AFTA calls for a review of Ministerial Council decision

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has noted the Ministerial Council decision requesting the TCF to give urgent attention to a risk based assessment scheme for TCF membership. AFTA has further noted the appointment of consultants by the TCF to carry out industry discussion and review of this issue.

It is the view of AFTA that the Ministerial Council decision is a band aid solution to accommodate one large enterprise which has been refused exemption from the travel agents’ regulatory scheme in Australia. As such the action that has now been initiated does not address the dire need for a total review of the regulatory regime and consumer protection in Australia.

In August 2005 AFTA submitted to State Governments (SCOCA) a fully detailed document outlining the industry’s views on reform of the regulatory regime and consumer protection via the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF).

The review sub committee of SCOCA has held one meeting with AFTA and has only discussed one aspect of the document that AFTA submitted. It is now a year since AFTA submitted its views to State Governments and apart from this one meeting there has been, to AFTA’s knowledge, no further consideration of the submission.

This is a totally unacceptable situation to the industry within Australia and such a time delay is condemned by both AFTA and the industry at large.

The industry is concerned that such a lack of action is again a sign that State Governments are not prepared to address the industry’s concerns and are in fact attempting to ignore long held industry views which have been presented to government on more than one occasion in recent years.

On this occasion AFTA wishes to make it clear that the industry will not accept any attempt to ignore industry recommendation or sideline industry views in favour of the present outmoded, inappropriate and incomplete consumer compensation arrangements currently in place in the Australian travel industry.

AFTA calls on all State Governments and State Ministers to intervene in this situation to ensure that the industry’s views are aired, discussed and taken on board so that a complete review for the benefit of both consumers and the industry is undertaken at the earliest possible time.

As an interim measure AFTA and the industry is opposed to any implementation of a risk based assessment for TCF membership designed to give any sort of preference to any organisation until such time as AFTA’s submission has been considered and widely discussed, and the recommendations of the industry taken on board as part of a total review of the Australian regulatory regime.