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Manage human resources strategic planning

i Task 1: Knowledge Questions

Question 1

Read the document “7 HR best practices” provided on Canvas under additional information. What roles Human Resources can play in the formulation and implementation of an organisation’s strategic plan?

Question 2

If Bounce Fitness decided that in order to be effective it must develop high performing self-managed teams. Name common human resources practices that could be adopted to support this direction.

Question 3

Read through The Fitness Australia business Principles and Guidelines and the National Fitness industry code of practice, provided on Canvas under additional information.

List the types of emerging practices or environmental trends that could impact on Bounce fitness staff.

Question 4

What types of information would Bounce Fitness needs to consider when predicting future labour needs?
Describe strategies that could be used to agree on human resource philosophies, values and policies with Bounce Fitness Managers
List options for sourcing Bounce Fitness labour supply and skill requirements.

Question 5

Describe the benefits and disadvantages of using one of the following options for the provision of human resource services.

External provision by a consultant or contractor or
Outsourcing the work to an external service provider or
Allocating the work to existing staff

Benefits Disadvantages

External provision by a consultant or contractor

Outsourcing the work to an external service provider

Allocating the work to existing staff

Question 6

How could new technology be used to support human resource plans for Bounce fitness?
Give examples of risks that need to be managed in relation to a strategic human resources plan.

A) The use of technology provides a positive impact in the Bounce Fitness and enhances a high productivity. The entire operations could be carried out easily using the advanced technology with the help of dedicated staff members. The entire working among the newly recruited members could be understandable and the completion of the activity becomes very less. The use of technology reduces the workforce in the Bounce Fitness and makes a better mode of practices in the working. The chance of error becomes less from the use of technology and enhances a better skill.

Question 7

Refer to the “Annual Strategic Human Resources Plan documents for Bounce Fitness” provided on Canvas under additional information. Name its key elements and requirements.

Page 1 of 7

Both staff and customer confidence and comfort is essential with their health and
wellbeing of paramount importance. This framework is designed to provide guidance in
managing risks associated with COVID-19 within fitness facilities in Australia. It provides
recommendations that are evidence based and follow a risk-mitigation model. The
framework also provides a number of protocols should community transmission risk rise
and additional controls needed to be considered to keep fitness facilities open.

Fitness Australia is the peak industry body that represents
almost 30,000 personal trainers, fitness instructors, fitness
students and fitness business providers. Fitness Australia
sets industry standards to ensure that safe and effective
services are delivered to Australian communities to get
more people, more active, more often for better health and
quality of life.

Introduction
In accordance with the gradual easing of restrictions
related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the
government has provided recommendations for a
staged return to fitness and leisure activities over the
following months.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to
Fitness Australia’s business members on requirements
for their staff and members to support a COVID safe
workplace.

The framework aligns with public health and Safe Work
Australia recommendations for workplaces. It has been
developed by Fitness Australia through consultation
with industry nationally and internationally (IHRSA,
UK Active and Exercise New Zealand). Further to this,
Fitness Australia has also utilised resources from both the
Departments of Health and World Health Organisation to
ensure that the guidelines within the framework reflect
both national and international standards of practice.
The framework has also been endorsed by industry leaders
across the sector and Occupational and Environmental
Physician Dr Andrea James MBBS FAFOE(RACP) FRACGP
GDOEH.

Throughout the COVID-19 restrictions phase, fitness
facilities in addition to the National Fitness Industry Code
of Practice, must align with best practice which includes
the guidance provided in this framework.

This guidance document by Fitness Australia will be
reviewed and updated regularly in accordance with
public health and government legislation which takes
precedence. This document will be reviewed by no later
than June 30th 2020.

Key Public and Occupational
Health Recommendations
Over the coming months, organisations will have an
important role in reducing the rate of transmission
of COVID-19 in the workplace and in the community.
Minimising exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace and
supporting public health measures in contact tracing will
reduce disruption to business in the long term.

The key recommendations by public health authorities to
control the transmission of the coronavirus are:

1. Physical distancing

2. Practice good hand hygiene, clean and disinfect
your environment

3. Stay at home if you are unwell and have any
symptoms of the virus

4. Contact tracing

In addition to managing the risk of transmission of
coronavirus within fitness facilities, employers and
business operators have a responsibility to manage and
care for the health and safety of their staff, which includes
their physical and mental wellbeing.

FRAMEWORK OF OPERATIONS
FOR FITNESS FACILITIES
UNDER COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

18 May 2020

http://

fitness.org.au

/code-of-practice

http://fitness.org.au/code-of-practice

Page 2 of 7

Employers must consult with staff and their representatives
(e.g. health and safety representatives ) on health and
safety matters relating to COVID-19, including what control
measures to put in place in their workplace.

Employers must ensure all staff have completed the
Australian Government online COVID19 infection control
training module.

Frequent communication (e.g. newsletters, posters,
signage) with staff and members to reinforce all COVID-19
related policies and procedures will support effective
action and enhance staff and member confidence in their
ability to work and use the gym or fitness centre. Member
gyms and fitness centres should be able and willing to
present or display a copy of the facility’s disease control
policies and procedures when requested. It is advised that
hard copies should not be released.

Reliable sources of additional information and references
have been provided in the Appendix to this document.

1. Physical distancing

What physical distancing measures do
I need to implement in my fitness facility?
Note – due to current restrictions on fitness facilities
opening to the general public, any outlined measures
relevant to the public facing areas or activities are only
provided for the purpose of informing planning for when
restrictions in the relevant state or territory are lifted. You
should check what restrictions are in place in your state
or territory and only operate based on what activities
are permissible. This includes the number of people
permissible in outdoor and indoor spaces related to
your business.

In accordance with public health directives it is
recommended that you minimise the number of people
in an indoor space to one person per four square metres
of floor space. This will allow all persons to maintain a
physical distance of 1.5 metres from any other person
whilst working or using fitness facilities. The same applies
for outdoor areas.

To determine the maximum number of people allowed,
including staff, in an indoor room at any one time calculate
the area of the enclosed (indoor) space (length multiplied
by width in metres) and divide by four.

To achieve physical distancing the following guidance
is recommended.

For gym floor and change rooms:

Limit the number of staff and customers within the general
gym floor, specific workout areas and change rooms by:

⊲ restricting the number of customers allowed in
specified areas;

⊲ implementing ‘fitness sessions’ for particular areas with
requirements for customers to register (ideally online)
for specific sessions; and

⊲ asking customers to leave the premises once they have
completed their workout session.

Direct staff and customers to keep 1.5 metres of distance
between people and:

⊲ put signs around the gym floor including areas such
as customer change rooms and create wall or floor
markings to identify 1.5 metres distance. Staff could
wear a badge as a visual reminder to each other and
customers of physical distancing requirements;

⊲ remove or cordon off common areas (i.e. chairs, tables
lounges) where customers and staff may otherwise
congregate;

⊲ encourage staff to use other methods such as mobile
phone or radio to communicate rather than face to face
interaction e.g. staff on the gym floor who want to talk to
reception; and

⊲ if available within the gym use a speaker system to
periodically remind customers about physical distancing
at the gym.

The layout of the gym floor and specific workout areas
should be reviewed to enable customers and staff to keep
at least 1.5 metres apart while exercising. This can be
achieved by:

⊲ increasing spacing between fitness equipment. If this
is not possible, consider disabling access to certain
pieces of equipment to enable customers to maintain
1.5 meters between each other – e.g. restrict access to
every second treadmill;

⊲ creating specific pathways for entering and exiting areas
using floor or wall markings;

⊲ where possible encourage members to move uniformly
(e.g. move in the same direction) throughout the fitness
facility to reduce random movement on the gym floor;

⊲ where available, utilising any outdoor space by
relocating more readily moved equipment outside
where weather permits, and it is safe to do so –
e.g. stretching mats; and

⊲ spreading out more popular equipment throughout the
premises to better utilise less frequently used areas,
where safe to do so – e.g. can treadmills lined up side
by side be relocated.

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covid-19-infection-control-training

Page 3 of 7

If changing the physical layout of gym floor and specific
workout areas, the revised layout must allow for staff and
customers to enter, exit and move about both under normal
working conditions and in an emergency without risks to
their health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.

Fitness facilities will require adequate supervision of
physical distancing and cleaning requirements. This
means that 24 hour fitness facilities should consider their
operational arrangements to ensure they are aligned with
these guidelines.

For Group fitness rooms and classes
As per the above recommendations physical distancing
should be maintained by providing each person with
4 square metres of space in indoor areas and a minimum
of 1.5 metres between people in outdoor areas. This may
limit the number of people in a fitness room, which could
be achieved by:

⊲ staggering class session times and allowing for a
minimum of 10 minutes between classes so there is
no overlap between customers arriving and leaving;

⊲ offering some group fitness classes online where
possible;

⊲ restricting the number of persons allowed per group
fitness class based on the size of the room and the
nature of the fitness activity; and

⊲ asking customers to leave the premises once they
have completed their session or class, or if they have
exceeded a two hour period.

Direct staff and customers to keep 1.5 metres of
distance between them which could be achieved by:

⊲ using signage on walls to remind people of physical
distancing;

⊲ using marks on floors and walls to identify 1.5 metres
distance;

⊲ staff could wear a badge as a visual reminder to
each other and customers of physical distancing
requirements;

⊲ ensure class participants are adequately spread out
around the room – e.g. use floor markings to indicate
areas/zones for each person to set up in or use; and

⊲ staff using other methods such as mobile phone or
radio to communicate rather than face to face
interaction e.g. group fitness instructors who want
to talk to reception.

To enable class participants and staff to keep at least
1.5 metres apart while exercising consider the following
measures:

⊲ increasing spacing between fitness equipment such
as exercise bikes;

⊲ creating specific pathways for entering and exiting the
group fitness rooms, using floor or wall markings; and

⊲ where appropriate, utilising available outdoor space for
classes where weather permits and it is safe to do so.

If changing the physical layout of group fitness rooms, the
revised layout must allow for staff and customers to enter,
exit and move about both under normal working conditions
and in an emergency without risks to their health and
safety so far as is reasonably practicable.

Gym-based Personal Training
Direct personal trainers and clients to keep 1.5 metres
of distance between each other during personal training
sessions. To achieve the best outcomes for physical
distancing:

⊲ tailor sessions to include only exercises that do not
require physical contact between the trainer and the
client/s including setup and use of equipment;

⊲ limit the number of clients per session. Where there are
multiple clients ensure adequate spacing is maintained
and provide each client with their own disinfected
exercise equipment;

⊲ where weather permits and it is safe to do so, utilise
outdoor spaces at the gym or fitness centre where
available; and

⊲ in line with physical distance requirements, boxing pad
work, sparring or like activities should not be conducted
until jurisdictional regulations allow.

Staff gatherings and training
Postpone or cancel non-essential gatherings, meetings
or training.

If gatherings, meetings or training are essential:

⊲ use non face-to-face options to conduct – e.g. electronic
communication such as tele and video conferencing;

⊲ if a non face-to-face option is not possible, ensure face-
to-face time is limited, that is make sure the gathering,
meeting or training goes for no longer than it needs to;

⊲ hold the gathering, meeting or training in spaces that
enable staff to keep at least 1.5 metres apart and with
4 square metres of space per person – e.g. outdoors or
in large conference rooms;

⊲ limit the number of attendees in a gathering, meeting or
training. This may require, for example, multiple training
sessions to be held; and

⊲ ensure adequate ventilation if held indoors.

Page 4 of 7

Staff facilities
⊲ Reduce the number of employees utilising staff common

areas at a given time – e.g. by staggering meal breaks
and start times.

⊲ Spread out furniture in common areas. If changing the
physical layout of the workplace, the revised layout
must allow for staff to enter, exit and move about the
workplace both under normal working conditions and in
an emergency without risks to their health and safety so
far as is reasonably practicable.

⊲ Ensure staff maintain 1.5 metres distance when travelling
in lifts. Depending on the size of the lift, this may result
in only one person travelling in a lift at any one time.

⊲ Place signage about physical distancing around the
workplace. Safe Work Australia and Fitness Australia
have links to a range of posters and resources to help
remind staff and others of the risks of COVID-19 and the
measures that are necessary to stop its spread. These
posters can be placed around the workplace and in
customer-facing work environments (e.g. workplace
entrances). Consideration needs to be given to how
to communicate with staff and others for who English
is not their first language.

Deliveries, contractors and visitors attending
the workplace

⊲ Non-essential visits to the workplace should
be cancelled or postponed.

⊲ Minimise the number of staff attending to deliveries
and contractors.

⊲ Delivery drivers and other contractors who need to
attend the workplace, to provide maintenance or repair
services or perform other essential activities, should
be given clear instructions of physical distancing
requirements while on site.

⊲ Ensure handwashing facilities, or if not possible,
alcohol-based hand sanitiser is readily available for
staff after physically handling deliveries.

⊲ Direct visiting delivery drivers and contractors to remain
in vehicles and use contactless methods such as mobile
phones to communicate with staff wherever possible.

⊲ Direct visiting delivery drivers and contractors to use
alcohol-based hand sanitiser before handling products
being delivered.

⊲ Use, and ask delivery drivers and contractors to use,
electronic paperwork where possible, to minimise
physical interaction. Where possible, set up alternatives
to requiring signatures. For instance, a confirmation
email or a photo of the loaded or unloaded goods may
be accepted as proof of delivery or collection
(as applicable). If a pen or other utensil is required
for signature, ideally use your own pen or ask that the
pen or utensil is cleaned or sanitised before use.

On-going review and monitoring
If physical distancing measures introduce new health and
safety risks (e.g. because they impact communication or
mean that less people are doing a task), these risks also
need to be managed. Put processes in place to regularly
monitor and review the implementation of physical
distancing measures to ensure they are being followed
and remain effective.

2. Hygiene – cleaning and disinfecting

What cleaning and hygiene measures do
I need to implement in my fitness facility?
Personal hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting is a
public health recommendation to minimise the transmission
of the virus. The virus can be transmitted from the
environment to people when they touch infected items
and then touch their mouth, nose and eyes.

Frequent washing of hands with soap and water or an
alcohol-based hand sanitiser (minimum 60% ethanol),
regular cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and items
handled by multiple people will reduce transmission of
the virus in your workplace.

To achieve effective hygiene in the workplace the
following guidance is recommended.

All fitness facilities will require regular cleaning per
Safe Work Australia recommendations for cleaning
of workplaces:

⊲ Workplaces must be cleaned at least daily and recorded.

⊲ Cleaning with detergent and water is sufficient.

⊲ Alternatively, you may be able to do a 2-in-1 clean
and disinfection by using a combined detergent and
disinfectant.

⊲ Following cleaning hard surfaces can be disinfected
with a disinfectant containing ≥ 70% alcohol, quaternary
ammonium compounds, chlorine bleach or oxygen
bleach are suitable for use on hard surfaces.

⊲ More frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces
that are frequently handled by multiple people such
as doorknobs, swipe machines and gym equipment is
recommended.

⊲ Additional information on cleaning and disinfecting
of workplaces is available via the Safe Work Australia
website.

To enable efficient management of hygiene requirements,
fitness facilities may wish to consider closing unnecessary
facilities such as saunas, spas and limit showers and
change areas.

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/signage-and-posters-covid-19

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces/industry-information/general-industry-information/cleaning#heading–7–tab-toc-how_often_should_i_disinfect

Page 5 of 7

For staff
⊲ Develop infection control policies in consultation with

staff. These policies should outline measures in place
to prevent the spread of infectious diseases at the
workplace. Communicate these policies to staff.

⊲ Train staff on the correct infection control procedures
including the importance of washing their hands with
soap and water for at least 20 seconds and drying them
correctly, or appropriate use of an alcohol-based hand
sanitiser, before entering and exiting a common area.

⊲ Place posters near handwashing facilities showing how
to correctly wash and dry hands and clean hands with
sanitiser.

⊲ Inform staff of workplace hygiene standards that are
expected when utilizing common areas (cleaning up
after yourself, placing rubbish in bins provided, avoiding
putting items such as phones on meal surfaces, etc.).

⊲ Consult with your staff to determine responsibilities
for cleaning and disinfecting of the workplace during
operational hours.

⊲ Ensure sufficient time for shared equipment used in
group fitness classes to be wiped down by members
before the next class.

⊲ Establish a protocol to regularly remind members and
staff about hygiene in the gym/ fitness center (e.g.
regular reminders over the loud speaker, newsletters
and signage); staff to politely request members to wipe
equipment if observed not do so.

⊲ Staff training in how to communicate these policies
and procedures to members is required, which should
include the specific words to be used by staff in the
fitness facility.

⊲ Where staff are provided with personal protective
equipment they should be trained in its correct use.
Disposable gloves are required for cleaning tasks.
Face masks are not generally required unless physical
distancing cannot be maintained.

For gym/fitness club members
⊲ Inform customers of hygiene standards that are

expected when they use the fitness facility with signs
at the entrance and throughout the facility and notices
on your website and on social media. This may include:

― washing their hands or use alcohol-based hand
sanitiser upon arrival;

― disinfectant wipe down of exercise equipment before
and after use;

― using a clean towel each time they attend their
session or class;

― bringing extra towels to lay on equipment benches
and seats (consider any safety risks that may arise
from this); and

― require them to bring their own drink bottles to use
instead of water fountains.

⊲ Encourage contactless payment or sign-in where
possible.

⊲ Provide alcohol-based hand sanitiser in appropriate
locations for patrons to use, such as entry and exit
points.

⊲ Provide an adequate supply of disinfectant wipes or
disinfecting solutions and disposable paper towel for
customers to wipe down exercise equipment before
and after use.

⊲ Locate equipment sanitizing materials in a location
visible and easily accessible to the equipment.

⊲ Provide bins lined with a plastic liner for disposal of
wipes and used paper towel. Bins should be regularly
emptied to ensure they are not overflowing.

⊲ Close shared hydration stations which dispense water
for drinking directly (water bubblers) and encourage
members to bring their own water bottle.

Waste management procedures
Public health authorities and waste management services
have advised that normal waste management procedures
for worksites can be utilized with the addition of:

⊲ Lining all bins with a plastic bin liner bag which ideally
can be tied at the top.

⊲ All disposable tissues, paper towel and cleaning
materials are to be placed in a bin immediately after use
and not left on surfaces.

⊲ Regular emptying of bins inside the workplace to avoid
overflow onto surfaces.

⊲ When emptying bins staff should wear gloves and
dispose of the gloves into a bin after use. Face masks
are not required.

⊲ Bags of rubbish which contain materials used to clean,
disinfect or tissues etc. are to be placed in a second
plastic bag prior to placing in larger bins for removal as
per usual waste management.

You may wish to consult with your regular waste
management service to confirm their requirements.

On-going review and monitoring
Regularly monitor and review the implementation of
hygiene measures to ensure they are being followed
and remain effective.

Page 6 of 7

3. Stay at home if unwell

What do I need to do in relation to people with or
suspected of having COVID-19?
Public health authorities advise all people to stay at home
if they are unwell or display any symptoms of COVID-19
infection. People are advised to seek medical advice and
testing for COVID-19 if they suspect they have the infection.
For fitness facilities, it is recommended that the ‘Stay at
home if unwell’ message is communicated to all staff and
members via signage, newsletters and staff meetings.

For Staff
Staff should be informed:

⊲ they must not attend work if they have symptoms of
COVID-19 (cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath
and fatigue), or suspect they may have been infected
with COVID-19 (this includes close contact with another
person diagnosed with COVID-19);

⊲ of the business’s leave policy for COVID-19 related
absences; and

⊲ how and to whom they communicate a COVID-19
sickness absence.

Note: the majority of suspected cases of COVID-19 are
likely to be negative. However, all persons who have
been tested for COVID-19 must self isolate until they
receive their results from health authorities which may
take up to 5 days.

If a staff member is noted to be unwell at work with
symptoms of COVID-19, you must ask them to leave work
immediately and advise them to seek medical advice.
Staff who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 will be
quarantined by health authorities until they are cleared
from the virus. This will be managed by health authorities.
Once an employee has recovered from the virus and
is cleared by health authorities they can return to work
as usual.

Managers should consider how they will manage
staff rosters to ensure sufficient staff to cover for
staff absences at short notice and for the length
of any isolation requirements.

If a member of your staff tests positive for COVID-19 you
will be contacted by public health authorities who will
advise you of the steps required to manage your worksite.

Vulnerable workers
Vulnerable workers are staff who are at increased risk
of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. This includes
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 50 years and
older with one or more chronic medical conditions; people
65 years and older with one or more chronic medical
conditions; people 70 years and older, and people with
compromised immune systems.

Staff should be encouraged to advise you if they are a
vulnerable worker so that steps can be taken to minimise
the risk of infection with coronavirus in the workplace.
This may include modifying duties where reasonably
practicable to reduce exposure to customers or approving
leave. It is recommended that each case be managed on
a case by case basis, undertaking a risk assessment of
the person’s job and work environment, maintaining the
privacy of employees and avoiding discriminatory actions.
Staff members should be treated with compassion and
understanding.

It is reasonable to request a medical certificate from
their doctor if an employee advises they are a vulnerable
person. The certificate should indicate work capacity
(i.e. fit for modified duties or absence recommended)
and the period of time of the certification. If additional
assistance is required to manage a vulnerable worker
at work, an Occupational Physician could be consulted.

For Members
All members should be advised that they must not attend
the fitness facility if they are unwell, have symptoms of
COVID-19, suspect they may have been infected with
COVID-19 (including close contact with a person diagnosed
with COVID-19) or been advised by health authorities to self
isolate. This message should be regularly communicated
to members via newsletters and signage.

A member who is observed to be reasonably displaying
symptoms (for example persistent coughing) of COVID-19 in
a fitness facility should be politely asked to leave the site.

Fitness facility members who are vulnerable to a serious
COVID-19 infection should discuss with their doctor what
activities it is safe for them to resume once restrictions
are eased. The onus is on the member to determine their
capacity to safely resume fitness activities and attendance
at fitness facilities.

https://www.racp.edu.au/about/college-structure/australasian-faculty-of-occupational-and-environmental-medicine/find-a-consultant

Page 7 of 7

4. Contact Tracing

What is my role in contact tracing?
A key component of managing the COVID-19 pandemic
and reducing transmission of infection in the community,
is rapid and effective contact tracing. Contact tracing is
undertaken by public health authorities.

To support public health authorities with contact tracing
all fitness facilities must:

⊲ maintain a Register of Attendance (sign-in) either
digitally or manually of all persons on their site

⊲ establish protocols for providing government authorities
with member access logs and permitted contact details
for the purposes of contact-tracing with confirmed or
suspected cases of COVID-19

Fitness Australia endorses the Australian
Government’s COVID Safe App.

5. Employer’s duty of care
During the COVID-19 pandemic employers have a duty
of care to the health and wellbeing of their staff and the
community whilst operating their businesses. The impact
of COVID-19 on the Australian community will evolve and
change over time and with that the requirements for how
the fitness industry will operate.

Employers are advised to:

⊲ maintain effective, two-way communication with
their staff;

⊲ consider the impact of decisions they make in
relation to COVID-19, on the physical and mental
health of their staff;

⊲ consider innovative solutions so that their workplace
can remain safely operational and staff can remain in
their roles as far as possible; and

⊲ plan ahead and be flexible to accommodate
the changing nature of the pandemic.

6. Resources and References
⊲ Safe Work Australia’s COVID19 information

⊲ Australian Government Coronavirus Advice

⊲ Beyond Blue

Note:
It is outside the scope of Fitness Australia to comment or
make recommendations for the following services that may
be present within a fitness facility:

⊲ Swimming pools and wet areas

⊲ Sporting courts and facilities

⊲ Childcare facilities

⊲ Cafes

⊲ Retail facilities.

Operation of these services must be in line with specific
recommendations and directives from relevant state,
territories, and federal authorities.

PO Box 6453 Alexandria
New South Wales 2015

P: 1300 211 311

E: info@fitness.org.au

fitness.org.au

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

https://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/

7 Human Resource Best Practices (A mini-guide to HRM)

General HR

Human Resource best practices have been around for decades. They have served as guidelines for many HR professionals. But what do they entail, and why are they so important? In this article, we’ll go over the 7 best practices for HR.

In this article:

1. Human Resource best practices

2. Seven HR Best Practices

2.1 Providing security to employees

2.2 Selective hiring: Hiring the right people

2.3 Self-managed and effective teams

2.4 Fair and performance-based compensation

2.5 Training in relevant skills

2.6 Creating a flat and egalitarian organization

2.7 Making information easily accessible to those who need it

3. Synergies between HR best practices: Bundles

4. Human Resource Management best practices: a reality check

5. Conclusion

Human Resource best practices

The first question is: what is HR best practices?

Best practices are a set of Human Resources Management processes and actions that work universally. In HRM research, there are two schools of thought on how to manage people. The first one is

best fit, the second is best practices.

· The best fit school states that in order to add value, human resource policies should align with business strategy. This means that HR should focus on both the needs of the organization and the ones of its employees.

· The best practice school argues that there is a set of universal HR processes that lead to superior business performance. According to its proponents, there are certain bundles of HR activities that support companies in reaching a competitive advantage regardless of the organizational setting or industry (

Redman & Wilkinson, 2009

We’ll skip the extensive scientific debate on the merits and flaws of each approach. With these kinds of discussions, the truth often lies somewhere in the middle.

This means that the

HR strategy

and subsequent HR activities should be aligned with the organization´s strategy for optimum efficiency (a.k.a. strive for best fit). In literature, this alignment has also been referred to as strategic Human Resource Management.

the FREE cheat sheet with 51 HR Metrics

At the same time, there are many best practices that have shown to lead to superior performance for the organization. If HR executes these practices correctly, they will add substantial value to the business and its goals (a.k.a. implement best practices).

In this article, we’ll focus on the best practices in Human Resource Management.

Seven HR best practices

The 7 Human Resource best practices presented below have been proposed by Jeffrey Pfeffer. Pfeffer wrote two books on this topic:

· Competitive Advantage through People (1994), and

· The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First (1998)

In these books, he proposes a set of best practices that can increase a company’s profit. When these best practices are combined (or bundled), their impact is even more profound.

These best practices are:

1. Providing security to employees

2. Selective hiring: Hiring the right people

3. Self-managed and effective teams

4. Fair and performance-based compensation/li>

5. Training in relevant skills

6. Creating a flat and egalitarian organization

7. Making information easily accessible to those who need it

We’ll go over them one by one.

1. Providing security to employees

The first Human Resource best practice is employment security. Life is unpredictable and work is a stable factor that is very important to most people. Having an employer who enables the employee to provide for themselves and their family is the number one reason why people come to work.

There is both a formal contract (labor for money) and an informal contract (you put in some extra effort, we take good care for you) between the employee and the employer. Employment security enables employees to go home after work and provide for themselves and their families. This concept of security is essential and underpins almost everything HR does.

When this employment security is threatened, for example when there is a restructuring or a layoff, you see this immediately ripple through the organization.

Employment security also benefits organizations because it helps them retain their people. When employees are laid off, for example, it’s usually the organization that pays the price. They are the ones who have invested in the selection, training, and development of these employees. This is a costly process. If the organization doesn’t work on retaining its people, they are more likely to leave and work for the competition.

2. Selective hiring: Hiring the right people

The second HR best practice is selective hiring. This enables an organization to bring in employees who add value.

You can’t just hire anyone; you want people who are fit for the job. Companies do their utmost best to hire exceptional people because they add the most value to the business.

Research

shows that the difference in performance between an average performer and a high performer can be as high as 400%! This holds true for different industries and job types, including researchers, entertainers, and athletes.

Bringing in the right people is, therefore, a key to building a competitive advantage.

In today’s digital world, there are a lot of different

recruitment tools

we can use to make the right selection. More and more companies vigorously keep track of their

recruitment metrics

to see how well they are doing in this regard.

Commonly used selection instruments are structured and unstructured interviews, IQ tests, personality assessments, work tests, peer assessments, and reference checks. These (pre-employment) assessments are used to uncover three key candidate characteristics.

1. Ability:
is the person able to do the job? Does the person have the right technical and soft skills? Is the person smart enough to do the job well?

2. Trainability:
can we train this person to improve his/her skills? Has the person the aptitude to learn and keep developing?

3. Commitment:
will the person commit to his/her work and to the organization? Will we be able to retain this person once he/she is up to speed and fully productive?

3. Self-managed and effective teams

We all know that teamwork is crucial in achieving goals. High-performance teams are crucial for any company when it comes to achieving success.

Teams provide value because they consist of people who are and think differently but are working towards a common goal. This means that different ideas are generated to help achieve the goal. These ideas are then processed and combined, resulting in the best ones being selected.

The best teams are cognitively diverse and psychologically safe

. This means that team members can generate ideas that are different while feeling comfortable bringing these up and discussing them.

Creating and nurturing high-performance teams is one of HR’s key responsibilities.

Belbin’s Team Role Inventory

is a commonly used tool for team creation and cooperation.

Individual personality assessments are also often used as they help to understand how other team members think and behave. Understanding these processes is one of the main responsibilities of a manager. This is the reason why a lot of management courses focus on it.

There are different tools that facilitate teamwork. Examples include communication software, feedback tools, project management tools, and other task and goal setting software. These can facilitate communication and help teams be more efficient.

Finally, HR needs to encourage different teams to work together in the organization. A team is usually part of a larger entity, like another team or a department. These larger entities also need to work together. Facilitating this helps to build an efficient and effective organization. One of the tools that can be used for this is

Organizational Network Analysis

4. Fair and performance-based compensation

Contingent compensation is the fourth Human Resource best practice. It has everything to do with compensation and benefits.

First, if you hire the right people, you want to compensate them above average. These are the people that will add the most value to your company, so you want to retain them and pay them fairly. This is an example that shows how different best practices work together to provide more value than they would alone, in this case, selective hiring, contingent compensation, and employment security.

Paying people above the norm also has several potential disadvantages. For instance, it discourages bad employees to leave. However, if you’re consistently hiring world-class performers, an above-average compensation is a must.

This sort of compensation can take the form of financial (base) pay and

employee benefits

Secondly, you want to couple individual rewards with the different types of contributions that employees make. These are performance-related rewards.

By coupling organizational performance outcomes with individual rewards, the individual is incentivized to maximize this outcome. It also creates a sense of ownership for the employee.

Think of profit sharing, shared ownership, or stock options for instance. These are great ways to create employee commitment to the company’s long-term vision and retain high potentials. Compensation is a key element for successful

talent management

In line with the previous, this type of co-ownership is usually not meant for all employees.

Lepak & Snell (2002)

offer a good model to assess how important individual employees are.

As an organization, you want to specifically retain your “Criticals”. They are people with unique skills (i.e. hard to replace) who are very valuable to the business. That’s why senior managers, most of which fit this category, are often offered these benefits.

5. Training in relevant skills

This HR best practice states that companies should invest heavily in training time and budget for its employees.

After recruiting the best people, you need to ensure that they remain the frontrunners in the field. This has become even more relevant today as the rate at which technology is developing is growing exponentially. This is where learning and development come in.

How do we create an organization in which the rate of learning matches the pace of change? Learning has become a way to stay innovative, grow faster, and sustain a competitive advantage.

Employers increasingly invest in skills-specific forms of training. According to

the Economist’s Lifelong Learning special report

, the number of on-demand courses has grown exponentially. Thanks to the internet, everyone is connected and can learn anything, anytime, anywhere.

In addition to formal learning, on-the-job learning also plays an important role. Increased focus on feedback, coaching, and

peer learning

plays into this. This is part of the often-quoted 70|20|10 rule:

· 70% of learning is from challenging assignments

· 20% of learning is from developmental relationships

· 10% of learning is from formal coursework and training

Learning is also becoming increasingly important for the latest generations, such as the Millennials and

Generation Z

According to Gallup

, younger employees rate learning and personal growth as much more important compared to older generations.

The next generation of workers is actively looking for development opportunities and sees these to grow in their profession. Not offering these opportunities is related to higher levels of employee turnover.

Learning is, of course, also important for HR. To stay up to date and learn the skills needed to do HR in the 21st century,

6. Creating a flat and egalitarian organization

This best practice in HR is rooted in the egalitarian practices of Japanese management. Although we just saw that some employees are more critical than others for the organization’s success, this shouldn’t be communicated in such a way. Every employee is a valuable member of the organization and should be treated as such.

In Japanese organizations, this is expressed with common canteens, company uniforms, and similar sickness and holiday entitlement. Such an egalitarian culture shows that everyone deserves equal respect and could help in promoting the sharing of ideas.

7. Making information easily accessible to those who need it

Information sharing is essential. This is an area where a lot of large companies struggle: How do you keep track of who knows what, so you know where to go to with your questions?

According to Pfeffer, there are two reasons why information sharing is so important.

Firstly, open communication about strategy, financials, and operations creates a culture in which people feel they are trusted. It truly involves employees in the business. As an additional effect, it discourages hear-say and negative informal chatter.

Secondly, if you want your people to share their ideas, they need to have an informed understanding of what’s going on in the business.

Being informed about the business is also something that employees often mention as something they find important in attitude surveys, as well as having a chance to contribute to and influence decisions affecting their working life.

Synergies between HR best practices: Bundles

When these best practices are combined, we call them ‘bundles. Bundles create synergies. This is how Human Resource Management can create a competitive advantage for the organization.

An example. Guaranteeing employment security will only benefit you when you have high performing employees. Otherwise, what’s the use of retaining them? This means that the employment security best practice, combined with selective hiring leads to more value than individual practices.

The same goes for selective hiring, extensive training, and contingent compensation. You want to select employees with potential for growth, invest in them with learning and development, and reward them appropriately when they show superior performance.

A third example is the reduction of status differences and information sharing. By encouraging open communication and sharing relevant information, you create a culture of improvement in which employees feel free to give suggestions and collaboratively help to improve the business.
By leveraging these bundles, HR is able to add tremendous value to the business and help the organization succeed in reaching its goals.

Human Resource Management best practices: a reality check

According to Kurt Lewin, there’s nothing more practical than a good theory. However, each theory has its drawbacks. It turns out that some of these best practices contradict each other.

Take employment security. This practice sounds nice in theory but, companies are increasingly working with flexible contractors. These contractors lack the security that traditional employees have and provide the company with additional flexibility. According to

Marchington and Grugulis (2000)

, “the reality is that employment security is only offered when and for as long as it is convenient to the employer”.

Another example is training. A lot of organizations have implemented the extensive training principle. However, simply delivering training doesn’t add to the company’s competitive position. The way formal training is provided in organizations often offers a few concerns:

· Formal training programs may be directed to skills that are not in line with the employee’s work

· Employees are provided access to training simply because of the excess budget instead of business needs

· There’s often more emphasis on being trained than on the impact of training

In other words, extensive training only adds value if it helps individuals and teams contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. This is in line with the Kirkpatrick-Philips model, which helps assess training effectiveness. This model helps assess whether a training had a measurable impact on performance and whether the training investment provided a positive return on investment (ROI).

A final example is selective hiring. This best practice holds that if a company can consistently hire top performers, they will outperform their competition. However, it is almost impossible to consistently hire top performers. The reality is simpler: if you consistently hire better candidates than your competition, you will create a competitive edge.

Conclusion

This article describes the 7 Human Resource best practices, from hiring and training to offering job security and the creation of an open culture in which people can share knowledge and ideas.

When implemented, these best practices form the basis of good Human Resource Management. However, implementation alone isn’t enough. These best practices also need to align with what the rest of the business is doing.

Selective hiring is great but what kind of profiles do you hire? This depends on the characteristics of employees that fit what the organization is looking for. And what capabilities do you train your employees on? These should also align with the organizational strategy.

Only if the best practices that we have in HR are aligned with what the organization is striving for can we create an HR function that adds value and that truly supports the business.

BSB61015Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management

BSBHRM602

Manage human resources strategic planning

Task 1

Knowledge Questions Assessment
Candidate Instructions
You will answer knowledge questions for purposes of formal assessment as per the questions outlined in the questioning record below, and any additional probing or clarification questions required by the assessor. The knowledge questions are designed to confirm your competency for all the required knowledge in the unit of competency. Task Details There is no restriction on the length of the question responses, unless indicated in the question or time restriction in completing the assessment. It is anticipated however that the assessment will take approximately 2 hours to complete, and any word limit is as a guide only. The assessment may be re-attempted on two further occasions (maximum three attempts in total). All assessments must be resubmitted 3 days within receiving your unsatisfactory grade. You must clearly indicate “Re-submission” on your resubmitted work. You must complete all questions unassisted by the assessor or other personnel but may refer to reference material as may be needed. All questions must be answered satisfactorily for the assessment to be completed satisfactorily. For any assessment conducted that is incomplete, or without satisfactory performance, the assessment will need to be completed again after further training support. This may be simply to focus on question areas not achieved in the prior assessment. Evidence to be collected Answer the questions in as much detail as possible, considering your organisational requirements or the simulated organization provided. In undertaking this assessment task, you as the candidate are providing consent for your work to be reviewed for the purposes of formal assessment in the unit(s) of competency. If you have concern regarding this permission, please discuss this with your assessor prior to undertaking the task.
Objective	To provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the entire unit.

Candidate Declaration
Candidate name:
Trainer’s name:
Date:
Assessment declaration:	I declare that no part of this assessment has been copied from another person’s work, except where clearly noted on documents or work submitted. I declare that no part of this assessment has been written for me by another person. I understand that plagiarism is a serious offence that may lead to disciplinary action.
Candidate signature:

Your trainer and assessor will mark your work satisfactory or not satisfactory and provide you with constructive feedback on Canvas.

Task 1: Knowledge Questions

Question 1

Read the document “7 HR best practices” provided on Canvas under additional information. What roles Human Resources can play in the formulation and implementation of an organisation’s strategic plan?

Question 2

If Bounce Fitness decided that in order to be effective it must develop high performing self-managed teams. Name common human resources practices that could be adopted to support this direction.

Question 3

Read through The Fitness Australia business Principles and Guidelines and the National Fitness industry code of practice, provided on Canvas under additional information.
List the types of emerging practices or environmental trends that could impact on Bounce fitness staff.

Question 4

(a) What types of information would Bounce Fitness needs to consider when predicting future labour needs?
(b) Describe strategies that could be used to agree on human resource philosophies, values and policies with Bounce Fitness Managers
(c) List options for sourcing Bounce Fitness labour supply and skill requirements.

Question 5

Describe the benefits and disadvantages of using one of the following options for the provision of human resource services.
a. External provision by a consultant or contractor or
b. Outsourcing the work to an external service provider or
c. Allocating the work to existing staff

Benefits

Disadvantages

External provision by a consultant or contractor

Outsourcing the work to an external service provider

Allocating the work to existing staff

Question 6

(a) How could new technology be used to support human resource plans for Bounce fitness?
(b) Give examples of risks that need to be managed in relation to a strategic human resources plan.

Question 7

Refer to the “Annual Strategic Human Resources Plan documents for Bounce Fitness” provided on Canvas under additional information. Name its key elements and requirements.

Business College at International House

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info@ihBC.edu.au| www.ihBC.edu.au

National

Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

ChrisA
Typewritten Text
May

020

Contents

Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Preamble

Objectives

Application of the Code

Definitions

Standard Fitness Business Practice

Consumer Agreements

Terminating a Consumer Agreement

ChrisA
Typewritten Text
Version 2.0

Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Preamble

Fitness Australia is the peak Fitness Industry Association representing over 20,000 exercise
professionals and 3,000 fitness businesses. We exist to empower the industry to engage more
Australians in quality health and fitness services.

Our vision is for more Australians to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle. We do this through proactive
leadership, engagement and service excellence. We’re here to professionalise exercise.

In pursuit of a professional accountable Fitness Industry Fitness Australia has produced the first ever
National Fitness Industry Code of Practice.

Designed for fitness service operators in the Fitness Industry, the purpose of the Code is to promote
appropriate standards of trading, inspire consumer confidence and enable business operators to
conduct services in a professional and ethical manner.

With support of the Australian Fitness Industry Standards Council and Meridian Lawyers, Fitness
Australia took reference from six (6) previous state and territory Codes of Practice, the Fitness Australia
Business Principles and Guidance for fitness business guide (2015), the current Australian consumer
law and extensive industry consultation to draft the National Fitness Industry Code of Practice. This
Code is now the new standard of business operation in a contemporary Australian Fitness Industry.

Separated into three (3) distinct parts, the National Fitness Industry Code of Practice clearly outlines
guidance for Standard Fitness Business Practice, Consumer Agreements and Terminating a Consumer
Agreement.

Designed to be prescriptive the Code offers clear guidance that meets legislative requirements for
business operation.

This Code administered by the board of Fitness Australia is a voluntary application by the members of
Fitness Australia.

Visit

fitness.org.au/code-of-practice

Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Objectives

Application of the Code

This Code has been developed for the Fitness Industry, to:

(a) promote appropriate standards of trading by Fitness Industry business operators;

(b) enable business operators in the Fitness Industry to provide and conduct services in an ethical and
professional manner, with due care and skill, and with a view to better protecting the interests of
consumers; and

This Code applies to suppliers of Fitness services in the Fitness Industry.

Nothing in this Code reduces or limits a supplier’s obligation to comply with all applicable laws including, but
not limited to, health legislation, work health and safety legislation, misuse of drugs legislation, trade practices
and consumer protection legislation, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation, child safety
legislation, privacy legislation, and laws for the protection of workers’ rights and entitlements. This Code and the
recommendations and procedures are not legal advice, should not be relied on as such. The requirements set out in
this Code are additional to the obligations imposed by applicable laws, and conduct that complies with this Code
will not necessarily ensure you comply with obligations imposed under applicable legislation or the common law.

Suppliers should obtain their own independent advice as to the legal obligations that apply to their particular
circumstances.

Where there is any conflict or inconsistency between the Code and any Commonwealth, State or Territory
legislation or regulation, that legislation or regulation shall prevail to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency.

Fitness Australia, its employees, officers and agents do not accept any liability for the results of any action taken
in reliance upon, based on or in connection with this Code. To the extent legally possible, Fitness Australia and its
employees, officers and agents, disclaim all liability arising by reason of any errors and omissions contained in this
Code.

2.2

2.3

1.1

1
2
3

Terminating a Consumer Agreement5 Definitions
Administration fee – constitutes the reasonable cost for the supplier to perform its obligations under the consumer
agreement;

Casual Visitor – a consumer who has not entered into a consumer agreement with a supplier and who pays that
supplier for the provision of a specified fitness service each time he or she uses a fitness service;

Code – this code which is amended from time to time;

Complaint – an issue raised by a consumer or supplier that identifies that a supplier has either breached, or
possibly breached, this Code;

Consumer – means an individual who purchases the goods and or services from a supplier;

Consumer agreement – an agreement between a supplier and a consumer (other than a casual visitor) for the
supply of fitness services by the supplier to the consumer;

Cooling-off period – a period during which a consumer may terminate his or her consumer agreement;

Corporation – includes a company, any body corporate (whether incorporated in this jurisdiction or elsewhere) and
an unincorporated body that under the law of its place of origin, may sue or be sued, or may hold property in the
name of its secretary or of an office holder of the body duly appointed for that purpose;

Creche – a service providing care or education for children of consumers participating in a fitness service at a
fitness facility;

Exercise professional – Qualified person who supplies fitness services to the public, including personal trainers;

Fitness business – a business that delivers fitness services to the public, or provides a range of products, services
and/or intellectual property (whether as franchisor, by way of licence or otherwise) to multiple businesses that
deliver fitness services to the public under the same or substantially similar trading name and/or trade mark or
service mark;

Fitness facility – a multi-purpose or single-purpose facility or premises owned, leased or used by a supplier for the
purposes of delivering fitness services;

Fitness Industry – the industry of supplying fitness services, including but not limited to consumers, exercise
professionals and fitness businesses;

Fitness service – includes pre-exercise evaluation, exercise consultations, use of exercise equipment, exercise
services or programs whether it be in a group setting or individualised, supervised or unsupervised, provided by a
supplier in any form or manner (including online), and excludes fitness services supplied by the following:

(a) a person registered under the relevant laws in the state or territory in the medical profession;

(b) a person registered under the relevant laws in the state or territory in the physiotherapy
profession;

(d) an educational institution for exclusive use by staff or students;

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.10

3
4
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Terminating a Consumer Agreement5 Definitions
(e) a person for the performance of, or training for, martial arts;

(f) where no other fitness service is supplied – the use of a spa, bath, sauna bath, swimming pool or
similar facility;

(g) a fitness service at a fitness facility is provided for the sole purpose of medical rehabilitation; or

(h) the hire of a court or other facility for the playing of sport;

Fixed term – a consumer agreement for a fixed period of time;

Health practitioner – a professional that includes medical, dental or nursing practitioners, as well as allied health
professionals;

Laws – statute, ordinance, code or other law (including regulations) and other statutory instruments under it and
consolidations, amendments, re-enactments or replacements of any of them in the relevant state or territory;

Mechanically sound – equipment is fit for purpose, properly maintained, is in good working order and used in an
appropriate manner;

Ongoing agreement – a consumer agreement where payment is made periodically (weekly, fortnightly or monthly)
in advance;

Permanent sickness or physical incapacity of a consumer means the consumer is sick or physically incapacitated
for the greater of:

(a) the remainder of the term of the consumer agreement; or

(b) 5 years;

Personnel – employees, agents, independent contractors and other persons that a supplier permits to provide
fitness services at its facilities or under the supplier’s trade name, mark or banner;

Pre-exercise questionnaire – a tool that identifies those who may have medical conditions or symptoms associated
with diseases which may indicate a consumer’s elevated risk of an adverse event during physical activity/exercise
that is recognised and used by Fitness Australia or another recognised peak body in the Fitness Industry;

Pre-paid agreement – a consumer agreement where payment is made upfront at commencement of the agreement
for a fixed period;

Reputable registration body – a body or organisation that offers similar services to Fitness Australia; i.e. ensures
that the appropriate credentialing is assessed at the point of registration and ensures a robust continuing
education system is in place to ensure standards are maintained;

Supplier – an exercise professional, body corporate, sole trader, independent contractor, partnership, trust, other
entity or organisation that provides fitness services to the public;

Termination fee – a fee directly associated with the financial loss incurred by the Fitness business as a result of a
consumer terminating the consumer agreement early;

3.16

3.17

3.18

3.19

3.20

3.21

3.22

3.23

3.24

3.25

3.26

3
5
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A supplier must make this Code and its contents available to its personnel, third party suppliers and consumers.

A supplier acknowledges and agrees that Fitness Australia may publish a list of the Business Members that are
subject to the Code and make this publication available to the public.

Registration, qualification and representation A supplier must:

(a) maintain Fitness Business Membership with Fitness Australia;

(b) not falsely claim to be a member of, or be endorsed by, an organisation or association;

(c) ensure that each personnel gaining experience to become a qualified exercise professional is
supervised by a person who is appropriately qualified and skilled.

Dealing with Personnel A supplier must:

(a) engage personnel to provide fitness services by entering into a written agreement with the
personnel on terms that:
(i) are consistent with this Code; and
(ii) clearly state in what capacity the personnel is engaged or permitted to provide services.

(b) ensure that personnel who provides a fitness service are qualified to provide the Fitness services

ensure that its personnel who provide a fitness service is qualified and holds current registration
with Fitness Australia, to provide fitness services at a level appropriate to that registration;

for personnel who are registered exercise professionals with Fitness Australia, please refer to
the Scope of Practice for Australian Registered Exercise Professionals.

(c) appropriately screen its personnel and professionals or volunteers working with children under
the age of 18 at the fitness facility such as requiring such persons to hold a valid Working with
Children Check and comply with any other child safe laws;

(d) ensure that it employs or engages personnel in accordance with the Fitness Industry Award(s),
any enterprise bargaining agreement, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and any other workplace laws;

(e) ensure that its independent contractors (if any) are legitimate contractors and have the adequate
public liability insurance and/or professional indemnity insurance based on accepted Fitness
Industry standards; and

(f) ensure that its personnel do not do anything to cause the supplier to breach this Code.

Workplace health and safety laws A supplier must comply with all applicable workplace health and safety laws.

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

Standard Fitness Business Practice4

6
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Equipment and Fitness Facility A supplier must provide a safe, clean and comfortable physical environment for
consumers and its personnel. A supplier must at a minimum:

(a) regularly conduct and document a risk assessment of facilities, services and equipment, which
should be part of a comprehensive risk management program;

(b) unless paragraph 4.6(c) applies, ensure that there is available, at all times during which fitness
services are provided at a fitness facility, appropriately qualified personnel to supervise
the provision of each fitness service;

(c) in the event that a supplier provides unsupervised fitness services, adopt the following risk
mitigation strategies, which includes but not limited to:
(i) the use of electronic surveillance to monitor those parts of the fitness facility where

consumers access the Fitness service, including both entry and exit points, excluding
change rooms and bathrooms. The surveillance system should include a safety alert
system that has the capacity to be monitored by a third party who has the authority to
alert emergency services;

(ii) provide panic alarms both fixed and mobile (on lanyards), freely accessible, marked and
displayed prominently. The panic alarm should be monitored by the same third party
who has access to the CCTV footage and has the authority to alert emergency services;

(iii) display clear signage of safety and emergency medical and panic response procedures at
the fitness facility which clearly marks the emergency contact details;

(iv) provide a functioning telephone that is kept in close proximity to the first aid kit;
(v) grant consumers access to a single occupancy change room and bathroom facilities that

contains a panic alarm; and
(vi) ensure that CCTV footage is excluded from the single occupancy change room and

bathroom facilities;

(d) ensure that all wet areas are cleaned frequently and regularly in order to maintain a high
standard of cleanliness and to comply with all relevant workplace health and safety
legislation;

(e) provide a fully equipped first-aid kit located in a prominent, easily accessible position, and ensure
that all personnel and consumers are aware of its location for use in an emergency;

(f) display the rules of the fitness business in a place where they will be visible to consumers;

(g) ensure all equipment:
(i) conforms to relevant industry safety standards; and
(ii) is mechanically sound, and is installed, maintained and operated in accordance with the

manufacturer’s written instructions and guidelines;

(h) ensure that personnel who advise consumers on how to operate the equipment must
themselves be adequately trained in the equipment’s operation;
(i) ensure that all exercise areas contain adequate safe working space according to industry

standards and guidelines, and that user numbers do not hinder the safe and effective use
of the training equipment or exercise area.

4.6

Standard Fitness Business Practice4
7
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Dealing with personnel and consumers A supplier must:

(a) comply with the illicit drug laws and enforce a ‘zero tolerance’ drug and alcohol policy and
procedure which must include the following:
(i) provisions to prevent and sanction the use, possession, supply or distribution

of illicit drugs or banned supplements (including, but not limited to, performance and
image enhancing drugs or supplements) for its consumers and personnel; and

(ii) ensure that its agreements with personnel and consumers permit the supplier to
terminate the relevant agreement where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the
use, possession, supply or distribution of illicit drugs or banned supplements
(including, but not limited to, performance and image enhancing drugs or supplements)
by the relevant personnel or consumer;

(b) where a consumer’s answers to a pre-exercise questionnaire indicate that the consumer may be
at risk from participating in a proposed fitness service, the supplier must not supply the fitness
service which the consumer is at risk from participating in unless the consumer:
(i) provides evidence from; or
(ii) states in writing, that he or she has received advice from an appropriate health

professional to the effect that the consumer is, in the opinion of the practitioner or health
professional, not at risk from participating in the proposed fitness service;

(c) where a consumer provides evidence that he or she may be at risk from participating in a
proposed fitness service under clause 4.7(b), a supplier must not provide the proposed fitness
service until an appropriately qualified person has provided advice to the consumer in relation to
an appropriate fitness program; and

(d) where a supplier permits personal trainers and other exercise professionals to use its fitness
facilities to provide fitness services directly to consumers, the supplier must clearly inform the
consumer that the contractual arrangement is between the consumer and the personal trainer or
other exercise professional, not the supplier.

Insurance A supplier must maintain adequate public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance.

Privacy laws A supplier must ensure that:

(a) all personal information is handled in accordance with the applicable privacy laws;

(b) it obtains the necessary consents from consumers and personnel for Fitness Australia to collect
personal information about the origins and causes of complaints for the purpose of identifying
systemic and recurring problems in the Fitness Industry;

Confidentiality A supplier must not use, or disclose to another person, confidential information about a consumer
obtained under the consumer agreement, or by providing fitness services to the consumer, unless the information
is otherwise lawfully used or disclosed.

4.7

4.8

4.9

4.10

Standard Fitness Business Practice4
8
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

Child care laws When a supplier is operating a crèche, it must do so in accordance with the laws that govern the
operation of the crèche.

Aquatic facilities A supplier that offers swimming pool services must:

(a) adhere to the Royal Life Saving Society Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations; which include
(i) General Pool Operations
(ii) Technical Pool Operations
(iii) First Aid
(iv) Facility Design
(v) Supervision
(vi) Low Patronage Pools
(vii) Programs

(b) for group fitness activities in an aquatic environment, ensure that the aquatic instructor is
appropriately qualified within Fitness Industry standards to provide these services.

Pre-requisites to providing fitness services Before a supplier provides any fitness services to a consumer
including casual visitors, it must:

(a) ensure that the consumer completes a pre-exercise questionnaire, and if required, this should be
assessed by a suitably qualified professional, in relation to the consumer’s risk in participating in
a Fitness service;

(b) ensure that the consumer is aware of and understands all disclaimers, and exclusion notices
provided in accordance with Victorian and South Australian fair trading laws (if applicable); and

(c) Offer a suitable induction for the consumer prior to the consumer undertaking any physical
activities in respect of the relevant Fitness services. This must include, but not be limited
to, an emergency response policy and procedure and rules for safe use of equipment and
amenities.

Maintenance, repairs A supplier is entitled to withhold fitness services for two weeks over a 12 month period to
undertake maintenance, repairs or improvement to its fitness facility.

4.11

4.12

4.13

4.14

Standard Fitness Business Practice4
9
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A supplier must not enter into a consumer agreement unless the agreement is in writing and signed by the
consumer and the supplier (or a person authorised in writing to sign consumer agreements on behalf of the
supplier).

When entering into a consumer agreement with a consumer under the age of 18, the supplier must require a parent
or guardian to sign the consumer agreement.

The agreement under clauses 5.1 and 5.2 can be signed in electronic format provided that the supplier:

(a) uses a reliable method to verify the identity of the consumer and the consumer’s intention
to sign the agreement electronically (such as require the consumer to present his or her drivers’
licence before participating in any fitness service for the first time);

(b) uses a reliable method to communicate to the consumer that the agreement can be signed
electronically; and

A supplier must not use deceptive, misleading, false or unfair advertising or marketing practices in any platform
such as social media or online, which may include, but is not limited to, false or misleading representations
concerning the price of goods or services, false representations that goods or services have benefits they do not
have; false or misleading representations concerning the need for goods or services.

A supplier must ensure that sufficient information is available to enable a consumer to make an informed decision
in relation to the supplier’s fitness business or the provision of fitness services, and in particular, must:

(a) ensure that all promotional material is truthful, accurate and unambiguous;

(b) ensure that promotional material does not encourage unrealistic expectations about the level of
fitness attainable or the fitness facilities and equipment provided;

(d) allow prospective consumers to inspect the fitness facility without any obligations to purchase a
membership with the supplier;

(e) make available for perusal, or provide, a copy of this Code and any other Fitness Industry codes
that apply, and if asked by a consumer, promptly tell the consumer where to obtain a copy of
these documents; and

(f) ensure that its personnel act in an ethical and professional manner and do not use unreasonable
sales methods, high pressure selling techniques, harassment or unconscionable conduct to sell
its fitness services.

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

Consumer Agreements5

10
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A supplier must ensure that a consumer agreement, at a minimum:

(a) sets out the name and address of the parties to the agreement including the Australian Business
Number and Australian Company Number for corporations;

(b) sets out the address of the fitness facility at which the fitness services are to be supplied;

(d) discloses the full price of the fitness services being offered including, where applicable:
(i) the joining fee;
(ii) the amount payable, frequency of payments and minimum term applicable to the

agreement;
(iii) the fee for each type of fitness service, such as the fee for each exercise consultation or

exercise program;
(iv) the fee for a fitness assessment;
(v) late payment, administration or other associated fees;
(vi) any other fees payable, or that may be payable, under the consumer agreement;
(vii) any termination fee that may apply and circumstances under which that fee is payable;
(viii) when the cooling-off period starts and when it ends;
(ix) how the consumer may terminate the consumer agreement;
(x) the circumstances under which the supplier may terminate the consumer agreement.

(e) where the fitness services will be provided in Victoria or South Australia, set out the exclusion
notice in accordance with Victorian and South Australian fair trading laws;

(f) states that the supplier is bound by this Code and that the consumer can lodge a complaint with
Fitness Australia if the supplier has or appears to have breached this Code; and

(g) requires the consumer to:
(i) carry out, as far as is reasonably practicable, his or her obligations under the consumer

agreement;
(ii) abide by the rules of the fitness business;
(iii) follow any reasonable direction of any personnel of the fitness business;
(iv) inform the supplier if the consumer knows or has reasonable grounds to believe, that

he or she may be at risk by participating in a particular Fitness service, or if the
consumer’s medical condition changes which may increase the risk of adverse
events when exercising.

If a business member offers a fitness service for free or discounted under a consumer agreement, each of the
following must be disclosed in the written statement under clause 5.1 above:

(a) the usual fee for the fitness service before the offer is made;

(b) if the usual fee for the fitness service is increased before the offer is made
—the increase in the fee; and

(c) if the fitness service is decreased in quality or restricted in any way because of the offer
—the decrease in quality of, or the restriction on, the fitness service.

5.6

5.7

Consumer Agreements5
11
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A supplier must not sell a pre-paid agreement that has an expiry greater than 12 months from the date of
purchase.

A supplier must not sell an ongoing agreement with a minimum term greater than 18 months.

A supplier must ensure that any ongoing agreement:

(a) is structured to have a reasonable proportional relationship to any term or annual rate offered
and will not be structured so as to discourage consumers from selecting this option; and

(b) clearly identifies any fixed term component of the agreement and the consumers obligation to
pay under the agreement including the following notice in bold 14pt type that must be signed and
dated by the consumer:

I acknowledge that unless I provide written notice of termination
of my membership prior to the end of the fixed term of my
ongoing agreement, I will still be liable for my membership fees
until 14 days after I provide written notice of termination to the
fitness facility. I understand the fitness facility must respond to
its receipt of a written notice within seven days.

If your agreement is for a fixed term, it automatically terminates
at the expiry of the term and so a new agreement will be required
if you require services after that time. If your agreement is
ongoing, it is an agreement that will continue after the initial
term until either you or we terminate it in the way described in
the agreement.

If an automatic direct debit arrangement is in place, fees will
continue to be debited from your credit card or account until you
or the fitness business cancels the arrangement by notifying your
bank or credit provider. If you terminate the agreement or stop
the automatic debit arrangement in a manner not described in
the agreement, then you may be liable for damages for breach of
contract.

Where a supplier has not commenced providing agreed fitness services, but wants to accept pre-paid fees, the
supplier must:

(a) place all pre-paid fees into a solicitor’s trust account which must not be accessed by the supplier
until:
(i) the fitness facility is open;
(ii) the consumer has used the fitness service; and
(iii) the consumer has determined within 48 hours of first using the Fitness service whether

to terminate the agreement; and

5.8

5.9

5.10

5.11

Consumer Agreements5
12
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

(b) not sell any agreements that are for a period more than three months before
commencement of providing the agreed fitness services.

A supplier must not offer to renew a consumer agreement:

(a) in the case of a 12 month agreement, until the current agreement has less than four months
before it is due to expire;

(b) in any other case, where the total pre-paid agreement would, at any time, exceed 15 months.

When a supplier uses a third party payment system, the details of the third party must be clearly outlined within
the consumer agreement.

The cooling off period, for a consumer entering into a consumer agreement with a supplier, starts:

(a) when the consumer enters into the consumer agreement before the fitness business opens:
(i) if the fitness business opens on the proposed opening day or
(ii) if the fitness business opens on a new opening day and the fitness business has not

opened at the time the supplier notifies the consumer of the new opening day or
(iii) if the fitness business opens on a new opening day and the fitness business has already

opened at the time the supplier notifies the consumer of the new opening day (on the
day the consumer receives notice that the fitness business has opened):

(b) where the consumer enters into the consumer agreement with the supplier after the Fitness
business opens (on the day the consumer enters into the agreement with the supplier).

The cooling off period ends 48 hours after the cooling off period starts.

If a supplier makes changes to:

(a) the fees outlined in the consumer agreement they must provide the consumer at least 60 days’
notice in writing, and if the consumer is adversely affected by the change, the consumer
may terminate the agreement without penalty in accordance with clause 5; and

(b) any other changes to the consumer agreement except for fees, the supplier must provide
the consumer at least 30 days’ notice in writing, and if the consumer is adversely affected
by the change, the consumer may terminate the agreement without payment of a termination
fee, in accordance with clause 5.7.

Where a consumer is unable, by reason of temporary physical incapacity, verifiable by a medical certificate, to avail
himself or herself of the fitness services provided under his or her consumer agreement, that consumer is entitled
to defer the balance of the period of the consumer agreement to a maximum of 3 months total in any 12-month
period unless a further period is agreed in writing with the supplier.

The supplier may charge a reasonable administration fee each time a consumer requests a deferral in
accordance with their entitlement under clause 5.17.

5.12

5.13

5.14

5.15

5.16

5.17

5.18

Consumer Agreements5
13
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A consumer may terminate a consumer agreement with a supplier during the cooling-off period.

The consumer terminates the agreement by giving the supplier written notice of the termination, including
evidence of membership, by:

(a) delivering the notice to the supplier’s registered or business address or email;

(b) posting the notice to the supplier’s registered or business address by mail or email.

The supplier must refund to the consumer the fees paid by the consumer to the supplier less:

(a) any reasonable cost of any service provided or outstanding fees for the supply of fitness services
to the consumer provided that those fees were disclosed to the consumer in writing before
entering into the consumer agreement; and

(b) a reasonable administration fee for terminating the agreement during the cooling-off period.

The supplier must pay the refund to the consumer within 14 days after receiving notice of termination of the
consumer agreement.

A consumer may terminate a consumer agreement with a supplier if the consumer cannot use a fitness service
supplied under the agreement because of the consumer’s permanent sickness or physical incapacity.

The consumer terminates the agreement by giving the supplier:

(a) written notice of the termination; and

(b) a medical certificate stating that the consumer cannot use the fitness service because of the
consumer’s permanent sickness or physical incapacity.

The supplier must refund the consumer a proportion of the fees paid by the consumer to the supplier representing
the unused part of the agreement less:

(a) any outstanding fees for the supply of fitness services by the supplier; and

(b) a reasonable administration fee for the termination of the agreement.

However, the supplier may deduct the unpaid fee from the refund only if the supplier has disclosed the fee
to the consumer in the written statement given to the consumer before the consumer entered into the agreement.

The supplier must pay the refund to the consumer within 14 days after the consumer terminates the agreement.

6.1

6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

6.6

6.7

6.8

6.9

Terminating a Consumer Agreement6

14
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

A consumer may terminate a consumer agreement with a supplier for reasons other than those referred to in
clauses 6.1 and 6.6.

The maximum termination fee the supplier can charge the consumer is the termination fee stated in the
agreement.

The supplier must make every reasonable effort to respond quickly and fairly to the consumer’s termination of the
agreement.

A consumer may be entitled to a refund if a supplier is in breach of any obligations under the consumer agreement
or this Code and does not remedy that breach within a reasonable time after a written request has been received.
The refund includes the unused fees paid by the supplier less any outstanding fees for the Fitness services supplied
by the supplier.

A supplier or consumer may terminate an agreement if there is a failure or delay with providing Fitness services for
more than 30 days after the supplier and consumer entered into an agreement.

6.10

6.11

6.12

6.13

6.14

Terminating a Consumer Agreement6
15
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice
Fitness Industry
Code of Practice

PO Box 6453 Alexandria
New South Wales 2015

P: 1300 211 311
E: info@fitness.org.au

fitness.org.au/code-of-practice

Business Principles
and Guidance
for Fitness Businesses

Contents

Preamble

Consultation on the draft Principles and Guidance 1

Introduction to principles based guidance

Framework for the Principles

Who is bound by these Principles?

Falling short of a Principle

Ten Principles That Promote Good Business Practice

Deliver health and exercise services with due care and skill

Ensure, so far as reasonably practical, 5
the safety of its customers

Take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice

Pay due regard to the information needs of its customers,

and potential customers, and communicate to them in
a way that is clear, fair and not misleading

Treat their customers fairly

Aim to resolve customer disputes quickly and fairly

Ensure that proper records are kept and respect

the privacy of their customers

Ensure, so far as reasonably practical, the provision of a safe,

clean and comfortable physical environment for clients and
staff, paying due regard to health and safety requirements

Strive to operate an effective and sustainable business

Aim to establish a quality improvement culture

Preamble
The Business Principles and Guidance for fitness businesses

have been developed by Fitness Australia as part of our

commitment to supporting the fitness industry to prosper and

grow. The objective is to outline and share some key principles

that we believe are a useful guide when considering what

constitutes good business practice. Some commentary as

well as a range of supporting resources, links and guidelines

accompany these Principles to assist fitness businesses seeking

to apply these Principles in practice. These resources will be

built on over time to meet the needs of a diverse and rapidly

changing business environment.

Consultation on the draft Principles
and Guidance
Fitness Australia has undertaken an extensive consultation

process on the draft Principles and Guidance. To develop and

gain industry support, we invited interested stakeholders to

provide feedback on the draft Principles. The Principles and

Guidance was developed throughout the following stages:

1. Internal review of the existing State and Territory based

Industry Codes of Practice to identify the common themes

and issues that regulatory authorities may wish to address;

2. Identification of a set of key Principles to support good

business practice in the fitness industry;

3. Consultation with fitness industry stakeholders, business

operators and our board of directors;

4. Consultation with Fitness Industry Code Administration

Committee (ACT) and Office of Regulatory Services (ACT);

5. Legal overview and finalisation of draft

Principles and Guidance.

Over the next 12 months, Fitness Australia will consult

with the Departments of Fair Trading in each State and

Territory jurisdiction as well as other regulatory bodies to

promote the Business Principles and Guidance and seek their

feedback. Fitness Australia will also continue to seek feedback

from the fitness industry so that the currency and relevance

of the Principles and Guidance can be continuously

maintained and enhanced.

By implementing the Principles and Guidance into business

practice, a fitness business can help to ensure that appropriate

standards of professionalism, safety and customer care are

maintained. This in turn will promote stakeholder confidence

in the fitness industry and promote a culture of conducting

business in a professional, safe, fair, honest and ethical manner.

The Principles and Guidance:

• Are designed to promote and facilitate
the activities that fitness businesses
undertake regularly to achieve good
business outcomes.

• Are not an attempt to formulate
rules on what might constitute good
business practice for fitness businesses,
or prescribe related behaviours and
specific actions.

Introduction to principles based guidance
This document sets out the core Principles that Fitness Australia

believes are a useful guide when considering what constitutes

good business practice. Good practice is underpinned by legal

compliance and every business member is responsible for

understanding and complying with the laws that apply

to them. However, these Principles are broader in scope.

Principles based guidance is aimed at sustaining the diversity

of the current State and Territory regulatory environment for

the fitness industry and the diversity of our stakeholders, but

with better and more effective outcomes. This enables us to

increasingly rely on outcome focussed guidance rather than

detailed rules prescribing how outcomes must be achieved.

Principles based guidance means, where possible, moving

away from dictating through prescriptive rules how a fitness

business should operate to ensure good practice. Fitness

businesses should have the responsibility to decide how best to

align their business objectives and processes with the specified

outcomes. However, all fitness businesses must comply with

the 10 high-level Principles. In many cases this will be sufficient

to ensure the standard of quality we seek to achieve for fitness

businesses and their customers.

We have also suggested Recommendations and Guidance

showing some of the ways (but not the only ways)

fitness businesses can comply with the Principles. The

Recommendations set out what a fitness businesses ‘should’

do rather than what they ‘must’ do. The Guidelines also

signpost mandatory legal requirements. Accordingly, other

than in respect of applicable laws, compliance with the

Recommendations and Guidance is not mandatory and fitness

businesses may comply with the Principles in ways we do not

mention in the Recommendations and Guidance.

The main benefits of adopting this approach are that it will

(a) help consumers by making their interests the focus, rather

than compliance with a set of rules, (b) provide a basis for

quality assurance business practice which applies across a

variety of fitness business profiles and despite differences in

regulation across Australia, and (c) allow for more efficient

implementation of quality standards by fitness businesses.

Framework for the Principles

Whilst the Principles set out the highest level outcomes that

we recognise as representing good business practice, they

still need to be underpinned with further Recommendations

and Guidance. Accordingly, more detailed guidance will

therefore remain a part of our toolkit. The Principles set out

the minimum acceptable standards and the primary function

of the material we produce in support of this is to underpin

the achievement of good outcomes. If a fitness business has

complied with the Principles then it is irrelevant whether they

have complied with any other material we have issued.

This is fundamental to our approach.

Who is bound by these Principles?

References to “fitness business” means the relevant member

having registration with Fitness Australia, examples of which

include a personal trainer who is a sole trader, the operator of

a large chain of fitness centres (in which case the operator is

responsible for ensuring that both it and its staff follow these

Principles), and a fitness centre operating under franchise or

licence from a franchisor or a management company. Due

to the different registration and member types with Fitness

Australia, certain Recommendations may be more or less

relevant, however the Principles are equally applicable to all

fitness businesses. Note that “customers”, “users” and “clients”

are used interchangeably in these Principles and refers to the

end-user of health and exercise products and services.

Falling short of a Principle

Fitness Australia is not a government body that can impose

regulatory sanctions. However, Fitness Australia reserves the

right to take such action as it considers appropriate to preserve

the integrity of its organisation and stakeholders generally.

Fitness businesses should also be aware that in some

circumstances failure to comply with a Principle, or

Recommendations and Guidance, may also constitute a breach

of applicable law which could expose the fitness business to

actions by the applicable regulator, consumers and or third

parties, and serious legal consequences.

Business Principles
and Guidance

Ensure, so far as reasonably practical, the provision of a safe, clean and
comfortable physical environment for clients and staff, paying due regard
to health and safety requirements

Pay due regard to the information needs of its customers, and potential customers,
and communicate to them in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading

Take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice

Deliver health and exercise services with due care and skill

Strive to operate an effective and sustainable business

Treat their customers fairly

Ensure that proper records are kept and respect the privacy of their customers

Aim to establish a quality improvement culture

Aim to resolve customer disputes quickly and fairly

Ensure, so far as reasonably practical, the safety of its customers

3
1
9

6
2

Ten Principles That Promote Good Business Practice

Fitness businesses must:

What does this mean?

This means providing health and exercise services in a careful manner that reduces, so far as reasonably practicable,

the chances of a client incurring foreseeable physical injury or other loss. This can be achieved by maintaining

appropriate levels of training and expertise and through having systems in place to ensure that advice and exercise

programs are provided within the skill set of the fitness professional.

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

1.1 Fitness businesses recommending and/or programming fitness related

activities must ensure that necessary personnel hold relevant professional

credentials and have appropriate experience.

See Credentials Guidance1

and Experience Guidance2

information.

1.2 Fitness businesses providing fitness related activities should demonstrate

a commitment to staff training and continuing education.

See Continuing Education3

information.

1.3 Fitness businesses should adopt industry standard exercise guidelines

and recommendations.

See Exercise Guidelines4

information.

1.4 Fitness businesses should ensure that relevant personnel operate within

their industry endorsed

scope of practice.

See Fitness Australia Scope

of Practice5

1.5 Fitness businesses should operate in accordance with Fitness Australia’s

professional code of ethics.

See Professional Code of Ethics6

Fitness businesses must deliver health
and exercise services with due care and skill 1

1. http://www.fitness.org.au/articles/stu-registration-menu/professional-registration-categories/67/613 2. http://www.fitness.org.au/articles/registration-levels/84

3. http://fitness.org.au/articles/learning-development/what-are-cecs-and-where-can-i-find-them/46/283/181 4. http://fitness.org.au/articles/category/policies-guidelines/4/20

5. http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/scope-of-practice-for-registered-exercise-professionals/4/38/20

6. http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/fitness-australia-code-of-ethics/4/73/20

Business Principles
and Guidance
4

http://www.fitness.org.au/articles/stu-registration-menu/professional-registration-categories/67/613

http://www.fitness.org.au/articles/registration-levels/84

http://fitness.org.au/articles/learning-development/what-are-cecs-and-where-can-i-find-them/46/283/181

http://fitness.org.au/articles/category/policies-guidelines/4/20

http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/scope-of-practice-for-registered-exercise-professionals/4/38/20

http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/fitness-australia-code-of-ethics/4/73/20

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

2.1 Fitness businesses should prominently display rules for safe conduct and bring

those rules to the attention of customers before entry and enforce those rules.

See for example sample topics

for “Facility Rules” in

Standard Form Contract1

2.2 Fitness businesses should undertake a periodic risk assessment of operations,

and have documented risk management procedures.

2.3 Fitness businesses should conduct an appropriate client risk assessment and

pre-exercise screen on each client before the client commences exercise.

See Pre-Exercise Screen Guidance2

2.4 Fitness businesses should ensure that all exercise equipment is correctly

assembled and safely affixed and positioned. Equipment and facilities should

be operated and correctly maintained to the manufacturer’s standards.

2.5 Fitness businesses should take reasonable steps to ensure that all clients use

equipment appropriately and that fitness business personnel hold appropriate

qualifications and have the experience necessary to train clients in the correct

use of equipment.

2.6 Fitness businesses should consider client supervision when undergoing a

business risk assessment.

2.7 Where possible and subject to compliance with applicable privacy laws, fitness

businesses should keep emergency contact details for clients and have in place

an appropriate emergency response procedure.

2.8 Fitness business should maintain proper processes and policies aimed

at ensuring compliance with relevant legal requirements.

See for instance, Work Health

and Safety Legislation3 and

Child Safety Legislation4

Fitness businesses must ensure so far as
reasonably practical the safety of its customers2

What does this mean?

The maintenance of the wellbeing of clients must be a priority for any fitness professional. This principle requires

fitness businesses to implement and maintain harm minimisation processes aimed at reducing, so far as reasonably

practical, foreseeable risks of physical injury to any customer.

1. https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login 2. http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/adult-pre-exercise-screening-system/4/18/20

3. https://fitnessaustralia.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/uploaded_file/file/228/Work-Health-_-Safety-Guidelines-for-fitness-businesses

4. https://www3.aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/australian-child-protection-legislation 5

https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login

http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/adult-pre-exercise-screening-system/4/18/20

https://fitnessaustralia.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/uploaded_file/file/228/Work-Health-_-Safety-Guidelines-for-fitness-businesses

https://www3.aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/australian-child-protection-legislation

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

3.1 Fitness programs and services offered to clients should be evidence-based.

3.2 Fitness business personnel must act within their industry endorsed

scope of practice.

See Scope of Practice1

3.3 Fitness businesses should maintain referral procedures for clients to ensure

that clients receive health and exercise services from people who hold

appropriate qualifications and experience.

See Exercise Referral Kit2

3.4 Fitness businesses should only provide health care services and advice through

personnel holding appropriate qualifications and registration

(where applicable).

3.5 Fitness businesses should pay due regard to a client’s circumstances and

requirements, with the aim of avoiding the supply of unsuitable or unnecessary

products or services.

Fitness businesses must take reasonable
care to ensure the suitability of its advice 3

What does this mean?

Any advice given by fitness professionals must be appropriate and within their field of experience and qualifications,

taking account of the client’s circumstances. This principle recognises that unsuitable advice may lead to client harm.

1. http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/scope-of-practice-for-registered-exercise-professionals/4/38/20

2. http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/exercise-referral-kit/4/19/20

Business Principles
and Guidance
6

http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/scope-of-practice-for-registered-exercise-professionals/4/38/20

http://fitness.org.au/articles/policies-guidelines/exercise-referral-kit/4/19/20

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

4.1 Fitness businesses should operate in accordance with the ACCC Guidelines. See ACCC guidelines1

4.2 Fitness businesses need to be aware of how the Australian Consumer Law

applies to advertising and selling products and services, in order to ensure

compliance with the Australian Consumer Law.

See ACCC Advertising

and Selling Guidelines2

4.3 Fitness businesses should foster and support an environment where questions

are encouraged from customers and potential customers and answers are

provided openly and clearly.

Fitness businesses must pay due regard to the information
needs of its customers and potential customers, and
communicate information to them in a way which is clear,
fair and not misleading

4
What does this mean?

Fitness businesses must provide their customers with clear, accurate and relevant information on products and services

before, during and, where appropriate, after the point of sale. This is meant to ensure that customers are adequately

informed before they purchase products or services. In particular, customers must not be mislead by advertising or

during the sales process.

1. http://www.accc.gov.au/business 2. http://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling

http://www.accc.gov.au/business

http://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

5.1 Fitness businesses should follow ACCC Guidelines concerning treating their

customers fairly throughout the life-cycle of products and services provided.

See ACCC Guidelines1

5.2 Customers should receive products and services in accordance with what they

have been led to expect, and these products and services should be

of a reasonably acceptable standard.

5.3 Fitness businesses should ensure that the products and services provided

by a fitness business are in accordance with the Australian Consumer Law

and in particular the non-excludable consumer guarantees.

See Australian Consumer Law2

5.4 Fitness business should ensure that customers and prospective customers

are aware of the terms and conditions that apply to their membership in

an environment where the customer or prospective customer is free to ask

questions and have those answered openly and clearly by the fitness business.

5.5 Fitness businesses must ensure that written contracts are in accordance

the Australian Consumer Law and in particular do not include unfair terms.

See Standard Form Contract3

and proforma Direct Debit

Service Agreement

5.6 Fitness businesses must not discriminate against clients or potential clients. See Anti-discrimination

legislation4

5.7 Fitness businesses should have in place appropriate practices and policies

to assist customers who are under 18 years of age or who may be

disadvantaged or vulnerable.

For guidance on when a

customer may considered

disadvantaged or vulnerable,

see Discussion Paper: What do

we mean by ’vulnerable’ and

‘disadvantaged’ consumers?5

Fitness businesses must treat
their customers fairly 5

What does this mean?

This is a fundamental principle on which many other principles are based. It is also meant to ensure that customers

are not discriminated against

1. http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly 2. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011C00003 3. https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login

4. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/default.aspx

5. http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/library/publications/resources-and-education/research/what-do-we-mean-by-vulnerable-and-disadvantaged-consumers-discussion-paper-2004

Business Principles
and Guidance
8

http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011C00003

https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login

http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/library/publications/resources-and-education/research/what-do-we-mean-by-vulnerable-and-disadvantaged-consumers-discussion-paper-2004

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

6.1 Fitness businesses should maintain an appropriate complaints handing

procedure including processes to act on client feedback. The process should

be aimed at achieving quality interaction, fairness in terms of responsive

action and fairness of outcome.

See Complaints handling Process1

6.2 Fitness businesses should maintain records of resolution of customer

complaints and periodically review the handling of complaints to identify

opportunities for improvement.

Fitness businesses must aim to resolve
customer disputes quickly and fairly 6

What does this mean?

This principle does not specify a time limit but allows for the most pressing issues being dealt with immediately

while less pressing issues are dealt with in a reasonable amount of time. It is meant to ensure that outcomes are

fair, which can be determined by examining complaints data and how customers feel about the outcomes.

1. http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly

http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

7.1 Fitness businesses should, where practical, keep a record of each customer

and user of facilities.

7.2 Fitness businesses should be familiar with their obligations under the

Privacy Act 1998 (including the Australian Privacy Principles) and have

appropriate policies and processes in place to ensure compliance with

all applicable privacy laws.

See relevant Privacy Legislation1

information.

7.3 Fitness businesses should maintain secure client pre-exercise screening

and assessment records for 7 years.

Fitness businesses must ensure that proper records
are kept and respect the privacy of their customers 7

What does this mean?

Proper records means customer records that clearly and legibly detail material information about each customer

having regard to the services and facilities provided to the customer. This will include personal information for

billing and administrative purposes, relevant health information, results of fitness assessments and tests, and

activity records. Because this is personal (and in some respects sensitive) information fitness businesses will need

to take care to store this information securely and protect it from unauthorised access, inform clients how their

information will be handled, used and shared with others, and otherwise comply with applicable privacy laws.

1. http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/the-privacy-act

Business Principles
and Guidance
10

http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/the-privacy-act

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

8.1 Fitness businesses should conduct regular risk assessments on the exercise

space including equipment to ensure that it is safe, clean and free of obstacles.

8.2 Fitness businesses must maintain a safe working environment that meets

work health and safety laws and standards.

See links to

Occupational Health & Safety1

in each State or Territory

8.3 Fitness businesses should keep a log of all accidents and incidents

to help identify trends and areas for improvement.

8.4 Fitness businesses should ensure that premises and exercise areas are kept

clean and hygienic at all times.

8.5 Fitness businesses should ensure that all personnel working in the

fitness business are trained to identify and address risks and maintain

a “safety first” attitude.

See Exercise Professional

Registration2

8.6 Fitness businesses operating 24 hour facilities and other unsupervised

facilities should comply with applicable Fitness Australia guidance.

8.7 Fitness businesses must not discriminate against people at work. See applicable

Anti-discrimination legislation3

8.8 Where practical, fitness business personnel should hold appropriate

first aid qualifications.

Fitness businesses must ensure so far as reasonably
practical the provision of a safe, clean and comfortable
physical environment for clients and staff, paying due
regard to health and safety requirements

8
What does this mean?

This principle complements principle 2 though is broader in scope. This principle requires a safe environment for all,

to the extent reasonably practicable.

1. http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/health-and-safety/occupational-health-and-safety 2. http://professionalhub.fitness.org.au/

3. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/health-and-safety/occupational-health-and-safety

http://professionalhub.fitness.org.au/

http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/default.aspx

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

9.1 Fitness businesses should hold and maintain appropriate insurance policies. See for example Fitness business

insurance policy1 information

9.2 Fitness businesses should demonstrate sound member/client

rules, policies and procedures.

See for example sample topics

for “Facility Rules” in Standard

Form Contract2

9.3 Fitness businesses should adopt, implement and maintain best practice

governance, management and business practices that are appropriate to

the fitness business, including effective financial management and obtaining

advice from professional advisors where necessary.

9.4 Fitness businesses should encourage those personnel who provide exercise

and health services to customers to maintain exercise professional

registration with Fitness Australia.

See Exercise Professional

Registration3

9.5 When conducting fitness activities outdoors, fitness businesses must comply

with applicable local laws, and should act in accordance with applicable

local council policies and Fitness Australia’s Outdoor Training Guidelines.

See Outdoor Training Guidelines4

9.6 Fitness businesses must ensure that, when employing personnel, they

comply with the Fitness Industry Award 2010, the Fair Work Act 2009

and other applicable state and federal workplace relations laws.

A fitness business should also ensure that people engaged as

independent contractors are legitimate contractors.

See Fitness Industry Award5

and note also information on

Independent Contractors Law6

Fitness businesses will strive to operate
an effective and sustainable business9

What does this mean?

This principle is aimed at ensuring the ongoing viability of the fitness business and appropriate

business risk management.

1. http://businesshub.fitness.org.au/articles/rfb-services/fitness-business-insurance/57/87/178 2. https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login 3. http://professionalhub.fitness.org.au/

4. https://fitnessaustralia.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/uploaded_file/file/596/Outdoor-Fitness-Training-Guidelines

5. https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/modern_awards/award/ma000094/default.htm

6. http://www.business.gov.au/business-topics/business-structures-and-types/independent-contractors/Pages/default.aspx

Business Principles
and Guidance
12

http://businesshub.fitness.org.au/articles/rfb-services/fitness-business-insurance/57/87/178

https://fitness.org.au/members/dashboard/login

http://professionalhub.fitness.org.au/

https://fitnessaustralia.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/uploaded_file/file/596/Outdoor-Fitness-Training-Guidelines

https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/modern_awards/award/ma000094/default.htm

http://www.business.gov.au/business-topics/business-structures-and-types/independent-contractors/Pages/default.aspx

Recommendations Guidance or Further Information

10.1 Fitness businesses should strive to meet the criteria outlined in the standards

set in the Fitness Industry Quality Framework.

10.2 Fitness businesses should conduct regular business risk assessments and

regularly review the effectiveness of their operating policies and procedures.

10.3 Fitness businesses should develop ongoing monitoring and reporting measures

designed to ensure the successful implementation of, and ongoing compliance

with, these Principles.

10.4 Fitness businesses should implement and maintain recognised continuous

quality improvement principles in response to assessment and guidance

from providers of quality improvement services.

Fitness businesses will aim to establish a quality
improvement culture10

What does this mean?

This principle recognises that internal compliance is an ongoing process and quality businesses undertake

continuous improvement. Fitness businesses will need to monitor changes to products, services and community

expectations, as well as changes to applicable laws and regulations, to ensure ongoing compliance and to foster

a culture of continuous improvement in products and services.

PO Box 6453 Alexandria

New South Wales 2015

t. 1300 211 311

e. info@fitness.org.au

www.fitness.org.au

Connect with us

mailto:info%40fitness.org.au?subject=

http://www.fitness.org.au

https://www.youtube.com/user/Fitnessorgau

https://plus.google.com/110397365084550255706

http://www.linkedin.com/company/fitness-australia

https://twitter.com/fitnessorgau

https://www.facebook.com/fitnessorgau

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