HOSPITALITY REVIEW TASMANIAN
April/May 2023
Brewing up a storm Coffee giant secures permanent home
COVER PHOTO: VILLINO OWNER RICHARD SCHRAMM CREDIT: RICHARD JUPE
Also Inside:
Agfest 2023 Women in Leadership Tourism Awards
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
President Update 5 CEO Update 7 FEATURE: Villino 8-13 Minister Update 15 Opposition Leader 17 FEATURE: Women in Leadership 18-19 FEATURE: Agfest 20-26 Great Customer Experience Program 29 Employment Relations Update 30-31 FEATURE: Tourism Awards 33-35 FEATURE: Spin4Kids 37 Clubs Tasmania 39-41 FEATURE: Lenah Game Meats 42-43 Workforce Development 45
Agfest
Tourism Tasmania 49 Liquor & Gaming 51 Hospitality Dr 53
Tourism Awards
TASMANIAN HOSPITALITY REVIEW BY
For editorial enquires contact Adam Smith adam@tha.asn.au 0417327093
@tashospitality
@tas_hospitality
PRESIDENT UPDATE
The Tasmanian hospitality industry is set to continue having strong trade moving forward, with both the recent THA occupancy data and forecast tourism numbers into 2023 looking strong. The major issue bubbling away is the recruitment and retention of staff – chefs and middle management have always been in short supply across the whole industry – but we now have gaps right across the workforce. Addressing this is one of the cornerstones of our Hospitality 2030 vision. Staff training is one option which can alleviate some of the problems. With less personnel, the one option for employers is to raise the skills of their current staff to fill gaps. This has the potential to also increase wages for those staff members. I see the increasing of wages for trained staff as a good thing for our industry, it’s a win for both employer and employees. If we are forced to have less people on our books, staff can get the skills they need to take home extra pay by filling more hours and hopefully staying in the industry for longer. We have a system that has forced training to be done predominantly by Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s), Government and private training providers
that supply accredited training to industries. This system has worked well in the past but industry has been asking for change to allow more flexibility in training our staff. The use of non-accredited short courses is a great way to get new staff up to speed and working effectively in the short term. Then if accredited training is required (as it will be for most staff that intend to stay in hospitality for longer and make it a worthwhile career) they will then need to get the right qualifications from the RTO’s. Tasmania is a desired destination, for that reason we must all ensure that we are providing that unique Tasmanian experience that we are known for. This does not mean silver service, but more of a knowledgeable, confident and in most cases respectful, relaxed style. Programs such as our Great Customer Experience (GCE) play a great role in this, focusing on what areas your business can tap into to elevate visitor encounters. I encourage anyone that needs to have staff trained in the non-accredited short courses to contact VXT (vxt.org.au) and inquire how best they can help upskill staff.
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CEO UPDATE
Accolades at national level continue to flow for our hospitality operators following another successful haul at the recent 2022 Australian Tourism Awards. Year in, year out Tasmania proves it has some of the best venues, experiences and offerings in the country and this year was no different, with THA members Bangor Vineyard Shed and Coal River Farm winning gold medals in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries and Excellence in Food Tourism categories respectively, while the Palawa owned and operated wukaline Walk was crowned best Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Tourism Experience. Fellow THA members Ship Inn Stanley and BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park were awarded silver medals in their categories, while Mures Tasmania, Villa Talia and Peppers Silo Hotel took home bronze. Congratulations to all, this is a fantastic achievement and you represent our industry with great pride. After considerate planning for our 2023 THA Awards for Excellence, our nomination guide booklet has now been distributed and entries are open. Finalising our categories has taken slightly longer than anticipated, but we wanted to ensure we are better aligning with the national AHA Awards for Excellence, and we have also included some new individual categories to acknowledge the supremely talented people who make up our wonderful sector. Our awards strive to recognise the world class hospitality experiences both Tasmanians and visitors come to expect, and I have no doubt judges this year will have a tough
task separating entrants. Please reach out to any of the THA staff if you have any questions around the nomination process, there is plenty of time between now and the awards event which will take place later in the year. Nominations are open until May 12 and judging will commence in early June. Tasmania’s biggest annual field day event is also on the horizon and we are excited to again be taking centre stage at Agfest with our ‘Best of Tasmanian Hospitality’ pavilion. Last year was a resounding success, our site was buzzing and we expect nothing different in 2023 as we are back bigger and better. You won’t want to miss the array of food and beverages on offer – as well as the outside activations with the Tasmania JackJumpers joining the party – so make sure you swing by and check out of the fun if you are attending Agfest.
An entrepreneurial streak has always existed for Richard Schramm, but not even the man behind Villino could imagine how his dreams would evolve into becoming one of Tasmania’s most prominent and popular coffee producers. Grinding to success INDUSTRY FEATURE
PICTURES: RICHARD JUPE
Richard Schramm has always been a dreamer. Hailing from an IT consulting background when living in Melbourne nearly two decades ago, his wife Melissa was keen to move back to Tasmania and it set the wheels in motion to start up a hospitality business. In what shape or form the couple wasn’t too sure – a coffee cart idea was initially floated – and a chance meeting in Melbourne with a café owner led Schramm down the specialty coffee path. When the couple then stumbled across an available space in Criterion Street it became the beginning of a journey which has now found a permanent home in Moonah. “I was the guy working in IT with a folder on my computer called ‘My Business Ideas’. At that stage I was more passionate about being entrepreneurial rather than specifically looking to open a specialty coffee business, that wasn’t the agenda to begin with,” Schramm says. “Early on, it was even things I’d seen work overseas, like crepe shops or anything that seemed like a viable business model, where you could potentially even scale them, franchise them. That was all my early business thinking around it. “Then in my research, I’d signed up to a barista basics course over in Melbourne. When I gave the lady my address on signing up, she said, ‘you’re just down the road from this amazing, progressive specialty coffee café, have you been there?’ I hadn’t even heard of it, so I went there to check it out. My brother came with me, to have a planning chat over coffee about this move to Tassie. We walked in and the owner of this cafe, Andrew, knew my brother because he used to go to Andrew’s previous cafe in the city. Straightaway Andrew took me under his wing. He was just a really generous guy with his knowledge and time and I ended up getting a
weekend job there, learning coffee, chatting to him in the evenings, talking equipment.
“It was just one of those sort of chance moments - I’m a firm believer that you make your own luck and you create these opportunities - if I hadn’t gone there that day to do my research, that never would have happened. It was one of those moments where it really changed my path and he opened my eyes a lot to specialty coffee and what it was about. “Melissa and I didn’t have firm plans of exactly what it [the business model in Tasmania] would be, but it evolved fairly quickly into this idea of coffee carts located in office foyers. We’d seen this model working well in Melbourne and thought something like that could be a go in Hobart. We started formulating some business plans and investigating that business model, we did a fair bit of research into it, but we took the plunge and moved down here without a firm plan of what we were going to do. “Originally I’d reached out to a few buildings to try and get a cart going in the foyer, retrospectively it was probably good it didn’t work out because I don’t think there’s enough critical mass of people in Hobart’s buildings to really justify it, at least not 15 years ago. Then suddenly this space came up in the city, we just jumped on it and all of a sudden it was very real.” Schramm started Villino with just Melissa and his mother-in-law, slowly building business and gaining a solid reputation. After a couple of years he decided to expand into roasting. This was done initially to provide more control over product quality and supply – little did he know how quickly it would grow as the coffee scene in the state really took off. What started as a day a week by himself roasting in a warehouse
9 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
in Huntingfield quickly turned into multiple days a week as word spread of the quality of Villino’s coffee. Eventually assistance was required to keep up with demand and he started building his roastery team. “I used to go down there a day a week and roast which soon became two then three, then someone would come and help me and gradually it just turned into this thing where people were like, ‘oh, you roast your own coffee, can I buy it for my cafe or my restaurant?’” Schramm says. “Then that turned into a wholesale business. It wasn’t really the initial plan, to be a wholesale business of the size that we are now. It started with having more control over the quality of what we were doing and then when we worked hard at it with a focus on quality, people came along and wanted to be part of that as well. So we started doing a little bit of wholesale and then it just organically grew.”
This growth has led to the business’ latest expansion – a permanent, purpose built facility in Sunderland St in Moonah which is now home for all the company’s roasting, as well as Wondr, a café which joins Villino and its ‘little sister’ Ecru in Criterion St. The difference with Wondr is patrons will be able to catch a behind the scenes glimpse of the scale of Villino’s operation while they enjoy their fresh brew. The warehouse contains three Probat roasting machines (5kg, 12kg and 22kg), houses a cupping lab and quality control room, a workshop for repairs and maintenance as well as training classroom for wholesale customers which Schramm also hopes can be used for the public to engage in coffee and events. “This sort of thing has been on the cards for a very long time, but it’s never quite been the right time to do it. I always wanted to have a space where what we do is on display for people, a fishbowl set up where you can sit and have a coffee and see what goes on behind the scenes. The scale of what we do, the equipment and
the day to day operations are really interesting things to observe. We are there tasting coffees, brewing and writing tasting notes and doing all of our lab work - it’s something that a lot of people don’t realise goes on behind the scenes with coffee. “They don’t often get to see the roasting process, so to put it on display in front of people is quite unique in Tasmania. “There are maybe some other spots where you can see it happening but not to this sort of scale, not with this level of intent. We’re pretty excited. This is our long-term home, it feels a lot like the culmination of a lot of years of work have come together in this space. I’m super proud of what we’ve created here.” Schramm also sees the expansion as a way for Villino to remain relevant in the ever-revolving nature of speciality coffee. He still remembers what it was like in the early days in Criterion St trying to make headway in Tasmania, and won’t rest on his laurels despite the following and success the company has garnered in remaining at the forefront of the industry. “15 years ago, to find somewhere with single origins or free pouring latte art, it just wasn’t a thing. Fresh roasted coffee was big and we were one of the first places focused on these things. We had to do a lot of education, we had signs on the back of the menus that explained what Latte Art was, the difference between a ristretto or an espresso, what is single origin or a single estate coffee. It was really a big part of driving that education in consumers. “What we were doing was different and progressive. There were a couple of places absolutely, we weren’t the first and we weren’t the only one, but I feel like we were definitely one of the early players in that movement and we’ve played a role in progressing that side of the industry and educating the consumers. We had to do a lot of explaining in the early days just trying to sell “I was the guy working in IT with a folder on my computer called ‘My Business Ideas’. At that stage I was more passionate about being entre- preneurial rather than specifically looking to open a specialty coffee business, that wasn’t the agenda to begin with,” - Richard Schramm
single origin coffee, and people didn’t really want to go for it. So we just made it the default for black coffee. Then all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘oh, this one tastes different to last week’ and it started to get the dialogue happening. “It’s been an interesting journey and the challenge for us has been to stay relevant, to stay progressive and not be like, ‘Villino are those guys that used to be good back in the day’. We’ve tried to continue to be at the front of the wave. This new site is going to be a really great boost for keeping us on the map. For people to actually come in now and just see what it is we do and peek behind the scenes is great.
“The key thing for us is to try and feel very local still, which we are, we’re 100 per cent locally owned, it’s just Melissa and I, there’s no other investors. Also a huge shout out to our team, it’s not just my story, there’s people in our business that have been with us for more than 10 years. “That’s something I’m super proud of, that we have people that stay with us for a long time. This really helps the business because you have that depth of knowledge, but it also reaffirms for me that it’s a nice place to be and then we continue to create opportunities and careers for people.”
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EDITORIAL
Minister for Hospitality and Events Nic Street
It has been incredibly encouraging to see the year kick off with such a strong start, with a bumper summer season of events and the hospitality sector continuing to break records. Increased visitation has helped fill our world-class restaurants, cafes and accommodation, stimulating economic activity and creating jobs in small businesses right across Tasmania.
Tasmania’s action-packed year continues with events across the state including the much-loved Australian Musical Theatre Festival returning to Launceston from May 17-21. This is the fourth time the Festival will be held in Launceston, with the event now a key part of the city’s cultural events calendar. The growth of the event will see an increase in the number of workshops, participants and audiences, as well as allow the event to expand its footprint across more of the city. The iconic 2023 NED Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint event scheduled for May 19-21 will see thousands of visitors descend on Symmons Plains. Supercars and motorsports have a rich history in Tasmania, and we have some of the most passionate and devoted fans in the country. The Government continues to support the attraction of large-scale events to the State and build our reputation as a destination of choice for mass participation-based events, because we know that these events deliver interstate visitors and strong economic benefits to Tasmania. I encourage everyone to pull out the puffer jackets and get out and about in our beautiful state and enjoy everything on offer!
Excitement is now building at Quercus Park as the final touches are completed ahead of Agfest’s return.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is a long-term supporter of Rural Youth Tasmania’s iconic three-day field event, which highlights the latest and greatest of all things agriculture. This year’s event will be held at Quercus Park from May 4-6 and an online ‘cloud’ event will also take place from May 6-12. Agfest is an important contributor to our rural economy. Collectively, it contributes up to $40 million to the Tasmanian economy each year, with hundreds of businesses relying on Agfest trade and networking opportunities to improve their growth and profitability. I encourage all Tasmanians to grab a ticket online and take the opportunity to visit the almost 500 exhibitors around Quercus Park.
EDITORIAL
Labor Leader and Shadow Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Rebecca White
Government data debacle should be timely reminder for business The Tasmanian Government Education Department data debacle – where the personal information of at least 150,000 Tasmanians has potentially been compromised – should serve as a timely reminder to all business owners to take stock of their cyber security. With a hospitality business in my family, I appreciate that there are many balls to juggle when it comes to your important day-to-day operations. Keeping the doors open and generating business can be a challenge in itself, so when you throw additional tasks like payroll, BAS and invoicing into the mix, things like cyber security can be the last thing on your mind. You might have also seen the high-profile Optus, Medibank and Tasmanian Government cases and thought that your bar, restaurant or café is too small a target for hackers to worry about. But cyber-attacks are increasing almost exponentially, and now pose a serious threat to all businesses, no matter their size or the industry they operate in. It might be something as simple as a hacker taking control of your email account, allowing them to imitate you and request important financial information.
being compromised, which could result in a damaging loss of trust.
While it can be a daunting task to think about, there are a number of simple measures you can take to make sure your business isn’t an easy target for hackers, and that you have the best chance of recovering from an attempted attack. A good place to start is the Federal Government’s business.gov.au website, which includes a checklist of handy tips as well as an online assessment tool to see what your business is doing well and what you can do to make it more cyber secure. With the sophistication of hacks constantly evolving, it’s also wise to seek expert advice, whether that’s from a local tech specialist or even a trusted business advisor such as your accountant. The Federal Government’s Digital Solutions – Australian Small Business Advisory Services program offers tailored advice to small businesses about cyber security through workshops and webinars for free, as well as one-on-one advisory services at minimal cost. Many of you would have experienced the stress of being affected by the Tasmanian Government Education Department breach, or know someone who has.
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Women in Leadership INDUSTRY FEATURE
PICTURED: SARAH COURTNEY AND JESS GULLIVER
The Tasmanian Hospitality Association’s Women in Leadership program is up and running, with a program manager in place eager to encourage and support more females in leadership roles, while creating a more diversified outlook and direction for the future development and benefit of Tasmania’s hospitality industry. Women play an integral role within the hospitality sector – making up a vast majority of the workforce. It is therefore important there is appropriate female representation in leadership positions. However finding and developing these pathways has not always been well defined, and the Tasmanian Hospitality Association saw not only the gap but the potential for it to be filled. Following successful lobbying of the State Government, funding was secured for three years to run a Women in Leadership program with the aim of encouraging and supporting women to further their careers. Although the WIL program is in its infancy, it has hit the ground running with former hospitality minister Sarah Courtney accepting the position of chair. Jess Gulliver has also been appointed as the program manager, and she is eager to help ensure women can access training, support and pathways to take on more leadership
roles. Jess reveals her background experience below, as well as explaining her motivations for taking on the role. I have worked as an event manager in Tasmania for nearly 10 years and have organised everything from small, intimate dinners to large-scale music events and film festivals. I have had the unfortunate job of telling over 100 people in the bar line that we have run out of wine. I have been brought to tears by some amazing keynote speakers who have inspired me to chase my dreams. I have managed concerts in 38-degree heat and fundraising events in pouring rain and wind. But ask me to pour a beer or wait tables? I am hopeless. Just ask my dad. I spent my late teens and early twenties helping him out at his country pub where I got orders wrong, didn’t know the difference between spirits (what colour bottle is it in?), dropped plates, and can safely say I pour the flattest beer in Tasmania. When I saw the position of Women in Leadership Program Manager advertised, I didn’t really look at the description – the title just spoke to me. I may not be very good as a front-of-house hospitality professional, but I truly believe in the power of women lifting women up to succeed. And getting to work alongside Sarah
18 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
PICTURED: BRUNY ISLAND HOTEL MANAGER ROCK TANDUKAR
Courtney is an amazing bonus.
who are genuinely passionate about your industry and, most importantly, your staff. You want the women in your organisation to push themselves out of their comfort zone, reach for the stars and truly succeed in their future. I believe that the program Sarah and I are putting together for the Women in Leadership Program is one that will make positive changes and encourage women within hospitality and tourism to take leadership roles within your organisation. We have scholarships, networking opportunities, webinars, and masterclasses, as well as mentoring opportunities that will help you and your staff succeed, not only in the industry but in their lives as well. We are really proud of this project, and I cannot wait to share what we have created and work with the industry to really show what women can achieve when we work together. Sarah and I will be travelling around this state over the next few months to share the program and its associated events. Keep an eye out on social media for scholarship opportunities and the chance to work with or be a mentor for future female leaders.
Outside of work, I play roller derby with a group of amazing humans who have completely changed my life and made me believe I can do anything, even when I am not on skates. I am the Vice President of a new organisation in Tasmania which brings awareness, advocacy, and education around the fight to end sexual and domestic violence. And I study Psychology, majoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies at university where I learn about feminism, writing lab reports and get to release my inner book nerd. Each of these life projects just proves to me every day that women are incredible and when we have the right support, we are unstoppable. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career if it weren’t for women encouraging me, giving me opportunities, lifting me up and holding my hand when things got rough. Each opportunity that has been presented to me, has been by a fellow woman who had my best interests at heart and believed in me and my power to succeed. It is through these opportunities that I have gained new jobs, spots on committees and leadership positions.
Enquires? Contact Jess Gulliver E: jess@tha.asn.au Ph: 0447660906
I have met so many of you over the last few months
19 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
Who Said it
PICTURED: TASMANIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR FICO
Agfest 2023 INDUSTRY FEATURE Following a roaring success at last year’s Agfest, the THA’s “Best of Tasmanian Hospitality” pavilion is back in 2023 aiming to be bigger and better.
PICTURES: RICHARD JUPE
Having attended Tasmania’s largest field event for close to a decade, Chris Carins – co-owner of Little Rivers Brewing Co and Bridport Distilling Co alongside his wife Jess – was no stranger to the magnitude of Agfest. However he had no hesitation in labelling last year’s among the best experiences he has had being part of the THA’s “Best of Tasmanian Hospitality” pavilion, and is itching to return for the 2023 edition. For the first time the THA took centre stage on South Street, housing a host of the state’s premium food and beverage offerings under the one roof, alongside several hospitality training providers and additional experiences. The four days proved a huge success, with more than 50,000 people wandering through Quercus Park leaving the THA’s area full of activation, while providing plenty of seating options for punters to enjoy their food and beverages. From whisky to gin to beer and cider, Angus Gourmet Steak Sandwiches, Pyengana cheese and Tassal salmon, there was something for everyone. “We’ve been in the shed for the last seven or eight years at Agfest but last year’s one was obviously the first time [the THA] took it over and the atmosphere was just incredible,” Carins said. “It was really good, we were stoked with how you had set it all out, there was a great vibe for the producers and all the space for
people to sit down and try everyone’s produce.”
Carins has often used Agfest as an opportunity to get the Little Rivers brand more widely populated, and occasionally trials new beers. This year will be similar, except it will be some new cocktail varieties from Bridport Distilling Co which will be on the menu. “In the past, we’ve used it as more of just getting our brand out there for Little Rivers, but we’ve just taken on Bridport Distilling Co too so we used last year as getting our brand out for that new company as well. It’s good to get feedback, we don’t do a lot of festivals and events. I think we’ve got a similar menu to last year, maybe just a couple of new cocktails for the Bridport Distilling. Our retail space at Bridport we mainly do cocktails with our gins that we use so it’s good to get feedback with different styles of cocktails, so that’s something we’ll be doing.” A new stallholder to the 2023 Best of Tasmanian Hospitality pavilion – but also no stranger to Agfest – is Anvers Confectionary. The chocolate giant will no doubt prove a hit among the sweet-toothed fans, complimenting the variety of food and beverages on offer. Owner, chocolatier and managing director Igor Van Gerwen missed last year’s event due to the change of date, but will back showcasing his world class pieces. And as usual, Agfest will be the launch of
CHRIS CARINS IS RETURNING TO AGFEST WITH LITTLE RIVERS & BRIDPORT DISTILLING CO
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one of the company’s most famous and popular treats.
his brain on what it is like crafting masterpieces with a delicate and at times difficult product.
“We’ve been doing Agfest for several years, but we didn’t do it last year with date change, it was the first time I’ve had a chance to look at Agfest for a long time, because every time we are working there we’ve never had a chance,” Van Gerwen said. “I walked through the THA area and I thought it looked pretty good so we applied. [The event] is about branding first of all, just making sure people remember us but we’ve got a new range of packaging for our products so we’d like to show that. It’s also the launch of our chocolate snowballs for this year. Every winter we make chocolate snowballs and Agfest is always the launch day for that. That’s probably our second most popular product after our truffles. People look forward to every year, we clear Easter first obviously with our easter eggs and then we start the manufacturing of the chocolate snowballs, but we don’t launch them until Agfest.” Van Gerwen will also use Agfest to discuss and sign copies of his recently released book Chocolatier. He has been pleased with the response since it hit bookshelves in February, with people eager to pick
“When people buy chocolate and they take it to their kitchen they don’t know how to handle it because it’s a very temperamental product, so they’re always picking my brain on what’s the easiest way of working with chocolate so it doesn’t go white or doesn’t go hard or anything like that. That’s what the book is about as well. And then the different flavours, so what we are promoting is chocolate isn’t chocolate, a bit like wine, that different wines depends on the grapes they use. Chocolate is the same, so different varieties of cocoa make different chocolate. We often talk about that and let them taste the difference.” Outside the THA pavilion, there will again be a wide variety of attractions for the punters. Chairman Caine Evans said the committee were excited to have the event back in its traditional May timeslot, with an increase in exhibitors from last August also pleasing with more than 550 showcasing agriculture, hardware, homewares, lifestyle and services as well as plenty of food and drink providers. There will be an increase in the number of Agricultural dealers exhibiting this year with Agricultural machinery demonstrations also
23 Tasmanian Hospitality Review Feb/Mar Edition
making a return.
“We have had some challenges forced upon us over the past few years, but the Agfest team have risen to meet these challenges, to continue our great event that annually injects more than $25 million into the Tasmanian economy,” Evans said. “Agfest 2023 is shaping up really well with an increase of over 10 per cent in exhibitors than last year. With an increase in the number of Agricultural dealers exhibiting this year, and in addition the return of agricultural machinery demonstrations, there will definitely be a bigger Ag feel to Agfest.” New additions to the event this year also include a live music stage and woodchopping arena, a new hardware and construction hub will also feature for DIYers, experienced builders and those looking for their next home project while pony rides and the animal nursery are returning for the kids. Tickets for Agfest 2023 are on sale now. Tickets will only be available to purchase online at agfest. com.au with no gate sales.
Winter Feast
“At the end of the day hospitality is a people business. Without them all, it’s just a building.”
Stephen Morahan
GENERAL MANAGER
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AJG.com/au/hospitality
As your trusted insurance broker and consultant, our purpose is to help you move forward with confidence. • By managing your risk. • By helping you foster a healthy, thriving workforce. • By bringing together global reach and local expertise. • To help your business through every challenge you face. We are proud and active partners of the Tasmanian Hospitality Association and can cater for all your business insurance needs including property, liability, cyber, director and workers compensation. Building Confidence. Together.
CONNECT WITH US Get in touch with the dedicated team at Gallagher to chat about your insurance.
Daniel Quintin 03 6235 1241 or 0418 268 409 daniel.quintin@ajg.com.au
Endorsed by:
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (Aus) Limited. AFSL 238812. Cover is subject to the Policy terms and conditions. You should consider if the insurance is suitable for you and read the relevant PDS/ Policy Wording and our FSG before making your decision to acquire insurance. These are available on request or at AJG.com/au. REF3123-0423
Great Customer Experience Program
Domain Tennis Centre
It has been another busy two months for the GCE team, who have been getting out and about to venues helping them elevate their customer service to the next level. And in a glowing endorsement for the program, East Coast Tasmania Tourism recently announced some changes to the way it supports and recognises outstanding operators in the region. One of these is the creation of High Achiever Recognition, which will award excellence in business to four categories that recognise outstanding operators from Food and Beverage, Accommodation, Tourism Experience and Tourism Attraction sectors. The caveat? You must have completed our GCE program (or be TICT accredited). So if you’re on the East Coast and have not experienced the benefits of partaking in the program, reach out to our team! An establishment which has recently taken part is the Domain Tennis Centre. Perched up the top of Queens Domain, The DTC in Hobart is not only a premier destination for tennis lovers with 18 courts and panoramic views of the cenotaph and River Derwent, but also houses the new and busy Serve Café + Bar. With a passionate team of staff across a variety of areas from accredited Tennis Australia coaches, admin and café staff, Domain Tennis Centre General Manager Edward Bourchier knew the importance of getting everyone together to build a better understanding of the brand and experience that they want to offer to everyone who comes through the doors of the DTC.
After sitting down and doing a Business Health Check we quickly identified Edward’s desire to get the team better engaged in the brand and the customer experience. We also identified that, with some staff not having experience running a hospitality business, it would be beneficial spending some time explaining the large costs in operating a business and the slim profit margins that make their way to the bank. It then became clear that the best way to make this happen was to hold a Venue Awareness session with the team. During the session the team learnt about the importance of the Tasmanian Brand, the brand of the Tennis Centre, the customer experience and the profitability of the business.
If you think this knowledge would be beneficial to your staff get in touch with the GCE team today!
Jack Milbourne (Southern Regional Manager) E: jack@tha.asn.au Ph: 0439763977 Darren Martello (Northern Regional Manager) E: darren@tha.asn.au Ph: 0428020179 Gena Cantwell (North West Regional Manager) E: gena@tha.asn.au Ph: 0417125092 Deb Gardner (Venue Support Specialist ) E: deb@tha.asn.au Ph: 0439829220 Dave Noonan (Program Facilitator) E: dave@tha.asn.au Ph: 0437099315
No Account Fees – Over 46 locations Statewide Access to fuel 24/7 – Above ground tank storage Bulk Fuel & Lubricant Deliveries
For all enquiries Contact Dean McKibben / Bennett’s Petroleum Commercial Manager E: dean@bennettspetrol.com.au M: 0418 575 815
Employment Relations -Business Improvement Update
Recent Decision: Requesting Employees to work on a Public Holiday Members may be aware of reports from major media outlets regarding a recent Decision of the Federal Court involving an employer’s ability to require employees to work on a public holiday. This news coverage may have created some uncertainty about whether employees are able to choose not to work on a public holiday, even if a business needs them to work. In this article, we outline what this Decision means for THA members and how to ensure you are meeting your obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Members can access the full Decision at http:// www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/ FCAFC/2023/51.html.
(General) Award 2020 (‘HIGA’)& the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (RIA ) • While this Decision and the resulting news coverage may insinuate that employees have free choice about whether to work on a public holiday or not, the requirements of section 114 still apply. • Section 114(3) of the Act provides that an employee may refuse to work on a public holiday if the request to work was unreasonable or the employee’s refusal was reasonable. Importantly, this Decision does not remove an employer’s ability to require an employee to work on a public holiday if the request to work was reasonable, and the employee’s refusal was unreasonable. • Members should refer to section 114(4) to assess if their request for an employee to work a public holiday is ‘reasonable’. If an employer has reasonably requested an employee to work on a public holiday and the employee has responded by refusing the request, the employer can again refer to section 114(4) to assess if the employee’s refusal was reasonable. How to request an employee to work a public holiday When requesting and or consulting an employee to work a public holiday, members must ensure their employees are provided with an opportunity to accept or refuse the request. The request to work on a public holiday must be by consultation, not a direction. It is also the view of the THA that issuing rosters by the employer and accepting rosters by employees satisfies the requesting and communication for work rosters including public holidays. For example, • Providing a draft roster to employees and allowing employees to indicate if they would accept or refuse the shift.
The Decision
• On 28 March 2023, the Federal Court of Australia found that BHP’s labour hire division had contravened the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘the Act’) when it unreasonably required employees to work over the Christmas and Boxing Day public holidays. The Decision centred on the requirements of section 114 of the Act. Members can access the Act at https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/ C2021C00421/Html/Volume_1 • The key issue of this Decision was that the employer had not complied with the requirement to request an employee to work on a public holiday per section 114(2). The Court held that an employer must make a reasonable request for the employee to work on a public holiday and that the employee be provided an opportunity to make a choice to either accept or refuse the request. • Importantly, the Decision clarifies that an employer is required to make a request of the employee to which the employee may reasonably refuse. If an employer makes a reasonable request and the employee unreasonably refuses, the employer can still require the employee to work on the public holiday.
Employment Contracts
Members are also encouraged to review existing employment contracts. It is recommended that employment contracts make it clear that the employee is entitled to be absent on a public holiday, however due to the hospitality industry, it is likely that they will be requested to work. This will be useful to foreshadow any later request from the employer. The THA has assisted with contract templates and included wording as per below.
What this means for THA Members
• Work on a public holiday is a common feature in the hospitality industry and is recognised through penalty rates and additional public holiday entitlements contained in the Hospitality Industry
30 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
Employment Relations -Business Improvement Update
DRAFT CLAUSE - CONTRACTS “You are entitled to be absent from your employment on a day or part-day that is a public holiday in the place where you work. However, the Employer may request that you work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. If the Employer requests that you work on a public holiday, you may refuse the request if the request is not reasonable, or the refusal is reasonable in accordance with the criteria of the Act. Given that the Employer operates in the hospitality industry you are likely to be requested to work on public holidays and the request is likely to be deemed reasonable.” It is also the view of the THA that issuing rosters by the employer and accepting rosters by employees satisfies the requesting and communication for work rosters including public holidays. If your employee refuses to work the public holiday • As mentioned above, section 114(3) of the Act provides employees with the option to refuse the request to work on a public holiday, on reasonable grounds. If your employee refuses the request, members are encouraged to have discussions and negotiations with the employee about the refusal of the request. • If after those discussions and negotiations the employer determines their request for the employee to work the public holiday was reasonable and that the employee does not have reasonable grounds to refuse the request (please refer to section 114(4)), the employer can require the employee to work the public holiday. • This is consistent with the Federal Court’s Decision
at paragraph 5: “Ultimately, after consultation or negotiation, the employer may require an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable and the employee’s refusal is unreasonable.”
What about casuals?
As a reminder, section 15A of the Act provides that casual employees have the discretion whether or not to accept shifts that are offered to them, irrespective of whether it is a public holiday or just a standard day of the week. By virtue of the nature of casual employment, the employer cannot compel a casual employee to work any shift that the casual employee does not want to work.
Questions?
If you would like to seek further advice, please contact the THA ’s Employment Relations Manager Merv Saltmarsh on 0407869924 or via email at merv@tha. asn.au
Merv will also cover this matter and other legislation changes in the scheduled Webinars.
Webinar Schedule: Invitations and links will be sent prior to each forum.
• May 9th Tues 11am • June 6th Tues 11am
• August 6th Tues 11am • October 3rd Tues 11am • December 5th Tues 11am
Enquires? Contact Merv Saltmarsh E: merv@tha.asn.au Ph: 0407869924
Official Wine of the AFL
The 2013 bushfires which ripped through Dunalley devastated the region. Bangor Vineyard Shed was no exception, but from those catastrophic events a plan was put in motion, which a decade later has helped land national recognition. When Vanessa and Matt Dunbabin took over Bangor – a 6000 hectare farming property which has been in Matt’s family for more than 120 years – in the early 2000s, growing grapes was an idea the couple threw around but didn’t act upon for close to a decade. In 2010 they finally took the leap, planting eight hectares of vines to grow Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Having traditionally been a fine wool merino sheep property, the Dunbabin’s had envisaged setting up a small cellar door to sell their wines, only for those dreams to go up in smoke when Dunalley was engulfed by bushfires in early 2013. More than half the town’s buildings and a primary school were destroyed, and Bangor didn’t escape the carnage. “When it was our turn to move onto the farm and take things over we had this idea that we’d like to grow grapes, we sat on that for probably about 10 years before we actually did anything and then in 2010, we took the leap and we planted our vineyard,” Vanessa says. Tourism Awards INDUSTRY FEATURE
“We have eight hectares of vines, growing Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay and then we needed to find a way to obviously sell that wine, we had an old historic shearing shed on the farm that we were going to use as our cellar door. “We imagined having this little cellar door in our lovely old shearing shed and selling a few bottles of wine to the passing punters, but we lost that building in the large bushfire. 2000 hectares of Bangor was affected by the fire that at that time, it was quite obviously a major event for the entire community. But that’s what forced us to do a rethink and that’s how we came to build Bangor Vineyard Shed and it’s been a whirlwind ever since.”
33 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
VANESSA AND MATT DUNBABIN
That whirlwind momentum hit its crescendo when Bangor Vineyard Shed won gold in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries category at the 2022 Australian Tourism Awards in March. The business was one of three Tasmanian victories on the night, with Coal River Farm taking out the Excellence in Food Tourism award and wukalina Walk, a Palawa owned and operated guided experience, crowned best Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island Tourism experience. In total 10 Tasmanian operators won medals and for the Dunbabin’s their victory was, in a way, the silver lining from the bushfires. “Absolutely it was a blessing in disguise in a way, we made of it what we could and it’s turned into something magnificent and we’re very, very proud,” Vanessa says. “Little old country Tasmania down at Dunalley, to be recognised on the national stage like that, is an absolute privilege and an honour and we’re thrilled. Winning at state level was incredible and we had our whole team with us and it was wonderful recognition for everything that they’ve done, and I guess being able to represent our state at nationals was just an exciting next step. We were honoured to be there and it was wonderful to be there with the other all the other Tasmania businesses celebrating Tasmania and what we do best.”
34 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
COAL RIVER FARM’S DANIEL LEESONG
Bangor is a property steeped with history and Vanessa believes it is this, coupled with the location and the use of local produce, which has helped with the success of the business. “We’re about being authentically us really. We’re obviously in a very rural, country part of Tasmania. We have these gorgeous Tasman Peninsula views, we are overlooking the bay and the farmland and we’ve got our stories and our history. The history of Bangor stretches back tens of thousands of years, obviously with Aboriginal history and then more recently with European history and the landing of Abel Tasman on the north shore of our property in 1642. We have some convict history, lots and lots of rich stories that we love to share with our visitors. “Then there is our local produce, we work really closely with producers, whether they be cheese, milk, oysters and venison, and we also showcase our own lamb and then obviously there’s the wine. We really focus on being us and really showcasing our local community. “I just think it’s wonderful for Tassie to be able to showcase what we can do here and the sorts of experiences that we can offer visitors that come. You can have an incredible experience in the major centres, but if you get
out regionally and explore the countryside, you’ll also find some incredible tourism and hospitality venues that provide a wonderful experience.
AUSTRALIAN TOURISM AWARD WINNERS
GOLD MEDALLISTS Bangor Vineyard Shed (Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries) Coal River Farm (Excellence in Food Tourism) wukalina Walk (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Tourism Experience) SILVER MEDALLISTS BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park (Caravan & Holiday Parks) Ship Inn Stanley (4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation) Tasmanian Walking Company (Ecotourism) BRONZE MEDALLISTS Air Adventure Golf (Tour & Transport Operators) Mures Tasmania (Tourism Restaurants & Catering Services) Peppers Silo Hotel (Business Event Venues) Villa Talia (Self Contained Accommodation)
35 Tasmanian Hospitality Review April/May Edition
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