Page 8 - Climate Control News Oct-Nov 2020

News
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
The Federal Government has made available more than $900 million to provide more university places and support for students.
Almost $25 million has been committed to a new program starting in 2021 to create pathways to STEM careers for up to 500 women through industry-sponsored advanced apprenticeship-style courses.
Many of these new workers could be employed by businesses taking advantage of schemes for deducting the cost of eligible depreciable assets and instantly writing off newly acquired assets.
A further $1 billion has been allocated to Australian universities for research, as well as a $1.6 billion boost to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The Australian Government is also focused on trying to attract the “best and brightest” skilled migrants in the face of a substantial decline in immigration.
Executive chair of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley, said the government’s plans to prioritise the Business Innovation and Investment Program as well as onshore visa applicants who live in designated regional areas will provide additional important stimulus to assist the growth of ailing sectors.
Hedley said the government’s moves were of great importance in light of a forecasted decline in Australia’s net overseas migration of 72,000 people in 2020-21 financial year.
Since the pandemic hit some $2.8 billion has been allocated to apprenticeships.
Big spending budget all about job creation
THE GLOBAL APPRENTICESHIP Network (GAN) Australia has welcomed the Federal Gov- ernment’s budget announcements, including $1.2 billion in wage assistance for businesses taking on new apprentices and trainees.
From October 5, 2020 businesses are eligible to claim half of apprentice and trainee wages for the first 12 months of their placement, beginning on the day employment commences.
These subsidies will be transferred to business- es quarterly to support 100,000 apprenticeships and traineeships places across all industries.
GAN Australia executive director, Gary Workman, said government support is neces- sary to boost training and employment up to a level that will sustain key industries through economic recovery, as well as helping appren- tices, trainees and employers manage the ef- fects of the pandemic.
Changes to
hazardous
chemicals
SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA has published new guidance to help businesses navigate the transi- tion to the Globally Harmonized System of Clas- sification and Labelling of Chemicals Revision 7 (GHS 7) from January 1, 2021.
From this date Australia will begin a two- year transition to GHS 7 which impacts users of refrigerants.
Safe Work Australia has published a dedicated GHS 7 web page and suite of information sheets. These information sheets provide details about classification and labelling requirements for work- place hazardous chemicals, and the duties of man-
ufacturers, importers, suppliers and end users.
“School leavers and young people are particu- larly vulnerable to falling through the economic cracks at this time. We want to encourage them to get involved in training for a trade, IT or ad- ministrative role,” he said.
“Training an apprentice is a long term commit- ment that will help their business grow and con- tribute to a more skilled workforce overall,” he said.
Since the pandemic hit some $2.8 billion in support for apprenticeships and traineeships has been made available, including a wage sub- sidy for small to medium sized businesses to retain existing apprentices and trainees through the Government’s JobTrainer package.
The Federal Government has also announced an exemption from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) for employers providing retraining and reskilling to employees who are moving to a different role within their business.
The transition to GHS 7 was due to start on July 1, 2020, but was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19 on Australian businesses.
To ensure that businesses who had started to implement GHS 7 are not disadvantaged, work health and safety (WHS) regulators are allowing importers and manufacturers to classify and label chemi-
cals in accordance with
GHS 7 from July 1, 2020,
ahead of the official
transitional period from
January 1, 2021.
Suppliers and end users can supply and use GHS 3 or GHS 7 labelled chemi- cals during this period.
The biggest change un- der the new system is the introduction of category 1B which is similar to the
2L classification in ISO 187. It is used to deter- mine if a refrigerant is flammable or not.
Under the new Hazard Statement 18 gases are now listed as flammable instead of ex- tremely f lammable.
BELOW: Australia will begin a two-year transition to GHS 7 in 2021.
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