It is a pleasure to have been appointed President of SCA (Qld).
In my time on the board, I have had the privilege to work with James Nickless who set an incredibly high bar in terms of his passion for the strata sector. I will seek to ensure that we build on the immense progress James has overseen during his tenure as President.
The drive and passion of SCA (Qld) members has been sensational over the past few years. Their enthusiasm has been the driving force behind our growth and success and I am determined to not let them down. Even in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, strata managers and suppliers have continued to shine
As an Operations Manager in a medium-sized strata management business and a strata manager myself, I have an excellent grounding and understanding of the issues managers face every day. I have been in the industry for decades and seen remarkable change and yet our core business remains the same- people.
As strata managers or suppliers to the sector, we work to ensure people live in harmony within their homes and community. Whilst it doesn’t always work perfectly, we as an industry are committed to making sure communities receive the best service they possibly can.
Ours is an industry of the future, with strata lots set to explode in the coming years and decades. It is likely that within our lifetime, strata will become the dominant form of housing in the state of Queensland.
With this growth comes a significant need to reform, professionalise and modernise our sector. Over the next 12 months, we as an organisation will continue to work diligently on the Community Titles Legislation Working Group to ensure all of these things occur. Rigorous education standards have been delivered by SCA (Qld) for a long time, however, we do not have full coverage of the industry and this, unfortunately, means that these high standards are not universal. We will continue to work to ensure they are.
As an educator across the property sector, the pathway to professionalism for managers and suppliers in our sector is something I am passionate about. This will be a major focus of the next 12 months for SCA (Qld). Body corporate management is a profession, with a high degree of ethics and knowledge required, and it is about time this were formalised in legislation.
The Northern insurance crisis has also loomed large over the sector and fixing this by working with the government on the Northern Australia Reinsurance Pool will be a key priority.
Our sector is often misunderstood or ignored when it comes to public discussion or policy-making, despite the fact that we represent a vast and growing section of the population. One of the goals I have set for us over the next 12 months is simply to ensure people hear our voice – the collective voice of the 1.2 million Queenslanders living, working and playing in strata. Policy makers and the general public must understand just how much we all contribute to the Queensland economy.
As an industry, I believe we are on the precipice of an exciting new era, and that the next 12 months can set up long term success for all players.
It is my hope that the next 12 months for our industry are remembered as significant and transformative. Decades of diligence and passion should come to fruition in the form of new and fit for purpose legislation and high quality educational pathways.
I am grateful for the opportunity I have been handed for the next 12 months: I intend to make every post a winner and will not let our sector down.
Thank you and I wish everyone in the strata sector a tremendous end to the current year and a rejuvenating Christmas break before we tackle a bigger and brighter 2022, together.