History

Background Info: Australian Chinese General Chamber of Business

Founded in 1994 by two Corporate CEOs and a QLD Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, the Australian Chinese General Chamber of Business within the last 17 years represented Queensland in the following key areas below:

1. Corporate & Bi-Lateral Trade
2. Supporting the Queensland Olympic Council (branch of Australian Olympic Council)
3. Chinese News Media
4. Regional QLD Chinese Community
5. QLD Chinese Youths & University Student Community
6. Organised Crime Prevention
7. Joint Committee on Visa 457

Corporate & Bi-Lateral Trade
Apart from assisting corporate and medium size businesses with breaking through into the Chinese market, the Australian Chinese General Chamber of Business has an excellent working relation with the Australian Institute of Company Directors; Chinese Consulate General's office; QLD State and Local Government.

In 2007, ACGCB gave a lecture on Chinese culture to CEOs and members at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (peak body for company directors), prior to AICD's Shanghai Conference. In the same year, ACGCG organised the China National Day celebration for the Chinese Consulate General's office at the Brisbane Sofitel Hotel.

For the last 17 years, ACGCB has been giving numerous advice and consultation to local councils in QLD on trade and economic issues with China.

Queensland Olympic Council
In 2006, the Queensland Olympic Council (branch of the Australian Olympic Council) established the Beijing Olympic Sub-Committee, a fundraising and education body run by the Australian Chinese General Chambers of Business.

Leading up to the Olympics, ACGCB organised events such as the 100 days to Beijing dinner at the Stafford Plaza that was attended by numerous foreign diplomats. On the education front, ACGCB taught Chinese to Olympic Athletes destined for Beijing at a lecture organised by the Queensland Academy for Sports.

In post Beijing, ACGCB is looking forward to working with the Queensland Olympic Council during the 2012 London Olympic Sub-Committee. Chinese News Media - The Queensland Asian Business Weekly, is the oldest Chinese newspaper in Queensland. Founded two months after the Australian Chinese General Chambers of Business in 1994, the newspaper is a weekly free community news media with over 300,000 readers.

Regional QLD Chinese Community
Since 2007, the Australian Chinese General Chamber of Business has appointed regional administrators in Cairns (Northern Queensland); Rockhampton (Central Queensland) and Ipswich (Western Queensland) to assist the rural communities to develop sustainable business for trade with China.

In Central Queensland, ACGCB recently secured $22,500 from state and local government to fund for the structural repairment of the Rockhampton Chinese Community Centre, a building vitally important for the preservation of national historical artefacts and the promotion of Chinese culture in regional Queensland.

In Northern Queensland, ACGCB is a sponsor of the Cairns Chinese Community's New Year celebration. In addition, the organisation is working with the local Chinese community to build the Cairns Chinese Cultural Centre that will house 19th Century Australian-Chinese artefacts, recognised by the Queensland Museum as national significance. ACGCB is also working with Channel 7 Production to produce a documentary on the 160 years of Chinese settlement history in Northern Queensland, as part of the overview to document and preserve the region's historic artefacts.

ACGCB has an excellent working relation with Cairns & District Chinese Association, Rockhampton Chinese Association, and Ipswich Chinese Association.

QLD Chinese Youths & University Student Community
In 2008, ACGCB established a youth wing to support and nurture young people in Queensland. The youth wing consists of the Chinese student associations from the University of Queensland (UQ), QLD University of Technology (QUT) and Griffith University. Recently the Brisbane Chinese Scouts became the fourth member of the youth wing.

As result of the new youth wing, a soccer team (The Red Dragon) was established to provide leadership, sportsmanship and mateship training for university students. In addition, the soccer team is part of ACGCB's promotion of living health and active program. ACGCB is also helping the Brisbane Chinese Scouts to financially raise money to support the scout's outdoor camping and leadership activities.

Organised Crime Prevention
ACGCB is the co-organiser and brainchild of the Chinese Business Crime Prevention Seminar series, that works hand in hand with the QLD Police Service to provide educational classes for businesses aimed to tackle crime.

Began in 2007, ACGCB has co-organised these seminars in Brisbane and the Gold Coast that have provided the opportunity for the police to bridge cultural gaps and gather essential police intelligence on local organised crime i.e. Fraud and Extortion.

Joint Committee on Visa 457
In 2008, ACGCB with the Department of Immigration, QLD Police and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) has established a joint working committee to tackle growing social and criminal abuse from migration agents using Visa 457.

The committee gather and share vital intelligence on illegal activities conducted by migration agents and employers who are associated with Visa 457 workers. In addition, the committee is committed to assisting visa victims to find new employment in Australia and help recover withheld wages.