YEAR IN REVIEW
Year in review JANUARY/FEBRUARY
Millennium Services Group appoints new CEO Millennium Services Group appointed Darren Boyd as the company’s new CEO and managing director. Boyd took over from Millennium’s acting CEO and head of Millennium subsidiary Airlite Group, Steve Willis, who was appointed following the departure of Millennium’s previous CEO, Craig Hanley, who spent less than 18 months in the role. In April 2018 Boyd joined national services and facilities management group OCS in a fixed-term role to spearhead the company’s local growth strategy and provide strategic planning advice.
Service providers urged to cooperate in Aged Care Royal Commission Aged care service providers were urged to cooperate in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety following the investigation’s launch in mid-January 2019. The Commission is investigating the quality of care provided in residential and home aged care to senior Australians, but also includes young Australians with disabilities living in residential aged care settings. A significant focus
of the Commission’s work is the understanding how the aged care system currently works. Commissioner Richard Tracey said at the start of the Commission it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity to come together as a nation to consider how we can create a better system of care for elderly Australians”. A final report is due on 12 November 2020. An interim report was released on 31 October 2019.
Vic Govt seeks submissions on ‘gig economy’ In January the Victorian Government called for submissions for an inquiry into the on-demand workforce, also known as the ‘gig-economy’. The inquiry, chaired by former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James, investigated the extent of the on-demand sector and the status of people working with or for online companies or platforms in Victoria. The establishment of the On-Demand Workforce Inquiry, which commenced in October 2018, followed widespread concern about the wages and conditions 10 INCLEAN January / February 2020
being offered to workers in the on-demand and gig economy. A key focus of the inquiry was the arrangements covering workers in the on-demand workforce, looking at the legal status of people working with or for online companies or platforms in Victoria. The on-demand sector is made up of a range of workers, consumers and platforms across different industries including cleaning. The inquiry is still ongoing, with findings yet to be released.
Airbnb announces ethical cleaning partnership In an Australian first, Canberra-based cleaning firm Harmony Community Cleaning partnered with online marketplace Airbnb to launch a pilot program designed to promote fair pay and conditions for its workers. Under the agreement Airbnb promoted Harmony Community Cleaning – Canberra’s first social enterprise cleaning firm – via the platform as the preferred cleaning company for Airbnb hosts. Jo-anne Schofield national secretary for United Voice said at the time of the pilot’s launch, the initiative was providing “cleaning with purpose”. “Hosts who support the pilot will know their cleaners are being paid the correct rate and they are supporting an ethical cleaning collective. The pilot program brings both dignity and a professional, properly paid workforce into rented properties.”