THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said the mandatory Commercial Tenancy Code released today by the Federal Government, paves the way for small businesses to negotiate some rent relief with their landlords.

The Code, to be legislated and regulated in each state and territory, will be overseen through a binding mediation process.

Small businesses are eligible to negotiate under the Code if:

• · They are experiencing financial distress;
• · They are eligible to receive support from the JobKeeper program;
• · They have a turnover of $50 million or less.

“The Code is based on principles of good faith and will be a critical guide for small businesses and landlords at the negotiating table during this COVID-19 crisis,” Ms Carnell said.

“There’s give and take here, so small businesses can’t just stop paying rent and equally landlords cannot evict or terminate the lease.

“Tenants must honour their lease agreement and landlords are prohibited from drawing on a tenant’s security.

“Importantly, eligible small businesses who have seen a reduction in trade, will be able to negotiate a proportional rent reduction with their landlord.

“This can be achieved through a combination of waivers and deferrals of rent," Ms Carnell said.

“Australian banks have already indicated they will support landlords that support their tenants and I would urge international banks to take the same approach.

“There are no easy solutions to this problem, but if all parties involved can come to these negotiations in the spirit of co-operation, there’s a good chance of reaching an agreement.

“COVID-19 affects us all, which is why it’s so important we work together to get through this difficult time.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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IN LIGHT OF the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, Melbourne-based visual communication developers and tech start-up Piqify, have developed a unique app - PiqMeUp - which enables front line workers and businesses to stay emotionally connected with their teams, create an inclusive, supportive environment and keep an ongoing, regular monitor on the mental health and well-being of everyone across their workforce.

Co-founders of Piqify and creators of PiqMeUp, Luke Feldman and Shourov Bhattacharya are offering the PiqMeUp app free of charge to any business that wants to use the app to stay connected with their teams during this global period of lockdown.

“During this period of isolation that we are all experiencing as a global community, it’s incredibly important to maintain emotional connections with colleagues and employees to ensure that no-one feels alone, which is why we have created and want to share PiqMeUp,” Mr Feldman said.

“We really hope that PiqMeUp will also be used by hospitals, the police force and others working in the ‘front line’ to help them stay emotionally connected and make important, regular ‘check ins’ to monitor the mental health and wellbeing of their teams."

By using a universal language of symbols and uniquely designed emoticons, PiqMeUp makes it simple for people to give a quick, easy to understand ‘check in’ as to how they are feeling and their mental state.

“The PiqMeUp app utilises Piqify’s unique visual language to give businesses a platform that makes it easy for them to extend an ‘emotional check-in’ across their teams daily, or as often as they feel is needed, to make sure that their teams feel supported and connected at this time,” said Shourov Bhattacharya.

“PiqMeUp collects data ethically and securely to allow managers to monitor mental health, wellbeing and user feedback in real-time, making it an incredibly useful tool for this challenging time we’re all facing,” Mr Bhattacharya said.

PiqMeUp uses predictive AI and bot automated messaging to communicate to communities at scale and is able to escalate for those at risk. For instance, if an employee responds that he or she is not coping well, PiqMeUp automatically escalates this feedback to the appropriate manager so that support can be provided immediately. 

PiqMeUp can be easily integrated into existing organisation websites, intranets and portals, emails and other apps. 

“We hope offering free access to PiqMeUp for hospitals, the forces and any business around the globe that wants to remain connected with their teams will make it easy for people who aren’t coping with our current situation to reach out and get support,” Mr Feldman said.

Piqify

Piqify develops inclusive digital experiences for global customers and workforces. Piqify’s unique universal visual communication platform brings global enterprises closer to their customers and workforces. Using the scalable Piqify cloud platform, trademark visual language and patent-pending AI, global enterprises can create engaging and inclusive user experiences that easily integrate with their current systems. The result is 80 percentt less complexity for the user and 98 percent-plus comprehension across all culture and language groups.

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AUSTRALIA’s life insurers are taking action to help Australians on the healthcare frontline during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Financial Services Council (FSC) has announced a commitment on behalf of participating life insurance FSC member companies to ensure that frontline healthcare workers are not prevented from obtaining life insurance cover purely because of their exposure, or potential exposure, to coronavirus.

Frontline healthcare workers are a group who could be exposed to contracting COVID-19 and to this end, participating life insurers are making a commitment that their exposure, or potential exposure, will not of itself be used to:

1. decline an application for cover,
2. charge a higher premium, or 
3. apply a COVID-19 pandemic risk exclusion to any of the benefits offered,

subject to the relevant conditions and financial limits. 

Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology, Senator Jane Hume, welcomed the announcement.

“Our frontline workers are doing an amazing job in this crisis, and it’s vital that we’re ensuring their work won’t adversely affect their life insurance cover,” Ms Hume said.

“I thank the FSC and insurers for their responsiveness on this issue.”

FSC CEO Sally Loane said in developing this commitment, the FSC has ensured a broad definition of a relevant frontline healthcare worker.

“This means not only doctors, nurses and hospital staff but also those who may potentially be exposed to COVID-19 such as police, pharmacists, paramedics and age care workers," Ms Loane said. "While not everyone will be able to get new cover for other unrelated reasons, this commitment means potential exposure to COVID-19 alone won’t affect the cover these workers can get with participating life insurers,

“We hope this measure will help reduce any anxiety that our healthcare workforce may feel when working on the frontline. This is part of helping these Australians to have peace of mind for themselves and their families while continuing their vital service to our community.

"For people who had life cover in place before March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus to be a pandemic, our members have confirmed that there are no exclusions that would prevent the policy paying out for a death claim related to coronavirus, if you follow government travel advice.

"Australians can always check with their life insurance company, for individual life cover, or superannuation trustee for group life cover in superannuation, about their cover."

This FSC's commitment is subject to authorisation by the ACCC.

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QUEENSLAND's resources sector had made a smooth transition to tighter travel restrictions for its fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk which were introduced on Saturday night, said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the decision to restrict all interstate FIFO workers apart from statutory positions and critical workers was working to change the interstate footprint.

“I’ve spoken with our members today and they are reporting significant drops in the number of interstate FIFO workers as of Saturday night with only critical workers approved,'' Mr Macfarlane said.

“I’d like to personally thank the Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy for working tirelessly over the past few days to process the statutory and critical worker applications.

“Arrow Energy is reducing its FIFO into Moranbah by about 30 percent while other companies are also cutting intrastate FIFO numbers and moving to full charter flights with temperature testing for intrastate travel."

www.qrc.org.au

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