Page 10 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine July-August 2022

NEWS
10
PAINT&PANEL JULY / AUGUST 2022 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
AFCA ADOPTS
AXALTA INTRODUCES SCHOOLS TO THE INDUSTRY
MERIT
ASSESSMENT
AFCA HAS MADE EARLY “MERIT ASSESS-
ment” a permanent feature of its process after a pilot program showed this made complaint handling faster, cheaper and fairer for all parties.
This type of assessment at AFCA’s ini- tial case management stage means un- meritorious complaints – those where there is clearly no error or financial loss – can be identified early.
If a complaint is found to be without merit, AFCA has discretion to “exclude” the complaint under its Rules.
The process was tested in a three-month pilot last year which found the time taken to resolve the selected cases was half that of comparable cases, and the fee charged was as much as 75 per cent lower.
AXALTA HAS PARTNERED WITH TRAINING
Services NSW to host a ‘Try-a-Trade’ day to introduce school students to a career in vehicle collision repair and refinish- ing. They gave them an opportunity for
CODE OF CONDUCT COMMITTEE
hands-on experience with vehicle paint- ing too - all at Axalta’s regional training facility in Marsden Park (Sydney) with hopes for more student days in the fu- ture.
phen Jenkins, general counsel and head of employment relations for the Motor Traders' Association of New South Wales, as an MTAA representative on the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct Administra- tion Committee (CAC).
The CAC has endorsed Jenkins as the new Chair of the CAC, replacing outgo- ing Chair, Mark Czvitkovits.
AGREES TO CODE REVIEW
THE MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE AND
Repair Industry Code of Conduct Ad- ministration Committee met at the Vic- torian Automotive Chamber of Com- merce’s recently completed headquarters in North Melbourne for its first in-per- son meeting of 2022.
Committee members discussed the impact of continuing skill shortages and the role of technology within the industry, as well as the importance of continued industry dialogue and edu- cation for both repairers and insurers.
Agreement was reached at the meet- ing on the first steps towards the re- view of the Code.
The CAC remains committed to con- tinuing its work to ensure the Code as-
sists both repairers and insurers in achieving a balance of fairness in their dealings with each other.
Meanwhile MTAA has appointed Ste-