Welcome to 2013 and to the first edition of From the Boardroom for the year.

With the move to our new offices behind us, we are back into getting on with business and many of the changes that we implemented as part of the move are already delivering results in the way of reduced operating costs. We are constantly looking at ways we can do things better to improve our services without having to increase our subscription fees and prices. One of the biggest changes the Industry may face this year is in regard to National Licencing, as yet there have been no further developments in this regard since we made our submission. EAC continues to consult with government and other industry bodies to try to ensure that interests of Members and the Industry are protected. To view the submissions made by the various industry bodies, franchise groups and real estate practioners visit NOLA .

On the 14th December 2012, the Property, Stock and Business Agents Amendment (Professional Indemnity Insurance) Regulation 2012 was published. This long anticipated legislation requires that all licensees must be insured under a policy of Professional Indemnity Insurance in respect to the licensee or the licensee’s employer. This new regulation commenced on 1 January 2013 but will not take effect until 1 July 2013 in order to provide sufficient time for licensees to obtain suitable coverage. To obtain a quote or to check your current level of coverage contact EAC’s preferred insurance advisor’s, OAMPS Insurance Brokers on (02) 42268700 and don’t forget to mention that you are an EAC Member.

There have been several developments in regard to realestateworld.com.au. All of the listings on realestateworld. com.au are now being uploaded to odusee.com.au and we will soon be doing the same with realestate1.com.au in a content sharing arrangement which will see listings from this site uploaded to realestateworld.com.au as well.

We have also now released a mobile friendly version of the site that consumers will be directed to. Work continues on the development of a new realestateworld.com.au site and we are working towards a release date in the next couple of months. In December we had two bumper editions of the realestateworld.com.au publication with the Illawarra achieving 100 pages and the Far North Coast and Mid North Coast being not too far behind with 92 pages. While the focus these days is on the online world, Members continue to obtain very cost-effective print advertising though the support of what is their publication.

We have also now released our Agent Mobile web sites for Members. With the amount of real estate searches now taking place on mobile devices, a mobile friendly version of your website needs to form part of your online marketing strategy.

On the Red Square front, there have been several enhancements including updates to Red Square Mobile. One of the latest editions to Red Square is NSW Telephone Data, the phone data is checked against the ADMA Do Not Call Register and is updated every 30 days. For those Members on a package the telephone data is available at no additional cost.

One of the biggest developments we have been working on in regard to Red Square is the new Listing Management feature. This feature is now undergoing final testing and will be released to a select number of Agents in February for feedback.

In October I attended and presented at the International Year of Co-operative’s Conference. It was an interesting conference on several fronts. It is surprising just how many large Australian businesses, and I am talking some with billion dollar turnover, operate under a Co-operative structure. Co-operatives are distinguished from other forms of organisation by their democratic structure and the fact that capital is used to service the common needs of the members, rather than to provide individual benefit. As a result of some of the ideas I picked up at the conference this year I will be working with the Board to develop new ways to make Membership more beneficial to Members as the marketplace and industry continue to change.

Over the coming months we will be conducting some surveys and focus groups to get a better understanding of Members’ needs but if you have any feedback in the meantime feel free to call me.

All the best in the coming year.