FAQs

If circumstances mean that you can’t attend meetings for a while, but plan to return, you can request a suspension of your membership, providing you have more than 3 months remaining on your membership. This is granted at the discretion of Fresh HQ. If you’re offered a suspension, your membership is ‘frozen’. When you return, you will be required to pay in full for another 12 months and the balance that was remaining will be added onto the new membership year.   (So for example: You join in January, and suspend for two months at the end of June. When you return at the end of August, you will pay 12 months + the 6 months’ membership remaining will be added giving you 18 months membership). Be aware, however, that you category will be opened up while you are suspended. If it is filled in your absence, you would have to apply to join another hub on your return and if no hub is available, no refund will apply.

You may request a transfer to another hub by completing the Transfer of Membership Application form, subject to:

1. Having been in your hub for a minimum of one year.
2. Having brought a minimum of 8 guests in the last 12 months.
3. Great attendance record.
4. Been an active member ranking highly across all areas on the Fresh Dashboard.
5. Been a team player by contributing in a hub leadership role.
6. Been an active networker across the Fresh community.

Hub morale is a determining factor when approving transfer requests to ensure your existing hub members are not disadvantaged.  Therefore transfer requests are capped per hub to the following:

1. For hubs with 15+ members:  Fresh will approve 2 transfers within a 6 months period (6 months is calculated from the last approved transfer date).
2. For hubs with 11-14 members: Fresh will approve 1 transfer within a 6 months period (6 months is calculated from the last approved transfer date).
3. For hubs with <10 members:  No transfers will be approved

We expect our members to:

1. Invite one guest per month (8 per year)
2. Attend  hub meetings
3. Completing Fresh Networking Development training
4. Contribute in a hub leadership role
5. Attend closed meetings (3-4 per year which are outside of your normal hub meetings).

Important note:  If you have not introduced at least 4 visitors to your hub or the Fresh Network, Fresh may:

(A) Not offer you a renewal of membership for a further term

(B) invite you to a meeting with the leaders of your hub to discuss renewal of your membership.

If you need to cancel your membership, please send an email to Fresh Head Office and advise your hub facilitators.  (note your membership fees are non-refundable)

Fresh Networking renewal process has been designed to ensure all our members are active and providing each other with connection opportunities.

As per the Terms and Conditions, below is the outline Fresh follow when reviewing a membership renewal:

3.2 Renewal
(a) At the end of the Initial Term, You may apply to renew Your Membership for a Further Term. Once accepted, you must pay the Membership Fee in accordance with clause 4(a)(ii).
(b) FRESH may accept or reject an application to renew Your Membership for a Further Term in its sole and absolute discretion.
(c) Without limiting FRESH’s discretion under clause 3.2(b), the following procedure may be adopted by FRESH upon receipt of Your application to renew Your Membership for a Further Term:
(i) if You have introduced at least 8 visitors to your Member Hub meeting in a membership year (on a pro rata basis), FRESH will consider and determine Your renewal application within 5 business days;
(ii) if you have introduced at least 5, but not more than 8, visitors to your Member Hub in a membership year (on a pro rata basis), the renewal of Your Membership will be subject to:
(A) a meeting between You and FRESH and/or the leaders of Your Member Hub; and
(B) FRESH’s absolute discretion; and
(iii) if you have not introduced at least 4 visitors to Your Member Hub in a membership year (on a pro rata basis), Fresh may:
(A) not offer You a renewal of Membership for a Further Term; or
(B) invite you to a meeting with FRESH and/or the leaders of Your Member Hub to discuss the renewal of your Membership.

As our membership grows, our systems have been automated to handle the volume of renewals as Fresh HQ simply cannot call all members to advise of outcomes, both approvals and non-renewals.

1. 30 Days Prior to Membership Expiry

Fresh HQ will review each membership to determine if a renewal offer should be extended.  The areas we look at are guest numbers, attendance, culture fit, past performance (if 2yrs +), Fresh activity and overall participation in the hub.  Please note approximately 95% of renewals are offered to members which is outstanding as we have a very active networking community.

2. If Renewal Offer is Approved by Fresh HQ:

An email notification will be sent to the Leadership team providing them with a 48-hour window to respond with a “yes” or “no” to the renewal offer.  They will receive  a summary of your Fresh Activity for the past 12 months to assist with their decision.

Before confirming yes or no, the leaders may request a Chataccino for those members who have not met the guest numbers i.e. 8 per year, to see if they will be able to turn it around in the next year and be an active contributor.

If Leadership Team Confirm “Yes”:

A renewal questionnaire will be automatically sent to the member along with the renewal offer.  The member will then complete the questionnaire and notify of their intention whether to renew, not renew or request a possible transfer to another hub.

If Leadership Team Confirms “No”:

Feedback will be reviewed by Fresh HQ and further discussion with the facilitators maybe required noting we do review what support that has been provided to the member to improve. Note all feedback is kept confidential, reviewed only by Fresh HQ will never be discussed with members.  This is to protect the business relationships between all members.

If a decision of no is the outcome, an email will be sent to the member, regretfully informing them that a renewal will not be offered.

3. If Renewal Offer is Not Approved by Fresh HQ:

An email will be sent to the member, regretfully informing them that a renewal will not be offered and the leadership team will be advised of this so they can open the category.

The member is welcome to continue to attend Fresh meetings until the end of their membership providing they remain professional and positive.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Our aim is for all members to succeed and flourish which is why we encourage our Leadership teams to provide feedback through regular Chataccino’s and provide support if required should you be struggling in any areas.    However we ask members to be self-accountable and review their activity on their membership dashboard and seek some guidance in areas they may be struggling in. 

Remember the leaders in your hub are wanting to have strong business relationships with you, not be an enforcer of the membership expectations.

At no time is a non-offer seen as a reflection of the person or their business.  We understand members have built relationships with the members of their hub and these relationships should continue even if no longer a member of Fresh.  Fresh has a responsibility to ensure the membership expectations are being met, we don’t have many, but without them hubs can struggle to thrive.

The following activities are what you can report at your meeting each fortnight via the Fresh Portal (download activity):

1. Bringing a guest
2. Get Fresh with a Guest
3. Get Fresh with a Member
4. Visit another hub
5. Ka-ching – closed business from a Fresh referral
6. A new connection to pass to another Fresh member
7. Fresh Academy or webinar you completed.

For every member, we keep track of attendance and the number of guests they have invited. These figures go into the Fresh Dashboard, which is sent to the hub facilitator every quarter. Each member is ranked green, yellow or red for their performance on inviting guests (pro-rated for the year to date). If you’ve brought 8 or more guests for the year, you’ll be green, 5 to 7 you’ll be yellow and 4 or fewer you’ll be red. These statistics are provided to members to track their own success and also used by the leadership team in determining whether a member can renew or transfer their membership.

Let’s be honest, we won’t always get along and occasionally conflicts may occur. If Freshies cannot resolve the conflict between themselves, they will be referred to the Main Facilitator (or Area Director if not within your hub). The Main Facilitator/Area Director will work with the Freshies to attempt to resolve the conflict.

If it can’t be worked out, it will be referred to His Royal Freshness to try to resolve. If still no luck, one or more Freshie’s memberships may be terminated (it’s up to His Royal Freshness)

Freshies who don’t behave may have their membership terminated at the discretion of His Royal Freshness.

To be a Freshie is an awesome opportunity and our network is based on sharing our knowledge, experience and building trust. We hope that over time we will develop genuine relationships that will generate referrals and develop ourselves and our businesses.
We always treat other members with respect and consideration. We have a zero-tolerance policy for verbal or physical abuse between members. Any discriminatory comments, inappropriate language or gossip that may inadvertently impact on a member’s business will not be accepted.
We protect each member’s and non-member’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to their personal information.

The Facebook members’ page is for Fresh business only. You can use it to find referrals for yourself or others (a ‘does anyone know someone who…). You can nominate yourself or someone you know as ‘the someone who…’. You’ll find reminders and details about Fresh events – social, webinars, meetings. You can post photos or videos from your hub meetings, to promote your hub to other members. In short, anything that is Fresh related. Also this is a great place to do a shout out for another Freshie who has provided outstanding service.

This is where you can promote your company’s events, webinars, offers. You can share a customer success story or announce that you’ve won an prestigious award. It’s a chance to connect with every member of Fresh about anything and everything (within reason!)

We actively encourage members to play a part in the leadership of their hub. Generally, you need to have been a member of your hub for six months before joining the leadership team (unless starting in a new hub), and typically you would start with one of the non-facilitator roles (promoter, meet and greet, education co-ordinator or online host). The first step is to approach your facilitator and let them know you’d like to take a leadership role. The facilitator and co-facilitator have usually spent at least a year in the hub, and have usually done one of the other roles before stepping into facilitation. These are not elected roles, there is no vote. The next leaders are decided by the current leadership team – you can volunteer, or you may be tapped on the shoulder!

Being part of the leadership team increases your visibility and credibility. It helps other members and guests to get to know, like and trust you – the keys things that we know lead to referrals. So taking a leadership role can be good for your business. It’s also a great way to give back and to show the generosity that is at the heart of Fresh. It will also give you fantastic experience of running a meeting, introducing speakers, timekeeping, facilitation and speaking to a room/screen full of people. You’ll have the satisfaction of helping to grow a team and of keeping them engaged and full of energy. In short, you’ll develop and use skills that will be valuable in your business and beyond.

If you’ve got a great idea for a Fresh webinar, tell Fresh Head Office! We always want new fresh ideas and faces for the webinar program.  From time to time, some hubs have a guest speaker – if you know/hear that a hub is looking for a guest speaker (check the FB page) contact the facilitator or the education coordinator direct.

As soon as you’ve completed Make the most of your Membership, Make the Most of your Pitch and Make the Most of your 10 Minutes through the Fresh Academy, you’ll be added to the speaker roster for your hub.  Most Fresh Academy courses run on a monthly basis.

Please speak to head office if you have a medical or special requirement that means you cannot attend meetings. We’ll deal with each request on a case by case basis.

You can request maternity/paternity leave provided you have more than three months remaining on  your membership. This is granted at the discretion of Fresh HQ as you would need to be in the yellow or green on the Fresh Dashboard. If you’re offered maternity / paternity leave this will be for a maximum of 12 months. The remainder of your year’s membership starts again when you return. (So for example: You join in January, and take maternity/paternity leave at the end of June.  When you return in June the following year, you will still have six months’ membership remaining). Be aware, however, that you category will be opened up while you are on leave. (If you don’t want your category open then we can approve medical leave for six weeks, after which you will then be expected to return back to your hub meetings.)  If your category is filled in your absence, you would have to apply to join another hub on your return and if no hub is available, no refund will apply.

When you commence your membership with Fresh, you be allocated a Fresh Buddy to assist you for the first six weeks.  There will be a helpful checklist to go through after each meeting and if you have any questions about anything Fresh, they will be your first port of call.

If you want a professional headshot (and we do recommend it, your profile will be more engaging with a good photo), there are several professional photographers in Fresh. Ask for recommendations on our Facebook members page, or use the Fresh Member’s Directory.

No. 60 days before your membership is due to expire, you’ll be sent a questionnaire and asked to select one of three options:

1. I’d like to renew
2. I don’t want to renew.
3. I’d like to request a transfer.  If you answer ‘Renew’ and your vital stats are green, the facilitator simply asks your fellow members whether they support your renewal. If your stats are yellow, you’ll be invited to attend a renewal interview. If your stats are red, you will not be eligible for renewal.

Each hub has a ‘member only meeting’ once a quarter. This is a meeting with no guests, giving members a chance to discuss hub business and set the strategy and goals for the next quarter. Members are all expected to attend these meetings.

Being an ‘active member’ means

1. Inviting one guest per month
2. Attending hub meetings
3. Completing Fresh Networking Development training
4. Contributinge in a hub role
5. Attending closed meetings (3-4 per year).
6. Attend our social gatherings to help cement your relationships.

Yes. Make sure that if your guest registers for another hub, they put your name in the ‘how did you hear about Fresh’ box in the registration form. If you want to make really sure, register them yourself. You can, of course, go along to the other hub as a visitor yourself as well.

Everyone needs holidays! You can be absent for up to two meetings every six months. But we do encourage you to send a substitute to attend the meeting in your place. You should provide your sub with a copy of your pitch, which they will deliver on your behalf. Attendance is one of the ‘vital statistics’ that we track and which determines your status for renewal. If you send a substitute, you are deemed to have attended the meeting.

You may transfer your membership to another person in your organisation providing you have more than three months remaining. However, acceptance is not  automatic. The new person will still need to apply like a brand new member and be interviewed, as they still need to be the right fit for the hub.  If approved they will simply take over the remainder of the membership balance and then will need to go through the renewal process once the original membership expires.  Should they not be approved our nil refund policy applies.  If the organisation requires a refund, this is between the member and the organisation, not Fresh Networking.

No. It’s important to have consistency between hubs, and to protect the Fresh agenda and brand, so please do not change the decks. We do welcome suggestions though – send your ideas through to Fresh HQ for consideration.

When you receive an application, you must contact the applicant within 48 hours. You should have the interview completed within 7 days of application being received. This is all part of the Fresh image and we don’t want potential members to see us dragging our feet or being inefficient.

We ask the hub to provide possible alternatives to Fresh HQ and the facilitator is to discuss and obtain approval from Darren. The new venue must meet our requirements i.e. audio visual, breakfasts that can be paid at the venue (no more than $25pp), no room hire fee, parking, fresh and vibrant, cater for up to 30 people in a private room away from the general public.

The leadership team is appointed, not elected. The facilitator, co-facilitator and education coordinator will collaborate to recommend the people to replace the existing leadership team. They will approach candidates and ask them to take on a leadership role and build a succession plan. The new leadership team are required to have Leadership Development training within one month of beginning the role.

We expect members to play an active role in Fresh for six months before being appointed to the leadership team.

You’re welcome to visit twice – that could be the same hub twice, or two different hubs, but no more than two visits in total. After that, if you want to keep seeing us, we’ll ask you to ‘put a ring on it’ and become a member.

Please refer to the membership packages on our website for full details of price and inclusions.

To see which hubs are looking for your category, search our Business Categories Available listing

No – the position is held by a single member. If you cannot attend a meeting, one of your colleagues can attend in your place however this should not be done on a permanent basis.

It depends on your membership category. If you are a Cafe Member, you can visit any other cafe hub. If you’re an Online Member, you can visit any online hub. If you have a Dual Pass membership, then every hub, café or online, is open to you.

The hub you join will depend on: a) where there is a vacancy for your category b) whether you want to join a cafe or online hub c) if you’re planning on joining a cafe hub, a location that you and your guests can get to for meetings every fortnight.

You can pay upfront in full, or you can spread your payments over 3 months (with the first payment due before your first meeting), using Ezidebit. There is a payment plan fee of $110 inc GST for spreading your payments.

No – we ask new members to commit for a year.

You can spread your payments over three months (3 x $400 payments) which must be paid via Ezidebit. (Ezidebit surcharges apply) There is no option to pay monthly over the whole year.

As a member, your commitments are:

1. Attend every meeting of your hub, with energy and engagement
2. Bring guests to your hub
3.  Meet with your fellow hub members one to one
4.  Engage in ‘Fresh Activity’ outside of hub meetings and have at least 3 things to report at each meeting. Fresh Activity could be visiting another hub, meeting a fellow member or guest, attending a Fresh event, making an introduction, making a referral, closed business received.
5. Be willing to participate in a leadership role in your hub, your hub success is determined by the contribution of it’s members.

Collaboration is part of our ethos. Fresh offers plenty of opportunities to collaborate with businesses that are your natural referral partners. Within the hubs, we offer you category protection, meaning that you will not have a direct competitor (someone who does exactly the same category as you) within your hub.

We understand that businesses may have crossover of services e.g. accountants may provide bookkeeping and CFO services, they cannot have all 3 categories, therefore they need to choose the area of expertise they would like to focus on and be known for.   This is also the same in the legal and marketing professions, the member is required to choose their primary focus and only promote this at their hub meetings.  A member cannot monopolize an industry otherwise it prevents the hub from growing, ultimately reducing connection opportunities for hub members.

We believe that this is the best approach to foster collaboration without you having to compete for your category within your hub.

If you cannot attend a meeting, you are expected to invite a substitute to take your place. Your substitute delivers your one-minute pitch and represents your business.

You are expected to attend all meetings of your hub. Everyone needs holidays though, and of course sometimes we are unwell, so you do have the flexibility to miss no more than two meetings every six months. Wherever possible, you should arrange a substitute to take your place.

Guests are the lifeblood of Fresh, giving our meetings energy, interest, vitality and business opportunities for your hub mates. So we do ask you to aim for at least one guest a month, with an absolute minimum of eight per year.

If you see a gap that a Fresh hub could fill, the first thing to do is to complete a New Hub Expression of Interest form. We’ll support you with marketing to get interested people along.   We recommend you have a minimum of 8 people to start a hub.

Yes, absolutely. We encourage anything that expands your network and develops your networking skills. Other networking groups are a great source of guests for Fresh too!  Just remember to provide referral opportunities to your fellow Freshies if you are expecting same.

Firstly, you complete an application form. Then the facilitator (or co-facilitator) of the hub you’ve applied to will contact you for a ‘Fresh Audition’. Don’t worry, there’s no singing involved, it’s simply a set of questions about your expectations and experience of networking, what you’ll bring to the hub and how

10 days from date of invoice.

Yes – a full refund is available within the cooling off period less an administration fee of $110 inc GST.  After the cooling off period there are no refunds.

Come prepared with an introduction to your business (you’ll have 30, 45 or 60 seconds depending on the meeting agenda). Listen and engage with the others in the meeting. Be open-minded and fun.

Yes – the venues offer us the room free of charge, on condition that everyone attending buys a breakfast.

We ask all members and guests not to spam anyone in the room. That means not sending out mass unsolicited emails, or adding people to your mailing list. Of course it’s fine to connect on LinkedIn, or to ask someone for their contact details for a follow up meeting.

The hub meet and greeter will be expecting you (from your online registration) and will note that you are there, so that you can be welcomed in the meeting. You’ll be asked to order your breakfast (which comes out once everyone is seated) and the meet an greeter will introduce you to people for informal networking before the formal meeting starts.

The link is sent out the night before, 2 hours and 10 mins before the meeting. So don’t worry if you don’t have it the night before, it will be in your inbox by the morning.

That’s no problem, you can cancel your ticket directly via Eventbrite or if you have enough notice, it is courteous to let the facilitator know that you can’t make it. Don’t forget to book for the following meeting!

There is no fixed time – we have start ups and we have people with long-established businesses. It is more about your network, your attitude to connecting and giving referrals, and the quality and professionalism of the service you offer.

This means that if someone asks ‘Do you know someone who…’, your first thought is to refer a Fresh member. If there’s someone in your hub that fits the bill, great. If not, you can use the Fresh Members’ Directory to find someone in the right category, or you can post a request on the Members Only Facebook page.

Networking isn’t about selling. It’s about building genuine relationships based on trust and liking. If you come to a Fresh meeting determined to deliver a sales pitch, you probably won’t get very far. Our members are most interested in getting to know you.

Once your membership has been approved, full payment is due within 7 days of your invoice date. You can spread payments over the first three months of your membership (please refer to What are my payment options above)