Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) members voted unanimously to deregister the association last week at a special general meeting, with a majority indicating a preference to support a new peak body organisation from July.
The new Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) will assume the mantle of the peak body for the country’s business events, which will result in BECA ceasing operations at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
BECA Chair Leo Jago said in its 30 years as the peak body for business events, the association has built a stellar list of achievements.
“It has been the unified voice in the industry’s advocacy to government and has been the key driver of the industry’s vital research studies to demonstrate the size and scope of the sector,” he explained.
“BECA has made these achievements despite its limited resources; it has punched well above its weight.
Jago said the COVID-19 pandemic challenged Australia’s business events industry and highlighted the need for “a well-resourced peak body to foster the growth of business events via a focus on research, advocacy, and professional development.”
This challenge saw BECA undertake a review of its structure to ensure the future financial sustainability of a peak body for business events,
Independent expert consultants were appointed by BECA to create a better resourced organisation to deliver the research, advocacy, and training essential to the growth of the industry.
The consultants advised the best operating model for the future was to form ABEA.
“BECA and its many achievements provides a solid platform upon which a new and better resourced peak body will support business events in the decades to come,” Jago said, adding the association’s legacy will “live on”.
