• About the Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme
• Why should you become accredited?
• How does it work?
• What can accreditation offer your business?
• Training
• Achieve excellence in retailing with the new AGCAS manual
• AGCAS administration
• Contact us to find out more:
  • Business Skills Development Officers
  • National AGCAS Committee

The Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme (AGCAS) is a national accreditation scheme that encourages business improvement and acknowledges excellence in garden retailing.

It aims to constantly raise the professional standard of all garden retailers within the nursery and garden industry with an emphasis on the sale and promotion of plants and gardens.

Becoming accredited not only means you have attained the accepted industry standard, it also means you are committed to maintaining and developing this position.

Together with the Business Skills Development Officer, you will set achievable targets in order to reach accreditation. Working towards accreditation also provides realistic goals which you and your staff can strive towards.

After achieving accreditation, you will have the continued support of the Business Skills Development Officer to continually improve and strive for excellence in garden retailing.

The accreditation process is structured to be uncomplicated and ‘user friendly’ while at the same time ensuring an accurate assessment of your business.

The scheme addresses five main areas of operations:

• The quality of the product you offer
• The experience and knowledge of your staff
• The quality of your premises
• The scope and nature of your promotional activities.
• The business practices employed within the centre

An audit by the Business Skills Development Officer using the checklist from the AGCAS Manual will determine your accreditation status.

As an accredited business, you will be audited each year to make sure you maintain business practices that are accepted as the industry standard.

The annual fee for accreditation is $400

With access to business resources, training and support from your Business Skills Development Officer, the journey towards accreditation is an achievable one.

Business benchmarking is a way for your business to compare its performance with other similar businesses. Benchmarking allows you to improve your own business by learning from others.

Not only does business benchmarking let you know when you’re on the right track, more importantly, it lets you know where you can improve.

All businesses who achieve accreditation will receive a free business benchmarking report in their first year of accreditation. For every other year accredited businesses will have access to a subsidised report.

The report will also be available to businesses working towards accreditation for a small fee.

An outside consultant will confidentially prepare a personalised report for each participant. It contains the latest small business profile for garden retailers, a set of averages and calculations for use in your business and a commentary on your performance relative to benchmarks. All industry retailers are encouraged to participate and supply information to our consultant for this personalised report.

Accreditation benchmarking

Each time the Business Skills Development Officer undertakes an audit of your business it is recorded confidentially online.

As a business working towards accreditation or an accredited business you will be able to access the results of your audit within seven days of it being undertaken. Using your specific user name and password, you will be able to view your results in relation to the national average for accredited businesses. You will be able to track your progress as each audit is conducted allowing you to see the improvements your business has made over time.

To obtain access to this online area, contact your Business Skills Development Officer for your user name and password.

The Certified Nursery Professional (CNP) program is the industry’s professional recognition scheme for individuals. CNP members are acknowledged for their skills and expertise within the nursery and garden industry. Businesses who achieve accreditation are offered a complimentary membership to the CNP program for an employee. Provided the nominated individual meets the CNP criteria, you can save up to $165.* There are many advantages to you business having a CNP member, not the least being you have demonstrated to industry and your customers that you have skilled and knowledgeable staff on your team. To find out more about CNP and the eligibility criteria, contact your Business Skills Development Officer. *Conditions apply

For more information on the CNP program click here

Once you gain accreditation you will receive a Welcome Kit which includes an accreditation plaque, certificate, information on the complimentary services available to you and access to resources to help promote your accreditation.

Accreditation increases public perception about the professionalism of the nursery and garden industry. It also lets your customers know they shop at a business recognised as operating at an industry standard.

In addition, the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia in conjunction with the State Associations regularly undertakes promotional activities to raise the profile of accredited businesses.

You will also have the opportunity to purchase more point-of-sale material which promotes your new status including banners and posters.

Business Skills Development Officers are an amazing resource for you to draw on to achieve your goal of excellence in garden retailing. This service is complimentary to all retail businesses who are accredited and those working towards accreditation.

Your Development Officer can help you achieve accreditation by going through the AGCAS manual with you to discuss the various requirements of accreditation and to help you to continually improve your business.

They also provide advice and support for accredited businesses, and to help you find ways to continually improve every aspect of your business, from onsite practices all the way through to administration and marketing.

Contact your State Association and get in touch with your Business Skills Development Officer.

The newly published Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme Manual is an essential tool for garden centres and retail nurseries serious about being professional. It contains:

• Guidelines to help improve retail operations by identifying strengths and weaknesses within the business and discovering current and future customer needs;
• Colour photos and captions that clearly demonstrate each point contained in the guidelines;
• Informative self-assessment criteria that allows you to benchmark your operation against the industry standards for 'Best Practice in Retailing'; and
• Details on how your business can achieve accreditation.

While AGCAS is a national scheme, it is administered at a local level by your state or territory Nursery & Garden Industry Association in conjunction with the state or territory AGCAS Committee. A range of businesses participating in the scheme form this committee. The Business Skills Development Officers in each state and territory are the key AGCAS representatives. The Business Skills Development Officers help find ways to continually improve every aspect of your business, from onsite practices all the way through to administration and marketing.

Contact us to find out more

Don’t hesitate – contact the Business Skills Development Officer in your state to find out more about how you can benefit from the Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme.

National AGCAS Committee

State	Name	Address	Phone	Fax
NSW/ACT	Michael Mehigan	Elegant Outdoors PO Box 46 Turramurra 2074	(02) 9449 1987	(02) 9449 1900
NT	Estelle Cornell	Allora Gardens Nursery PO Box 38786 Winnellie 0821	(08) 8984 4006	(08) 8947 1451
QLD	Sandy Martin	Martin Garden Centre 179 Stephen Street Toowoomba QLD 4350	(07) 4633 1122	(07) 4633 1644
SA	Steve Neal	Garden Grove Supplies 1150 Golden Grove Road Golden Grove 3435	(08) 8251 1111	(08) 8251 3435
TAS	Graham Stoneman	Stoneman's Garden Centre 94 Grove Road Glenorchy 7010	(03) 6273 0611	(03) 6272 3569
VIC	Michael Linton	Linton's Garden & Home Cnr Nepean Highway & Canadian Bay Road Mt Eliza 3930	(03) 9787 2122	(03) 9787 8555
WA	Joanne Harris	Guildford Rown Garden Centre 96 James St Guildford WA 6055	(08) 9279 8645	(08) 9369 3058
NGIA Rep.	Greg Belbin	Growmaster Howrah 469 Rokeby Road Howrah 7018	(03) 6247 1382	(03) 6247 1382