FOR EMPLOYERS IN THE VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
A period of historic milestones for the Scheme
Welcome to our very first edition of LeavePlus News, for employers in the construction industry in Victoria. The July to September period of 2023 saw some historic developments as we marked our transition from being known as CoINVEST to the new LeavePlus brand. On Monday 14 August, our members awoke to a new experience of their long service leave Scheme, with a new name, logo, and website as LeavePlus. Later that week, we celebrated our rebrand with an industry stakeholders launch event in Melbourne, where we premiered our rebrand launch video (scroll down to watch the LeavePlus launch video for yourself). We have already received some great feedback from our members regarding the new LeavePlus brand, and we are very excited to bring even more value to our members through our upcoming member value programs which will be launched in 2024.
Our new brand sets us on the path to raise awareness about employers’ compliance obligations for our compulsory Scheme. It also allows us to increase our brand awareness more broadly amongst the building and construction industry in Victoria so employers and workers will be aware of the benefits of the portability of long service leave within the industry.
In September, we made an important appointment to complete our executive team. Lewis Tassone has joined LeavePlus as our new Chief Finance and Investment Officer (CFIO). Lewis brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise from his 10 years at Hostplus, where for the last 5 years he served as the Group Executive – Finance, Technology, and Investment Operations. Lewis has experience working with various large corporate and industry superannuation funds including NAB/MLC and Mercer. With an 8-year grounding at KPMG in audit and advisory services, he brings with him a deep and broad knowledge of finance and investment operations, regulatory compliance, and risk management. We welcome Lewis to the LeavePlus executive team as our new CFIO and look forward to the value he will bring to the organisation.
The first quarter of the 2023-24 Financial Year saw the Scheme pass a key milestone, with the long service leave Fund finally hitting the $2 billion mark on 31 July 2023. The Fund and our investments had been performing well throughout the 2022-23 Financial Year, despite volatility in domestic and international markets – with the $2 billion mark just evading us for the end of FY2022-23. Our Working Sub-contractor annual interest rate for 2022-23 was declared at 6.3% and was credited to accounts in August.
In July, we finally passed over that long-awaited threshold to at long last make your long service leave Fund a multi-billion-dollar Scheme. This stands the industry in great stead, assuring our members that the funds are there for when they need to take a well-earned break, allowing them to come back to work recharged and revitalised. The sustainable growth and management of the Fund underlines the value of having a centrally administered portable entitlement scheme, which provides a benefit to the whole industry.
Craig Bell
CEO, LeavePlus
LeavePlus Updates
Now that we have rebranded from CoINVEST to LeavePlus, let’s take a look at some of the key messages and current talking points.
Workers Days and Wages due 14 October
The July to September 2023 Workers Days and Wages (WDW) retrun is now available for employers to complete on the LeavePlus Portal.
The due date for submission is 14 October 2023.
As the industry regulator and administrator of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Scheme, LeavePlus applies strict legal and financial consequences for non-compliance relating to worker registration and return submission.
All employers should familiarise themselves with the requirements as an employer under the Act and the consequences of non-compliance at our Employer Obligations webpage.
If you require assistance or are unable to submit your WDW return before the due date, please call our membership services team on 03 9664 7677 or 1300 264 683.
Fund reaches the $2 Billion milestone
On 31 July 2023 the balance sheet finally tipped over the $2 billion mark for the first time in the Fund’s history. This historic milestone figure has been achieved despite a year of economic uncertainty, both domestically and internationally.
The Fund was first established in 1976 with a $100,000 government loan to cover the setup and operation of the Scheme. In 2016 the Fund hit the $1 billion mark for the first time. It took 40 years to grow the first billion dollars, and just seven years to grow the next billion dollars.
Notice of Annual Meeting
The LeavePlus Annual Meeting of Contributors, Beneficiaries and Potential Beneficiaries (ABM) for Financial Year 2022-2023 will be held on Tuesday 14 November 2023. The Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for members to hear from our Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Team on how LeavePlus is performing, as well as raise any questions you have regarding the Fund.
In accordance with the Notice of Meeting, the LeavePlus Annual Meeting 2023 will be held at 5pm on Tuesday 14 November 2023 at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (150 Collins St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000).
If you would like to attend the LeavePlus Annual Meeting 2023, please register your intention to attend here before 31 October 2023.
Feature Focus
Building on CoINVEST's success as LeavePlus
In August 2023 CoINVEST rebranded as LeavePlus. The construction industry long service leave Scheme had been known as CoINVEST since 1992, previously operating as the ‘Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board’ since 1976.
The Scheme has had a great number of transformations and successes in its 47 years of operation; from the expansion of covered trades, to privatisation of the Scheme in the 1990s, and transitioning to digital communications and interactions in more recent years.
To mark our most recent transformation in rebranding as LeavePlus, we created launch video for all of our members to enjoy.
We invited industry stakeholders and peer organisations to join us in celebrating the launch of the LeavePlus brand in an event at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne.
The event was attended by key figures from Master Builders Victoria, Incolink, Protect, VECCI, CFMEU, PPTEU and many other industry organisations.
We were also joined by our investment fund managers, LeavePlus team members, and the Board of Directors to help commemorate the occasion.
The next step in our business transformation is a holistic review of all of our current processes and systems to identify ways in which we can improve the experience for our members. The first stage of the review is well underway, with multiple projects taking place across the business, several of which have incorporated interviews and focus groups with our employer members.
Feedback from our members is vitally important in informing us about areas of priority and pain-points for the end-users of our services. It also helps us to highlight the areas in which we are already providing value, and the areas which could benefit from further attention.
We are always looking for additional participants and voices from the industry to provide direct feedback on our services.
If you would like to be part of future research interviews or focus groups about our systems, processes, and user-experiences, please use the button below to complete an expression of interest and provide your contact details.
CoINVEST Limited as Trustee for the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund (trading as LeavePlus) ABN: 35 078 004 985.
- 478 Albert St, East Melbourne
- 1300 264 683
- info@leaveplus.com.au
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LeavePlus acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.