But we’d love to have you. More and more, the AFA receives calls on a whole range of topics, but mostly from stakeholders seeking help or advice, usually related to a business crisis. Increasingly the caller has assumed they are an AFA Member, when they are not.
What do King Living, Apprenticeship Support Australia, Red Points, FURNITEX and Design Furniture all have in common?
These businesses are all Australasian Furnishing Association Members, but all for different reasons.
The Australasian Furnishing Association (AFA) is the peak industry organisation representing Australia in the global furnishing industry market.
AFA Membership includes individuals and businesses spanning the entire furnishing industry supply chain. AFA Members include students, employers, trainers, designers, suppliers, testers and certifiers, compliance and regulatory bodies, manufacturers, importers, exporters, retailers, consumers, allied industries, international partners and buyers.
Stakeholders include:
- students of design or manufacturing, including apprentices and trainees;
- employers of upholsterers through to sales teams and everything in between;
- training institutions delivering any furnishing related courses or involved in the development of training packages, departments of education or individual teachers including a community of practice for training practitioners;
- suppliers of equipment or materials from CAD machinery to textiles and everything in between;
- testing and certification organisations across all levels of the production process including strength testing through to due diligence regulations;
- Australian and international standards and compliance bodies across requirements such as consumer law and mandatory product standards;
- manufacturers of custom Australian products through to assembly of a mix of imported or locally made components;
- importers of products or services for example certified wood or I.P tracking services;
- exporters of products or intellectual property such as education and training services or high quality Australian furniture;
- online or store retailers, and buyers of products or services spanning residential or commercial furnishing markets such as public spaces and government procurement, through to property developers and wholesalers;
- allied industry partners such as associations across the homewares, hospitality, health, education, and other sectors;
- international partners such as global design awards, mentoring programs and technology sharing;
- buyers and sellers of furnishing products;
- agents and sales teams.
The diversity of the AFA’s Membership allows it to fulfill its purpose which is to connect and support all of its Members with the knowledge and understanding of the global furnishing industry, to increase trade, position Australia as a high quality global furnishings supply nation and grow businesses along the entire supply chain in order to stimulate that growth.
The AFA does this by contributing to worldwide consultation, collaborating with the Australian and state governments, positioning Australia as the ‘go to nation’ for high quality, clean, green products and services on behalf of all AFA Members, particularly in the Australasia region, by supporting each segment of the supply chain as required and conducting one of Australasia’s most recognised furniture exhibitions – FURNITEX.
The AFA is also committed to helping AFA Member businesses with a focus on building competitive and sustainable business models and to promote the profitable growth, innovation and success of its Members by providing advocacy and lobbying leadership via government and industry led networks, standing between the importation of substandard products to Australia to reinforce a level playing field and protect Australian businesses and sourcing ‘group buying’ opportunities to reduce its Members operating costs.
The AFA does this by providing a broad range of business services and via its involvement in Standards and regulatory committees, performing a leading role in the Australian government’s industry reference committee to redevelop the furnishing training package, lobbying and advocacy in all sectors of the design, supply and manufacture of furnishing products and services into other industries such as the hospitality, education and health sectors, partnering with allied industries to increase awareness of the importance of purchasing high quality, products which meet the appropriate standards, are safe and fit for purpose.
The AFA also handles consumer complaints and works closely with all parties, including regulatory bodies, to rectify each issue as it comes to hand.
The AFA conducts workshops and events to assist its Members to increase their business and skill knowledge and the AFA Shop contains resources and tools related to research, legislation and regulatory requirements for online purchase.
Are you missing out? Become an AFA Member today