QLD General Manager Annual Report 2022-23

It has been a big quarter for SCAQ as we march forward as an organisation and an industry. We have been actively engaging with our membership, demonstrating our ethos of being a listening and sharing organisation and importantly delivering on the areas that we have heard are important to them.

SCAQ 2023 – 2026 Strategic Plan

The release of our Strategic Plan for the next three years has taken up much of our attention after significant feedback was sought form members in the form of focus groups and member surveys which were widely embraced.

Out of this feedback, we will be focussing on three, core strategic priorities:

• To amplify the voice of strata,
• To elevate professionalism and
• To enhance capability.

These priorities will be at the forefront of every action we take as an organisation between now and 2026 as we work to realise the vision of a thriving strata sector. As a lean organisation, part of the challenge of delivering on this vision genuinely rests on narrowing our focus and who we serve. This means we will be heightening our focus on professional strata management.

Advocacy

Our advocacy program continues to push forward with meetings with all manner of stakeholders. While we continue to engage with our elected representatives, we are also collaborating with other stakeholders within the property space more than ever before – and this is helping to enhance our presence and the learning of our members.  

We have sought collaborations with the Australian Property Institute and Real Estate Institute of Queensland to better help not just our members but the entire strata property ecosystem. We are also engaging with the Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers, the Property Investment Professionals of Australia, the Planning Institute of Queensland, and Master Builders of Queensland to name a few. Enhancing the knowledge and recognition of strata within the greater property sphere is a significant part of our advocacy program as we work to regulatory reform.

We have had significant media coverage in the Australian Financial Review and Gold Coast Bulletin on the topic of management rights reform. Funnily enough, most reform to the BCCMA over the years has been to ‘manage’ management rights as it is such a vexed issue in the Queensland sector. We are continuing to push for further reform and are hopeful of an outcome in this regard.

Members of our advocacy team also appeared before another Parliamentary Committee advocating for strata again.

This month we also hosted a delegation from Papua New Guinea to discuss all things strata which was an enjoyable and illuminating experience for all involved. These sorts of opportunities to have cross-cultural discussions are rare and exciting for all involved.

Member Engagement and Education

Our event offering continues to go from strength to strength with our Annual Golf Day well attended and was enjoyed by all. With our first ever standalone Strata Community Queensland Awards for Excellence night on the horizon and our Annual Leadership Retreat in Byron Bay to look forward to, there are some wonderful opportunities for members to celebrate their professionalism and excellence and also expand their knowledge.

Our education offering will be enhanced going forward and we are already seeing some green shoots in that regard. The new Lunch and Learn series is being taken up with gusto as is our new Masterclass series. Enhancing the offering for our experienced members is all about ensuring that there is value for across the career spectrum. We are working on ensuring we professionalise and modernise our educational offering to ensure we keep up with our constantly evolving sector.

SCAQ is also working to promote our membership and importantly those members who are in our accreditation program over the coming months. The SCA brand is a strong signal to owners that their strata manager is professional, ethical, and committed to best practice and our intention is to elevate the value of that brand and add value to our members’ offering.

As General Manager I am constantly inspired by our members and their enthusiasm for our sector. We continue to sharpen our focus on them, and their needs and look forward to enhancing our service delivery over the next 3 years given our focus. With the 40^th Anniversary of SCAQ on the horizon, we look forward to the future with an adventurous glint in our eyes.