New national body to reduce duplication

The two major national organisations representing the Australian RV industry have made initial steps towards creating a single, unified entity.

The peak body for Australian RV manufacturers, RVM Australia, and the Caravan, RV & Accommodation Industry of Australia Ltd (CRVA), which promotes the RV industry on a national level, said in a joint statement a working group will be established to “form a new integrated body to represent the caravanning and camping industry in Australia”.

According to the statement: “One of the key items discussed at the recent industry summit was duplicity of roles by industry bodies at a national level. It was discussed how powerful and effective the industry could be if we created a new entity.

Another advantage of creating a single body would be “strong advocacy to Government with one united voice on industry issues”.

“This is viewed by both organisations as a positive move and members will be kept fully informed of progress of the working party. In the meantime both organisations will be operating as normal,” the statement concluded.

The Australian RV industry is currently represented on a national level by RVM Australia, which has around 80 manufacturer members and focuses on compliance, and the CRVA which represents around 4000 industry businesses and is mostly engaged in activities promoting the RV lifestyle.

There are also five state-based bodies under the Caravan Industry Australia (CIA) banner, which primarily organise caravan shows.

In August, RVMA CEO David Duncan said while the various bodies already work together on a number of issues, a single ‘industry voice’ would be more effective in achieving industry goals such as “creating a level playing field (for manufacturers and importers) and hopefully eliminating the (compliance) loopholes that currently exist at state and national level”.

“It’s not that we don’t work together now because we do. The CRVA as a body has a number of shareholders of which RVM Australia is one, and so are the state (CIA) bodies. And we come together and work on issues of common interest already. But could it be done better, if we do it as one entity,” he said.

“These things don’t happen in five minutes. I’ve personally been involved in three re-organisations that brought national bodies into single entities that have had a federated structure, and it takes time. It can take five years, but it’s worth contemplating...”