Hue Karaoke, 321-325 Sussex St, Sydney was the first to be issued with a second strike in the 3 Strikes disciplinary scheme. There are now 37 venues with a first strike on the 3 Strikes Disciplinary Scheme.

A vast majority of the recorded strikes are based on the following items:
"Licensee permit intoxication on licensed premises"
"Licensee sell/supply liquor outside authorised hours"
"Licensee permit intoxication"
"Sell liquor outside authorised trading hours"

As a business you like to have everything safe, robust and secure. You would also like to have some assurance that things will continue as they were.

Unfortunately change is an ever present danger and assurances don’t come easily in this type of environment.

You may even rely on remote access to your business systems over the Internet. As a consequence of this flexibility in this current environment of distributed electronic connectivity, we have the proliferation of viruses, hackers and fraud. They attempt to steal identities, passwords, names and addresses, whatever is left unprotected.

Businesses today need to be aware of the risks and cater for them as best they are able.

This is a brief guide intended to help inform you about the risks to your business notably those unseen dangers that do exist, and how to be best prepared for them.

Gong Grog use Near Top

The following is part of the article that appeared in the Illawarra Mercury, on the 22 March 2013.

Late night revellers in Wollongong's CBD have among the highest intoxication levels in the country, according to a report on Australian drinkers released yesterday.

About 7000 drinkers at licensed premises in five cities – including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Geelong – were surveyed from November 2011 to June 2012.

As part of the study, patrons blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) readings were taken hourly from 9pm to 3am, with Geelong patrons recording an average reading over that time of 0.067. The average BAC for Wollongong and Perth patrons was just under, at 0.066 – double the average figure of 0.033 for Sydney's drinkers. The University of Wollongong's Centre for Health Initiatives was a major collaborator in the Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED) report.

Brought to you by Jenny White, MD of White Now www.whitenow.com.au

There are no ‘Houdini magic tricks’ or ‘David Copperfield smoke and mirrors’ when it comes to winning that ideal job in today’s current job climate, but there are some tips that you simply HAVE TO take note of if you want to beat your colleagues to the post.  The current trend is to AVOID putting together a resume along the traditional guidelines.  The trend is to try and STAND OUT from your colleagues and be different.  Employers are now looking for your ‘Unique Selling Points’…. How are YOU different to someone else?  If you present yourself and your documents the same as everyone else, then that simply doesn’t make you stand out.  Consider yourself as a ‘unique product or service’ that you want to sell to your new employer.  How are you going to do that?

Workplace bullying is “verbal, physical, social or psychological abuse by your employer (or manager), another person or group at work.”

Bullying Behaviour is a Hazard

In our current environment, if we see an exposed electrical lead on the floor or someone not wearing their safety boots into a restricted area, a quick reaction can eliminate the hazard. As education grows, employers become better informed of their obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent bullying and harassment. When the signs of overt bullying are identified such as; attacking or threatening someone in the workplace or pushing and shoving a fellow colleague the appropriate steps are taken to eliminate the bullying behaviour.

Recently the 2012 inaugural OOPS Superior Service Awards were announced, recognising the venue and also the individual team member who consistently provided patrons outstanding superior customer service.

On reading the patron comments there is no doubt that ‘SERVICE and ENGAGEMENT” is the differentiation point between a business that is doing well and another that exceeds it’s bottom line continually by offering the customer an “EXPERIENCE”.   Connecting with emotional intelligence.

The winners were:

OOPS Large/Medium Club – “Superior Service Club Award” in 2012 -  MINGARA

“Possibly the best experience that I have had at a club so far - service and staff could not be faulted.”

“A bustling, vibrant atmosphere with friendly, happy and approachable staff. Extremely helpful and exceptional customer service skills”.

“A Club that always has something going on. It’s good to see such a large establishment supporting worthy charities, such as Breast Cancer Awareness, and getting behind them in a big way. It shows that they give back to the community and are proud to do so.”

Why is it so confusing about the different funding options available to clubs to support their training requirements?

How can TAFE SWSI make it easier for you?

There is one thing for certain and that is that nothing is ever certain.  In the training arena, TAFE SWSI recognises that for many of our clients there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding what is no longer available and, what is now available in terms of government funding that has traditionally supported the training needs of many of our club industry partners.

It is no wonder that many of our clients are uncertain or somewhat confused about the difference between the Strategic Skills Placement (SSP) that is available today and the superseded SSP funding.

What is Workforce Development funding – who applies for it and how does one access this funding?  Why have the traineeship amounts been reduced, and so on?

These seem to be the constant themes that many of our club partners are seeking the answers to.

TAFE SWSI is well placed to facilitate the answers to these questions and to try and demystify some of the confusion.

Social Media is now common place with a majority of our employees, which is easy to believe when statistic such as Facebook reveal they have over 1 billion monthly, active users.

With this growing form of communication, it hasalso put the spot light on how employer’s navigate the line between an employee’s privacy, out of hours conduct and their right to personal expression and the employer’s right to protect its organisation’s reputation, enforce the contractual relationship with its employees and also protect the safety of the staff.

Cases have established that employees making derogatory comments about their employer from their home computers outside of work hours can come under scrutiny of the employer.   In one case Commissioner Bissett makes the statement that “it would be foolish of employees to think they may say as they wish on their Facebook page with total immunity from any consequences.”

There are some fascinating new initiatives in the CCTV world this year and in order to explain them we will need some context.

For the last fifteen years or so, we have had some kind of motion detection built into either cameras or the software used to view video footage. These have typically identified shadows and moving tree branches as movement. In secure environments such as prisons, much effort has been expended in eliminating rabbits and kangaroos from valid target lists, and trees have been eliminated in the creation of sterile zones. This has been an attempt to create an environment where any movement at all, constitutes a security risk.

For most, if not all of you then the creation of sterile zones is not an option. You want to welcome your customers in and present them with a comfortable and enjoyable retail experience.

So what is video motion detection? It has traditionally involved capturing a change in the pixels making up the image. This is then enhanced and manipulated in software to try to eliminate no risk events.

This is all about to change and instead of motion detection we will now have Activity detection.

3 Strikes Disciplinary Scheme and Violent Venues

There is a perception with some licensees that the 3 Strikes Disciplinary Scheme is only about reducing alcohol related incidents in licensed premises. The approach by the NSW Government is about getting venues to improve their business practises in relation to Incident Management. OLGR has made it clear that they want to see changes at venues in order to develop a best practice approach to their business processes.

The current OLGR register of premises with 1st strike breaches are predominantly for “licensee permit intoxication on licensed premises”. With changes to the definition of intoxication establishing the burden of proof for someone who is “reasonably” to “noticeably” affected by liquor makes the offence easier to prove by the authorities.

Under the 3 Strikes Disciplinary Scheme, the second and third strikes are discretionary and as such the onus is on the licensee to review their business practices and to reduce alcohol related incidents. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows that in 2004 there were 1,515 recorded assaults in Clubs. By 2012 that number has reduced to 848.

This reduction is in line with clubs community focus with their business practices moving away from high risk events such as “discos” and alcohol based promotions creating business units within their structure for a more family friendly and community based entertainment venue (like sports centres, swimming, hotels and golf venues).

Paper Certificates being phased out - Stage 2

The next step of the transition dates for expiry of RSA / RCG paper certificates in NSW will come into effect on 30^th June 2013.

A summary of the transition process from paper certificates to photo ID cards is shown in the table below.

Move from Task Driven to Performance Driven Workplace

When an organisation becomes task driven rather than performance driven - it's time to conduct a Needs Analysis.

A Needs Analysis will identify the individual manager’s current capabilities, collective training needs, operational efficiencies or gaps falling within the alignment and expectations of the Club's corporate goals (Mission, Vision, and Values).

The draft Regulation supports the reform measures to be implemented by the Security Industry Amendment Act 2012 and is proposed to commence on 1 November 2012.

The Regulation includes the proposed new fee schedule.

The Police Ministry has requested comments by cob Wednesday 19 September 2012.  SPAAL members are requested to provide comments to SPAAL for inclusion in the SPAAL submission by Friday, 7 September.

Are You Compliant?

The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) has specific advice regarding Risk and Compliance Management. The following information details the development of a Compliance Folder, to ensure your venue’s on-going commitment to compliance, containing a written compliance program specific for your venue.

SLED and ALEC Audits - Is your Security Ready?

The Security Industry Amendment Bill 2012 has been passed by the NSW Parliament and is now in effect (commenced 1st November 2012).

It will significantly enhance the NSW Police Force's regulation of the security industry. Many of the changes came out of reviews undertaken by the Australian Crime Commission and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Evidence of organised crime and outlaw motorcycle gangs operating specifically in the security Industry in all mainland states was brought to the attention of the legislators.

Gone are the days where students are required to sit in a classroom for instruction from a TAFE teacher.  This type of instructional teaching does not suit the Club industry nor does it capture the experience and expertise that club industry professionals have gained during the course of their years working in the industry.

Over the past decade TAFE NSW South Western Sydney Institute (SWSi) has developed expertise in being able to respond the changing needs of the Club Industry by offering workforce solutions that are designed to be delivered in a blended delivery method. As well, SWSi has developed a number of customised programs designed to meet the specific needs of our individual and valuable club partners.

Additionally,we have developed particular expertise in not only establishing partnerships with key industry players, we have also designed and delivered workforce solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of the Club industry. We work with our clients to understand their systems, procedures and processes to support the particular club’s outcomes and the capability of the club’s workforce.

We offer a wide range of specialist learning activities to enhance individual capability gained through e-learning initiatives and innovative teaching practices.