example, goodwill is a premium paid over fair value during a transaction and cannot be bought or sold independently. Goodwill arguably has an indefinite life, while other intangibles have a finite useful life.

Are there limitations to using goodwill?

Goodwill is difficult to value , and we can observe negative goodwill when an acquirer purchases a company for less than its current market value. This usually happens when the facility is under stress to sell. This transaction will result in a gain from the acquiring entity, entered into the profit and loss for the transaction year.

There is also the risk that a previously successful facility could face insolvency. When this happens, investors deduct goodwill from their determinations of residual equity. This is because, at the point of insolvency, the goodwill the company previously enjoyed may not have a resale value –but not always.

Key takeaways

Goodwill is an intangible asset. However, not all intangibles are goodwill.

Goodwill is different from most other intangible assets, with an indefinite life, while most other intangible assets have a finite useful life, such as licences.

Goodwill is calculated by taking the purchase price of a company and subtracting the difference between the market value of the assets and liabilities.

Public companies are required to review the value of goodwill on their financial statements at least once a year and record any impairments. l

If you have any questions please call Bishop Collins on 02 4353 2333.

All you need to know about building an effective Safety Management System

by Craig Salter Director Action OHS Consulting

What is a Safety Management System (SMS, also known as an Occupational Health and Safety Management System or OHSMS)?

A SMS is a set of policies, procedures, and plans that systematically manages the health and safety of your workplace. It covers crucial organisational structures and reporting lines, key accountabilities, and all your health and safety policies and procedures. The great thing about safety management systems is that they are not onesize-fits-all. Therefore, they are scalable and can be tailored specifically to the size and complexity of your workplace.

Why do you need a Safety Management System?

A well-implemented SMS helps minimise the risk of injury and illness due to workplace operations, and that should be front of mind for any business. Luckily, you shouldn’t have to start from scratch. Your organisation most likely has some elements of a SMS already in place. The key is to link these elements into a coordinated overall system to improve work health and safety performance.

Key components of a Safety Management System

The universally accepted framework for SMSs includes the main components listed below. These represent the minimum requirements that need to be met when implementing your system for it to be recognised as a Safety Management System:

l Safety policy and objectives

l Management commitment and responsibility

l Safety accountabilities

l Appointment of key safety personnel

l Coordination of emergency response planning

l Safety Management System documentation

l Safety risk management

l Hazard identification

l Risk assessment and mitigation

l Safety assurance

l Safety performance monitoring and measurement

l The management of change

l Continuous improvement of the Safety Management System

l Safety promotion

l Training and education

l Safety communication

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is an international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. Its goal is the reduction of occupational injuries and diseases, including promoting and protecting physical and mental health. An ISO 45001 certification can be obtained by any organisation regardless of its size, type and nature.

Why make building your Safety Management System a focus?

When implemented, building and implementing a Safety Management System has immense value. The obvious positive outcome is to the health and wellbeing of your

Craig is the Director of Action OHS Consulting, specialists in OHS problem solving and innovation.

employees. These benefits should also be kept front of mind to keep up the momentum when establishing your Safety Management System:

l You will improve your organisation’s ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues

l You will reduce the overall costs of incidents

l You will minimise downtime and the costs of disruption to operations

l You will reduce the cost of insurance premiums and risk of prosecution

l You will reduce absenteeism and employee turnover rates

l You may influence potential customers and clients to select you over your competitors as you demonstrate that you are concerned about your social and moral responsibilities By taking action and organising a coordinated and holistic system to improve your workplace health and safety performance, your business and your employees are the real winners. By getting the setup right, the benefits to health and safety, as well as to other areas of your operations, are sure to follow. l

The OH&S Help Desk has been established by the SSAA to support its members. This advisory service is free. Free call 1800 067 313 (Australia); 0800 444 356 (New Zealand); or email admin@selfstorage.com.au.

“

A well-implemented SMS helps minimise the risk of injury and illness due to workplace operations, and that should be front of mind for any business.

SSAA New Member Profile – Storeganise

The SSAA welcomes new member Storeganise – a comprehensive yet intuitive software solution powering self storage and valet storage businesses of all sizes.

Storeganise enables self storage businesses to automate their operations and empowers customers to book and manage their storage from any smart device via their easy-to-use booking app. A global tech company with offices in Hong Kong and London, Storeganise is now used in more than 25 countries and has been localised for the Australasian market.

Miles Davison, CEO & Co-Founder of Storeganise recently caught up with our colleagues at the Self Storage Association Asia to share more about the platform and how they’re helping self storage businesses streamline operations and manage facilities from anywhere.

Before their most recent product updates, the Storeganise team considered their core user needs and spent time working through every detail in the booking and move in process, carefully thinking through aspects such as:

l What’s the most important information and how is it best presented to the customer?

l How can the customer view information for different facilities?

l What approach would deliver the best conversion prospects?

l A mobile-first approach that works on any device

l The ability to guide the customer through the entire booking flow all within just a few steps –automatically book, pay for, e-sign and move in instantly.

These insights guided the design and execution of the new Storeganise booking app, which can be added onto a website in a matter of minutes. From an operator perspective, Miles explained the management portal

is key to understanding operating metrics and automating processes.

“We are trying to be a very feature-rich but intuitive platform that makes it easy for newcomers to be able to understand the flow of processing move-ins and move-outs, following up with customers and providing the right level of access for those different employees to use the system.”

It’s critical for management to have deep and interactive data analytics so the team focused on building a flexible dashboard module that can deep dive or simplify metrics depending on the customer’s requirements.

“Another key component that we’ve been putting a lot of effort into recently is the automation tools. Allowing companies to have the

option so they can choose how and what parts of the flow they want to automate. If they want to have fully unmanned facilities they can then automate the move-in process fully for that site, allowing a really handsoff experience both for the customer and manager. This allows the management to manage multiple businesses with little manpower and remotely. Everything that we provide to our clients, they can run on any device. So if they’re in one facility and they’ve got a move in at another facility, they can just log in and manage, handle the payments and follow up with the customer at any time.”

What sets Storeganise apart is its ability to integrate with other platforms.

“Our mantra has always been we want to be a very open platform. We have a number of pre-built integrations so we can be as featurerich as possible, and we have an open API that allows custom integrations for companies that want to create the perfect ecosystem without having to: a) spend too much money on development and b) add too many manual tasks around that.” l

To learn more about Storeganise visit www.storeganise.com.

Miles Davison, CEO & Co-Founder, Storeganise

Storage Room Agreements –

By Tony Raunic, Managing Principal, Emily Clapp, Lawyer and Peter Huang, Graduate at Law.

Understanding Storage Room Agreements

Self storage customers (Storers) often require the use of storage facilities (Facilities) during transient periods of their lives, for example, when moving house, living in temporary accommodation, or when living overseas or interstate. For these reasons, it is not uncommon for Storers to ask members to accept deliveries and retain goods for collection on their behalf. In these circumstances, Facilities with separate storage rooms should use the Storage Room Agreement (Agreement) to minimise the risks arising out of such an arrangement. Using the Agreement also allows Facilities to generate additional income.

What are Storage Room Agreements?

Storage Room Agreements allow a Facility to accept deliveries and store goods in their storage room until a Storer is able to collect the goods. Facilities should only use this Agreement where there is an existing Standard Self Storage Agreement in place with the Storer in question.

Why bother?

The Agreement allows a Facility to charge an additional fee for offering these services, and in particular, clause 9 of the Agreement requires any fees to be paid in advance. Once a Storage Room Agreement has been signed and the Storer pays any fees associated with the storage, the Facility agrees to accept delivery and store the goods for a permitted period of time in their storage room.

The terms of the Agreement allow 7 days from the date the Facility notifies the Storer that the goods are ready for collection. If the Storer does not pick up the goods within 7 days, a late collection fee applies for each week until the goods are collected. This ensures that Facilities are not expected to bear the burden of storing goods indefinitely. However, we remind Facilities that any late collection fee must not be a penalty, but a reasonable estimate of the costs involved with storing the goods beyond the agreed collection date.

What happens if the Storer defaults?

Usually, a default under the Storage Room Agreement occurs when a Storer has not paid overdue storage fees or has not collected the goods within the permitted period of storage.

If the Storer defaults, a Facility has rights under the Agreement to sell or dispose of the goods if the default has not been rectified

“ Storage Room Agreements allow a Facility to accept deliveries and store goods in their storage room until a Storer is able to collect the goods. Facilities should only use this Agreement where there is an existing Standard Self Storage Agreement in place with the Storer in question.

within 42 days. Members will be familiar with this procedure, as it is similar to the default procedure for Standard Self Storage Agreements. For more information on the default procedure more generally, please refer to clause 23 of the Customer Storage Agreement Guidelines, which are available in the SSAA Member Portal.

What risk is there to the Facility?

As the Facility has control over and access to goods stored in the storage room, a higher degree of responsibility is imposed by law. For this reason, it is important that

Facilities utilise the Agreement in order to manage this risk.

Under the Agreement, goods are stored at the Storer’s risk. This means that, contractually, the Storer, and not the Facility, is responsible for any loss or damage caused by the storage of goods. Unless the Facility is found to have acted negligently, the Facility’s liability under the Agreement is capped at the total storage room fees paid by the Storer. While the Agreement limits a Facility’s contractual liability, Facilities must still comply with non-excludable consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, including the duty to exercise acceptable care, skill and diligence in providing the services and to ensure the services are fit for any specified purpose.

Facilities should be careful to

jewellery, furs, deeds, paintings, works of art or items of sentimental value.

Importantly, Facilities should ensure that they are the only ones with access to the storage room. The storage room should not be accessible to Storers, or delivery and collection agents. This lowers the risk for Facilities as they have control of what goes in and out of the storage room and can more carefully manage the times when delivery and pickups are allowed.

Key take-aways

Storage Room Agreements can be a great tool for Facilities to rely on in circumstances where an existing Storer has asked the Facility to accept delivery or facilitate pickups of goods on their behalf, helping to manage the increased risk involved

improves the Storer’s experience and gives Facilities the opportunity to earn additional income. We remind Facilities that there must already be a Standard Self Storage Agreement in place with the Storer wishing to utilise the storage room, and that only the Facility should have access to the storage room. l

In the event that Facilities have any further queries or concerns about using the Storage Room Agreement, please email the Legal Help Desk at legalsupport@selfstorage.com.au.

Disclaimer: The information contained in these answers is of a general nature and is not intended as legal advice. It is important that you seek legal advice that is specific to your circumstances. Please refer to the SSAA’s website for more information on the SSAA’s Legal Help Desk.

ACCESS CONTROL, FIRE & SECURITY

PTI SECURITY SYSTEMS

T: Sales +61 1300 798 860/ Support +61 1300 159 473

E: apac-sales@ptisecurity.com www.ptisecurity.com

AD-TECH Security

Adrian Rostirolla

T: +61 1300 306 090

E: adrian@ad-tech.com.au www.ad-tech.com.au

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AlarmQuip Security Systems

Evan Richardson

T: 1300 552 520

E: admin@alarmquip.com.au www.alarmquip.com.au

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QueAccess Pty Ltd

Kevin Hannagan

T: +61 1300 783 222

E: info@QueAccess.com.au www.queaccess.com.au

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Sentinel Storage Systems

Jason Keane

T: +61 1300 852 117/+61 3 9988 2035

E: info@storagesecurity.com.au www.storagesecurity.com.au

ANCILLARY SERVICES

PACKAGING

VISY BOXES & MORE

Ralph Inglese

T: 13 84 79

E: vbm_vic@visy.com.au www.boxesandmore.com.au Branches across AUS and NZ

Homestead Press

Joe Papp

T: +61 2 4302 0605

E: joe@homesteadpress.com.au www.homesteadpress.com.au

CLEANING

Sweepers Australia

Michelle Maxwell & Vaughan Rose

T: +61 3 9562 7533

E: michelle@sweepersaustralia.com.au www.sweepersaustralia.com.au

LOCKS

Lock Distributors Australia

Martin Coote

T: 1800 28 77 24

E: service@lockdistributors.com.au www.lockdistributors.com.au

STORAGE AUCTION

iBidOnStorage

Brennan McLoughlin

T: +61 2 4302 0605

E: info@ibidon.com.au www.ibidonstorage.com.au

TELECOMMUNICATION

URL Networks

Ashley Breeden

T: 1300 331 178

E: support@url.net.au www.url.net.au

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

STORCO STORAGE SYSTEMS

Jonathan Layton

T: +61 2 6391 2800

E: jonathan.layton@storco.com.au www.storco.com.au

Gliderol Garage Doors

Tom Ainscough

T: +61 8 8360 0000

E: tainscough@gliderol.com.au www.gliderol.com.au

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Kiwimark Construction Ltd

Travis Morgan

T: +64 7 576 5494 / +64 7 576 5491

E: travis@kiwimark.net.nz www.kiwimark.net.nz

RegisBuilt Group

Anthony Regis

T: 1300 388 224

E: anthony.regis@regisbuilt.com.au www.regisbuilt.com.au

Steel Storage Pty Ltd

Stephen Boxall

T: +61 7 3865 1600

E: sales@steelstorage.com.au www.steelstorage.com.au

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Storcad Pty Limited

Javier Rezzonico

T: +61 447 566 988

E: info@storcad.com.au www.storcad.com.au

Taurean Door Systems

Adrian Valente

T: +61 3 9721 8366

E: adrian.valente@taureands.com.au www.taureands.com.au

Total Construction Pty Ltd

Steven Taylor

T: +61 2 9746 9555

E: stevet@totalconstruction.com.au www.totalconstruction.com.au

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Bishop Collins Pty Ltd

Phillip Keenan

T: +61 2 4353 2333

E: mail@bishopcollins.com.au www.bishopcollins.com.au

HR SERVICES

HR Central

Cath Grawe

T: 1300 717 721

E: cath.grawe@hrcentral.com.au www.hrcentral.com.au

INSURANCE

SERVICES

AON Risk Services

Darren Clauscen

E: darren.clauscen@aon.com

T: +61 2 9253 8350

www.aon.com.au/storage

AON Risk Services NZ

Jeffery Nathan

T: +64 9 362 9535

E: jeffery.nathan@aon.com www.aon.co.nz

Midland Insurance Brokers

Gilda Mihran

T: 1300 306 571

E: storage@midlandinsurance.com.au www.midlandinsurance.com.au

Wallace McLean Ltd Insurance Brokers and Risk Advisers

Simon Keenan

T: +64 9 358 7233

E: simon@wallacemclean.co.nz www.wallacemclean.co.nz

LEGAL SERVICES

Hunt & Hunt Lawyers

Graeme Armstead

T: +61 3 8602 9200

E: garmstead@huntvic.com.au www.hunthunt.com.au

LIFTS & HOISTS

SOUTHWELL LIFTS AND HOISTS

David Head

T: +61 2 4655 7007

E: sales@southwell.com.au www.southwell.com.au

ABT Loadmac Ltd

Chris Walker

T: +61 431 281 108

E: chris.w@loadmac.com www.loadmac.com

Safetech Lifts & Hoists

Tony Krlevski

T: +61 3 5127 4566

E: sales@safetech.com.au www.safetech.com.au

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Kennards Self Storage Management Services

Fiona Harding

T: +61 2 9764 9815

E: fiona@kss.com.au www.kss.com.au

Pioneer Performance

Leigh Thewlis

T: +61 438 021 944

E: admin@pioneerperformance.com.au www.pioneerperformance.com.au

Storage King Management Services

Martin Richards, Australia/ New Zealand

T: +61 2 9460 6660

E: martin@storageking.com.au

www.storageking.com.au

StorAssist

Sally Chodan

T: +61 403 533 640

E: sally@storassist.com.au www.storassist.com.au

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StoreLocal

Mark Greig

T: 1300 099 022

E: partners@storelocal.com.au www.storelocal.com.au

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Vision Self Storage Management

Gavin Koorey

T: +61 2 9432 2880

E: gavin@vssm.com.au www.vssm.com.au

OHS SERVICES

OHS Action Consulting

Craig Salter

T: +61 409 772 499

E: craig.salter@actionohs.com.au www.actionohs.com.au

Workplace Access and Safety

Carl Sachs

T: +61 3 9045 6200

E: carls@workplaceaccess.com.au www.workplaceaccess.com.au

REAL ESTATE & VALUERS

CBRE Limited

Peter Hamilton

T: +64 9 355 3333

E: peter.hamilton@cbre.co.nz www.cbre.co.nz

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CBRE

Michael Walsh

T: +61 7 3833 9833

E: michael.walsh@cbre.com.au www.cbre.com.au/people-andoffices/corporate-offices/brisbane

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Colliers International Holdings (Aust) Ltd

Dylan Adams

T: +61 2 9257 0222

E: dylan.adams@colliers.com www.colliers.com.au

Collins & Associates

Malcolm Collins

T: +61 3 8456 5134

E: malcolm@malcolmcollins.com www.malcolmcollins.com

Cushman and Wakefield

Linda Sharkey

T: +61 3 8359 0091

E: linda.sharkey@cushwake.com www.cushmanwakefield.com

Fallon Valuers

Martin Fallon

T: +61 407 991 980

E: mfallon@valuationpartners.com.au

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Highway Frontage Specialist

Estate Agents

Matt Walsh

T: 1300 661 950 +61 3 9944 9350

E: matt@highwayfrontage.com.au www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au

m3property

Jeremy Hoffman

T: +61 7 3620 7900

E: jeremy.hoffman_365@m3property.com.au www.m3property.com.au

Savills Valuations Pty Ltd

Basil Simitci

T: +61 7 3221 8355

E: bsimitci@savills.com.au www.savills.com.au

Urbis

Shane Robb

T: +61 2 8233 7627

E: SRobb@urbis.com.au www.urbis.com.au

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

STORMAN AUSTRALIA

Duncan Clarke

T: +61 7 3319 1522

E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com

STORMAN NEW ZEALAND

Duncan Clarke

T: +64 9 280 3393

E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com

Centreforce Technology Group Pty Ltd

Dallas Dogger

T: +61 7 3889 9822

E: sales@centreforceit.com.au www.centreforceit.com.au

Podium

Taylor Cutler

T: +61 478 180 191

E: taylor.cutler@podium.com www.podium.com

Sitelink

Michael Dogger

T: +61 7 3889 9822

E: support@sitelinksoftware.com.au www.sitelinksoftware.com.au

Code of Ethics

Stora

E: hello@stora.co

www.stora.co

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Storeganise

Miles Davison

T: +1 416 639 0873

E: hello@storeganise.com

https://storeganise.com/

STORAGE CONTAINERS

UNIVERSAL STORAGE CONTAINERS (USC)

Shay McQuade

T: +61 438 256 541

E: shay.mcquade@universalstorage containers.com

www.universalstoragecontainers.com

BOS Containers Australia

Elise Kelsey

T: +61 3 9720 4455

E: ekelsey@aimhire.com.au

www.aimhire.com.au

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Royal Wolf Trading

Craig Baker

T: +61 2 9482 3466

E: removals@royalwolf.com.au

www.royalwolf.com.au

WEBSITE DESIGN

Big Budda Boom Pty Ltd

Andy Pudmenzky

T: 1300 660 937

E: info@bigbuddaboom.com.au

www.bigbuddaboom.com.au

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R6 Digital Michael Dogger

T: +61 7 3889 9822

E: sales@r6digital.com.au

www.r6digital.com.au

The Self Storage Association of Australasia’s Code of Ethics are fundamental to the values of the SSAA and essential to achieving its mission to lead the storage industry in Australasia by promoting the highest standards of ethics and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of all members and customers. As a SSAA member, you are required to follow the Code.

1. Members will ensure that their workplace is a safe environment for employees, customers and other visitors to the site.

2. Members will treat all employees, customers and visitors to the site with respect.

3. Members will promote the positive image of the industry through ethical and honest advertising and business practices.

4. Members will undertake to report any suspected criminal activities to the relevant authorities.

5. Members will comply with all relevant local, state and federal government laws and regulations regarding a self storage business.

6. Members will use a current approved SSAA storage agreement or develop an alternative that delivers the equivalent contractual agreement.

7. Members will ensure that staff are competent in their duties and complete appropriate training in current industry practices.

8. Members will participate honestly, cooperatively and transparently with any investigation by the SSAA into any alleged breach of this Code of Ethics.

FACILITY MEMBERS

Coastal Gralan Storage

Lot 32 Buchanan Court

VICTOR HARBOUR SA 5211

T: +61 415 926 708

E: jamie@scconstruct.com.au

Dynamic Vehicle Storage

328-336 Saint Vincent Street

PORT ADELAIDE SA 5015

T: +61 435 255 300

E: mark@dynamicauto.com.au

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Nanango Storage Sheds

3 Fleming Street

NANANGO QLD 4615

T: +61 7 4162 8141

E: gavinscc@bigpond.com

Northpoint Mini Storage

358 Griffith Road

LAVINGTON NSW 2641

T: +61 2 6025 8955

E: ministorage@ljcdixon.com.au

Portland Secure Storage

153 Browning Street

PORTLAND VIC 3305

T: +61 488 994 212

E: info@portlandsecurestorage.com.au

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Quicklink

1313-1315 North Road

HUNTINGDALE VIC 3166

T: +61 447 777 598

E: harry@katsiabanis.com

RB Storage

16K Rakau Road

WANANUI 4501 New Zealand

T: +61 27 300 886

E: info@rbstorge.co.nz

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Wollondilly Self Storage

31 Henry Street

PICTON NSW 2570

T: +61 2 4657 2197

E: info@klmpropertygroup.com.au

ADDITIONAL FACILITIES

Affordable Self Storage Hillsborough

301 Porthills Road

HILLSBURY CHRISTCHURCH 2290

T: +64 3844 909

E: tony@affordablestorage.net.nz

Affordable Self Storage Westport

1 Coats Street

WESTPORT CHRISTCHURCH 7825

T: +64 3844 909

E: tony@affordablestorage.net.nz

PROVISIONAL MEMBERS

Anytime Self Storage Units

Lot 114 Transit Avenue

TAMWORTH NSW 2340

T: +61 428 667 604

E: info@anytimeselfstorageunits.com.au ––––––

Blue Chip Self Storage Pty Ltd

71-75 Boyd Street

TUGUN QLD 4224

T: +61 414 602 100

E: davidcollins876@gmail.com

Frank Ruffo

PO Box 551

BACCUS MARSH VIC 3340

T: +61 417 796 671

E: frank@authorised.global

Glen Hutchinson

143 Kaitlers Road

LAVINGTON NSW 2641

T: +61 413 309 231

E: info@buildaw.com.au

SERVICE MEMBERS

All State Storage

10-12 Kennington Drive

TOMAGO NSW 2322

T: +61 407 484 056

E: chellewjason@yahoo.com.au

Irongate Group Level 13, 95 Pitt Street

SYDNEY NSW 2000

T: +61 414 233 140

E: david.cupit@irongategroup.com.au

Storeganise Limited

1503-06, Tower 1, EverGain Plaza

88 Container Port Road

KWAI CHUNG NT 00000

Hong Kong

T: +1 416 639 0873

E: hello@storeganise.com

The 2022 Self Storage Supplier Guide is now available on the SSAA website via the Member Portal.

The guide features a range of suppliers across categories essential to the success in the self storage industry. The suppliers featured are major partners and service members of the SSAA, many of who have in-depth industry experience gained by working closely with self storage owners, operators and other suppliers.

Plus case studies, checklists and much more information –a valuable booklet at your fingertips.

If you would like a hard copy, please contact the SSAA office.

2022 EVENTS U PDATE

Who's ready for 2022?! We've planned a range of events in an effort to offer something for everyone, covering different event styles, topics, formats and locations. Whilst we hope we'll all be able to travel and get together once more, we understand that health advice and guidelines will continue to change so we'll be working to tighter timeframes and taking a more flexible approach. We're committed to delivering our major events in a hybrid format, so if you're unable to join us in person you'll be able to join via the live stream online. Our convention has moved to later in 2022 to give us the best chance of having both Australian and New Zealand members together once we're out of winter, and hopefully travel will have become a little easier for us all.

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Wednesday 24 August –

Thursday 25 August 2022

SSAA SKI in Queenstown

Start the day with early morning speaker sessions followed by afternoons on the slopes. Share stories over a trade showcase and networking dinner.

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Wednesday 21 September –

Friday 23 September 2022

Australasian Study Tour –UK into Portugal

Pending international travel, join us as we tour the best in storage and business in the UK before heading to Portugal to join the FEDESSA conference from 27 - 29 September 2022.

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Tuesday 8 November –

Thursday 10 November 2022 Convention!

Explore the next normal over a three day format including the launch of State of the Industry 2022, the return of the SSAA Awards for Excellence and our 30th(ish) Anniversary Celebrations. Location TBC.

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These are our major events for the year. We will also have locally hosted networking dinners across May, June and July which we'll confirm closer to the time.

SSAA Online Industry Training

12 modules with two complimentary introductory modules now available. Each module takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes to complete and is accompanied by handy Quick Reference Guides. Visit