Australia Road Forum
Although Australia's road transport system is of critical importance, until now no mechanism has existed to bring all stakeholders together - they all worked in different silos. Australia's road transport system needs a forum in which all sectors, including commercial, public sector and community, can come together.
The main benefit of membership is the right to participate in the Forum itself which is limited to ARF members and their invited guests.
The Forum is the national peak body and convenes every six months. It functions as a college of industry leaders. Meetings review the "state of the nation" for road transport in Australia. This keeps members uniquely informed and provides a mechanism for bringing them together in one room.
The Forum enables participants to network and engage in policy exchange with a more diverse range of corporate, government and association representatives than is possible through existing mechanisms.
The program for Forum meetings is structured to meet the high threshold required by senior management who are themselves well informed. The meetings are constituted as workshops which encourage maximum interaction between participants. A wide cross section of industry attends, including the CEO's of major companies and the heads of Australia's state and federal road authorities.
In addition to Forum meetings, ARF convenes regular lunches, workshops and networking opportunities in all states. Regular guest speakers include the Roads Ministers for Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the Commonwealth. These lunches are open to the industry at large and are usually attended by between 80 and 160 participants.
The ARF also convenes "single table" lunches with key decision makers and CEO's. These are limited to ARF members and their guests. Lunches of this kind have included lunches with the Federal Minister for Roads, the Commissioner of Main Roads in Western Australia, and the former head of the Prime Minister's Department, Mr Max Moore-Wilton.
For details of forthcoming and previous events.
The ARF's membership embraces all companies, agencies and associations with an interest in Australian road transport.
Members are certainly not confined to companies with a specific interest in road construction. For example, the ARF includes research organisations, motoring associations and local government associations. In fact, membership is open to any organisation whose interests touch on Australian road transport.
The ARF aims to work with existing industry associations who already represent their members in the road sector. Membership of the ARF by industry associations is encouraged. The ARF seeks to add an extra dimension to what they do rather than duplicate the effective work they already do for industry.
The ARF provides an outstanding forum for industry members who want to stay in touch with each other and the process of policy formulation.
ARF activities bring together a "Who's Who" of industry and provide a forum for the industry at large.
By joining ARF, companies, agencies and associations may influence the future structure of road transport policy in Australia.
ARF was officially recognised by the Federal Government in March 2005 as the national peak body for road transport stakeholders. ARF is the natural industry contact when it comes to matters of national industry importance.
ARF embraces the leading stakeholders in the industry. No other body in the industry has so many. In line with its role as the national peak body, ARF does not admit minor players.
ARF is the only national body which covers the entire road transport sector. It includes other peak industry bodies and government agencies which do not join other industry associations.
ARF Forum Meetings (open only to members and their invited guests) provide "state of the nation" reports and networking opportunities to members every six months. Each of these meetings are attended by more than sixty companies. The ARF Forum is an exclusive college of the industry's leaders.
ARF has regular activities in all states, including policy workshops, lunches, forums and conferences.
ARF's stands for what is good for Australia. Sectional advocacy is left to other industry bodies.
ARF does not duplicate the services of other industry associations (e.g. IR advice, training, sectional advocacy). ARF has a small staff focused on highly specific services. ARF is a not for profit company owned and managed by a Board of its own members.
Annual fees for the membership of the National Council are based on turnover as follows:
If you would like to find out more about membership or just to discuss the possibilities, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us and we will do the rest.