An interview with AEPMA president Rob Boschma about the future of the pest industry in Australia.
In August 2025, the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association (AEPMA) named Rob Boschma its new President (pictured above, centre). We spoke with him to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of the pest industry.
Q. You’re the new President of AEPMA. How did that come about?
A. I happily accepted the nomination because I care deeply about the industry. I also wanted to be part of the organisation as the people who make up the AEPMA board are of such high calibre. Being President is an important role, but AEPMA is not driven by one individual, it is driven by the ethos of the entire board.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into pest control?
A. I am a second-generation pest manager. My father came to Australia from England and was working as a carpenter before becoming interested in termite management after helping repair a home with significant termite damage. He then worked with the CSIRO and commercialised the use of termite bait boxes at a time when there was growing environmental concern about organochlorines. Before long he was appearing on Burke’s Backyard and Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, and the business just grew from there.
I never aspired to be a pest manager growing up, but I would work for my father during university holidays. After graduating I took a job with the Department of Justice, but I continued working in the family business a couple of days a week. I soon realised I was happier doing the pest work. I would visit a home where people were often really stressed, and we could go in with genuine intentions to do the best we could for them and resolve their problem, often in a way that exceeded their expectations. I went home feeling really good about that. So I chose a career in pest management, and I have not regretted it for a single day.
Q. AEPMA is looking to address some of the issues within the pest control industry. What do you think are the main challenges?
A. One of the key things I am regularly approached about is the ease with which people can join our industry as fully licensed operators, often with little or no practical experience. While these individuals only represent a small number of operators, they can go on to provide work that falls belowthe public’s expectations, which damages the industry as a whole in a number of ways. We are working closely with BuildSkills to put a stronger framework around licensing and training.
Staffing is another big challenge. We all know it is difficult to attract people into the industry. I also think training, both for those entering the industry and for ongoing professional development, is an area many in the industry would like to see improved, so these are some of the key issues we are working to address.
Q. What work is currently being done by AEPMA to help address these challenges?
A. Recruitment is a significant issue faced by many pest management companies. This is why AEPMA has created a committee that not only promotes careers in the pest industry but also provides companies with tools to help with recruitment.
This committee was one of five established by my predecessor to address key issues and engage talent from within our industry. These groups have empowered people who have ideas and energy to be more involved with AEPMA. If you look at the Careers in Pest Management website, that work was really driven by Marshall Blacklock and others on that committee. You can see there is some incredible work being done to help initiate change.
Training and licensing are also key areas of focus. At the moment it is very easy to enter our industry, and the current training model is under revision. AEPMA is now working with BuildSkills Australia to develop a package of fit for purpose training qualifications.
We have strong representation on the BuildSkills committee, which is looking carefully at the educational requirements around licensing. The challenge is that we do not want to make the process of getting a licence so cumbersome that it becomes a barrier or a significant cost for a business to hire and train new people, but at the same time we do not want people entering our industry without adequate training.
Q. Are there any new AEPMA activities that pest managers should know about?
A. AEPMA has a new mentoring program, and I am a really big fan of it because it will help smaller operators professionalise and engage more with the wider industry. A mentor is matched with a mentee, who can then receive support and advice on things like small business management, termites, pre-construction, or any other area they would like to focus on. A mentor from Victoria might be assigned a mentee from South Australia or Western Australia so there is no conflict of interest. I would really encourage operators to take advantage of this. The mentoring program gives those entering our industry a great opportunity to develop themselves faster and to a higher level, which in turn allows them to better represent our industry as a whole and become the next generation of industry leaders.
We are also working to improve and build training around our Codes of Best Practice. At the moment, once you have completed your licensing training units, your formal professional development tends to stop there. AEPMA wants to give members the opportunity to continue their professional development through Code training that can culminate in recognition as an AEPMA Master Technician. We feel this will give members added incentive to keep developing, and a commercial advantage by being able to promote themselves as Master Technicians.
Q. What’s coming up in the near future?
A. Well, next year in New Zealand we have the combined AEPMA, PMANZ and FAOPMA conference, so we are busy organising that. Having three conferences combined is going to make it one of the biggest events in pest management for years. It will give attendees the chance to learn from the New Zealand experience and their ambitious Predator Free 2050 program, gain international perspectives from across the Asia and Oceania region, and hear about the latest trends in Australian pest management. It is a very unique event with outstanding networking opportunities in a beautiful destination.
We are also looking to fill some committee roles and update the Code of Practice for Bed Bugs. Work has just started on the updates to the Code of Practice for Pre-purchase Inspections, and the committee for that is now in place. These documents are incredibly important, and every time we revise these codes, they improve. Training is also under development across our Codes of Practice, and we hope to launch a few new initiatives in this space over the next six months.
Q. Is there any message you’d like to leave our readers with?
A. AEPMA is the vehicle for pest managers to drive change in something they care about. That was my pathway into AEPMA. There were things I felt strongly about, so I started asking, “Why are we not doing this? Why are we not doing that?” and I was given the chance to try to effect change in that space.
Over the years I have always felt that my voice as a small business operator has had the same weight as somebody who works for a multinational, and I really love that about the organisation.
If someone has not touched base with their AEPMA representative or has not been to a meeting, I would encourage them to give it a go. Come out and say g’day. If people see me at a conference, or if they just want to call me, I am always up for a chat. If there is a way someone wants to contribute, let us make it happen.
Personally, in my role as President I want to encourage connection across the industry. I am really big on relationships and on working as a team, and I really encourage people to get involved. Pest control is an industry that supported my family when I was growing up, so for me it is personal. It is a special industry that I would like to see in a better position than when I first came into it, and I believe we can do that by coming together.
