AdRock (26-05-13)
AdRock (26-05-13)
There is a recognised Cert III in Electronic Security, it is run through a number of RTO's and up here in Qld thru Skills tech. My industry association (not ASIAL) is pushing for this to become a mandatory requirement for licensing up here in Qld, but we are getting resistence from the dogdy operators that have no technical background and could not even tell you Ohms Law. It is Nationally recognised whereas the one run by ASIAL says something about "may assit in other qualifications". Why spend the money I am about to enrol as a mature age apprentice and I get $15000 from the government and pay no course fees and that includes my RPL from my radio tech days and 25 years in the industry that private RTO's want to charge me $2400 for. So there is a course and everyone needs to push to make it mandatory in ALL states. As we have folks from NSW fly up here, get a licence and fingerprints and then go back south and get their NSW licence under mutual recogonition, avoiding the qualification requirements.
For manpower they fly up there and get the licence so they didnt have to have the P licence. The tech licence in NSW is a tick in a box
It already is.
The recurring theme here is for enforcement of existing legislation. Not more laws.
The provisional licencing scheme has been abolished. Although some chucklehead in the Queensland Office of Fair Trading thought it would be a good idea to demand that monitoring operators interstate be Queensland licenced if they were going to monitor premises in Queensland. Ridiculous.
Just like Heath inspectors do undercover tactics to see if servos and corner store shop keepers will sell cigarettes to minors we need our governing body to be more pro active about catching the non licenced vendors and installers, I think everybody is sick of paying for licences individual and masters and quite clearly there not worth anything. How may times do the honest good guys in the industry lose a job to the sparky or fridgy or handy man turn security professional who's also bought the crap gear from some eBay site of mr Wong out the back of a factory bay sells anything you bring over in a container ship.
Unfortunately this lack of enforcement has and will continue to encourage price gouging and shoddy installations, it's not fair I really think our licence fees should be going to some use.
watchdog (26-05-13)
Every State charges for a Security Licence. Where does that money go? Why isn't it used to police the industry and get rid of all the 'shonks'.
MCman (26-05-13)
Muzza78, your comments would be taken a bit more seriously if they weren't unfortunately peppered with racist stereotypes. Sorry to have to break it to you but there are any number of White Anglo-Saxon fifth generation Australians who are every bit as shonky as those you so quickly deride.
Now, my question to those who are fed up with a lack of enforcement is this. Besides having a bitch about it here, what have you done about it? Have you written to Ministers (note not the regulators, but Ministers)? That is the only way to effect change.
NSW isn't quite there yet but SLED are in the process of forming an enforcement squad which will create a few waves through the industry. One challenge though will be finding people who aren't on their radar e.g. unlicenced operators. That will take some more thought.
Common Dan
You can't tell me you don't agree stereo types aside I was called to do a quote for 8 cameras and dvr and a 8 zone alarm panel in a two storey house now given its easier and safer with two people I put all this into my quote the customer says don't worry about the second tech ill foot your ladder my reply was no my insurances won't allow for that and it's more than just a ladder holder that is required. He then showed me handwritten quote from a guy that runs a electronics shop and does security on the side ( I looked him up he has no licence) and there was three prices scratched on the paper the last being 1400 cash.
You mention it will take some thought for sled to find people under the radar, well if enough promoting of enforcement will be done you'll have every decent operator out there being soldiers trying to keep their industry strong and viable
Maybe make a few announcements through media about the laws and regulations first so the people unknowingly doing this get a chance to either become licenced or cease the activity
And no I didn't match the price or do the job it was just another waste of my time going there to see this happen again
Which minister should we write to and will they even take any notice
I agree, we pay and pay yet jaycar and other stores can sell ymcha crap over the counter, life goes on and no one is prosecuted, why bother even re applying for a license?
Don't get me started on Asials tech grading and training programme.
Muzza78, it would vary from state to state but your local MP would be a good start. The Minister of Police is also relevant. There's no point beating up the regulators, e.g SLED, OFT etc. as they merely administer the legislation rather than drafting it.
It would also be worth beating up your trade association about it as well. Particularly given that in NSW they will have to try harder to retain members now that membership is not compulsory.
Well I thought I would drag this one back up with regards to the standards and what we are seeing in South Western Qld.
Currently we are seeing more and more insurance companies and brokers requiring training records for Techs as well as sign off by those techs on compliance of alarms installed and maintained. We started out with banks years ago going through to make sure everything was as required to standards etc and ow we are seeing it more and more into regular business, chemists, newsagents and even shops like $2 junk stores on national contracts and requiring sign off on compliance and training.
It was always going to be the case that this is the way the standards would start to be enforced and I for one are very happy as work has picked up big time as all these companies go back to their old alarm system tech company and ask for all this and sign off on annual maintence and get nothing so come looking for appropriately trained and certified to do maintence and sign off.
Things might be slowly moving into the correct direction, well for me out here they are.
Romaqld,
That's very interesting.
I've casually observed the opposite trends with insurers caring much less about standards and solely being interested in growing their market share. Typically this would involve taking a customer at the word at the commencement of a policy and only using non-compliance etc. as a means to evade a claim later.
For example asking the customer to confirm whether they have a "monitored alarm system" but not specifying AS2201.2 etc.
Customer says "Yes" (because he assumes incorrectly that the shonk who purports to do monitoring actually does so) and the policy commences. Then they learn the hard way. Maybe. Often they don't.
Maybe Dan out here it could well be driven by Brokers or similar, we have had several who have their annual renewal come through and the insurance company has said get us all these details for your claims about monitored alarm system.
I will have to see if I can get my hands on a copy of the section out of the letter they have got for this latest customer.
Bookmarks