President’s Message

2020 was a year for the history books. The year started with much of the country in drought or fighting bushfires.

Then came floods and of course COVID-19, which brought in its wake painful lockdowns and the first economic recession in Australia for nearly 30 years. But despite this perfect storm of problems, the country teamed up and overcame it. And the security industry played a major frontline role.

Many businesses may have found it hard to believe only a year earlier that it would become possible to send almost everyone home from the workplace and still continue to function. But this is what happened in 2020 as businesses large and small closed their offices and factories, sending staff home to plug in and work remotely. Whilst some sectors of our industry have been hit hard with a sharp downturn in their businesses, others recorded strong demand. For its part, ASIAL recorded strong membership growth, despite taking a revenue hit through the cancellation of its annual conference and exhibition and other industry events.

Technology has also undergone accelerated development and deployment with the roll out of new thermal-imaging applications, facial recognition and biometric hardware and software. We have also seen growing demand for security in cyberspace and increasingly, the fields of conventional security services and the new area of cyber security are beginning to merge. Accordingly, in 2020, ASIAL entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Information Security Association (AISA). The two peak bodies in electronic/ personnel security and cyber security have pledged to work more closely to make Australia a safer place to live, innovate and do business to advance their members’ interests and the effectiveness of their respective sectors.

As the worlds of electronic and cyber/IT security converge, the need for collaboration is more important than ever. The rate of technological change in our industry is staggering. The protection of IT networks and devices such as biometrics and video surveillance using artificial intelligence are just two examples of how technology is shaping the future of our industry and the security landscape in general. Ensuring a consistent and coherent industry voice requires like-minded industry associations to work together to achieve a safer Australia.

It is also important to recognise that in June 2020, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) heard an application from the United Workers Union (UWU) seeking to restrict Security Industry employers from the flexibility of allocating ordinary time and/or overtime at operationally efficient points in a roster cycle. On behalf of members the Association invested extensive time and financial resources ($83,000) to successfully defend the industry to secure and maintain the flexibility employers require to meet client demands. ASIAL’s success in this matter has not only significantly benefited the industry, but end users as well. The year ahead Under the banner of “Horizon 25”, the ASIAL Board has endorsed a plan that includes a major consultation program, engaging with members of all types across the Association to identify the major challenges that the industry expects to face to a time horizon of the next five years. And from this, we will develop a road map that clearly spells out to all members what they will have to do within their own organisations to be ready for a future that will be characterised by rapid technological advancement, major shifts in social values and opinion regarding the security industry and the likely regulatory framework in which we will have to operate.

ASIAL will also launch in 2021 a new public research project that examines the public’s perceptions about security. In partnership with research company AC Nielsen, the ASIAL Security Perception Index (ASPI) will ask Australians across the country in all walks of life for their views on security arrangements in their own homes and workplaces, while at large in the urban environment, their online security and their perceptions around how secure Australia is as a nation from hostile actors in cyberspace, violent extremist groups and/or nation states. This project will give our industry a foundation for important discussions with clients, regulators and governments and will also help to raise awareness in the population in general about the important contribution private security makes to the wellbeing of Australians.

We are very pleased to see the NSW Government’s valuable initiative to re-skill people who may have been made unemployed by the recent COVID crisis to enter the security industry. After close consultation with ASIAL, police and other government organisations, the NSW Government has rolled out a new fee-free training scheme which provides funding for the Certificate II in Security Operations.

ASIAL remains committed to a future where there is a nationally consistent regulatory framework for our industry, one that delivers an even playing field for all and sets uniform high standards of security for all Australians. As the largest cohort in Australia’s security arrangements, ASIAL will increase pressure on Government to bring about meaningful reforms nationwide that will deliver a more predictable and efficient framework in which our industry can add value to the nation and prosper. 2020 may have been a year for the history books, but the story doesn’t end here. For the Australian Security Industry, the best is yet to come.

Kevin McDonald President