|
|
WIA Information Update
Date :
04 /
03 /
2019
Author :
WIA Board
WIA Position on outcomes of the Approach to Market for Examination Services.
Dear Member,
As you are no doubt aware the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have recently announced the signing of the Deed of arrangement between the Australian Maritime College (AMC) for the provision of examination and other services.
The AMC have subsequently released their pricing and preliminary information on other processes.
The result of the negotiations between the AMC bid team and ACMA procurement has resulted in the “headline” entry price to the hobby of Amateur Radio rising:
 $75 to $115 (Foundation Assessment, Practical Assessment & Callsign Recommendation) for adults - an increase of over 140%, (WIA’s proposal was $49)
$40 to $115 (Foundation Assessment, Practical Assessment & Callsign Recommendation) for youth - an astonishing 285% increase. (WIA’s proposal was $27)
The WIA board and the Education Group is horrified by the existential risk that this creates for the hobby of Amateur Radio, especially given the widespread community support (at both a local and international level) for attracting younger participants to the hobby.
Not only has the process increased costs and failed to provide continuity (despite solutions to this being offered by the WIA), the processes described by the AMC in their recent release paint a picture of an exam service that, in the opinion of the Education Group, is of a significantly lower standard than that which was previously offered by the WIA and vastly inferior to that which the WIA proposed.
A succession of royal commissions have demonstrated the consequences of decision making that fails to consider the customer.
The only rational conclusion the WIA can draw is that the AMC, parties to the AMC bid and those involved in the ACMA procurement process have weighted political, commercial and personal factors ahead of their customers’, the community and the hobby of Amateur Radio.
The WIA, as the only Amateur Radio organisation that is demonstrably committed to furthering the hobby, remains committed to resolving this situation for the benefit of our members and the community we represent.
On behalf of the WIA Board.
Justin Giles-Clark
President & Director
Related Files
Page Last Updated: Monday 4 March 2019 at 23:34 hours by Webmaster
Click Here To Return To Previous Page
|
|
