THE Caravan Industry Association of Australia is pleased with the National Cabinet’s positive messaging to a return to 'normal' and the clear framework it provides to business and our travelling community, but is calling for further consideration to cabin style accommodation and RVs that meet the requirements and where this fits into the timeline on a state and territory level.  

The industry is calling on the state Premiers and Chief Ministers to consider roofed accommodation such as cabins within caravan parks and RV’s with on-board facilities that include toilet, shower, kitchen etc. to be included in their stage one of restrictions easing. 

Caravan Parks are as safe an options as other accommodation providers, if not more so given their self-contained nature, the industry body said.

"Caravan Parks already have contact-less check-in and cabins are individual free-standing structures," a spokesperson said. "There are no shared hallways, lifts etc. which are common in other accommodation types. 

"This action will be crucial to get cashflow through businesses in regional Australia over the next few weeks to kickstart economic activity, with research indicating over 350,000 campers are keen to return to camping almost immediately when restrictions are lifted."

In April alone, a period that included Easter and Anzac day, COVID-19 response measures cost the caravan industry more than $208 million and this figure is further inflated by the loss of expenditure that would have been generated by regional tourism and thousands of small businesses.

Association CEO Stuart Lamont said, “Caravan parks have the ability to manage social distancing, adhere to increased hygiene, have strong contact tracing procedures in place, and yet they remain lumped in with unmanaged campgrounds who quite rightly should be opened in Step Two, but behind that is commercial operations which can demonstrate COVID-safe environments. 

"Caravan Park operators have been encouragingly quick to respond to plan and implement ways to be proactive in reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure to guests and staff.

“This is a failure of government decision makers to recognise the diverse nature of what a modern caravan park is, and how it can manage the risk.  We urge state Premiers and Chief Ministers to consider this in their response to easing restrictions within their jurisdictions.”

Caravan Industry Association of Australia, however, in general welcomes today’s announcements, Mr Lamont said.

"It is an industry that believes it can play an important role in kickstarting the economy again, the tourism industry and regional Australia.  We look forward to being part of the solution."

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IN RESPONSE to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers in the City Analytics Lab in the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW Built Environment have created a COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard for Australia.

The dashboard provides a current snapshot, updated daily, of how the property market is performing before and during COVID-19. It consists of an interactive map of Australia, identifying the COVID-19 cases hotspots based on data from state departments of health.

As of April 22, 2020, the dashboard reports the total volume of sales across Australia is down $237 million compared with the same time last year. Total sales have dropped at least 30 percent in all capital cities since COVID-19 cases started increasing in March 2020.

Sydney total sales have dropped 79 percent (-$454 million) and Melbourne has dropped 85 percent (-$584 million) in the past eight weeks.

Adelaide has the largest proportional loss, down 83 percent compared with last year.

Brisbane is the only market showing a moderate improvement in sales value in April.

Auction clearance rates have dropped in all major cities across Eastern Australia, except Canberra.

“It is hoped the insights obtained through the dashboard can assist Australians better understand, monitor and make more informed decisions in relation to property as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold,” Professor Chris Petit, chair of Urban Science and director of the City Analytics Lab said.

The COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard provides graphs and charts which report on key property market metrics, including total sales value, median property prices, auction clearance rates, the house value index, performance of the ASX 200 real estate sector, market sentiment and the volume of property sales.

“It will assist in making data-driven decisions, such as being able to explore rezoning options, determining the economic benefits of a development proposal, or even the location of important infrastructure, like new metro or light rail stations,” said Graeme Kernich, chief executive officer of partner organisation FrontierSI.

The dashboard has been developed through the Value Australia project, a CRC-Project in partnership with FrontierSI, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, PropertyNSW, Liverpool City Council and Omnilink.

See the COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard here (https://covid19dashboard.be.unsw.edu.au/)

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THE AUSTRALIAN Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding businesses using the ATO’s Business Portal for the first time that they will need to set up a myGovID if they don’t already have one.

Through the Business Portal, businesses can apply for certain government assistance programs, lodge activity statements and pay super guarantee through the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH).

The ATO's chief digital officer, John Dardo said, "The ATO is here to help those needing to set up a myGovID quickly.

“In the past week we’ve seen over 800,000 ABNs logging into ATO portals. We have also seen over 120,000 ABNs setting up their myGovID to enable them to have online access. We expect to see similar enrolments in the coming week.

“If you need to use the ATO Business Portal and you don’t have a myGovID yet don’t worry. Just download the myGovID app and follow the steps. Over 80 percent of people can set it up without any assistance. If you get stuck, we have instructions and videos on the web and our call centres are able to help.”

The myGovID is an app business leaders download to their smart device to prove who they are online. It uses the security features in the individual's device such as fingerprint or face recognition and passwords to protect identity and stop others accessing personal information.

After downloading the app and setting up a myGovID, businesses need to link that myGovID to the business using Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). Together, myGovID and RAM provide a flexible, easy and secure way to access the ATO’s Business Portal.

“MyGovID is associated with an individual rather than a computer, making it flexible and portable," Mr Dardo said.

"This means you can continue to access the Business Portal when you’re working from home. All you need is a compatible smart device and a browser with internet access.”

How to set up a myGovID

• Step 1: Set up your myGovID - download the myGovID app from the App Store or Google Play and use your Australian identity documents (two of the following; driver’s licence, Medicare card, birth certificate, passport) to enrol.
• Step 2: Log in to RAM at https://info.authorisationmanager.gov.au) using your myGovID and link your business.
• Step 3 (optional): Authorise your employees and others in RAM to act on behalf of your business online. They will receive an email to accept the authorisation request using their myGovID.

When you’ve completed these steps you’ll be able to use your myGovID to log in to the Business Portal.

Find out more about myGovID at www.ato.gov.au/mygovid

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MACQUARIE Telecom, part of Macquarie Telecom Group (ASX: MAQ), today launched a Microsoft Teams service to allow customers to integrate their desk phones into their Teams clients and bring staff a step closer to being back in the office.

The cloud-based service uses a secure session initiation protocol (SIP) trunk system which allows users to make and receive direct calls via Teams on their mobile, laptop or other device, using their same office or desk number.

“Earlier this year we introduced a new desk phone, but needs have changed and we need to virtually bring that desk phone into customers’ home offices,” said David Flanagan, chief product officer at Macquarie Telecom.

“The mindset that apps like Teams are used for video meetings and group conference calls, while mobiles and desk phones are used for day-to-day calls, is changing," Mr Flanagan said.

"The combination of widely available reliable broadband and a normalised work-from-home is driving direct calling using collaboration software.”

The new service follows demand from a range of Macquarie’s existing and prospective customers across industries, with many citing that their work-from-home policies would continue after restrictions were lifted and that many staff did not have business mobile phones to use for work.

Macquarie estimates the SIP trunking service could reduce line rental costs for organisations, with additional setup and maintenance savings through reducing the number of PABXs on site.

“The ability and adaptability of workers in Australia to jump straight into working from home has been rightly hailed, but it’s taken for granted that many are using their personal devices to do so, which may not be preferred or appropriate," Mr Flanagan said.

"Businesses need services like this to maintain WFH policies, because we won’t return to the norm as we knew it

Macquarie has been a Microsoft partner for more than 10 years and recently entered an agreement to deliver Azure public cloud services as well as SD-WAN via the Azure Marketplace to Australian customers.

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