Edition 111 - February, 2020 by R6 Digital

Insider M AG A Z I N E O F T H E S E L F STO R AG E A S S O C I AT I O N O F A U ST R A L A S I A

111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH FOUNDATION MEMBERS LIZ DAVIES AND BOB MARSH

FACILITY OF THE YEAR 2019

U-Store-It â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mt Barker Adelaide

BENEFITS OF FREEHOLD VS LEASING The pros and cons of being a commercial land owner

NINE YEARS ON Recovering after the Christchurch earthquake

SOCIAL MEDIA 101

The rules of engagement and how to make it work for your brand

I N D U ST RY N E WS | F I N A N C E | H U M A N R E S O U R C E S | 2 0 2 0 E V E N TS | TRADE DIRECTORY

CONTENTS | 03

9 SSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman – Ivor Morgan Jim’s Self Storage, Victoria Michael Alafaci Storage King Group, New South Wales Shaun Bain Keepsafe Storage, Western Australia Ryan Coom National Mini Storage, New Zealand

Ned Coten City West Storage, Victoria

Wayne Dade Glenelg Self Storage and Western Self Storage, South Australia

21 SSAA CELEBRATING 30 YEARS Foundation Member,

Rachel Grant Storage by the Fox, New South Wales

LIFETIME MEMBERS

SSAA STAFF Susan Phillips CEO

Sandra Evans Office Manager Vanaja Thomas Membership Andrea Bowman Paralegal Bryan Furtado Marketing & Events Melinda Wyper Accounts

Business Initiative/ Sustainability Award Winner

Smuggling Chains

Andrew Eastwood U-Store-It, South Australia

Sam Kennard Bob Marsh Jim Miller Jon Perrins Phil Robbie Mark Snooks Richard Whalan

16 SUSTAINABILITY AWARD TAXIBOX – Innovation/ 18 FEATURE Disrupting Illicit

David Daddow Able Self Storage, South Australia

Mark Bateman Frank Cooney Elaine Coote Liz Davies Dallas Dogger John Eastwood Simone Hill Neville Kennard

Martin Coote Lock Distributors, New South Wales

Bob Marsh

22 FACILITY OF THE YEAR

REGULARS 4 Chairman’s Report 6 Guest columnist

Vanaja Thomas, SSAA Membership Officer 9 Industry News 13 Out and About 32 HR Central 35 OHS 36 SSAA 2020 Events 37 SSAA Service Member Profiles 38 Member Services Update 40 Trade Directory 42 New Members

U-Store-It, Mt Barker, Adelaide Between 150 – 500 units

24 TAX Tax Update by Bishop Collins 26 COMMUNICATIONS Social media 101 by That

Communications Company

28 LEGAL Benefits of Freehold vs Leasing 30 STORAGE KING FERRYMEAD, NZ Christchurch New Zealand nine years on

33 SSAA CELEBRATING 30 YEARS Foundation Member, Liz Davies

Michelle Stokes Reception/Administration

www.selfstorage.org.au TOLL FREE – AUS: 1800 067 313 TOLL FREE – NZ: 0800 444 356 T: +61 3 9466 9699 F: +61 3 9466 8081 Address: Unit 4/2 Enterprise Drive, Bundoora Vic 3083 E: admin@selfstorage.com.au Connect to our Social Media via our website

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Insider is published and edited by: Social Ties / E: vforbes@socialties.com.au Designed by: Keely Goodall / E: keely@itsallgood.net.au Advertising and sub editor: Bryan Furtado / E: marketing@selfstorage.com.au Printed by: Homestead Press / E: printing@homesteadpress.com.au Insider magazine (Insider) is published bi-monthly by the Self Storage Association of Australasia Limited (ABN 23 050 341 725). This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express, prior written permission of the publisher. While every care has been taken in the preparation and publication of Insider, none of the Insider’s publisher, editor nor any of the publisher’s employees, sub-contractors or contributors give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of the publication’s content, nor do any of them assume any responsibility or liability for any loss, damage or expense which may result from, or arise in connection with, any inaccuracy or omission in the publication. The views or opinions expressed in Insider are not necessarily those of Insider’s publisher or editor. Furthermore, Insider has the right to accept or reject any editorial and advertising material. All letters addressed to Insider will be regarded as ‘for publication’ unless clearly marked ‘Not for Publication’. All submissions to Insider may be edited for reasons of space or clarity and opinions expressed in letters published in Insider are those of the author, not of Insider’s publisher or editor.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

4 | CHAIRMAN'S DINK REPORT

Ivor Morgan, Chairman SSAA

t is heartbreaking to see the devastation from Australia’s bushfire emergency. Lives have been lost, properties destroyed, large scale evacuations have forced many from their homes and wildlife devastation. My thoughts go out to all who have been impacted by the current bushfire emergency. It has been wonderful to see the fundraising efforts by many across Australia and from around the world and our Self Storage Family are no exception and we have received many examples of how they have helped. Every little bit counts and giving back to your local community will help the community rebuild. I am very proud of how community focussed the storage industry is and I would like to share with members some of these stories.

THE WILSON GROUP WHICH INCLUDES WILSON STORAGE Have matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000 of public donations via two gofundme accounts.

The Victorian based businesses Storage / Parking / Security / Medic One will match $50,000 of this and all funds go to the CFA. The remainder of the Wilson Group outside of Victoria have matched $50,000 of donations and all funds go to the Red Cross. At the time of printing they have raised over $33,000 in donations.

FORT KNOX STORAGE, QLD

STORCO

Have made 2 storage units available to emergency relief organisations collecting food and toiletries that have been taken to evacuated sites.

Storco has donated in excess of $5,000 to the Rapid Relief team since December for their operation Fire Relief and they have been volunteering on the RRT food tents and water pumps providing food for the firies and water for their tankers.

STORELOCAL To show their support to the affected communities, StoreLocal is donating $10,000 towards the Australian Red Cross and WIRES.

KENNARDS SELF STORAGE Kennards Self Storage has donated approximately 1,100 boxes to community organisations and charities and packing goods to go to affected areas. In addition, storage spaces have been donated to 6 charities/community organisations for use to pack donated goods.

SSAA Members Tip Writing the date in 2020 When dating all Self Storage Agreements during the current year, it is best practice to ensure the full year is used eg. 31/1/2020 and not as 31/01/20.

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

A $10,000 donation was made towards the victims of the bushfire devastation whilst encouraging the support of the public through their website for a donation towards Country Women’s Association of NSW General Fund and their Disaster Relief Fund.

KANGAROO FLAT SELF STORAGE

JIMS SELF STORAGE The Mallacoota Surf Lifesaving Club lost their caravan which housed valuable lifesaving first aid equipment. As Life Saving is a big part of my life, Jim’s Self Storage wanted to do something to contribute towards helping this community rebuild, through an initial donation and ongoing fundraising at the facility. Although this is on a smaller scale than what many others have done, I would encourage all members to do whatever they can, as every bit helps. At times like these it’s great to be a part of such a compassionate family that exists within the SSAA. l

The importance of ensuring you do not shorten the year is the risk of someone back dating and/or forward dating an Agreement. An example to demonstrate the importance to the storage industry: A Storage Fee cannot be increased during the initial fixed period of storage – it can only be increased once the storer is on ‘continuing’ storage. Additionally, our Agreements allow for termination of the storage agreement once the initial fixed period of storage has ended. Unless the Storer goes into arrears or is engaged in illegal activity, the Facility is unable to terminate the Storer’s agreement during the fixed period. You don’t want any confusion over end dates on Agreements."

www.selfstorage.org.au

6 | GUEST COLUMNIST

Vanaja Thomas, SSAA Membership Officer Here are some key benefits as to why you should enter the Awards and some tips and tricks, I have put together to keep in mind when submitting your nomination!

Tips and tricks on preparing and creating a good stand-out nomination

examples so the judges understand your business journey. l INVOLVE YOUR TEAM Brainstorm ideas with your staff and get them involved in the process. l LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE THROUGH Your business is your passion; let that jump off the page and captivate the judges. l PROOFREAD Have someone read over your submission and give you feedback. l USE THE CHECKLIST BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION Ensure you use the checklist provided as a guide to complete and submit your nomination. Incomplete nominations do not make a good impression. l ATTACHMENTS As part of your nomination you will be required to attach the appropriate format of your business logo, images and/or a video. Organise good quality images as these will be used to showcase your nomination in the Insider magazine. l

l TELL YOUR STORY Your chance to impress the judges with your business story and share your achievements. Provide

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me on +61 3 9466 9699 or email membership@selfstorage.com.au

Benefits of entering an Award

elcome to the New Year and I would like to make an early start on the SSAA Awards for Excellence nominations. Over the next few weeks nominations will open for the 2020 Awards for Excellence. The Awards have been recognising business excellence for several years and honouring the very best in the industry. In recent years some categories have been re-named and two years ago a new category, Community Engagement was introduced making it even more exciting and competitive. This year, the SSAA is celebrating its 30-year anniversary and I encourage you to participate, showcase and celebrate your achievements. A 2020 Awards for Excellence nomination package will be available online on the SSAA website members portal providing information you will need to guide you in preparing and submitting a valid nomination. Stay tuned!

Entering the SSAA Awards for Excellence provides opportunities to: l Showcase your business, thereby raising your business profile in the region l Gain recognition for your business endeavours l Build a reputation for excellence inside and outside of your industry l Benchmark your business year on year and against other businesses in your area and industry l Improve employee engagement by involving your employees in the entry process l Boost staff morale through successes and wins in your business.

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THE LEARNING EVENT OF THE YEAR! CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 9

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW APPROACH The first quarter of 2020 will see the SSAA role out our online industry training modules. Work is well underway and will see the role out of 11 Self Storage Modules. We have consulted with members to ascertain demand for learning. We aim to produce a flexible, adaptable learning and development platform that can be utilized by members anywhere any time. With members based all around Australia and New Zealand from small country towns to large CBD areas in rural and regional areas the SSAA will be bringing training to you.

Our training modules will be launched in conjunction with updated versions of our Australian core Agreements ensuring that the training we deliver will offer new learnings.

These are exciting times for the SSAA as we plant the seeds to grow our learning platform. Our data and member feedback will be an essential element for future planning.

Congratulations to Hunt & Hunt Lawyers celebrating their 90th year Hunt & Hunt was established in 1929 by brothers Hector (Bob) and Edward (Ted) Hunt. The firm started out as an insurance and conveyancing law firm, just as Australia was entering the Great Depression. In the years leading up to World War II, Hunt & Hunt expanded the team at its Sydney office. During the war, the firm’s insurance and workers’ compensation practices boomed, largely due to the firm’s association with the National Employers Mutual General Insurance Company of London. After the war, migrants arrived and settled in Sydney, starting a period of post-war prosperity that saw the firm’s conveyancing practice grow rapidly. Hunt & Hunt remained a family-run firm throughout this period, and in the early 1950s Ted’s sons Ian and David joined the firm. The Sydney and Melbourne offices have been working collaboratively and consistently since 1991.Today, the firm has a strong national footprint with federated offices in Sydney, North Ryde, Melbourne, Darwin, Brisbane and Perth.

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Hunt and Hunt have been working with the SSAA and its members since 2017. Team members from the SSAA were invited to the 90th birthday celebrations at Rockpool in Melbourne in October last year.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

10 | INDUSTRY NEWS

StoreLocal Mordialloc joins the StoreLocal team! Previously known as TaxiBox Self Storage, this store is an ideal expansion opportunity within an established growth corridor. The site is located at 275/281 Boundary Road, Mordialloc. StoreLocal will be working with the owners StoreInvest to further develop the store to meet the needs of the current local market. The addition of this existing store gives greater presence in the eastern Melbourne corridor for StoreLocal, which now has a network of 7 stores throughout metropolitan Melbourne.

Large fire at Auckland storage facility in November Fire crews contained a large fire at a storage unit facility in the Auckland suburb of East Tamaki. Firefighters initially had difficulty getting through the property’s electric fence and into various units, Crews were worked hard to empty the units to extinguish any fire in the back of them. At the fire’s peak about 16 fire trucks were on the scene, along with specialist engines. The facility immediately took steps to implement their disaster recovery plan and were on hand to assist all of their customers, whether that be via insurance claims, relocation of their goods to other storage units or to their homes. The damaged building has been demolished and plans are underway for the rebuild.

In Early November, SSAA Paralegal, Andrea Bowman spent a day at Fort Knox Self Storage in Melbourne. This was a fantastic initiative by Andrea to see how the procedures that the Association provide work in facilities. It also enabled her to bridge any knowledge gaps by understanding the complete business model. This helps ensure that what the Association rolls out is of benefit to the members.

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY Jim’s Self Storage have purchased a defibrillator for their facility and it is located in the office and available for use, if required, during office hours. Jim’s has always had a big focus on family and the local community. It is pleasing to know they have taken steps to provide a vital service to the local community. Fingers crossed they don’t ever have to use it, but it is there and ready to go if needed. Barbara Morgan, owner/director of Jim’s Self Storage has spent the last few decades working for Life Saving Victoria. She has trained and assessed thousands of people during her time. The staff value the knowledge she has passed onto them.

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 11

New SSAA Office Manager Please welcome Sandra Evans to the SSAA team in the role of Office Manager. Sandra’s duties include the Storage Interactive Platform, OH&S, supporting the SSAA Team and assisting the CEO. Sandra has come to the SSAA from several years at Honeywell where she was the Operations & Administration Manager. Sandra is looking forward to working with all of the SSAA Members and helping them with all their storage needs.

STORMAN 2019 WORKSHOP In November, the Storman team held their joint workshop and annual meeting in New Zealand with the teams from Australia, New Zealand and UK for a collective brainstorming sessions across our markets. The outcomes of this workshop will be reflected in the coming year as they power through their most innovative product to date, Storman Cloud. Clients will be the beneficiaries of this effort, and they will share the new features and advancements in 2020.

In October & November National Mini Storage in New Zealand donated $5 for every new storage unit rented in those months to Coastguard Northern Region. They donated $4825.00 and thanked the Coastguard Northern Region for the amazing work they do saving lives at sea and keeping everyone safe on the water. Pictured Ryan Coom (left) National Mini Storage’s Marketing Manager presenting Callum Gillespie (right) Chief Executive Officer of Coastguard Northern Region with the donation cheque.

Our database of buyers is constantly updated, giving vendors the largest reach of buyers available. MORE BUYERS = STRONGER COMPETITION = HIGHEST PRICE LEAVE IT TO THE EXPERTS TO GET YOU THE BEST RESULT.

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mwalsh@highwayfrontage.com.au www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au HIGHWAY FRONTAGE ARE SSAA MEMBERS

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12 | FOCUS ON

FORRESTFIELD SELF STORAGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA

orrestfield is a suburb of the City of Kalamunda in Western Australia. It lies 15 kilometres to the south-east of Perth at the base of the Darling Scarp and the southern border of Perth Airport. Roe Highway splits the suburb into a southern residential area and a northern industrial area. Forrestfield Self Storage is a family-owned business with Hugh and Eileen Smith along with Kyle Gray and Ethan Smith. It opened in November 2019 and is located on the Industrial side of Berkshire Road just a couple of hundred metres from Roe Highway. A train station is currently under development in the area, which will be the last stop on the Perth Airport line. There are plans to

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

build high-density housing around the station which makes this storage facility in a prime position for the future. The facility has residential and commercial storage along with heavy machinery parking facilities to cater to the industrial and residential aspects of the suburb. There are currently 123 units on-site ranging from 1.5m x 1.5m up to 24 square metres units, with plans for an additional 300 more units to be built over the next 12 months along with 4,000 square metres of hard stand parking. Planning for the facility commenced in 2016 when owner and developer Hugh and Eileen Smith first joined the SSAA. It came about because Hugh’s commercial brick paving business sat on a large parcel of land which was underutilised. The thought of building a storage facility on it was appealing as it has the ongoing aspect of multiple customers coming and going. The long term thought process was that by creating a storage facility it would never be 100 per cent empty and there would always be cash flow, unlike the leasing of warehouses or commercial

property which if untenanted can be empty for months. Hugh and his wife Eileen attended the 2016 and the 2017 SSAA Conventions, which they said were invaluable in helping with decision making and connecting with the right people to get the business off the ground. Hugh worked with Jason Keane from Sentinel who was extremely helpful, he visited the site, assessed the area and the potential for a facility and said it was viable. Jason also helped with the overall design, the unit size and made himself available for ongoing discussions. SSAA member Storco did the fit-out of the facility, and Whyte Constructions did the base build. To promote the facility, they have been using social media and are having a lot of success using Facebook. Google AdWords is gaining traction, though, at this early stage, Facebook advertising has proven successful and more economical. Hugh’s advice for anyone thinking about building a storage facility – “Look for an area with limited competition and attend the SSAA events as they are beneficial”. l

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OUT AND ABOUT | 13

MELBOURNE NETWORKING DINNER

Curt Dogger – R6 Digital, Sally Choden – Storassist and Mark Greig – StoreLocal.

SSAA Team.

Elise Kelsey – AIM Hire, Michael Webb and Jake Pretty – Wilson Storage.

Linda Sharkey – Urbis and Shay McQuade – USC.

Guy and Joanna Wilson – Fort Knox Self Storage, David Blackwell – Urbis and Martin Coote – Lock Distributors.

Liz Davies – SSA and Hans Pearson – StoreLocal.

Kylie Harris, Angie Harris and Melisa Rae – Get Stored, Nagambie.

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Geoff Phillips – Charter Towers Self Storage, Michelle Maxwell and Vaughan Rose – Sweepers Australia and Martin Richards – Storage King.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

14 | OUT AND ABOUT

AUCKLAND NETWORKING DINNER

Shay McQuade – Universal Storage Containers, Gillian Stopford – Vulcan Fire Engineering and Elaine Coote – Lock Distributors. Ben Parsad and Jason Suarez – PTI Australasia with Foster Leilua – National Mini Storage.

Philip Sutherland – Masterston Container Storage with Nick Brennand – All Secure Self Storage. Hamish Edwards – All Secure Self Storage, Claire Godber – Jackson Russell and Duncan Clarke – Storman.

Philip Sutherlalnd – Masterston Container Storage with Caroline Plowman – National Mini Storage and Aaron Alsweiler – Safestore.

Peter Sanders – Stash It Self Storage with Emmet Sheppard and Ben Campbell – Safestore Containers .

Bob Wang, Kim Harvey and Peter Limpus – Storage King Remuera.

Lynley Edwards – All Secure Self Storage with Alan Contini – National Storage.

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

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OUT AND ABOUT | 15

CHRISTCHURCH NETWORKING DINNER

Ayyam O’Brien – Storage King Rolleston, Alan Contini – National Storage with Stephanie Adams – Storage King Ferrymead.

Bruce Pyott – Alpha Storage, Chris O'Brien – Storage King Rolleston with Geoff Adams – Storage King Ferrymead.

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16 | SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

TAXIBOX Winners of the 2019 Innovation / Business Initiative / Sustainability Award with the website enabling them to provide the information required to get the perfect sized storage units for their needs, plus show them the most efficient way to load it. Due to its success TAXIBOX have now taken their unique storage calculator on the road, to conventions in Europe and the U.S., showcasing Calcumate FOR EXCELLENCE as a white-label website plugin for both traditional and mobile self storage companies. Dozens of these companies across the globe now have their own version of Calcumate running on their websites. Speaking on the positive responses, co-managing director Jeremy Rosen said: “for me personally, seeing Calcumate now working across multiple websites, in multiple languages, has been really rewarding, but what has been even better has been the fantastic feedback these companies have had from the customers that use our calculator.” l

2019

SSAA

ANNUAL AWARDS

WINNER

www.taxibox.com.au

he TAXIBOX business involves direct delivery to people’s homes and the business revolves around moving the units on trucks. To save having to make multiple trips, customers are advised to over-estimate the number of TAXIBOXES they may need. They aren’t charged for the ones they don’t use, however, then there can be empty TAXIBOXES out on the road which don’t need to be. To reduce the empty boxes on the road TAXIBOX designed the storage calculator, Calcumate, to take the repetitive task of estimating storage to a completely new level. It is a storage calculator that delivers 3D visualisations of household item combinations (provided by the customer) in real-time. It offers a customisable version for the greater storage community and has massively helped reduce overestimating, meaning more space on the trucks and fewer journeys required. One in three customers that go to the instant quote page on the TAXIBOX website now use Calcumate before getting their price. As a result the business has seen a significant decrease in those that drop off at the quote stage. It revolutionised the way that customers interact

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

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customer service for more than 30 years. Strong business ethics and a distinctive personal approach has attributed to our continued success. Our market leading Self Storage policy is just one in our extensive array of insurance offerings.

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If you own or to operate a Self facility, cover it is important to have aoffering comprehensive, individually customer customer, we Storage can also provide for your customers insurance on their tailored policy thatfacility. covers your total As storage requirements differ from own insurance goods stored in your Whether you operation. have a converted warehouse or a purpose-built customer customer, we can also provide cover for your customers offering insurance on their facility,towe can help you. own goods stored in your facility. Whether you have a converted warehouse or a purpose-built For all your Self Storage needs speak to one of our specialists, Gilda Mihran or

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18 | FEATURE

We all know that the cross border movement of people, goods, and craft happen at international airports, ports, and marinas. But beyond the border, have you considered that storage sites can, and are, being exploited as part of an illicit supply chain to facilitate smuggling?

he New Zealand Customs Service maintains a close relationship with the Self Storage Association of Australasia as part of its industry network. It has an outreach program to raise awareness amongst its members about this risk to its members and the public in being unwittingly drawn into serious criminal offending. This is an internationally known trend, not just relating to New Zealand and Australia. Bruce Berry, NZ Customs Manager Investigations, said that several recent investigations, for both smuggled illegal drugs and tobacco led his team to storage units that were utilised to store the importation and packaging for further domestic distribution. NZ Customs’ biggest tobacco investigation in late 2018 led to over 1.3 million cigarettes located at numerous storage units, along with

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

bags containing millions of dollars of cash. Similarly, some of New Zealand’s largest drug seizures in 2019 – 469 kg methamphetamine in electric motors, 110 kg methamphetamine in golf cart batteries, and up to 100kg methamphetamine in plastic pallets – all had links in the use of storage sites. “What we’re seeing is that storage sites are being manipulated by transnational criminal syndicates as part of their modus operandi in staging the storage and deconstruction of some very sophisticated concealments containing illicit goods smuggled in the country. There’s a genuine need for storage unit owners and operators to be aware of this and be on the lookout. “As the owner or operator of a storage unit, you will know best what is normal and what seems out of the ordinary. We’ve spoken to storage unit operators following investigations, and often hear them acknowledge that some things just hadn’t seemed

right from the start. My message is – if it feels suspicious – get in touch with authorities as soon as possible,” Mr. Berry says. One indicator alone does not indicate illegal activity, but a combination may mean authorities want to take a closer look and make assessments. “It is important that you do not become involved yourself. Share with us as much detail as possible, such as about the people, vehicles or shipping containers if known – and let us do the intelligence work in the background to assess the risk further. Often we can work in the background and see things that may not be apparent. Any information received will be confidential and your privacy will be protected.” “Even if you’ve not become aware or suspicious until after the unit has been vacated, we still want to know so we can use this to build on our intelligence,

www.selfstorage.org.au

EXAMPLES OF UNUSUAL OR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY l Large sums of cash paid for hiring a shed with no haggling or questions asked. l An over emphasis on security by the hirer. l A request for unrestricted access at night. l Unpacking and packing of goods obscured from public view or at strange times of the day or night. l Unfamiliarity with storage or business processes for storing commercial goods. l Not a resident of New Zealand or reluctance to provide ID straight away. l Nervous disposition and an inconsistent explanation of use of a shed. l Discarding large amounts of unusual packaging, broken down goods or tools. l Unusual loading or unloading activity. l Strong chemical or other unusual odours from the storage shed.

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and might even be able to track them down. Your tip could be that part of a puzzle that we’d been looking for.” “One example is an individual who had hired the storage unit decided to leave behind a ‘gifted’ pallet truck worth several thousand dollars. Other times, we may find evidence such as drills, electric saws or other tools, which suggest they were used to deconstruct the goods and extract the drugs.” Mr Berry says. In a recent example, NZ Customs inquiries identified several storage units that were used by one group over an extended period. By analysing how they operated enabled a trap to be set to catch the next one in the act – preventing millions of dollars of drugs entering New Zealand’s society. Mr. Berry notes that sometimes the items that were used to hide the drugs will also be left behind. This could be anything from machinery to picture frames to electrical appliances – that list could go on. “The point is if it makes you wonder why these abandoned or destroyed goods are in your storage unit to begin with, get in touch with us.” He adds in a more sinister and dangerous twist; there is often the

Top left: Golf cart NZ Customs. Bottom left: Meth in golf cart batteries 2019. Top right: Eleven pellets of cigarettes NZ Customs. Bottom right: Meth in electric motors NZ Customs.

residue of drug contamination inside the unit that owners and operators must be cautious about. “It’s not uncommon for the discarded packaging, and resulting mess from extracting the drugs is left for the storage unit owners to clean up. Some drugs, particularly in the high purity form we see at the border, can be incredibly dangerous.” l

BORDER WATCH 1800 06 1800 Help protect Australia’s border

To contact NZ Customs call: 0800 428 786 (from New Zealand) 1 800 301 861 (from Australia) +64 9 927 8036 (from overseas)

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

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SSAA CELEBRATING 30 YEARS | 21

Bob Marsh

SSAA President 1991 - 1993 Life Member of the SSAA.

#ilovestorage

ike many people who started in the storage industry 30 years ago, Bob Marsh’s first introduction to the industry was on a trip to the USA. While getting petrol, he noticed an adjacent storage facility, what he wasn’t aware of at the time, this facility housed over 1000 units and was 90% full. On return to Australia, Bob couldn’t stop thinking about this as a potential business opportunity, and with a construction background, the plans began to formulate. In 1987 Bob purchased two acres and built 32 units and they were all fully let within two weeks, and from then on, the buildings kept growing. In Melbourne, there were a few other storage facilities in operation during this time. Bob and the other five to six owners used to meet every few months in Caulfield for a chat about the industry and how each other was going. Bob produced a monthly newsletter that he mailed to about twenty facility owners around Australia, including Jim Miller (a facility operator in Sydney), which built up a level of awareness on how all of the owners could work together.

Bob helped gather the facility owners from around Australia for the first-ever meeting as a group to establish the SSAA 30 years ago in Sydney. Before the SSAA was formed, an operator in Sydney had been liaising with the USA Association in regards to becoming a part of that. They soon realised the need for an Australian Branch that met Australian requirements. However, the American contacts gave a level of awareness of what was needed for an Australian Association. During Bob’s time as President, the industry was paying a lot of fees to the banks for credit card payments. It appeared that the fees were approximately 1% higher than

Bob helped gather the facility owners from around Australia for the first-ever meeting as a group to establish the SSAA 30 years ago in Sydney. anywhere else. With the strength of the newly formed Association behind him, Bob successfully lobbied the banks to get this fee removed so that the storage industry was on par with everything else. One of the other things Bob oversaw was how, in each of the states, there were variations of leasing arrangements between the client and the storage operator. One of the first things the Association did was to have a uniformed agreement drawn up by a solicitor which was fair to both the tenant and the operator which all facilities could use. Bob recalls an interesting story that happened during his time as President of the Association. A customer was locked in a facility after hours and was unable to get out. When he was finally released, he approached the Association for compensation for being locked in. He never received any compensation, however, this led to guidelines being established about checking the facility when locking up to ensure no one was left behind. Nowadays with 24-hour access and mobile phones, this isn’t an issue. Bob has been out of the industry now for 20 years due to illness, but he remembers it fondly. The first two conventions were held in Melbourne. There were awards for Best Facility and Bob traveled around Australia looking at the facilities who were eligible to win. Bob also said that in those days, everyone knew each other and shared information freely as there was no cross-pollination of territories or saturation. These days you will find Bob living with his wife Sallie in a lovely home in a retirement village in Vermont South, Melbourne. His extended family occupies a lot of his time and he has one son who runs a storage facility as well as working in construction for the disabled. l

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22 | FACILITY OF THE YEAR

2019

SSAA

ANNUAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

WINNER

2019 FACILITY OF THE YEAR Between 150 and 500 units

U-STORE-IT

MT BARKER, ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA

he U-Store-It Facility in Mt Barker was purposebuilt in 2017 and took just over twelve months to complete. The unit fit-out was broken into two stages to ensure the facility contained the optimal unit mix for the geographic area. Once it was completed, the facility has a fantastic roadside presence as the bright yellow building sits up on the high side of the road for all passing traffic to see. The build was very complex as it was dug into the side of a hill with a rock bottom. The ground level at the rear of the two-story facility is 6.5m and imbedded into the hill, which means that even on the second floor you have to take a few steps up to gain access to the rear pathway. In total, over 26,000 tonnes of soil/rock was removed. The initial dig at the end of summer meant the soil conditions were arid. Council required the soil to be wetted down and stacked to reduce the dust into local businesses. On the other end of the spectrum, winter construction meant mud was being dragged out onto the road, and surrounding streets as the soil was carted away from the premises. Which resulted in all semi-truck/trailer wheels having to be hosed off before leaving the premises and have a sweeper scrub the street every day. The Council were great and agreed to also run their sweeper through the area every morning before operation hours.

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Above: To give some perspective of height, you can drive a semi-trailer under the horizontal steel framework and still have a one-metre height clearance. The total height of the panels in this photo were 8.5 metres. Another panel of 3.5 metres was inserted on top.

Another requirement was to redirect stormwater from the neighbours’ property at the rear which is another four metres above the rear egress path, making their ground level over ten metres higher from the front carpark. With winter setting in during the civil works, it was important that heavy rainfalls weren’t going to cause global failure, i.e. the neighbour’s building collapsing into the property.

SECURITY The Mt Barker premises is precast concrete, 200mm thick with N16 steel formwork which is extremely hard to penetrate. Having 3/4 of the building located into the side of a hill acts as a natural security barrier. Two 42" screens highlighting security cameras are located in the foyer to highlight security to the general public and act as a deterrent. All entrance and exits points

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are covered. Cameras are positioned externally outside both entrance and exit doors and reception. Perimeter sensor lighting was installed around the building. Any movement sets off a series of floodlights. The front of the building is lit up until 11pm. The rear lighting is controlled by sensors built into the lights where the front lighting is a combination of sensors, PTI keypad advising a customer is on-site and day/night timing switches. Entrance doors to the facility are solid steel frames. Security monitoring is supported via a multi-prong attack with management team on-site, management team offsite, after-hours contact centre and security monitoring control centre. Sensor lighting is located in every corridor throughout both floors for customer’s total peace of mind. All units are individually alarmed. Exterior entrance/exit points are monitored combined with internal long-range detectors and selected isle way sensors. All alarms are sent to the security monitoring control room. Storers are required to give their driver’s license details to sign an agreement with U-Store-It. All storers are required to enter a five-digit minimum pin code to enter and exit the facility through two separate pin codes. The facility has the option to reverse the traffic flow, so technically there are four PTI pin codes, but a one-way traffic flow model is encouraged for obvious reasons. All contractors and delivery drivers are required to sign the register located in the office before entering the facility. Where applicable, copies of their public liability and relevant licenses, e.g. forklift licenses, are kept on file. Managers phones are set up to access on-site security. The system is high end with zones and/or individual sensors that can be turned off/on with a touch of a button.

THE TEAM The Manager Mark Callins (who won the SSAA 2019 Manager of the Year) and Assistant Manager are both life experienced individuals that were new to the industry. This site is managed as a “stand-alone” facility, and the team have taken pride in running the facility premises and its clientele. For example; they have been known to come back

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after hours to help clients out by signing off on the return of the free Move-In truck. Except for site audits, reviews, payroll and accounting/ admin items all other day to day operations from sales, marketing, site administration, management communication, unit pricing, truck and trailer placement, etc. is done at the site level by the team – literally everything. The team meet fortnightly for site/sales meetings and are encouraged to bring their marketing and operational ideas. Both team members have a natural flair and passion for marketing which is positive and refreshing. Both team members are highly driven and have lead several marketing initiatives. This is the company’s first regional facility in its portfolio so it was imperative to employ “locals” at the facility as they have the relationships and local knowledge that would have taken the company months to form/ gather. Local people staffing the Mount Barker facility has been a breath of fresh air for the U-Store-It Family, with community involvement in sport and other local activities, the brand awareness has grown past initial expectations. l

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24 | TAX

Tax update With our constantly changing taxation laws it is important you keep up to date with any changes which may impact your tax outcome in relation to your self storage facility. The following issues are some recent changes and also some ongoing matters which we have previously addressed with SSAA Australia members. DEDUCTION FOR VACANT LAND Changes to legislation to limit deductions that can be claimed for holding vacant land received royal assent on 28 October 2019. These changes apply to costs incurred on or after 1 July 2019, even if the land was held before that date. The costs involved in holding vacant land will vary depending on each taxpayer’s circumstances however they will generally include – ongoing borrowing costs including interest payments on debt used to acquire the land, land taxes, council rates and maintenance costs. Certain entities will be excluded from these changes including – corporate tax entities, superannuation funds (excluding SMSF), managed investment trusts and public trusts. If you are currently claiming tax deductions for holding vacant land we suggest you review if the new laws apply to you.

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SELLING YOUR SELF STORAGE FACILITY GST Issues Generally the vendor will be liable for GST on the disposal of the freehold self storage facility as the property is a commercial premises. This GST liability will generally be calculated as oneeleventh of the full sale price. However, this may be reduced where the margin scheme can be applied and the GST liability will reduce to one-eleventh of the margin on the sale of the property The sale of the property may also be sold ‘GST Free’ where it is part of a sale of a going concern. A sale of a property that is part of a going concern may include: l The property is sold together with an operating business connected with the property, including a self storage facility l A fully tenanted building , where all lease agreements are included in a sale l A partially tenanted building where the vacant part of the building is being actively market There are also other basic conditions you should be aware of if claiming your property sale as a sale of a GST Free going concern. Capital Gains Tax It is likely you will make a capital gain on the sale of you self storage facility, which is great news. Paying capital gains tax (CGT) on the proceeds is not such great news. If you acquired the property before 20 September 1985

its possible you will not pay any CGT otherwise the amount of CGT you pay will depend on the legal structure the property is held in. The amount of CGT may be reduced by the 50% general discount where you have held the property for more than 12 months and may be further reduced or eliminated if you can access the various CGT small business concessions (SBC). The SBC are complex and require thorough review and a comprehensive approach to ensure they are accessible. One issue in particular, we have previously come across, which may exclude you from accessing the SBC is where you are not using the standard SSAA agreement with you customers.

OWNING YOUR SELF STORAGE FACILITY IN YOUR SELFMANAGED SUPERANNUATION FUND (SMSF) There have been significant changes in this space over the past couple of years. Many of these changes have impacted on how you need to approach an acquisition of property in your SMSF. However, we still have clients acquiring their self storage facilities in their SMSF as it continues to provide significant benefits in relation to asset protection and income tax savings. l Disclaimer – The above is general information only and is not advice. You should not rely on the above information to make a commercial decision or to calculate your taxation liabilities. Should you be unsure of your taxation obligations we recommend you contact a trusted taxation advisor.

If any of the above matters apply to you and you would like to find out more or if you have any other tax related matters you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to call Phil Keenan of our office on (02) 4353 2333.

www.selfstorage.org.au

RegisBuilt recently handed over the latest stage for Jim’s Self Storage in Williamstown, Victoria. The latest stage was recently awarded ‘Best Expansion / upgrade 2019’ in the 2019 SSAA Annual Awards for excellence, once again proving collaboration between RegisBuilt and the owner delivers award winning facilities. For your next project, collaborate with us for a seamless design and construction project.

1300 388 224

info@regisbuilt.com.au

regisbuilt.com.au

26 | COMMUNICATIONS

Social media 101 The rules of engagement and how to make it work for your brand. By Rebecca Smith.

I’m delighted to introduce you to That Communications Company (That Comms Co.) in this issue of Insider. That Comms Co. is a strategic communications and public relations agency who can support you with communication advice should you find your business facing an issue or crisis. You’ll find more information about That Comms Co. and how to access their service in the Member Benefits area on the SSAA website. This is the first in a series of articles contributed by the agency dedicated to helping our members communicate effectively with customers. Susan Phillips CEO

ocial media is a great platform to engage and communicate with your customers— especially when face-to-face contact with them may be limited to when they set up their account and move their belongings into your storage facility. Having a social media presence on sites like Facebook and Instagram provides you with an opportunity to inject your business’s personality into your customer interactions in an informal setting where you can be warm and engaging in your approach. When matters require a more serious tone, you can also use social media channels to convey important updates and news to customers. Well managed social media channels will work to strengthen your customer relationships, increase customer loyalty, and also the likelihood of retaining business and attracting referrals. While many of you will already be engaging with customers on social media, here are a few things to consider to help you make the most of your online presence and navigate some

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

of the challenges that you may encounter from time-to-time.

RESPONDING TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK As a business you can’t control everything and it’s almost certain that at some stage you’ll have to deal with a negative comment or post from a disgruntled customer. Rather than igniting the situation, it’s best to remain calm and courteous in your response, and attempt to take the conversation offline as soon as possible by suggesting they contact you via email or phone to discuss their concerns. Have a template statement drafted that you can personalise for situations like this. The response should thank the person for their feedback, acknowledge their disappointment or concern, and politely ask them to contact you by phone or email so the issue can be resolved. Your customers will appreciate an authentic and timely response and are much more likely to be forgiving if you show that you’re willing to acknowledge your mistake and remedy the situation.

BASIC DO’S AND DON’TS: DO: Respond quickly to stop the issue from escalating DO: Be polite and understanding DO: Take the conversation offline as soon as possible ———— DON’T: Let negative comments scare you, it comes with the territory DON’T: Get defensive – others will see your response DON’T: Delete the comment, this may cause the commenter to become more disgruntled and post additional negative comments. The exception here is if the comment is profane, illicit, or uses offensive language. ————

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COMMUNICATIONS | 27

Information on how to delete and report harmful posts on Facebook can be found here: https://www.facebook. com/business/a/page-moderation-tips Information on how to delete and report harmful posts on Instagram can be found here: https://help.instagram. com/477434105621119

they will unfollow a brand that ignores comments and posts from followers. For this reason, keep your customers engaged with useful and interesting updates, and acknowledge them when they contribute to your page — including thanking them for feedback and posts.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: BE AVAILABLE, AUTHENTIC AND RELEVANT

ESTABLISHING COMMENTING GUIDELINES

According to research, the two main reasons why customers follow brands on social media are 1) to learn about new products or services and 2) to be entertained. The top reasons for unfollowing a brand on social media are poor customer service and irrelevant content. Nearly 30% of people say

On sites like Facebook, businesses can benefit from having some commenting guidelines in their ‘About’ section that establish acceptable and unacceptable community behaviours. This will help to create a respectful online environment and can be referred to when deleting harmful content, including profane, illicit, defamatory, and offensive language, etc.

Well managed social media channels will work to strengthen your customer relationships, increase customer loyalty, and also the likelihood of retaining business and attracting referrals.

Being able to refer to your community guidelines to justify removing an inappropriate or offensive post is a reasonable and transparent way of deflecting a potentially negative scenario before it escalates. l

RELIABLE, HIGH SECURITY PADLOCKS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS Lock Distributors have been distributing and developing security for self-storage since 1986. Protect your business and lock into profits using our top quality products, friendly customer service and unparalleled expertise.

AUSTRALIA Elaine Coote T 02 9890 3844 F 02 9630 5701 E sales@lockdistributors.com.au lockdistributors.com.au

High security • Pick-proof • Thousands of key changes • Range of styles

Call us today to find out about a FREE display stand.

NEW ZEALAND Sharon Heuvel T 0508 LOCKED E info@lockdistributors.co.nz lockdistributors.co.nz

28 | LEGAL

Why lease land when you can own land? The pros and cons of being a commercial land owner by Tony Raunic, Managing Principal, Hunt & Hunt Lawyers.

hen deciding where to base your self storage facility, you have the option to either lease or buy land. You should consider the pros and cons of investing in land. You should also think about the differences in how you’ll be able to use the land.

WHAT’S INVOLVED IN BUYING LAND? Upfront spending Unlike leasing, buying a commercial property requires a significant amount

of upfront spending, which includes paying stamp duty which can be as high as 5.5% of the purchase price in some Australian states. This expenditure will of course impact heavily on your bank balances, limiting the money you have available to establish and grow your business. Depending on the state of the land, you may need to spend more money on land and building modifications so that the property is ready to operate as a self storage facility.

Financing Given the significant purchase cost of land, you will probably need to obtain a mortgage from a financial institution to help fund your purchase. Commercial loans to buy land may require you to provide an initial deposit of between 25 and 50 per cent of the purchase price. However, interest rates are currently at an historic low so repayments are somewhat easier presently. Over time, mortgage repayments will generally be preferable to paying rent.

PRO’S AND CON’S FROM AN SSAA MEMBER WHO HAS EXPERIENCED BOTH LEASING AND FREEHOLD Freehold PROS:

Leasehold PROS:

l Tenure. Ownership is an ‘unlimited by time’ investment

l Capital deployment to business model rather than property holding. Fit out capital only required

l Freehold ownership allows the property to be mortgaged as security for funding

l Availability of tightly held property to be secured when freeholds cannot, opening up locations that are otherwise limited

l Freehold has an incremental value uplift as a general rule (but not always)

l A true business focus model in retail sense

l Freehold works don’t require landlord approval

l Capacity to adapt to hub and spoke locations often mixing freehold with leasehold to protect location from competition

l Long term property play

l Smaller sites are practical and viable

l Alternate use options become relevant over time as property market changes. Potential value uplift

l Establish facility in high density and high profile locations areas where freehold unlikely or not highest use of property

l Traditional SS facilities have been property based with an underlying valuation methodology based on cap rate and yield. Known and predictable outcome

Leasehold CONS:

Freehold CONS: l Large scale investment requiring significant capital. Barrier to entry

l Retail leases act protections l Escalating rent structures l Only security that can be offered is mortgage of lease requiring landlord approval. Banks lack of understanding of funding leaseholds l Landlord approval required for all works and fitouts l Risk of landlords changing and with that possibility of conflict

l Availability of sizeable parcels of land or buildings in high density population areas is limited

l Need for long tenure to justify fitout capex, minimum tenures around 25 years to build value and justify capex

l SS not always highest and best use for property

l At end of term business relocation or closure

l Significant capital to both acquire and to fit out

l Valuation methods not clear. Restrained valuations

l Locations limited

l Sale of business requires long term remaining tenure. Exit planning can be problematic

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l Availability of suitable leasehold premises l Loss of full control over every element of the site

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Like rent, they will be a tax deduction for your business. However, a landlord can raise rent with relative ease and frequency, in theory. By comparison, mortgage repayments are generally more stable and predictable. These payments also contribute to you eventually gaining full, unobstructed ownership of the property, whilst rental payments are ongoing with no tangible long-term benefit.

Risks and returns Your land’s value may appreciate over time. However, buying land for investment purposes is a long-term strategy. If the size of the land is greater than the needs of your business, you may be able to lease out a portion of the property to create a secondary income stream.

USING THE LAND – BUYING VERSUS LEASING Flexibility Owning your premises can make your business less nimble. If your business needs to move locations for any reason, you will be reliant on favourable market conditions to avoid making a loss on your initial purchase price. A lease is a far smaller financial commitment and allows your business to easily relocate when the lease expires.

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Buying land gives you exclusive control in relation to the modification of the property (subject to local council planning approval). This is important, particularly if the land requires substantial changes to become ‘self storage ready’. Control Buying land gives you exclusive control in relation to the modification of the property (subject to local council planning approval). This is important, particularly if the land requires substantial changes to become ‘self storage ready’. A landlord may or may not be willing to grant permission to a tenant who wishes to construct a series of self storage units on the property. This is a matter which should be understood clearly before making a final decision on buying versus leasing.

Rates and maintenance The owner of land is generally responsible for all costs associated with the land, such as land tax, water rates and maintenance. However, in practice, it is likely that a landlord will pass some of these expenses onto you, as a tenant, if you choose to lease a commercial property. So, the distinction between buying and leasing may be minor in relation to these costs. Also, whether you lease and pay rent or buy and pay interest on a mortgage, these payments will be treated as tax deductible by the Australian Taxation Office. As SSAA’s Legal Help Desk Lawyers in Australia, Hunt & Hunt can assist you in weighing up each of these options and making the best decision for your business. Our expertise in property and banking and finance law can ensure your interests are properly protected, whether you purchase or lease your site. l

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30 | STORAGE KING FERRYMEAD, NZ

CHRISTCHURCH NINE YEARS ON by Geoff Adams Storage King, Ferrymead.

t might seem like only yesterday. Still, it was nine years ago in February 2011 that the fastest accelerating natural disaster the world has ever seen happened in Christchurch, New Zealand. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch. The quake was centred 10km south-east of the city at a depth of 5km. One hundred eighty-five people died, 164 people were seriously injured, and there was significant, widespread damage. SSAA Member, Storage King Ferrymead was in the middle of the quake, as the suburb of Ferrymead sits very close to the epicentre of where it struck. The epicentre was just a few kilometres away as the crow flies, so as a result, the facility was “a bit banged up”. The main damage was that some of the walls and floors had separated at the

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construction joints, which is what they are designed to do in an earthquake. However, they needed to be fixed, which required a new ring foundation to pull the buildings back into line. Now nine years later and approximately $2.5m spent on the facility, it is now safer than it has ever been, with several kilometres of reinforcing bars and many tons of concrete. The Ferrymead Branch is now possibly the strongest, purpose-built, storage facility in the country. The last jobs to do were the alarms, drains and driveways. This was probably the most challenging task, as you may see from the images. It was hugely disruptive to staff and customers, and the facility was closed for six weeks while this happened. Luckily the customers understood, and 90% of them stayed away while the works

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A lesson to take away from Christchurch, is to plan and practice all of the evacuation drills, fire drills so that everyone knows what to do when disaster strikes.

were undertaken. Only one gentleman needed ‘persuasion’ to leave the premises, which was an excellent result for a facility that has over 500 customers. The facility needed to test alarm sensors, due to the buildings moving apart and there was the possibility that some of the wiring had stretched to the point of rupture. The customers were once again very supportive, and the testing found very little actual damage. Some of the customers live overseas, and it was difficult to get repairs done, but once again, the client base stood behind the team while the works were carried out. Customers who were not in Christchurch allowed their locks to be cut to gain access and fix problems which was required under the claim, and there were upwards of 300 locks cut, and the testing took around 30 seconds for each unit, sometimes longer if a fault was found. It would be fair to say that we all think ‘that will never happen to me’, natural disasters are something that only occurs in far off countries. As an industry, we all know better, just recently Australia’s unbelievable fires, the crippling drought and even the rest of the world are seeing things never seen before, like Venice with record high water levels, etc.

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A lesson to take away from Christchurch, is to plan and practice all of the evacuation drills, fire drills so that everyone knows what to do when disaster strikes. Drills and dry runs may be considered an interruption to the day, but be assured by the 450,000 Christchurch residents, that it is a necessity and a sad reality. Another thing to stay on top of is First Aid training, ensure every staff member is trained in First Aid as you never know, it might be your boss’s life that you save or vice versa. The residents of Christchurch and the team at Storage King Ferrymead are now as prepared as possible, by stocking some stored food, water and an up to date First Aid kit. You may wish to spare a thought for some Christchurch people who are still battling with their insurers to agree on repair or write-off strategies for their damaged homes and buildings. Storage King Ferrymead still have, and will have for the foreseeable future, displaced families storing their belongings due to this incredible event. There was certainly a spike in enquiry levels over the last few years which created unprecedented demand and occupancy levels. They are still helping the local community where possible and it is nice for everyone who works there to finally be able to take a breath and reflect on the huge amount of work that they had to do to keep SK Ferrymead open for business during the last 9 years. l Geoff Adams is the South Island Area Manager for Storage King New Zealand.

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32 | HUMAN RESOURCES

2019 Recap It’s been a busy year at HR Central and no doubt it’s been a busy year in self storage as well. By Damien Gooden

enjoyed catching up and meeting SSAA members at last years SSAA Convention. It has been great working with so many of you to help work out employee issues, as well as strategising and streamlining your HR processes. Employing people is not an easy task (believe me) and I would like to acknowledge those committed to providing safe, respectful and happy workplaces for employees. Let’s recap some of the main HR issues of 2019 and keep them in mind for 2020.

UNDERPAYMENTS Last year there were a number of high-profile cases spanning many industries and companies including some very well known trusted names. Underpayments are not tolerated any more, and not knowing is not an excuse. Business owners risk fines and public shaming. Paying back your staff can be a huge dent to bank accounts, sometimes to the detriment of your business. The SSAA helpdesk provides assurance around paying your staff, including overtime, penalty rates, what to include for casuals, employees and what to pay contractors.

CORRECT ENGAGEMENT OF WORKERS Courts take a dim view of employers treating their workers as casuals or independent contractors to avoid legal responsibility. The Government announced its intention to crack down on sham contracting with a growing number of employers trying to disguise an employee/employer relationship as an independent contracting arrangement, to avoid paying employee entitlements. You must ascertain correctly whether you are taking on an employee or a casual or a contractor.

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All HR Central subscribers receive contract templates in their tailored software, for each employee. Our team will also go over any contract before you send out to a potential candidate to ensure it is sound.

CHANGES TO WHISTLEBLOWER LAWS The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistle-blower Protections) Act 2019 expanded protections for whistle-blowers making disclosures about companies and company officers. We have been working with lots of clients to help them with creating a Whistle-blower policy to be included in their policy suite.

LEADERSHIP IN THE LIMELIGHT

#METOO

Bill Shorten and Boris Johnson come to mind as a couple of leaders who have not had the chips fall their way this year. Being a leader is tough. However, with correct training, employees can transition to leadership roles with relative ease and be equipped with the right skills and techniques to manage teams, and act in accordance with the business expectations as a leader.

The aftermath of #MeToo has highlighted sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace and many of our clients have engaged HR Central to deliver training to remove harassment and bullying from their workplace. The best time to train your team around their workplace expectations is when they start. l

COMPLIANCE IS ON THE RADAR Findings from the Royal Commission into banks demonstrated the shocking breaches of customer trust that can occur when the focus on compliance is lost. The flow on effects are being felt by small business with banks forced to tighten up lending guidelines. Being compliant doesn’t have to be expensive and shouldn’t have to involve huge legal fees, if you are proactive and interested in following mandatory workplace obligations. A great way to start is to be familiar with the National Employment Standards (NES).

If you would like any further information or check sheets on: Underpayments | Whistleblower Policy content (and why) or a copy of the NES, call the SSAA Helpdesk 1300 017 722.

Advice. Awareness. Connect. Collaborate.

HR HELPDESK 1300 01 SSAA / 1300 017 722

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Liz Davies

SSAA President 1994 – 1995 Owner of Self Storage Australia and Life Member of the SSAA.

n 1989 Jim Miller put out the call to storage facility owners around Australia to join him in discussing a structure and the benefits of having an association for the industry. Liz Davies was one of the owners contacted as she owned a facility in Alice Springs. Liz was excited and had butterflies of anticipation about the meeting. Liz had a background in working with Boards previously, and she knew that she could bring a lot to the table with the details required to establish this new association. However, there was a slight problem. In 1989, the most expensive and dramatic pilot’s strike occurred, which brought the country to a standstill. For Liz, this made getting to Sydney from Alice Springs difficult, especially with a nine-month-old child in tow. With the help of connections, Liz arrived late the evening prior the meeting, via a Lear jet (that is another story). When Liz arrived at the hotel, there was no food except for oysters, which then made her ill overnight. The trooper she was, placed her child in child care at 8am the following morning and attended the meeting at 8.30am.

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One of the biggest achievements during Liz’s time was the successful lobbying of the State Government to remove a tax that facility owners had to pay on stored goods in Perth. Due to the pilots’ strike, there were only about 32 people in attendance for the inaugural storage facilities owners meeting to discuss forming an association. In hindsight, the smaller attendance made it easier to manage and make decisions. Though a lot more people were invited and had wanted to be there, which showed the level of interest in forming an association. The majority of people who attended had backgrounds in working or running other businesses. A large percentage had previously travelled to America to see how storage businesses were run there and knew of the American storage association and the potential pitfalls. The goal was to establish a self-regulated body, which would bypass any potential government intervention and keep away any cowboys. An initial code of ethics and conduct was established to ensure this. These discussions lead to the Association being formed in 1990. Liz became president for two years in 1994 – 1995 working with Don Seaton-Wilkinson, a former lobbyist and the first-ever employee of the SSAA. Their jobs were to spread the reach of the SSAA and have subcommittees in each of the states who reported to the Board. Don rang every single person who owned a facility, and Liz flew to each state to meet them and enlist more members. The funds acquired from membership covered the costs of member’s benefits. Membership benefits included: legal documentation, legal challenges, creating ethical guidelines and running courses. As a result, presidents flew around the country, spent hours on administration in their own time and out of their own funds. It was a big undertaking that required a lot of passion and love for the industry, which Liz has to this day. One of the biggest achievements during Liz’s time was the successful lobbying of the State Government to remove a tax that facility owners had to pay on stored goods in Perth. The other achievement was bringing in New Zealand as part of the association and changing the name to include Australasia. It was critical to stay united. Plus bringing in Service members and working out their role within the association. Even with the growing pains, the key to the Association’s success is that everyone was happy to give back, and everyone helped each other for the good of the industry as a whole. People still say to this day how generous everyone is with their time and their knowledge, which is what makes the Association strong and still viable after 30 years in existence. l FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

Leading supplier of

GOODS HOISTS FOR SELF STORAGE

Call us today on

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OHS | 35

Managing your safety risks in self storage By Action OHS Consulting

ounds simple right? It is, well, in principle. Before we get into the ‘how,’ let’s consider why managing your safety risks makes good business sense. There is moral justification. That being, you as a leader, wanting to ensure that your workers leave work without injury, in the same manner, they arrived at work. Then there is the legal justification. You have a clear legal duty to provide a safe workplace for all persons who are impacted by your operations. This is outlined within both the Australian and New Zealand health and safety legislation. Get this wrong, and you could be personally liable. There is also the financial justification. That being the reputational impact to your facility should something go wrong, i.e., customers decide to, or must, take their business elsewhere. No matter why managing your safety risks should be front of mind. And when simply put, all risk management is, identifying how ‘things’ or ‘practices’ within your facility can hurt someone, then managing it. Not sure where to start? Go for a walk around your facility. Start making a list of things that you or your team think may hurt someone. Don’t just look at the physical hazards; also consider practices that can be considered ‘dangerous.’ Once you have your list of issues, rank them in order from those with the highest consequence (i.e., serious injury) to the lowest consequence. Making judgments about what risks are high, maybe difficult; however, if you have heard within the industry about a close-call or someone who has been injured previously, be proactive. You must ensure that the identified ‘issue’ is under control. For the ‘high’ risk issues, make plans to address them immediately. For the ‘lower’ risk issues, ensure you have a

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You have a clear legal duty to provide a safe workplace for all persons who are impacted by your operations. This is outlined within both the Australian and New Zealand health and safety legislation.

plan to attend to them when time permits. When attempting to manage the issues, we use a concept called the ‘Hierarchy of Controls.’ Google it. Briefly put, this concept involves you identifying ways to manage the hazard that does not rely on human decision making. However, if this can’t be achieved, only then consider training, signage, or protective equipment. Don’t limit yourself to one control; consider implementing multiple controls.

Finally, once you have identified the controls that will work for you, after a few weeks, review them – ensure they are effective. Don’t be scared to change. To help you on the way, we have developed a list of commonly encountered ‘issues’ which may arise in self storage facilities. This guide will continue to build over time, so if you would like to contribute, contact the SSAA OHS Help Desk. Hazards for your consideration: Traffic and Pedestrian Management, Forklifts, Slips and Trips, Client Aggression, Manual Handling, Lone Worker, Asbestos, etc. l Want to find out more? Check out the SSAA Health & Safety Handbook (page 6 – 9) on the Member Services Portal or contact the SSAA OHS Help Desk via admin@selfstorage.com.au or 1800 067 373. And if you’re a New Zealand member, don’t be shy – we also want to help you.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

36 | MEMBER BENEFITS AND EVENTS

MEMBER BENEFITS Resources & business tools: Gain access to the SSAA Manual of Advice and Procedures, a range of self storage agreements, templates, checklists and guidance materials. Everything you need to make your daily operations easy and compliance simple! Legal, HR & OHS Help Desks: We have your back!

Trade Directory & supplier offers: Exclusive member only offers and access to the trade directory that consists of suppliers from a wide range of businesses such as security, ancillary services, design & construction, insurance, legal, management services, software and much more.

Members can contact our Help Desks for practical and confidential business-related advice and support on any legal, human resources and OHS matters. The SSAA has partnered with industry experts to provide assistance and as an escalation point for members.

SSAA Awards & recognition: Members are eligible to participate in the SSAA Awards. Being nominated and winning SSAA Awards encourages recognition, raises your profile, promotes excellence and celebrates achievements of individuals and storage facilities.

SSAA Convention, training & events: Learn and

Network! The SSAA training and events are designed to teach, inspire and motivate whilst keeping members up to date with the latest in the industry. The SSAA Annual Convention brings together industry leaders, members and suppliers under one roof to share ideas, experiences and encourages industry related connections.

My Storage Finder Online Directory: Let us promote your facility! All Facility members are listed on the My Storage Finder online directory. My Storage Finder is a tool designed to amplify facilities online presence, improve visibility, strengthen reputation and help promote your business. Visit www.selfstorage.com.au.

StorerCheck: Reduce your risks by identifying problem storers! StorerCheck is a tool available to members with the purpose of identifying problem storers. StorerCheck contains information such as storers who have defaulted in their agreements, missed payments, abandoned goods and with behavioural issues. Visit www.storercheck.com.au or www.storercheck.co.nz

SSAA Member Logo & Certificate: Members can gain recognition and credibility by using the SSAA Member Logo in marketing collateral such as emails, stationery, website and social media. Upon renewal each year, members will receive a membership certificate that can be used to display at their storage facilities to acknowledge professional status.

Publications & e-news: Keep up to date! All Facility

Mystery Shopping: The SSAA assists members by providing a mystery shopping service Â through a performance monitoring company. Mystery shopping can be used by members to assess customer service and sales skills against a proven method. Members receive a special rate.

members receive subscriptions to the SSAA bi-monthly Insider magazine, and the monthly e-news STOReFLASH. Packed with information, latest news and industry updates, these are your go-to resources.

SSAA 2020 EVENTS

NETWORKING FUNCTION 12 March 2020 BRISBANE

NETWORKING FUNCTION 30 April 2020 ADELAIDE

SSAA CONVENTION 25-27 August 2020 MELBOURNE

NETWORKING FUNCTION 15 October 2020 SYDNEY

NETWORKING FUNCTION 22 October 2020 PERTH

NETWORKING FUNCTION 10 November 2020 CHRISTCHURCH

NETWORKING FUNCTION 12 November 2020 AUCKLAND

NETWORKING FUNCTION 26 November 2020 MELBOURNE

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

www.selfstorage.org.au

SSAA SERVICE MEMBER PROFILES | 37

A-LINE CONSTRUCTION

FLEX BOX LTD Flex Box Ltd. is a container trading company and joined the Association in November 2019. Flex Box are one of the biggest suppliers of one way containers internationally and have been supplying Australia and New Zealand with containers since 2002. Due to their high volume of trading they are able to offer very low prices and great quality boxes for reduced prices. Their stock is located in all the main areas of Australia and New Zealand which ensures that they are easily accessible to members with quick delivery times. As a new member Flex Box is offering to all SSAA Members these features which are designed to ease the use and enhance the security of containers. l Super secure key pad lock - No more lost keys l Patented super ventilator - choose your own contrast colour l Easy to open door - with grease fittings and long rubberised right handle. l External steel lock box with padlocks l Versatile interior fittings for securing load and separating cargos l Hard and smooth PU coated floor, easy to slide furniture etc. over l Tie rails or Tie points to fasten storage items securely In addition as a special offer to SSAA Members if you order a minimum of 20 containers, you can receive them in your own colour and decals for additional advertising effect. For further information please view the website www.flex-box.com or email: LN@flex-box.com or phone +852 2881 0856

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A-Line Construction is a totalproject construction company that partners with you to bring a unified and collaborative team together to complete your project. By providing a single source, total-project package, it makes it easy and straightforward for storage facility owners. They uphold values of integrity, honesty, and on time project completion. and believe the right TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) will get the right results. Their services include: l Project management l Planning and consent processing l Surveying l Quantity Surveying l Design and Architecture l Demolition and Asbestos removal l Engineering (including Geotech, Structural, Civil, Fire, Services) l Construction including all subtrades l Code of Compliance A-Line Construction designs and constructs premium self storage buildings that deliver long term value. This ensures the project is attractive for lenders, investors and potential buyers as it is important to make sure the facility is attractive and durable. Maximum utilisation of space along with the right mix of units for efficiency and flexibility provides the best ROI. Having quality, functional, durable buildings that attracts customers and retains staff is an excellent way to ensure profitability. By partnering with self storage experts they provide the entire package including; l Design and Engineering l Civil and Construction services l All services to enable a functioning facility l STORCO fitout l Code of Compliance A-Line Construction is a key partner with STORCO for New Zealand storage projects. They design ‘buildability’ into your project and use proven, innovative construction methods to deliver value.

Contact them and discuss how to get the best outcomes and results for your self storage project 0800002776

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

38 | MEMBER SERVICES UPDATE

SSAA updates Australia Introduction to our new Core Agreements and revised [MAP/ Manual of Advice and Procedures] by Nick Miller and Nicole Butler, Hunt & Hunt Lawyers

n the first quarter of 2020 the SSAA will be launching updates to the Core Agreements and [MAP/ Manual of Advice and Procedures] used by facilities in their day-to-day business activities. The revised Core Agreements have been simplified and are now more user-friendly. Not only is the content of the Core Agreements consistent (save for tailored clauses, where necessary) but the layout of the documents is now standardised so that the suite has a distinct ‘look and feel’.

THE NEW CORE AGREEMENTS There are now 6 Core Agreements, being: The Storage Agreements Standard Self Storage Agreement (also commonly known as ‘Standard Agreement’) – this is the most common type of self storage agreement. The storer places their goods into their space and is the only person who has the key. Managed Self Storage Agreement (also commonly known as ‘Managed Agreement’) – this is intended to be used where the facility maintains a key to the storer’s space. Managed storage

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

carries a higher commercial risk and the contract reflects this different legal relationship. Mobile Self Storage Agreement (also commonly known as ‘Mobile Agreement’) – this is for use where a facility offers mobile, locked trailer or ‘pod’ style storage. Any form of storage unit that can be delivered to the storer, packed by the storer, and then taken back to a facility or where the unit remains with the storer, is covered by this Mobile Storage Agreement. The Mobile Storage Agreement does not cover mobile storage units that are packed by the facility. Storage Room Agreement – this is for use when a storer requires items to be delivered to or collected from the facility. The agreement can’t be entered into unless there is already a Standard Agreement in place between the facility and the storer. The Hire Agreements Vehicle Hire Agreement – this enables the facility to hire out rental vehicles (such as moving vans and trucks) to hirers. Trailer Hire Agreement – this enables the facility to hire out trailers to hirers.

THE NEW [MAP/MANUAL OF ADVICE AND PROCEDURES] The [MAP/Manual of Advice and Procedures] content has been extended to incorporate guidance on all 6 Core Agreements (previous versions of the [MAP/Manual of Advice and Procedures] did not include guidance on the Mobile Agreement, or the Hire Agreements). Updates have been made to key interest areas such as the chapters relating to deceased estates, bankruptcy and insolvency, and the default process. Going forward, it is planned to update the [MAP/ Manual of Advice and Procedures] on a quarterly basis to reflect issues encountered by members.

CORE AGREEMENT UPDATES Each of the Core Agreements now include the following features: A standardised 42-day default period – previously this was as lengthy as 6 months! Now, all agreements have the same 42-day default period (being the period for which Storage Fees are overdue before a facility can commence the default process).

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MEMBER SERVICES UPDATE | 39

Exclusion of the statutory uncollected goods regimes – in all states except South Australia, where the uncollected goods legislation can’t be excluded, the provisions of the Core Agreements will now displace the state-based laws that in some cases required facilities to undertake onerous steps prior to disposing of uncollected goods (such as advertising, obtaining court orders, and the like). Privacy – the previous versions of the Core Agreements did not contain clauses specifically addressing the requirements of the Privacy Act. Exclusion of implied terms – the Core Agreements now specifically exclude any additional terms that are not set out in the agreement being ‘implied’ into the agreement – to the extent that this is allowed (the Australian Consumer Law, for example, may insert certain terms in to the Core Agreements). This change reduces the risk that facilities may have a claim from a storer from unintended promises (such as those contained in unauthorised statements made by staff, for example).

SPECIFIC UPDATES Some of the Core Agreements have unique updates. The Mobile Agreement now enables facilities to dispose of goods in the event of the storer’s default, or breach

of contract, whereas the previous versions did not give facilities this right. Key contractual terms are now a part of the Storage Room Agreement, bringing its content into line with the other Core Agreements.

USING THE NEW CORE AGREEMENTS The Core Agreements were updated with the main objective of simplifying the storer sign-up process. The new layout of the Core Agreements breaks this into two parts, being the: l Schedule (in most cases, one – two pages); and l Full Terms. The ‘split’ between the Schedule and Full Terms means that facilities will not need to print out an entire copy of an agreement each time a new storer is signed up. If facilities make the Full Terms available for storers to read prior to signing up, facilities need only to print the Schedule for storers to sign. Accompanying each of the Core Agreements is a new Instruction Sheet, guiding facilities through the sign-up process. Once all key commercial information has been entered into the Schedule, facilities will need to either: l make a hard copy of the Full Terms available for the storer to read – if the storer is signing up to the agreement at the facility, in person.

For example, laminated copies available at a facility’s reception counter, or as a wall poster; or l provide the storer with the opportunity to read and download the Full Terms – if the storer is signing up to the agreement online. The Instruction Sheets also draw attention to essential parts of the Schedule that need to be completed to ensure that sign-up is effective, such as: l the storer acknowledging that they have received and had opportunity to read the Full Terms; l the storer agreeing to be bound by the terms of the agreement; and l each of the storer and a representative of the facility signing the agreement.

RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS Ensure you remain a connected member as announcement of the formal release of the updated documents will be made in the SSAA STOReFLASH newsletter and social media channels. The latest versions of all SSAA documents are available on the SSAA members only portal after login. l

Nick Miller and Nicole Butler Hunt & Hunt Lawyers Victoria

new standard storage agreement* now available! *only available to financial members

putting ink on paper since 1977 3 Paterson Parade Queanbeyan NSW 2620 PO Box 624 Fyshwick ACT 2609 tel: 02 6299 4500 email: printing@homesteadpress.com.au SSAA SERVICE MEMBER SINCE 1999

www.homesteadpress.com.au

40 | TRADE DIRECTORY – TRUSTED SUPPLIERS TO THE SELF STORAGE INDUSTRY ACCESS CONTROL, FIRE & SECURITY AD-TECH Security Adrian Rostirolla T: 1300 30 60 90 E: sales@ad-tech.com.au www.ad-tech.com.au –––––– AlarmQuip Security Systems Evan Richardson T: +61 7 5492 3242 E: evan@alarmquip.com.au www.alarmquip.com.au –––––– PTI Australasia Pty Ltd Ben Parsad T: +61 7 3216 5524 E: sales@ptiaustralasia.com www.pti.com.au –––––– QueAccess Pty Ltd Kevin Hannagan T: +61 488 279 918 E: kevin@queaccess.com.au www.queaccessw.com.au –––––– Sentinel Australasia Jason Keane T: +61 3 9988 2035 / 1300 852 117 E: jason@storagesecurity.com.au www.storagesecurity.com.au

ANCILLARY SERVICES PACKAGING VISY BOXES & MORE Ralph Inglese T: +61 3 9554 5600 E: vbm_vic@visy.com.au www.visyboxesandmore.com.au Branches across Australia and New Zealand

CLEANING Sweepers Australia Michelle Maxwell & Vaughan Rose T: +61 3 9562 7533 E: michelle@sweepersaustralia.com.au www.sweepersaustralia.com.au

FREIGHT Jetta Excess Baggage Pty Ltd Lyle Honess T: 1300 300 688 E: sales@jetta.com.au www.jettaexcessbaggage.com.au

LOCKS ASSA ABLOY Peter McLean T: +61 2 8745 7016 E: peter.mclean@assaabloy.com www.assaabloy.com.au –––––– Lock Distributors Australia Martin Coote T: 1800 28 77 24 E: service@lockdistributors.com.au www.lockdistributors.com.au

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

PRINTING Homestead Press Joe Barbaro T: +61 2 6299 4500 E: printing@homesteadpress.com.au www.homesteadpress.com.au

STORAGE AUCTION iBidOnStorage Brennan McLoughlin T: +61 2 4302 0605 E: info@ibidon.com.au www.ibidonstorage.com.au

TELECOMMUNICATION URL Networks Ashley Breeden T: 1300 331 178 E: support@url.net.au www.url.net.au

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION STORCO STORAGE SYSTEMS Jonathan Layton T: +61 2 6391 2800 E: jonathan.layton@storco.com.au www.storco.com.au UNIVERSAL STORAGE CONTAINERS (USC) Shay McQuade T: +61 438 256 541 E: shay.mcquade@universalstorage containers.com www.universalstoragecontainers.com A-Line Construction Jerry Garton T: +64 1 1242 0063 E: jerry@alineconstruction.co.nz www.alineconstruction.co.nz Austra Energy Project Kek Koh T: +61 3 9314 4746 E: info@austraenergy.com.au www.austraenergy.com.au –––––– Beach Construction NSW Pty Ltd Skye Reardon T: +61 2 9550 9199 E: sreardon@beach.com.au www.beach.com.au –––––– B & D Australia James Tyson T: +61 7 3883 0248 M: +61 417 702 636 E: james.tyson@bnd.com.au www.bnd.com.au –––––– Corporate Construction Group Matthew Moulsdale T: +61 2 9231 3691 E: admin@corporateconstruction.com.au www.corporateconstruction.com.au –––––– G&M Stor-More Michael Watson T: +61 2 4733 5048 E: michael@gmstormore.com.au www.gmstormore.com.au

Gliderol Garage Doors Tom Ainscough T: +61 8 8360 0000 E: tainscough@gliderol.com.au www.gliderol.com.au –––––– Kiwimark Construction Ltd Travis Morgan T: +64 7 576 5494 T: +64 7 576 5491 E: travis@kiwimark.net.nz www.kiwimark.net.nz –––––– RegisBuilt Group Anthony Regis T: 1300 388 224 E: anthony.regis@regisbuilt.com.au www.regisbuilt.com.au –––––– Steel Storage Pty Ltd Stephen Boxall T: +61 7 3865 1600 E: sales@steelstorage.com.au www.steelstorage.com.au –––––– Storcad Pty Limited Javier Rezzonico T: +61 447 566 988 E: info@storcad.com.au www.storcad.com.au –––––– Taurean Door Systems Adrian Valente T: +61 3 9721 8366 E: adrian.valente@taureands.com.au www.taureands.com.au –––––– Total Construction Pty Ltd Steven Taylor T: +61 2 9746 9555 E: stevet@totalconstruction.com.au www.totalconstruction.com.au –––––– Vulcan Fire Engineering Ltd Gillian Stopford T: +64 216 38844 E: gillian@vfe.co.nz www.vfe.co.nz

FINANCIAL SERVICES Bishop Collins Pty Ltd Phillip Keenan T: +61 2 4353 2333 E: mail@bishopcollins.com.au www.bishopcollins.com.au

HR SERVICES HR Central Cath Grawe T: 1300 717 721 E: cath.grawe@hrcentral.com.au www.hrcentral.com.au

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TRADE DIRECTORY | 41 INSURANCE SERVICES AON Risk Services Darren Clauscen E: darren.clauscen@aon.com T: +61 2 9253 8350 www.aon.com.au/storage –––––– AON Risk Services NZ Jeffery Nathan T: +64 9 362 9535 E: jeffery.nathan@aon.com www.aon.co.nz –––––– Midland Insurance Brokers Gilda Mihran T: 1300 306 571 E: storage@midlandinsurance.com.au www.midlandinsurance.com.au –––––– Wallace McLean Ltd Insurance Brokers and Risk Advisers Simon Keenan T: +64 9 358 7233 E: simon@wallacemclean.co.nz www.wallacemclean.co.nz

LEGAL SERVICES Hunt & Hunt Lawyers Graeme Armstead T: +61 3 8602 9200 E: garmstead@huntvic.com.au www.hunthunt.com.au

LIFTS & HOISTS SOUTHWELL LIFTS AND HOISTS David Head T: +61 2 4655 7007 E: sales@southwell.com.au www.southwell.com.au Safetech Lifts & Hoists Tony Krlevski T: +61 3 5127 4566 E: sales@safetech.com.au www.safetech.com.au

MANAGEMENT SERVICES Kennards Self Storage Management Services Fiona Harding T: +61 2 9764 9815 E: fiona@kss.com.au www.kss.com.au –––––– Storage King Management Services Martin Richards, Australia/ New Zealand T: +61 2 9460 6660 E: martin@storageking.com.au www.storageking.com.au –––––– StorAssist Sally Chodan T: +61 403 533 640 E: sally@storassist.com.au www.storassist.com.au –––––– StoreLocal Mark Greig T: 1300 099 022 E: partners@storelocal.com.au www.storelocal.com.au

www.selfstorage.org.au

OHS SERVICES OHS Action Consulting Craig Salter T: +61 409 772 499 E: craig.salter@actionohs.com.au www.actionohs.com.au

REAL ESTATE & VALUERS Box Commercial Estate Agents Robert Stanley-Turner T: +61 4 1898 2000 E: rob@boxcom.com.au www.boxcom.com.au –––––– Colliers International Holdings (Aust) Ltd Dylan Adams T: +61 2 9257 0222 E: dylan.adams@colliers.com www.colliers.com.au –––––– Collins & Associates Malcolm Collins T: +61 3 8456 5134 E: malcolm@malcolmcollins.com www.malcolmcollins.com –––––– Fallon Valuers Martin Fallon T: +61 3 9674 0374 E: martin@fallonvaluers.com.au www.fallonvaluers.com.au –––––– Highway Frontage Specialist Estate Agents Matt Walsh T: 1300 661 950 +61 3 9944 9350 E: matt@highwayfrontage.com.au www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au –––––– Jones Lang LaSalle Paul Ben-Nathan T: +64 9 366 1666 E: paul.bn@ap.jll.com www.ap.jll.com –––––– m3property Strategists Jeremy Hoffman T: +61 7 3620 7912 E: jeremy.hoffman@m3property.com.au Ross Perkins T: +61 7 3620 7901 E: ross.perkins@m3property.com.au www.m3property.com.au –––––– Urbis David Blackwell M: +61 409 771 310 E: dblackwell@urbis.com.au Linda Sharkey M: +61 410 902 116 E: lsharkey@urbis.com.au www.urbis.com.au

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS EZIDEBIT T: +61 7 3124 5500 E: sales@ezidebit.com.au www.ezidebit.com STORMAN AUSTRALIA Andy Shaw T: +61 7 3319 1522 E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com STORMAN NEW ZEALAND Andy Shaw T: +64 9 280 3393 E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com Centreforce Technology Group Pty Ltd Dallas Dogger T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: sales@centreforceit.com.au www.centreforceit.com.au –––––– Sitelink Michael Dogger, General Manager T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: support@sitelinksoftware.com.au sitelinksoftware.com.au

STORAGE CONTAINERS BOS Containers Australia Elise Kelsey T: +61 3 9720 4455 E: ekelsey@aimhire.com.au www.aimhire.com.au –––––– Flex Box Ltd Lene Nielsen T: 852 2881 0856 E: ln@flex-box.com www.flex-box.com –––––– Quickbuild Containers & Sheds Phil Tindle T: +64 7 9250394 E: sales@quickbuild.co.nz www.quickbuild.co.nz –––––– Havener Enterprises Alan White T: +1 815 935 8383 E: alan@havenerent.com www.portablestoragebox.com –––––– Royal Wolf Trading Craig Baker T: +61 2 9482 3466 E: removals@royalwolf.com.au www.royalwolf.com.au

WEBSITE DESIGN Big Budda Boom Pty Ltd Andy Pudmenzky T: 1300 660 937 E: info@bigbuddaboom.com.au www.bigbuddaboom.com.au –––––– R6 Digital Michael Dogger T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: sales@r6digital.com.au www.r6digital.com.au

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 INSIDER 111

42 | NEW MEMBERS ADDITIONAL FACILITIES

FACILITY MEMBERS

National Storage Bibra Lake

Alarmed Self Storage

309 Spearwood Avenue Bibra Lake 6163 WA

1716 Forest Road Orange 2800 NSW

T: +61 8 9418 5011 E: bibralake@nationalstorage.com.au –––––– National Storage Boulcott

T: +61 2 6361 0133 E: melissa@johncook.com.au –––––– Bargara Storage

61 Connolly Street Boulcott 5010 Lower Hutt New Zealand

29 Farquhars Road Orange 2800 NSW

T: +64 4 939 3291 E: boulcott@nationalstorage.nz –––––– National Storage Braeside

T: +61 7 4154 3456 E: pgscontracting@westnet.com.au –––––– Bombay Storage

214-216 Governor Road Braeside 3135 VIC

302 Mill Road Bombay 2675 Auckland New Zealand

T: +61 3 9580 4033 E: braeside@nationalstorage.com.au –––––– National Storage Burleigh Heads

T: +64 217 5506 E: sales@bombaystorage.co.nz –––––– Keepsafe Storage Wangara Pty Ltd

61 Township Drive Burleigh Heads 4220 QLD

69 Buckingham Drive Wangara WA 6065

T: +61 7 5535 5855 E: burleigh@nationalstorage.com.au –––––– National Storage Landsdale

T: +61 8 9200 2262 E: wangara@keepsafestorage.com.au –––––– My Storage Shed

12 Langar Way Lansdale 6065 WA

1680 Forest Road Orange 2800 NSW

T: +61 8 9303 4474 E: landsdale@nationalstorage.com.au –––––– National Storage Lawson

T: +61 2 6361 0133 E: melissa@johncook.com.au –––––– Nowra Rubber Co Pty Ltd

7 & 18-20 Livingston Street Lawson 2738 NSW

65-73 Rowlins Road GERRINGONG 2534 NSW

T: +61 2 4759 3285 E: lawson@nationalstorage.com.au –––––– National Storage Martin

T: +61 413 801 936 E: jim@gerringongindustrialpark.com.au –––––– Pacific Self Storage (Vanuatu)

10 Ferres Drive Martin 6110 WA

Lini Road Port Vila, Vanuatu

T: +61 8 6380 4743 E: martin@nationalstorage.com.au

E: rgregg@ussfm.com.au –––––– Prom Coast Storage

50 Lower Franklin Road Foster 3960 VIC T: +61 438 871 228 E: promcoaststorage@gmail.com

Storage Haven

39 Arizona Road Charmhaven 2263 NSW T: +61 478 890 493 E: darren.went@gmail.com –––––– Storage King Marsden Park

7 Bells Glade Marsden Park 2765 NSW T: +61 2 9197 7391 E: marsdenpark@storageking.com.au –––––– Storage Matters SA

300 Cormack Road Wingfield 5013 SA T: +61 490 131 172 E: v.matters@bigpond.com –––––– Storage Queen Ltd

68 Bruce McLaren Road Henderson 612 Auckland New Zealand T: +64 9 836 0833 E: info@storagequeen.co.nz –––––– Toowoomba Self Storage

1-5 Eyers Street Toowoomba 4350 QLD T: +61 7 4634 5311 E: info@toowoombaseselfstorage.com.au –––––– Tuncurry Storage

7 Rodmay Street Tuncurry 2428 NSW T: +61 421 735 150 E: tuncurrystorage@outlook.com

SERVICE MEMBERS Beach Construction NSW Pty Ltd

101 Flood Street Leichhardt 2040 NSW T: +61 2 9550 9199 E: sreardon@beach.com.au –––––– Flex Box Ltd

Unit 1101/1102, 11th Floor 23 Luard Road Wanchai Hong Kong T: 852 2881 0856 E: ln@flex-box.com

Code of Ethics The Self Storage Association of Australasia’s Code of Ethics are fundamental to the values of the SSAA and essential to achieving its mission to lead the storage industry in Australasia by promoting the highest standards of ethics and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of all members and customers. As a SSAA member, you are required to follow the Code. 1. Members will ensure that their workplace is a safe environment for employees, customers and other visitors to the site. 2. Members will treat all employees, customers and visitors to the site with respect. 3. Members will promote the positive image of the industry through ethical and honest advertising and business practices.

INSIDER 111 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

4. Members will undertake to report any suspected criminal activities to the relevant authorities. 5. Members will comply with all relevant local, state and federal government laws and regulations regarding a self storage business. 6. Members will use a current approved SSAA storage agreement or develop an alternative that delivers the equivalent contractual agreement. 7. Members will ensure that staff are competent in their duties and complete appropriate training in current industry practices. 8. Members will participate honestly, cooperatively and transparently with any investigation by the SSAA into any alleged breach of this Code of Ethics.

www.selfstorage.org.au

•WANTED•

INFORMATION ON THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE 1ST SELF STORAGE FACILITY IN AUSTRALIA

•REWARD• TITLE - SELF STORAGE DETECTIVE Your information will be subject to intense debate for the 30th Anniversary Committee Send your information to marketing@selfstorage.com.au or contact Bryan Furtado on 03 9466 9699

Contact STORCO to discuss your storage requirements P 02 6391 2800 E sales@storco.com.au