Our Year In Review

With the financial year coming to an end we decided to take stock of the year that was and started looking at what we have achieved in the last year.

Our Experts Panel

This panel was set up so we could have well known employee ownership experts comment on ESS consultations; help provide insight into what the market is doing; to create research and findings in this area and to act as a referral service for companies seeking employee ownership.

They have been very active in the last year and below is a summary of what we have produced for our members:

The First Report was about the Trends in Employee Ownership and the Impact that the 2009 changes have had on companies offering these types of plans:

Employee share ownership weakened by government legislation, new report finds
Lower participation in employee share plans and a decrease in the use of option plans is hitting innovation in Australian business
Download and read The Changing ESS Landscape since 1 July 2009 |  EOA Report, April 2013

Key Reform Agenda

To start the year we set out 7 key reform areas that are needed to simplify the process for companies wanting to offer employee ownership:

http://www.employeeownership.com.au/news-archives/eoas-new-years-resolutions-7-key-reforms-for-employee-share-plans/

Responding to the ASIC Consultation

There has also been a lot of activity around the ESS this year including the ASIC Consultation Process and the experts panel created a formal letter response to that process.

Start-ups

The experts were involved in the Consultation Process that took place around Start-Ups and created a report that highlighted the key issues for Start-up Companies and the proposed solutions.  It also suggested a plan design that could work across all start-up companies and remove complexity:

Employee Ownership Australia and New Zealand offers a plan solution for start-up companies
Download and read Our Response to the Treasury Consultation on Start-Ups |  EOA Report, February 2014
Download and read Media Release

Meet our Experts

Our most recent report created by Link and Computershare focused on showing how employee ownership can boost the economy.

In March EOA was asked by the Hon Tony Smith MP (the chair of this group) to present to the Federal Government’s Economics and Finance Committee in Canberra.  This was a very timely and useful dialogue to have with a number of supporters in the back bench of the Federal government.  One of the clear requests was to call for a taskforce to be set up to help work with industry to create changes.

In June delegates of EOA and the expert Panel met with policy advisors in the Department of Industry, the Department of Innovation and Treasury to discuss reform in this area and seek to progress the consultation process for start-ups.

The EOA expert’s panel had numerous conversations with the ATO around TR 2014/D1, specifically excluding Division 83A plans from the ruling’s ambit.  This led in an ATO announcement at our conference that the TR would not apply Division 83A plans.

Our Inner Circle Company Group

In March this year we set up our Inner Circle Group made up of companies committed to employee ownership.  There are two Inner Circle groups, one targeted at private and unlisted companies and one targeted at listed entities.

We will hopefully hear more about this group later in the year.

Overseas Connections

EOA has continued to stay in contact with Graeme Nuttall in the UK and Loren Rodgers in the US.  Late last year we started connecting with the International Association for Financial Participation and met with them in London.

Engagement with other peak bodies

We have been meeting with other peak bodies to find areas of agreement and support and made a joint press release with AusBiotech in this area.

We have also been working with BCCM (business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals) on a Public Sector Mutuals Green and White Paper to drive employee ownership in this space. The White Paper will be completed during the Government recess period and released the week Government returns on 26 August, 2014.

We under took the following training and events throughout the year:

Workshop: Employee-Owned Social Care – The CASA Model

Care and Share Associates (CASA) is the UK’s leading social enterprise in the social care sector. It operates employee owned services across five locations and delivers over 13,500 hours of personal support per week, principally commissioned by the public sector. This workshop was presented by leading UK social care co-operative expert, Dr Guy Turnbull. Guy has been involved in co-operatives and social enterprise for over 20 years and is Managing Director and co-founder of Care & Share Associates (CASA),

Privatising Royal Mail – What are the lessons for Australia Post?
Visiting UK mutuals expert, Peter Hunt, CEO, Mutuo – UK, discussed the sale of Royal Mail and the various approaches which could be taken in Australia including the option to sell all or part of the business to employees and stakeholders.

Making it Mutual Workshops:
Transforming the delivery of public services in Australia
Melbourne   |   Brisbane   |   Sydney   |   Canberra

In the United Kingdom public service mutuals have emerged as an attractive alternative to for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organisations.
Employee Ownership in partnership with the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) undertook a National Workshop Tour, with international guest presenter, public service mutuals expert Peter Hunt (CEO, Mutuo – UK)

Annual Conference

We had our 3rd annual conference this year, with our keynote speaker as the Hon. Tony Smith MP. You can find out more about the conference and awards nights on our website.

We now have a fully functional website that allows members to access key papers, resources, discussion forums and information online, that has been in place since January 2014.

Become an active member, and a voice for employee ownership, join now.