CHAIRPERSON REPORT

There is no mistaking that SPASA Australia has gone from strength to strength since its inception. With over 775 members, SPASA Australia currently possesses the highest number of members of any Swimming Pool & Spa Association. The association has been designed to evolve and be self sustainable, ensuring its viability well into the future. The past 12 months has been no exception, with a focus on consolidation of last years achievments and expansion into new markets such as New Zealand. SPASA Australia has placed a high level of emphasis on the creation and delivery of various training initiatives. Being able to provide professional training and support ensures that as an industry, we are equipped to deal with the everchanging regulatory demands that we all face. The continued professionalism of RTO Manager, Peter Holland and the appointment of RTO Administrator, Nicole Daws as enabled the association to promote solid career paths and significantly expand our training offerings. This not only assists in upskilling existing industry staff but also aids in attracting new people into our businesses as a attractive career opportunity. With environmental pressures continually being an important consideration, SPASA Australia recognised the need for an initiative and launched the Climate Care Certification Program, the first efficiency and sustainability certification program promoting products to regulators and consumers. 2018 saw a few new faces join the SPASA Team. Membership Executives, Rodney Smith and Luke Daly have been working in field to provide a higher level of communication and support in order to better service our members. Over the past year we have also seen a few members of the SPASA team move on from the association due to either retirement or to seek alternate career opportunities. Thank you to Adrian Hart, Diane Turas, Vicki Taylor and Megan McElhinney for their time and commitment to the industry. We wish them all the best with their future endeavours. In August 2018, SPASA Australia successfully ran the SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show for the first time. This event achieved a record number of exhibitors and attendees with plans to expand by a further 30% due to the event being a complete sell out. As an industry, it is important that we continue to promote our products to end consumers. Pool & Spa Events and Expo’s are an integral part of this strategy. This year has also seen the NSW Pool, Spa & Outdoor Living Expo achieve another strong result with the SA event also gaining momentum and getting stronger and better. In addition to the Australian events, in May 2019, SPASA Australia will host the first ever Pool & Spa Show to take place in Auckland, New Zealand. The SPLASH! Magazine has been achieving strong results. Working alongside the Pool & Spa Magazine, both publications aim to deliver better content to the industry.

With more women now holding senior positions in our industry, SPASA Australia recognised the need to promote and develop this category and in 2018, the first ever Women in Leadership Event for the industry took place. The program was a great success and is an initiative this is being further developed and expanded in 2019. These initiatives result in new revenue streams so as not to rely on the need for increasing membership fees, plus an improvement to our balance sheets and the overall profitability of the Association. Not only is the role of SPASA Australia to promote pools and spas, but also to provide protection to the industry with hundreds of hours are being dedicated to lobbying for consistent regulations. Fencing and Energy Regulations are just a couple of examples that are currently being worked on. When reflecting on my first year as Chairperson, it is evident that the association has covered a lot of ground, gained momentum and is continuing to build a strong and successful future for our industry. Progress does not happen without hard work and dedication. I would like to take this opportunity to thank SPASA Australia’s CEO, Lindsay McGrath for his unwavering dedication and passion for our industry. Congratulations on another massive year. Lindsay leads an equally passionate team who continue to put in the hard yards to not only support our members but also propel our industry forward. Thank you to Spiros Dassakis, Nicole Daws, Luke Daly, Peter Holland, Suzie Kent, Rodney Smith, David Stennett and Melinda Zoanetti. SPASA Australia is a very exciting board to be a part of. Amongst our board members, we possess a very diverse and incredibly strong array of skill sets that combined, ensure that SPASA Australia continues to provide our industry with the best representation possible. Thank you to my fellow board members, Troy Cartwright, John Daniel, Neil Davey, Elena Gosse, Garth Jackson, Andrew Jakovac, Adam Jaworski, Lynley Papineau, and Stefan Ossenberg. In summary, the past 12 months has seen SPASA Australia gain more members, offer more benefits, provide a higher level of representation with a fresh new look association, that has proven to be and will continue to be a vehicle for our industry to move forward into the future.

“There is no mistaking that SPASA Australia has gone from strength to strength since its inception”

Rob Kruber Chairperson