Things are changing for Travel Agents in Australia. As of 1 July 2014, the Travel Agents Act 1986 was officially repealed. This means Travel Agents are no longer required to hold licences to operate travel agencies. It also means that individual agencies can set their own policies regarding how long to keep old documents.
That’s where we come in. Shred On Site is eager to help Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) members with all of their shredding needs. In fact, we’re presently offering a $50% rebate on the call out rate for document destruction to AFTA members.
Use this Time for a Thorough Office Clean Out
Although Travel Agents no longer need licenses, they are still operating businesses that can be held accountable if personal or sensitive information is stolen. In fact, Australian law dictates that entities must take ‘reasonable steps’ to destroy or de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed.
Because Travel Agents no longer need to keep documents for seven years, now is the perfect time for a thorough archive box clean out. Don’t put your business at risk; get rid of sensitive documents that you no longer need to keep. It’s easy, too; Shred on Site will come to you. Shredding on site is our specialty. You don’t even have to remove staples or paper clips from your documents. We shred it all. The only work you have to do is deciding what to shred—then call us and we’ll handle the rest. Save yourself space and storage costs; shred all of your documents on site.
Plan for the Future of your Business
AFTA is working hard to develop a new accreditation scheme for Travel Agents. Although you will not be required to hold a license, earning the AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) accreditation will assure your clients that you are professional and credible.
ATAS is creating the benchmark standard for the travel industry. Why not think about creating a policy for your document retention needs? We can help with that, too. Shred On Site assists all of our clients in developing document disposal policies. There is no need to save everything, but deciding which documents should be saved—and for how long—will show you are indeed taking ‘reasonable steps’ to protect your clients’ personal information. A number of travel agents are creating their own policy of two years as this more than adequate to cover any possible claims or disputes from a client.
Ready to get started shredding those old documents and cleaning out your paper files? Right now, Shred On Site is offering a 50% rebate on the call out fee for all AFTA members. Call Shred On Site in Melbourne on 1300 558 876 or Shred On Site in Geelong on 1300 66 88 37—or request a quote. We are ready to help you dispose of old documents and plan for the future.
