Quality Assurance Scheme Communications Pack - Tourism Australia

T-QUAL Accreditation
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
1

Using this Communication Pack
As Tourism Australia continues to market the T-QUAL Accreditation brand, it increasingly becomes
more beneficial for:
Industry to be aware of T-QUAL Accreditation and its benefits
Non-endorsed businesses to join a T-QUAL accredited quality assurance scheme, and
Accredited quality assurance schemes to promote their T-QUAL endorsed status.
To help raise this awareness and engagement, we ask our T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance
schemes to copy and re-use the contents of this pack to disseminate T-QUAL Accreditation
communications through their existing communication channels.
Contents
What is T-QUAL Accreditation? 3
The benefits for Quality Assurance Schemes 3
The benefits for consumers 3
How T-QUAL Accreditation operates 3
Explaining how businesses get on board 4
Promoting your endorsed status 6
Accessing communication resources 5
Key messages 6
Contact us 7
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
2

What is T-QUAL Accreditation?
T-QUAL Accreditation is the Australian Government’s quality framework for the tourism industry. It
assesses and supports quality assurance schemes and endorses their members with its national
symbol of quality, the T-QUAL Tick.
The T-QUAL Tick improves the visibility of Australia’s quality tourism experiences and provides
consumers with a means of making more informed choices about products and services when holiday
planning.
The benefits for Quality Assurance Schemes
T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance schemes benefit from:
Marketing that encourages operators to gain accreditation and consumers to choose their products;
Increased brand profile, online presence and distribution;
Access to a national customer feedback system;
Government endorsement and support;
Immediate and ongoing boost to credibility; and
Increased quality standards across the Australian tourism industry.
The benefits for consumers
When booking products and services endorsed by the T-QUAL Tick, consumers can:
Be confident that their expectations will be met;
Trust consistently high standards will deliver quality experiences;
Gain value for money at their chosen price point;
Enjoy quicker and easier holiday planning; and
Relax, knowing that they will be taken care of and any issues will be dealt with appropriately.
How T-QUAL Accreditation operates
The Tourism Quality Council of Australia (TQCA) is responsible for the overarching policy and direction of
T-QUAL Accreditation and for granting T-QUAL Master licences to quality assurance schemes.
T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance schemes have been independently assessed to ensure that the criteria and
standards they apply reach the TQCA's national quality benchmark. They can extend T-QUAL Accreditation
Sub-licences to their members.
T-QUAL endorsed businesses are members of T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance schemes. After signing a
T-QUAL Accreditation Sub-licence, they can use the T-QUAL Tick in their marketing.
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
3

A cooperative partnership helps T-QUAL Accreditation elevate and standardise quality in the
Australian tourism industry:
The Tourism Quality Council of Australia (TQCA) is responsible for the overarching policy and
direction of T-QUAL Accreditation, and for granting T-QUAL Master Licences to quality assurance
schemes
The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) is responsible for policy, development
and administration of T-QUAL Accreditation and for providing secretariat support to the TQCA
Tourism Australia (TA) is responsible for developing and implementing the T-QUAL Accreditation
marketing strategy.
T-QUAL Accreditation is promoted in partnership with State and Territory Tourism Organisations
(STOs) and quality assurance schemes.
Explaining how businesses get on board
Businesses cannot directly apply for T-QUAL Accreditation. Instead, they must join a T-QUAL endorsed
quality assurance scheme which grants them T-QUAL endorsement by default.
When joining a T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance scheme, businesses are issued with a T-QUAL
Accreditation Sub-licence. Within four weeks of signing a sub-licence, T-QUAL Accreditation welcome
packs are then distributed to these businesses to provide them with marketing collateral and additional
information on T-QUAL.
Welcome packs are distributed by Tourism Australia on behalf of those quality assurance schemes that
have requested this service. If you would like Tourism Australia to distribute your welcome packs, feel
free to contact Tourism Australia at tqual@tourism.australia.com
Promoting your endorsed status
The copy below can be used by T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance schemes to update websites,
brochures and marketing literature to promote their endorsement, scheme and the T-QUAL Tick.
The blue italicised text should be edited to personalise the copy.
Name of quality assurance scheme is a T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance scheme. This means we
have undergone a thorough assessment to ensure that our criteria and standards reach the Tourism
Quality Council of Australia’s (TQCA’s) national quality benchmark. As a result, name of quality
assurance scheme and our businesses/members can co-brand with Australia’s national symbol of
tourism quality, the T-QUAL Tick.
The T-QUAL Tick is a federal endorsement that boosts credibility, visibility and competitiveness.
Tourism Australia is responsible marketing the T-QUAL Tick to educate industry buyers and
consumers on its benefits, encouraging them to look for and choose T-QUAL endorsed products and
services.
As Tourism Australia continues to market T-QUAL, it increasingly becomes more beneficial for
businesses to join a T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance scheme and co-brand with the T-QUAL Tick.
Access communication resources
Read the T-QUAL Accreditation Fact Sheet and contact us to find out more.
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
4

Accessing communication resources
Fact Sheet
The T-QUAL Accreditation Fact Sheet provides useful information for industry wanting to learn about the
framework.
Newsletters
Email tqual@tourism.australia.com to receive T-QUAL’s top news stories for inclusion in your
newsletters.
We are always looking for great content to include in our newsletter so if you have anything newsworthy
about your organisation or your operators, please feel free to send them through to us.
Webcasts
Tourism Australia delivers webcasts every four months to update industry on the T-QUAL Accreditation
marketing campaign. Previous webcast presentations can be found on Tourism Australia’s corporate
website.
Presentations
A two-slide overview and a 21-slide presentation on the T-QUAL Accreditation framework and marketing
campaign are available for industry use at events, meetings and workshops. Email
tqual@tourism.australia.com to request these resources.
Media enquiries
Media enquiries regarding T-QUAL Accreditation should be directed to Leo Seaton or Kim Moore at
Tourism Australia.
Logos
Email tqual@tourism.australia.com for variations of the T-QUAL Tick logo and the Logo Guide.
In 2012 the T-QUAL Tick logo became a registered trademark and as such, the logo has been updated
to reflect this. Please feel free to contact us for the latest logo suite.
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
5

Key messages
When sharing T-QUAL content, please take into consideration the framework’s key messages.
INDUSTRY
CONSUMERS
References
T-QUAL Accreditation is a framework, not a program. When writing about the framework,
please cite ‘T-QUAL Accreditation’ in the first instance, thereafter this reference can be
shortened to ‘T-QUAL’.
Name T-QUAL Accreditation T-QUAL Tick
Core
message
The Australian Government’s quality benchmark for the tourism industry.
Its logo, the T-QUAL Tick, identifies quality tourism businesses and operators.
What is it?
Why are we
doing it?
How does it
work?
A unifying framework that assesses,
supports and endorses quality assurance
schemes and their members.
To elevate and standardise quality to
ensure the sustainability of Australia’s
tourism industry.
Businesses and operators must have met
the requirements of a T-QUAL endorsed
quality assurance scheme to gain a
T-QUAL Accreditation Sub-licence and
incorporate the T-QUAL Tick in their
marketing.
An easily recognisable, national symbol of
quality that consumers can look for when
making travel/tourism bookings.
To provide consumers with peace of mind
that their expectations will be met when
travelling within Australia.
T-QUAL endorsed businesses and operators
display the T-QUAL Tick in their marketing.
Consumers recognise this as a national
symbol of quality that they can trust when
planning and booking their Australian
holidays.
Why is it
different?
Criteria
T-QUAL Accreditation is a federal framework that assesses and endorses quality
accreditation programs and corporate quality assurance standards within the Australian
tourism industry.
T-QUAL endorsed quality assurance schemes undergo a thorough assessment to ensure
their standards reach the Tourism Quality Council of Australia’s national quality benchmark
in areas of:
Customer service;
Business practice;
Presentation and provision of facilities;
Policies and administration;
Complaints handling procedures;
Accurate advertising; and
Commitment to continuous improvement.
T-QUAL endorsed businesses and operators are members of these quality assurance
schemes and are assessed to ensure they meet quality criteria specific to the scheme they
belong to.
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
6

Contact us
Marketing enquiries
Please direct marketing enquiries to the team at Tourism Australia:
Antonia Sherry, T-QUAL Accreditation Project Manager
Responsible for developing and implementing the T-QUAL Accreditation marketing strategy (and key
contact for quality assurance schemes)
E: asherry@tourism.australia.com
P: (02) 9361 1900
Framework enquiries
Please direct queries regarding T-QUAL Accreditation applications, administration and policy to the
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) on ntaf@ret.gov.au.
Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
7

Communication Pack: Quality Assurance Schemes
May 2013
8