Following another major weather event this week, with many ADIA members impacted, I wish to bring your attention to the latest Government flood relief package available.

Late Tuesday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced a joint package to add to the various support measures available since earlier this year.

Eligibility is determined by Local Government Area (LGA) and payable from today. Individuals, sole traders, and employees can claim payments through MyGov for the following types of assistance:

Australian Government Disaster Relief Payment (AGDRP)

The AGDRP payment is available for individuals affected by this week’s weather event within a listed LGA. The payment is up to $1,000 for adults and $400 for children who have experienced significant loss, damage to home or property, or injury. The payment is a one-off and not means-tested.

Check your eligibility for the AGDRP here.

Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA)

The DRA is open to employees and sole traders for up to 13 weeks from today. The claimant must be able to demonstrate loss of income as a direct result of storms or floods since 27 June in a listed LGA.

Check your eligibility for the DRA here.

You can read the Prime Minister’s press release here.

You can read about other kinds of assistance available in NSW since February 2022 here.

If you have any questions or anything you wish to see in these updates, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email.

I would like to thank you for your support of the launch of the ADIA Jobs Board. In the five weeks since the site went live, 39 employers have posted 68 jobs.

Following a candidate acquisition campaign including search engine optimisation, organic and paid social media advertising, and a roll-out within the ADIA member and association networks, the ADIA Jobs Board is now attracting quality candidates from both within and beyond the oral health sector.

Free ADIA Jobs Board access extended

In order to maintain momentum and continue to build organic traffic to the site, free unlimited job ads will continue to be available to members until Friday 30 September.

If you have not yet used the ADIA Jobs Board to search for new talent:

- Go to jobs.adia.org.au and click Post a Job

- Create an account for your company and set up a company profile

- Follow the prompts to post a job

Reminder: Have your say at the next TGA meeting

Thank you to those who attended the Tech Forum online earlier this month.

For those who missed it, you can find the summary here.

ADIA has been invited to present at the next RegTech meeting in September. This is your opportunity to provide us with feedback and to highlight any concerns you wish to have raised with the TGA.

If you would like to provide feedback or have any questions, please make contact by email here. In order to prepare for the presentation, all feedback must be received by Friday 15 July.

As the financial year draws to a close, it’s time to prepare for a raft of changes coming into effect from 1 July.

On a national level, there are changes to superannuation, wages, and a range of company fees employers and business owners need to be aware of.

Super guarantee

From 1 July, the super guarantee increases from 10% to 10.5%. To prepare for this, payroll systems need to be updated to incorporate the increase prior to the beginning of the financial year to avoid any underpayment errors.

The super rate will continue to increase incrementally to 12% in 2025. The next increase to 11% is scheduled for 1 July 2023. Read more.

Super eligibility

From the start of 2022-2023, employers will need to pay the super guarantee to all employees, regardless of their earnings. The $450 minimum per month threshold for super guarantee payments is being removed for employees from 1 July.

This does not change the eligibility requirements for staff under 18 years of age. These employees will still need to work 30 hours in one week in order to be eligible for super guarantee payments. Read more.

Minimum and award wage increases

As reported last week, the national minimum wage is set to increase by 5.2% from 1 July. This equates to $40 per week at $21.38 per hour for a full-time employee.

Following the annual wage review, the Fair Work Commission also announced increases to award wages. Those on a minimum award, but earning more than $896.60 per week will receive a 4.6% increase from 1 July. Please note there are some exceptions where the increase will go through in October 2022. These include awards in hospitality, aviation, and tourism. Read more.

Business and company fee increases

In line with the consumer price index, ASIC has announced increases to various fees for registered companies and businesses from 1 July. These include registrations and renewals for business and company names, deregistration of a company name, late fees, and annual review fees. Read more.

Did you know?

July is the peak month for employee turnover each year. Learn how to spot the signs and increase retention with ADIA partner, Business Australia. Supply your ABN and follow the prompts in the article to join Business Australia (free for ADIA members).

In the weeks since the Federal Election, inflation pressure, cost of living, and wages have all stayed at the top of the news cycle. This week, the new Labor Government increased the minimum wage just ahead of the current rate of inflation.

It is with this focus on the cost of living and doing business in a post-COVID-19 economy, that I am pleased to release the latest Australian Dental Industry Intelligence Report.

2020-2021 Australian Dental Industry Intelligence Report Released

Compiled by IBISWorld, the 2020-21 Australian Dental Industry Intelligence Report breaks down metrics for both products and services in the dental industry. It covers the impacts of inflationary pressure, COVID-19 restrictions, and other key performance drivers over the last 12 months.

The 2020-21 edition shows strong rebound growth in the industry since the decline in the first stages of COVID-19, outlined in last year's figures. The attached report shows 7.7% growth in combined products and services supply, along with 1% annualised industry growth to $3.5 billion. Click the button below to read the full report.

Have your say at the next TGA meeting

Thank you to those who attended the Tech Forum online last Thursday.

For those who missed it, you can find the summary here.

ADIA has been invited to present at the next RegTech meeting in September. This is your opportunity to provide us with any feedback and to highlight any concerns you wish to have raised with the TGA.

If you would like to provide feedback or have any questions, please make contact by email here. In order to prepare for the presentation, all feedback must be received by Friday 15 July.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the TGA, various working groups have met over the last several weeks.

Regulatory and Technical Consultative Forum

The RegTech group gathered for the quarterly forum on Thursday last week. Chaired by Department of Health Deputy Secretary, John Skerritt and Co-chaired by First Assistant Secretary, Medical Devices and Product Quality Division, Tracey Duffy, the forum comprises seven associations in the medical device sector. Represented by myself, Joanne Challinor-Rogers, and Clare Martin, ADIA provided feedback to various TGA Department Heads on relevant legislation.

If you would like to attend today's Tech Forum for a full update at 3pm AEST, you can register here.

(RegTech committee members: TGA, ADIA, AMMDA, ATGC, ATSA, AusBiotech, CHP Australia, MTAA and ODMA)

Consultative Committee

ADIA is also a member of the TGA Consultative Committee. Meeting once per quarter, relevant associations consult with the TGA on pertinent issues such as pricing, structure, and advertising.

Dental Sector Working Group

Established in early 2021, the Dental Sector Working Group is made up of seven associations (ADIA, ADA, ADOHTA, ADPA, ASO, DHAA, and DIR). The original consultative process was to develop a new regulatory framework for personalised medical devices. In 2022 the group has been working on the Australian Regulatory Guidelines for Advertising Therapeutic Goods, which move from the 2018 code to the 2021 code at the end of this month.

Where relevant, we include members on items for consultation as part of our work with the TGA. You will have seen this recently when we invited members to participate in the consultative process for cybersecurity for legacy medical devices. If you would like to contribute, the consultation is still open for comment here.

The ongoing relationship with the TGA and other associations in these working groups is an important part of the advocacy work ADIA undertakes on behalf of its members. I would like to thank Joanne Challinor-Rogers and Clare Martin for their ongoing time, expertise, and support of this work.