Membership support over the past 12 months enabled the ASI to achieve the following significant advances for the Australian steel industry.
- Initiated a three-year traceability-of-steel project to better define, educate, certify and standardise local steel products so all the parts of a finished steel product have production records.
- Called for restrictions on export of unprocessed scrap steel by making a submission to a Federal Government Senate Inquiry into Waste Reduction and Recycling Policies and by supporting the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council initiative to ban the export of unprocessed scrap.
- Commenced an investigation into the significant increase in volumes of imported fabricated steel, mostly for use in portal frame construction which is seriously impacting the viability of structural steel fabricators serving this important market.
- Continued to push for compliance with Australian Standards in fabrication to protect local community from inferior steelwork. Steelwork Compliance Australia (SCA) has now audited and certified 152 steelwork fabricators to construction classes as per the standard across all states. It is notable that the latest version of AS 4100 calls up AS/NZS 5131 as a secondary reference, embedding this into regulation and that the National Construction Code (NCC) update 2022 also reflects this.
- Facilitated the development and publication of the Designing to NCC 2022 documents and presentations. ASI worked with members and the National Association of Steel-framed Housing (NASH) to develop a number of industry reference documents in areas that relate to changes in the NCC 2022. Further to this, ASI provided representations and submissions to the NCC 2025 review and consultation process.
- Partnered with WorldSkills Australia (WSA) to sponsor its national championship at the Melbourne Convention Centre in August 2023 for construction metal work and welding categories. The sponsorship reaped rewards, with several thousand attendees visiting the show each day and more than 150 people visiting ASI’s shared stand with Weld Australia and the Outsource Institute. The national winners will now compete at the 47th WorldSkills International Championships in Lyon, France, in September 2024.
- Launched the inaugural Steel Sustainability Awards in February 2024. There were four main category winners from a field of 25 entries. The awards showcase the achievements of the end-to-end supply chain including architects, designers, engineers, steel manufacturers, distributors, fabricators, processors, builders and constructors in delivering steel-related solutions that result in positive sustainable impact.
- Nominated the winning entry in the World Steel Association constructsteel awards Innovation of the Year category in 2023.
- Provided access to ASI’s world-class extensive list of more than 20,000+ steel related resources. ASI bookshop, eLibrary, events and eLearning provide tools for education, training and development to those seeking to better understand the steel industry. ASI welcomed 1,087 attendees at ASI events and seminars throughout the year.
- Continued to advocate for local content federally and across all states and territories so that the focus is on Australian steel and that fabricated steel quality compliance is assured. With government agencies now increasingly specifying AS/NZS 5131 and/or mandating certified fabricators to be used, demand for certification is continuing to be strong. SCA is continuing to expand its services to include other steel supply chain participants that conduct works under AS/NZS 5131.
- Continued to engage and collaborate with relevant key stakeholders and state bodies to identify opportunities to promote careers across the steel supply chain. ASI will seek participation at careers expos, conduct site tours for secondary students, work with the Careers Advisers Association to build awareness and promote careers in steel to school students, and work with registered training organisations in delivering training courses in both roll forming and shed building.
- Contributed as a member or via submissions to a range of industry bodies and committees in 2023-2024 (see https://www.steel.org.au/what-we-do/representation-and-memberships/ and https://www.steel.org.au/what- we-do/advocacy/submissions-to-government/ for the full list.
