Australia’s accommodation sector associations move closer to merger A unified, single voice for the accommodation sector in Australia moved a step closer this week with the proposed merger of the Australian Hotels Association/Tourism Accommodation Australia and the Accommodation Association. Tourism Accommodation Australia chair Martin Ferguson AM and Accommodation Association chair Julian Clark (pictured) provided a joint update at Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE) in Adelaide, 5 May, saying ‘substantial work’ had been conducted over the past 12 months on the governance framework required under the complex legal and regulatory processes that apply. They reported necessary governance foundations had been put in place to move into a more formal, mandated and complex process run by the Fair Work Commission, while the working group can now focus on the operational framework and approach.