SCA Inside Strata September 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016

Innovate to future proof your business page Cybercrime

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PAGE 20

Access control opportunities to improve energy efficiency

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President’s Message

SCA National President’s message As my term of National President draws to a close, I can proudly reflect on the accomplishments that have been achieved for the strata industry.

Erik Adriaanse FCPA National President Strata Community Australia

Education SCA is committed to the education of the “People of Strata” and has introduced additional educational courses to help achieve a complete training package. In 2015, the SCA A100: National Introduction to Living and Working in the Strata Community course was developed and launched. The course has been delivered across Australia, with extremely positive feedback from newcomers to the industry as well as experienced Strata Managers wanting to refresh their skills.

SCA’s National Education Committee has partnered with RMIT to develop new, nationally recognised qualifications – Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Strata Community Management.

The development of these courses is a huge step forward for the strata industry they are the first national qualifications that recognise strata as its own segment of the property industry. These courses aim to help educate the strata community, add value for SCA members, and help raise the image of professionalism to the wider public. Registrations for the Certificate IV will be open in October and I encourage you to contact SCA National for further details.

Accreditation scheme The implementation of a four step SCA Accreditation pathway was developed to recognise Managers’ commitment to the profession. A combination of formal qualifications, continuing professional development and work experience are recognised under the pathway.

SCA goes global Joanne Barreto, Director of Auckland based Property 101, recognised the benefits and achievements of our professional industry body in Australia,

and has worked with SCA to develop a New Zealand chapter. With the assistance of Joanne as the SCA (NZ) President, Strata Community Association (NZ) was formed. The chapter encompasses Body Corporate Managers, strata owners and strata services suppliers; a true representation of the industry. The first educational event kicked off in August focusing on health and safety at work, which is a promising start to the very engaged chapter.

I’ve been very lucky to be supported by Kim Henshaw and his very capable staff; Claudia Montiel, Anne Cai, Sarah Cha and Erin Gillin.The National Board are another fundamental aspect to the growth and development of SCA. We are a very cohesive action-based group who build strategies and monitor SCA’s progress nationally.The National Board consists of; Andrew Chambers, Bill Coles, Fiona Michel, Greg Haywood, Kim Henshaw, Simon Barnard, Stephen Raff and Stuart Mellington and I.Together, we’ve established a very sound financial footing, which puts us in a fantastic space for future growth for our valued members. Daily, I experience something new and exciting that is happening within Strata Community Australia. An example is a creation of our National Disciplinary Committee and, of course, the huge achievements within education and accreditation. The appointment of Carole Anderson as the National Education Officer indicates our use of resources to provide continued member services.

The voluntary work performed by our committees has been outstanding. The time, dedication and contributions by volunteers in the industry significantly assist SCA in delivering more for our members, and allow us to grow as an organisation.

The committees are a testament of how SCA relies on the valued input of its members to create expediential growth in this rapidly evolving industry.

SEPTEMBER 2016

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Is your building safe for children?

Is your building safe for children?

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Contents Reports

Chief Executive Officer Kim Henshaw Ph: 02 9492 8252 E: kim.henshaw@stratacommunity.org.au Web: www.stratacommunity.org.au

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National Features

SCA National Office Level 1, Suites 101 & 102 845 Pacific Highway Chatswood, NSW 2067

15 ABN: 57 074 729 007 Contact: PO Box 824 Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 Ph: 1800 222 757 F: 1800 063 151 E: publications@crowtherblayne.com.au Web: www.crowtherblayne.com.au

President’s Report

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Editor: Jessica McCabe Production Controller: Yvonne Okseniuk Business Development Manager: Trish Riley Sales Manager: Peter Bunn Design Team: Dan McGirr Andrew Crabb, Michelle Triana

Emerging technologies

10

Transformative change

12

Professional painting

15

Strata Management Business

18

Internet risks

20

Short term letting

24

State Pages New South Wales

28

Victoria

30

Queensland

32

Western Australia

33

Australian Capital Territory

34

South Australia

36

Tasmania

37

New Zealand

38

Social Pages

40

Events calendar

42

Virtual Energy Assessment

46

SCA National ConveNTion 2017: save the date

47

SCA National ConveNTion 2016 wrap-up 48

Printed By: Newstyle Printing

58

How does a strata-manager fit in the property industry?

50

Access control opportunities to improve energy efficiency

58

National partners

Business supporters

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CEO’s Report

Strata Management’s coming of age

Kim Henshaw Chief Executive Officer Strata Community Australia

Over the last twelve months or so I have talked a lot about specific new qualifications being under development for our industry. Today I’m very happy to tell you that the long and arduous process of developing those qualifications and bringing them to market is all but done. RMIT, our partner in the delivery of the new Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Strata Community Management, will begin taking enrolments from 1st October 2016. The Certificate IV will be the first qualification to be offered, with the remaining two courses becoming available in the ensuing months. We will issue a separate bulletin to members with details of the enrolment process, including the preferential pricing for SCA members.

While these new courses have been a long time in their gestation, it is a significant first for our industry to be recognised by the Federal and State Governments as a discrete sub-section of the property industry. That we are seen as important enough to now need industry specific qualifications is testament to the wider recognition that a unique skill set is needed to effectively carry out the task of strata management.

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Which brings to mind a conversation I had recently with the property industry publication “Sourceable”.

Their journalist asked me whether I thought real estate agents should be managing strata schemes. My answer was that as an industry we don’t have any problem with real estate agencies offering strata management services so long as the people involved in the process are properly qualified, SCA accredited and comply with the SCA Code of Conduct. To bring these industry participants into the SCA fold can only be good for our organisation and for those whom we represent, including owner’s corporations and lot owners. When the tide comes in, everyone’s boat floats higher.

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Emerging Technologies

CHU partnering with technology providers to transform the strata industry.

CHU has announced an exciting partnership with Aerial by Drone investigating ways to leverage this new technology for the benefit of the Strata Industry.

“CHU is committed to looking at all emerging technologies and see how we can utilise them to evolve the way we do things”.“We see fantastic prospects in adopting new ways of working to enhance the service provided to our clients” says Bobby Lehane the CEO of CHU. Aerial by Drone was founded by Lorraine Scott in 2014. “I was immediately drawn to this exciting opportunity, having seen the potential for drones to reduce costs, claims cycle times and risk to personnel, specifically to the strata and insurance industry. We have set out to build a national infrastructure of the best drone pilots and capabilities in Australia” stated Ms Scott, Director of Aerial by Drone.

Aerial by Drone is now a national company with over 47 pilots offering aerial inspections to provide better outcomes to builders, insurers, asset managers, brokers, claim assessors and their customers.

Many people view drones as a toy or something to fly on the weekends with their kids. Nothing could be further from the truth. Drones can now be fitted with high definition cameras providing detailed views from multiple angles. The information they collect can be downloaded to customised software applications that provide further in-depth analysis and a record of the inspection which can then be compare with future inspections. “There are technologies being developed to build upon Drone technology, such things as asbestos sensors to detect asbestos particles in the air, so these opportunities are very exciting” commented Ms. Scott.

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Emerging Technologies

“Our view is Drones have some very real applications within the Strata Insurance sector and can potentially assist in the assessment of claims and the collection of information on the buildings we insure, improving the experience we provide to our customers” says Bobby.

While utilising the drones to provide video or still images of a building, there are a number of other applications that are emerging for the use of these devices. Recently CHU has run a pilot project to test the effectiveness of this new initiative.

Drones assisting with surveying insured buildings Traditionally when surveying a building an insurer appoints a contractor to inspect the site. Inspecting the exterior and roof areas of a building is often difficult and potentially dangerous due to heights and challenging access points.

Arranging for access can take considerable time and is often a real burden to the Property manager.

The use of drones to inspect large sites and the exteriors of buildings is safe, efficient and provides a detailed record of what was inspected at the time. It also greatly reduces the time and inconvenience factor placed on our customers.

Drones assisting Claims - Drones are allowing insurers to assess claims faster and with improved safety. Aerial imagery shot by the drones will allow both assessors and customers to review damage from a safe location, removing the risks associated with physical site visits such as asbestos and fallen power lines. Often this first look at the extent of the damage, even before the building is “made safe” for re-entry, can allow the claim to progress. The speed and ease provided by the drones can reduce the stress faced by our customers and gets them back into their homes faster.

CHU requested Aerial by Drone to utilise one of our existing claims as a case study to assess the application of Drones in supporting the claims process.

On the 21st May this year the Owners Corporation of 3 Bowman Street South Perth, was damaged as a result of severe storms in the WA area. The building sustained

damage to a large section of its roof. The falling debris from the strata plans roof also caused damage to the adjacent building.

CHU deployed the team from Aerial by Drone and requested an aerial assessment of the site to evaluate the level of damage to each of the buildings. “The footage we received from the drone flyover is invaluable for us as a claims team. We can look at the extent of the damage and the area it covers and utilise the footage to have informed discussions with our repairers on the best strategies for repairs” says Leanne Wahlert CHU State Manager for West Australia.

“Anything our insurer can do to get the lot owners of our scheme back into their homes quickly, is a great initiative. CHU utilising this type of technology to assist is a great step for the industry as a whole” commented Andrew Chambers, Managing Director of Chambers Franklin the managers of the strata plan.

From the case study conducted by Aerial by Drone, CHU found that the Drones provided a wealth of in-depth data through imagery and video’s. The speed of the data collection process was also greatly increased all signifying the very real applications that Drones are providing. CHU is continuing to work with Aerial by Drone to further explore benefits that can be captured from this evolving technology.

“We see fantastic opportunities to work with partners, who are specialists in their field” says Bobby “and this use of Drones to assist our clients is a perfect example of finding solutions for the challenges of the future.” This is just another step in CHU’s digital transformation strategy.

This article was kindly supplied by CHU

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Transformative Change

Innovate to future proof your business

At this year’s SCA National ConveNTion in Alice Springs we heard from the keynote speaker and business futurist Morris Miselowski whose session was sponsored by BCB. Morris gave an insightful and engaging presentation on the forces shaping our business and social environments. We saw into the near future world where jobs and the world of work and our living spaces will be transformed by digital technology, artificial intelligence and robotics and the like.

Whilst Morris has a message of extreme caution for us that “we are all just one innovation or technology away from becoming irrelevant or even worse extinct.” He also gave us glimpses of the jobs and industries at greatest risk, overall his presentation was urging us to see the world of potential opening up by all the transformative change happening around us.

Through his lens to the future Morris suggests that humans will continue to ‘transcend technology” and business will create value in the spaces between the internet of things which connects the digital world. He claims that “all that is not digitized is gold”. There is and will increasingly be a return to artisanal skills and value created from “Communication, Community & Creativity”. If we seize the opportunities, avoid the RONI (risk of not innovating) we can future proof our businesses.

Innovation Awarded BCB recently sponsored the “Innovation Award” awarded at the SCA (NSW) 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards on Friday 15th July 2016.

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Celebrating 20 years of partnerships with Strata Managers 1996 – 2016

Protecting

communities

ASK YOUR STRATA MANAGER OR CONTACT US TODAY:

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VICTORIA

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Jane Evans T: 03 8695 4041

QUEENSLAND

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Warren Fenton T: 07 5668 7880

Nick Swallow T: 08 9274 8004

bodycorporatebrokers.com.au

Transformative Change

The Innovation Award Winner was Wattblock. These deserving winners are an Australian technology start-up undertaking a feasibility project on Virtual Energy Assessments aided by an innovation grant from muru-D as part of Telstra’s start-up accelerator program.

Under the study, buildings were selected to cover a cross section of size, demographics and representation across different suburbs within the City of Sydney. Wattblock engaged 20 students from University of New South Wales solar engineering school to assist with data collection on a large sample of buildings in Sydney.

Each assessment gave the buildings a simple report showing benefits of energy efficiency such as LED lighting, solar photovoltaic and smart metering would have on their communal energy bills and the contribution to the city of Sydney 2030 carbon emission reduction target.

The pilot demonstrated that: •• Data analytics can be used to rapidly generate energy savings reports for strata buildings at a lower cost •• Strata representatives initially guessed 17% savings were possible with a 7 year payback. The project showed 45% •• Savings were possible with a 3.6 year payback.

•• 4 out of the 10 participating buildings are now mobilized on further energy saving activities •• Retrofitting existing technologies into strata buildings can allow them to lower carbon emissions by up to 70%

The key take-away is that apartment dwellers underestimate the energy savings possible in their communal areas and how quickly they can achieve payback” said Brent Clark, CEO and founder of Wattblock.

They also found that Strata buildings now represent 10% of Australia’s national electricity consumption, which stands at $3.6bn p.a. Due to the trend of high-density living 75% of residents in the City of Sydney already live in apartments, this is sure to increase in the near future.

Strata Insurance Advice – Beware when changing insurers The market for strata insurance has been very competitive with more insurers entering the field and offering discounts in the hope of gaining market share.

If a decision is made to switch insurer at renewal, owners need to be made aware that each insurer will have slightly different claims notification criteria and that they may be required to make appropriate disclosures of events that might lead to a claim. If care isn’t taken to understand the claims event definitions and timeframes required for reporting incidents there may be a risk of a claim being reduced or denied. When in doubt check the policy wordings for claims notification conditions of both the current and the new insurer you intend to switch to or seek advice from a specialist strata insurance broker.

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Live what you Love - Insights from Naomi Simson On day two of the SCA National ConveNTion the keynote speaker was Naomi Simson entrepreneur and founder of Red Balloon the first online experience gift retailer. Naomi shared very personal insights gained from her unique journey which started with an idea and launched with no customers and which remained so for some many agonising months after.

Naomi’s story of eventual business success and personal development along the way highlighted the power of persistence and staying positive. It was Naomi’s passion to provide opportunities for people to have great life experiences

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Professional Painting Feature

How to choose the right colour for your strata property?

Paint colour is potentially one of the most important elements for your strata property.

Do you want to brighten the mood of a room? Would you like to reflect the sunlight or lighting that floods the room? Is there a space that needs to appear larger or smaller?

Depending on the colour you select, it’s easy to achieve these results.

Colour has the ability to alter perspective and the feeling of space around us – making it feel cool, warm, energetic, spacious or modern. Without doubt, paint colour can enhance or create attractive features in a strata property.

However, beyond aesthetics the most essential consideration when choosing exterior paint colours is its longevity. Most professional painting contractors provide customers with colour consultancy, and will work with you to create a successful informed colour solution for your property. This typically includes any current colour trends, visual design, and which paint products will last longer on the different surfaces being painted.

Be mindful that the appearance of a hue’s vibrancy can alter at higher and lower light levels. Test the spot you wish to paint during the day and at night, as well as in different types of daylight—sunny, cloudy, and so on. To help you narrow down your selection at the paint store, consider the direction that your property faces. The direction that the sunlight exposure is coming from has a significant impact on the paint’s colour retention.

Although paint technology has improved considerably over the years, sun exposure will still cause your paint to fade. Colour selection has a strong influence on how well the paint performs, because colours absorb and reflect ultraviolet (UV) light at different rates. For example, dark colours pose more maintenance problems because they absorb heat and suffer more moisture problems than lighter shades. White and light colour shades seem to last the longest of any colour, and they are easier to keep clean, touch up, and require less overall maintenance than darker colours.

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Professional Painting

It’s always best to use high quality paints for superior colour retention. High quality paints not only exhibit better adhesion to the surface they are applied to; they are also more resistant to chalking – a process that can rob an exterior paint of its colour. When exposed to the elements, high quality paints are outstanding for holding their colour. Investing the time and money to carefully select the right paint colour for your property will pay off measurably in the long-term.

Perhaps most surprising of all, paint colour can also reduce the energy consumption in your strata property. Dark coloured exterior walls having the tendency to absorb up to 90% of the radiant energy from the sun, while a light and bright exterior colour scheme has a big impact on indoor comfort, particularly for those living in the southern hemisphere at the height of summer. The best colours to use for exterior walls are white, light grey, beige or other light-coloured neutrals. Neutral shades give universal appeal, and are the preferred choice for numerous homes as they complement many different roof colours and don’t date.

Some properties have actually started adopting white roofs since they reflect much more heat than darker-coloured roofs. Many strata properties have Galvanised and Zincalume roofing which act as poor reflectors of solar energy. White or light colours reflect more of the sun’s radiation; these surfaces can be around 20-35°C cooler, which may translate into reduced heat flow to the occupancy zone.

Additional Paint Colour Tips •• Be aware of potential council restrictions, which may require prior approval

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•• Unless absolutely necessary, don’t create future problems by painting prefinished surfaces, such as brick and concrete •• Be mindful of how the paint colour complements the landscaping around the property •• If you want to improve the longevity of your paint and ensure that you select the right shade, ask the advice of a professional painting contractor •• Lighter colours make a property seem larger •• Dark colours such as deep blues, reds and bright yellows tend to fade quickly As the preferred painting contractor for the SCA, Higgins Coatings is one of the leading contractors in the industry.

Offering cost-effective painting and tailored maintenance solutions, the Higgins team works with Strata Managers to create a comprehensive plan for protecting painted surfaces from premature deterioration, ensuring that the property looks great for years to come.

Contact Higgins for a FREE assessment and evaluation of the paintwork condition at any of the properties you manage https://info.higgins.com.au/sca P 1300 HIGGINS E strataquotes@higgins.com.au

This article was kindly supplied by Higgins

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sales@newstyleprint.com.au www.newstyleprint.com.au SEPTEMBER 2016 INSIDE STRATA 17

Strata Management Business

Business efficiency creating growth and productivity for strata managers The outlook for Australian strata management businesses is bright, with the number of strata managers predicted to grow nationally. To meet and make the most of this demand, it’s never been more important for businesses to look at their business models and approach to account management to see where there are new opportunities. The key to this is maximising operational efficiency.

Efficiency leading to stronger profits Macquarie’s recent Strata Management Benchmarking Report revealed that 86 per cent of businesses increased revenues in the 2015 financial year, and it’s important to note these higher profits are being achieved while businesses are still earning lower median revenue. This success is being driven by high profit firms looking at ways to operate more efficiently. An example of this is businesses using systems that allow them to automate manual processes.

Evolving business models and a drive towards specialisation Increasingly, the best-performing businesses are seeking to streamline systems to provide a more responsive service at a lower cost. We have seen many firms change their business models so that they are separating administration from account management. By separating account management from service delivery, businesses are allowing their experienced staff to become relationship specialists and focus on driving and retaining business, which can ultimately lead to more satisfied staff, as well as clients.

While they are doing this the best performers are also building systems and investing in training and development to enhance staff skill sets and performance. This means that strata managers are free to focus on relationships rather than the day to day service delivery, leading to improved productivity across many firms.

More sophisticated developments have also created new scope for specialist providers to cater to large, high-value schemes.

Our research showed that high profit businesses are more likely to focus on either large or small schemes, rather than trying to cover both. Small scheme specialists are carving a profitable niche by providing a highly efficient, standardised service. To support this, the best performing businesses are adjusting staff levels and boosting productivity by maintaining a high number of lots per strata manager.

Strong culture leading to satisfied staff When the market is strong, a key strategy for any firm is to focus on building a solid and effective business culture. Staff are crucial to a business’ success so it’s important to attract and recruit the right talent, retain them and make them part of your

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succession planning. This will help to secure the right staff you need to build high quality relationships with clients, which can not only lead to a high performance culture, it can also help with overall long-term success. High profit businesses excel at engaging and supporting staff, which can enhance productivity.

Technology helps to improve staff productivity and client communication Our benchmarking research showed that the majority of strata businesses have created digital platforms that allow clients and staff to interact. Technology can help to create a seamless experience with clients, no matter which staff member they are dealing. It can also assist with maintaining a staff member’s workflow, automating repetitive tasks and streamlining work, such as payments, without compromising a client’s experience.

As strata management firms grow, technology is being used to improve staff productivity, while spending less on salaries. Cloud based software systems allow staff to access work remotely, leading to greater flexibility and efficiency.

Social media can be an efficient tool for communicating directly with owners and tenants as it is quick and responsive, as well as a low expense. It provides an opportunity for strata managers to engage with new clients, while also building credibility and trust. Investing in technology now will help to underpin scale, more efficient business models and potentially higher profitability in the future.

Strata managers optimistic Our research revealed that businesses are positive about future growth. Firms are ensuring they are maximising opportunities by looking at ways to build business efficiency.

They are also keeping pace with the current buoyant market by having a talent and high performing team.

This information has been prepared by Macquarie Business Banking, a division of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL & Australian Credit Licence 237502.

This article was kindly supplied by Macquarie Bank

Let’s talk smarter strata For smarter strata insurance, talk to your local Longitude office or ask your broker for a quote from Longitude.

NSW/ACT 1300 442 676

VIC/SA/TAS 03 8823 9419

QLD 07 3434 2680

WA/NT 08 6380 6609

strataquotes@longitudeinsurance.com.au

Longitude Insurance P/L is an authorised representative of Austagencies P/L ABN 76 006 090 464 AFSL 244584 and the Longitude Strata Insurance Policy is underwritten by AAI Limited, ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as Vero Insurance.

Internet Risks

Cybercrime The Australian Crime Commission estimates put the annual cost of cybercrime to Australia at $1Billion a year. But the strategy’s report factors worldwide losses from such attacks to be at 1% of GDP. With that reckoning, the real impact on Australia is more likely $17Billion annually”.

Fighting Back from Cyber Attack – Chris Johnson Sydney Morning Herald: 23-24 April 2016

Historically there has been less investment in security as a whole in Australia than in Europe and North America from a consumer perspective. In typical laid-back Australian fashion, Australians often see themselves as ‘too far away’ to be concerned. Of course in the ‘internet era’, this could not be further from the truth. We are also experiencing an increase in attacks sent within Australia.

A lack of awareness of security at all levels, underinvestment in security, and a shortage of skills have all contributed to making Australia, and the Asia Pacific region, a relatively easy target.

So what does this mean to us in strata? Considering the billions of dollars of transactions online which occur in managing strata, this is definitely an industry which should be concerned.

The Internet at Work In our business world the internet is used every day. Websites and social media are important vehicles for reaching customers but they’re also potentially risky places. We are now actively embracing ‘The Cloud’.

So what is ‘The Cloud’? Not a heavenly, floating mist of computer data in the sky, but a network of computers distributed around the world and connected by the internet. It is computer programs and data being stored on a computer in a remote location. This is where the trouble can start with so many connections for the hackers and cyber-criminals to gain access to your computer and company systems.

With the internet being always on, workers find themselves spending more than twice as much time using the Internet in the office, than when they’re at home. Notably, the primary work task on the internet is related to the company’s financial activities – banking, invoicing and bill payments but money is a magnet for criminals and it’s our familiarity with conducting financial transactions online that makes us vulnerable which can lead to letting our guard down.

Cybercrime and cybersecurity issues are not rare or isolated they are a real and expensive problems.

“Financially motivated criminals that exploit and access systems for financial gain are a substantial threat to Australia.

Transnational serious and organised cybercrime syndicates are of most concern, specifically those which develop, share, sell and use sophisticated tools and techniques to access networks and systems impacting Australia’s interests”.

Australian Government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre 2015 Threat Report These are the facts: • In 2015, 25% of Australians reported as being victims of Identity Theft at some time - up 7% from the previous year.

• Fraudulent credit applications involving identity takeovers in Australia rose 59% in the past two years and 17% in the past 12 months.

• In a recent case a company whose employee system was breached received reports from over 20% of their employees that they had false tax returns filed in their name with funds being placed into a bank account unknown to them.

Protecting Your Business against Cybercrime So how can you make sure your business is not affected and what are some of the safeguards in protecting your data?

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Internet Risks

WiFi Attacks When you are in public using Free Wifi you have no way of knowing who is actually broadcasting a Wi-Fi signal so when you connect to a network you could inadvertently be sending all of you network traffic to a Cyber Criminal. Security experts would strongly recommend that you don’t use public WiFi under any circumstances. Solutions around this include using your phone as a hotspot, bringing your own mobile Wi-Fi router or potentially even buying a data roaming pack from your mobile phone provider when you travel.

Your internal office WiFi network is also one you should be aware.

There is currently a product on the market called WiFi Pinapple which is designed to penetrate WiFi networks.

This little device although legal and available freely becomes an intermediary between your office WiFi and your computer without you knowing so instead of messages and data going between your computer and your WiFi network it goes from your computer, to the pineapple, to the WiFi and the same in reverse.

The Pineapple broadcasts itself as your office network while simultaneously bridging a connection through your office Wi-Fi router with its second aerial. The owner of the WiFi Pineapple now has all of your data which you have sent online. This may be sensitive information including passwords, credit card numbers and bank accounts. The WiFi Pineapple also strips SSLS security essentially making websites unsecure.

Following are some tips for defending yourself against email hackers •• never open non-PDF attachments on email unless you know the source and are expecting them •• don’t enable Macros •• don’t click links in emails – use google instead or paste into a link analyser such as virustotal.com •• use a secure email gateway •• use a web proxy •• backup regularly, store offsite, and test regularly •• segment your network and give as little access as needed Ransomware Cyber criminals are scraping personal information from thousands of Australians’ social media profiles and using it to trap victims with ransomware, a type of malware that freezes computer files and demands money to unlock them.

The ransomware — appropriately titled ‘Locky’ — is spreading quickly on the web in various guises, including the well-known Australia Post Email Scam and more recently the AGL Email Scam. What makes the scam so dangerous is that it addresses the recipient with personal information such as their full name, location, workplace and job description — all gleaned from their social media profile and designed to dupe them into thinking the email is legitimate.

The ransomware encrypts files on your PCs, networks and servers.

To defend yourself from being hacked using an office network the following recommendations are important: •• avoid Wi-Fi within your office •• always use a VPN •• check for the padlock SSL Mobile Hacks Mobile phones are often neglected from a security standpoint but they represent one of the fastest growing targets for cybercrime. Skycure Research Monitoring report that 25% of all devices are exposed to a network hack in the first month of use.

These are some steps to take to ensure your mobile phone remains secure: •• do not jailbreak your phone •• do not install apps outside of the iTunes or Google Play stores •• do not click on suspect links and •• use virus/malware protection Email Hacks One type of email hack is called email spoofing. This is the forgery of an email header so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Distributors of spam often use spoofing in an attempt to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to their solicitations. Spoofing can however be used legitimately and you will often see it when a company will use a third-party supplier for their email marketing but it looks like the message has come directly from the company.

Although most spoofed email falls into the ‘nuisance’ category and require little action other than deletion, the more malicious varieties can cause serious problems and security risks. For example, a spoofed email may purport to be from someone in a position of authority, asking for sensitive data such as passwords, credit card numbers or other personal information, any of which can be used for a variety of criminal purposes.

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There are three main options you have with ransomware: •• use security software to try to unencrypt everything •• pay the ransom •• restore from last clean backup The last and probably the best option is to restore your system to a point before the ransomware hit. This means you need to have a good back-up system.

To defend yourself against these social media hacks there are some simple things you can do •• review your privacy settings in your social media accounts •• don’t connect to strangers •• be suspicious •• if you have any doubt at all, make a call to your IT experts Identify Theft What do these companies have in common - LinkedIn, Adobe, Ebay, JP Morgan Chase, Sony and Target? Each of them have had more than 50 million user accounts breached and identities of clients stolen.

Here are some tips to protect yourself from identity theft •• only use complex passwords with numbers, upper/lower case and punctuation •• never re-use passwords •• don’t iterate passwords •• use a good password manager •• use 2-Factor Authentication where possible Cybercrime is real and not to be ignored. Staying well informed and taking the appropriate actions to protect yourself are the best ways to start. Don’t ever think it couldn’t happen to you.

Article written based on a presentation for the SCA National Convention 2016 presented by Timothy Strachan - Special Projects, TPG and Daniel Borin - Director, StrataMax Featured in the Sydney Morning Herald: 23-24 April 2016

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Short Term Lettings

Short term lettings, where are we going?

There are abundant numbers of online services catering to the demands of owners who wish to allow their apartments to be occupied on a short term basis.

Amongst these services, Airbnb provide the following rental statistics on rental activity in the Sydney region alone:

Over recent years, Short Term Lettings have become a growing concern for strata schemes, bodies corporate and various governments alike.

•• Over half of all Short Term Lettings with Airbnb provide the use of an entire apartment, with 38.4% for a private room; •• By far, the most common lettings with Airbnb are 1 or 2 bedroom apartments; •• Approximately 85.1% of lettings with Airbnb are for a period of 1 to 3 months.

Owners in strata and bodies corporate are becoming increasingly concerned about issues such as safety, privacy and noise associated with a transient population. Across the various States and Territories Governments have had difficulty in balancing the rights of owners to use their properties how they chose and those involved in multi titled structures.

Recent legal cases in Victoria have highlighted the issue where owners in multi ownership models do not necessarily want short term letting arrangements in their particular buildings. The Court in that case allowed the short term letting arrangements to stay.

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Short Term Lettings

What are the issues Generally the issues come down to the clash between local zoning, development consents for particular buildings and then the relevant strata legislation that applies (and in each State/ Territory it is different), and not forgetting the will of the owners.

Each local area has various zoning requirements which limit certain types of activities or building construction. These need to be considered in the first instance to see if a particular area is “zoned” short term letting. This can be automatic (for example as being something that is exempt from Council consent and can be undertaken immediately) or with consent of the relevant Council or consent authority.

After this assessment is completed you need to then look at your actual building and whether there are any restrictions on the particular building (for example Serviced Apartment consent in a residential apartment only zone).

Once these two are known you can then look to the relevant strata legislation for assistance on how the strata or bodies corporate can be involved to temper these issues, prohibit the arrangement or be involved in the consent process.

One way that owners can be involved is through the process of by-laws. This requires a steady hand and a steady mind to reach a satisfactory result. In most jurisdictions a strata or bodies corporate can make by-laws regulating a broad range of issues, including safety and security measures, restrictions on the use of common property and the behaviour of occupants within the strata scheme. However, this wide power generally comes with the proviso that a by-law will have no force or effect to the extent that it is inconsistent with the Act or another law or interferes in the leasing of a lot.

That is not to say that a strata scheme cannot proceed with the making of a special by-law to restrict Short Term Lettings.

The by-laws of a strata scheme must be consistent with the

zoning requirements and the conditions of consent imposed by local Councils on each particular development. For instance, the zoning requirements and conditions of consent to a Development Application for a scheme may prohibit Short Term Lettings in that scheme. Conversely, in other schemes, Short Term Lettings may be permissible subject to the lodgement of a development application.

To be controversial, the issue that is yet to be tested is whether the strata or bodies corporate can be actively involved in the decision making process to the extent that the by-law either makes it practically impossible to have Short Term Lettings or consent is not given at the strata level so the matter cannot proceed to Council in the first instance (as the strata is the owner of the land).

What should a strata or bodies corporate do?

•• Thorough enquiries be made of its local Council to determine the zoning requirements and conditions of consent applicable to any particular apartment or building; and •• That any special by-law purporting to restrict Short Term Lettings be drafted in a manner that is consistent with the zoning requirements and conditions of consent applicable to that particular apartment and with regard to the occupancy limits regulated by the new Act. Grace Lawyers – a service provider with a difference.

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State News

New South Wales

New laws set for November start date The NSW Government has finally announced that the new NSW legislation governing the strata industry will commence from 30 November 2016.

The Acts commencing on 30 November are the Strata Schemes (Management) Act 2015 and Strata Schemes (Development) Act 2015. The final Regulations are to be published in August.

Strata managers, owners and tenants in NSW all need to be aware of the new laws and how they apply. To this end, SCA (NSW) worked with Fair Trading and REINSW on a joint road show on the new legislation which travelled to regional centres and metropolitan areas around NSW to engage with and educate all stakeholders on these important changes.

This prestigious event was well attended by all sectors of the strata industry with 333 attendees celebrating excellence and innovation in strata. To view our glamorous members in their black tie best, please turn to page 40 or visit our website or Facebook page. Below are this years’ winners and highly commended recipients. We congratulate you and are proud to have you as examples of excellence in our industry.

Innovation of the Year Wattblock

Strata Owners Community Engagement Strata Plan 31108 located in Enmore and managed by Ace Body Corporate

Professional Commitment to Ethics and Service Bannermans Lawyers (Winner) Havencab Group (Highly Commended)

It is significant to note that in its media release NSW Fair Trading said, “the changes also improve the accountability of strata managers; allow owners and residents to use modern technology to participate and vote in their strata meetings; establish a transparent process for the collective sale and renewal of strata schemes; and introduce a simpler, clearer process for dealing with disputes.”

One part of the legislation that will not take effect until 1 July 2017, is the building defects bond scheme. The government is waiting for the Australian Standard for building inspections, which is due in March 2017, to become the standard for the interim and final defect inspection reports prior to the strata legislation commencing. Fair Trading believes this will give builders, developers and the strata community time to prepare for the coming changes that this part of the legislation represents.

Strata Management Business of the Year - Small Strata Sense

Strata Management Business of the Year - Large Strata Choice (Joint winner) Bright & Duggan (Joint winner)

Student of the Year Mercedes Priddy, Strata Choice (Winner) Cathy Avery, BCS Gosford (Highly Commended)

Young Strata Manager of the Year Alex Borzilo, Bright & Duggan (Winner)

The SCA (NSW) Strata Agency Agreement was also amended to ensure compliance with the new strata laws. SCA (NSW) has been working to have it available to members in late August/ early September.

On a final note, SCA (NSW) would like to congratulate the winners of the 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards which was held on 15 July at The Star.

Thank you to our awards partner CHU and to the awards category sponsors for stepping forward to support the industry.

Lastly, we thank the independent judging panel made up this year of Dr Hazel Easthope from City Futures Research, UNSW; Hera Antoniades from UTS and Paul King from NSW Fair Trading. We had a high calibre of award submissions and the judging panel had a tough job selecting this years’ winners.

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Luke Derwent, Stata Choice (Highly Commended)

Strata Services Business of the Year Havencab Group

Strata Owners Environmental Award Strata Plan 68853 located in Waterloo and managed by Jamesons Strata Management

Thank you also to the wonderful team at SCA (NSW) for the ongoing dedication and hard work. Our members appreciate all that you do.

Greg Haywood SCA State President

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State News

Victoria

New appointments and a growing membership Jane Garrett resigned from cabinet over the firefighter dispute. Marlene Kairouz has been appointed as the new Minister for Consumer Affairs. Strata comes under the Consumer Affairs portfolio. Marlene, 41, is the member for Kororoit.

SCA (Vic) and the other states have been funding an SCA national media campaign Australia wide. SCA (Vic) is also separately and in addition to the national media campaign, running a specific Vic media campaign. The media profile has been raised with a total of 75 media mentions.

Submissions on the Vic strata law review have been made to the three Issues Papers. Lobbying was done regarding submissions of other key third party stakeholders [LIV, REIV, PCA, UDIA Vic, AIC Vic, ACSV, OCNV, City of Melbourne]; such that their submissions supported our positions.

SCA (Vic) publishes an endorsed Contract of Appointment [CoA]. All SCA (Vic) members are entitled to use this at no cost as a benefit of membership and as a key differentiator between members and non-members. 93% of members use it. A new version has been published for members – you should now take immediate steps to implement. Though previous proposed regulatory changes regarding strata managers were never enacted, nonetheless, SCA (Vic) decided to adopt most of the changes in order to ‘raise the bar’ with appropriate professional practice guidelines and ethical standards.

Membership has continued to grow over the past year with an increase in total members of 6%. This represents mainly new members, since the retention rate of existing members is excellent. There are 663 members. Not-for-profit association benchmark indicators of membership health include overall total membership, new members acquired, and membership renewals. It shows that SCA (Vic) continues to significantly outperform the sector internationally over the long term.

The top membership drivers include CPD events, networking, CoA, best practice information, advocacy, and media.

SCA (Vic) exhibited at High Life Expo, all about sustainability in strata, and was attended by 500 people.

We know how hard it is for you to recruit staff, so SCA (Vic) exhibited and presented at the 2016 Melbourne Reinvent Your Career Expo - Australia’s only international adult careers and employment expo. We’ve also published a brochure promoting a career in strata management.

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VCAT fees were overhauled from 1 July 2016 - depending on capacity to pay. SCA (Vic) provided input to the VCAT (Fees) Regulations 2016. A RIS [Regulatory Impact Statement] and draft regulations were published, which thoroughly overhauls the fee structure utilising mixed levels of cost recovery. Under the proposed regulations, 26% of VCAT’s costs are recovered.

The Victorian Government has now set the fees. SCA (Vic) successfully influenced the early stages of this project, such that definitions were changed and now, appropriately, is equitable for strata schemes.

SCA (Vic) presented to 250 Surveyors [Consulting Surveyors & Land Development Engineers], talking about strata issues and, particularly, unanimous resolutions. In this way, SCA (Vic) is trying to help achieve better outcomes for all involved in the strata sector – developers, surveyors, the schemes, lot owners, and strata managers.

SCA (Vic) briefed the Building Advisory Council [BAC] regarding the Vic strata law review and issues such as defects, maintenance and disputes. The BAC is a statutory role (DELWP) and comprises the Victorian heads of the PCA [Property Council Australia], MBA [Master Builders Association], HIA [Housing Industry Association], AIBS [Australian Institute of Building Surveyors], BDA [Building Designers Association], RAIA [Royal Australian Institute of Architects], EA [Engineers Australia], CAV [Consumer Affairs Victoria] and VBA [Victorian Building Authority]. It is a senior industry-based advisory group that advises the Minister for Planning on the Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2006 [eg licensing, building regulatory system, etc].

The Owners Corporations Amendment (Short-stay Accommodation) Bill 2016 has been introduced to the Victorian Parliament. Following the previous short-stay serviced apartment’s government panel, the Bill is intended to implement the government’s broader reform proposal [on which SCA (Vic) was consulted]. It is to commence, at the latest, by 1 July 2017. It includes: prohibition orders [if there was 3 separate occasions within last 2 years], loss of amenity compensation orders [max compensation is $2,000 per affected occupier for each breach], & orders for a civil penalty [max $1,100].

The Smarter Cities Initiative is IBM’s global largest philanthropic initiative. City of Melbourne was one of 16 cities [out of 100] globally that has been awarded a significant grant - where IBM deploys top experts, to help with emergency response & disaster relief efforts. SCA (Vic) was asked and agreed to be a key partner and stakeholder in this program.

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State News

Queensland

Aligning strategic goals with operational activities The change of financial year is a time to check in with our strategic objectives and how we are fulfilling our purpose. Education and advocacy remain our core focus and we have taken big steps forward in our government engagement in the past 12 months. Apart from our excellent working relationship with the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, it was critical to engage with all levels of government to see the law review progress. We have met with local councilors, several Members of Parliament, the Shadow Attorney-General, were invited to an private roundtable with the Deputy Premier and a reception with the Attorney-General, all with the aim to push along the property law reform that commenced in 2014. Keeping up the dialogue is our focus especially as there has been positive bipartisan support for it and it is only a matter of time until the review will be completed.

Starting the New Year, the Board is particularly interested in setting the tone for our member activities for the coming year.

The Queensland Board has recently adopted a healthy budget, which anticipates to invest more than $275,000 – more than a third of our spending - back into member facing activities and engagement. A new member rewards system has been launched, giving access to common brands discounts on fuel, groceries, dining, travel and entertainment. $23,000 are provided for the promotion of professional body corporate managers and their valuable SCA (Qld) membership to the public. The allocated budget also includes increased networking amongst our members to ensure the dialogue between managers and suppliers remains constructive and meaningful. Of course we will continue our successful Annual Conference, Leadership Forum and Golf Day as the key events firmly placed in our calendar.

In the past 12 months we have already invested in modern equipment to enable webinar streaming and in 2016/17 we are taking the education program to a new format, which will significantly increase quality, choice and access. In 50 minute webinar sessions, more than 20 topics will be addressed in a concise manner, falling into one of our four core modules: legal/ compliance, finance, professional/technical skills, and soft skills.

We are keen to embrace new ways of servicing our members when and where they need it so in 2017 we will launch further products that will make member access to education more convenient and cost effective. Member acceptance has been great and we are certainly keen to build on the foundations of the new program and format.

Simon Barnard SCA (Qld) President

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Membership requirements tightened Housekeeping at SCA (Qld) means reviewing policies and implementing new policies and procedures that ensure there is clarity around the education requirements. The Continuing Professional Development program is critical to the success of a self-regulatory strata management profession and the Queensland Board has developed new guidance on unstructured learning. As 70% of the CPD points can be acquired through flexible learning, the guidelines provide content related criteria to ensure managers are trained adequately. The Board has increased the requirement for Professional Indemnity Insurance for strata management businesses to $2million to tighten the consumer protection principle.

State News

Western Australia

Strata Titles Act Reforms As we emerge from the wild ride that was the Federal election results, eyes have quickly turned from Canberra back to the state government and progress on initiatives closer to home. For SCA (WA) Inc. and other allied industry associations, the focus will be very much on the STA Reforms.

It’s been said many times in many forums: a great deal of work has been done to date to pull together a package of reforms which are much needed, albeit omitting the sensible step of strata manager licensing. The reforms to the Strata Titles Act are now long overdue. As no draft bill or portions of a draft bill have been released to stakeholders for review or comment, we are becoming nervous about the lack of progress.

That is why we have and will continue to call upon the state government to support the drafting process and bring the Bill before parliament this year. We have joined with the Property Council of Australia, UDIA and other stakeholders to voice the industry’s call for timely action. The Law Society of WA has also called on the government to expedite the reforms. We will continue to do this, despite the Minister for Lands foreshadowing that the reforms will not be drafted by the end of this year, because housing affordability and liveability go hand in hand.

Housing affordability will not be achieved by tax reform alone.

The future of sustainable, affordable cities for our growing population requires flexibility in forms of title, good governance in strata schemes, careful planning and quality in building. The reforms to the Strata Titles Act are a major part of delivering the Australian dream of home ownership in the future.

I would like to thank of all SCA(WA) Inc.’s members who have assisted the Association to make representations to government and the Opposition about these reforms including those who have responded to our surveys and the Legal Affairs and Public Policy Committee members: Mark Atkinson, Kara Grant, Paul Keet, Jake Kneebone and Ida Smithwick.

SCA Structure During the course of the last 6 months, SCA Ltd Board and SCA (WA) Inc. Council have been working steadily to explore the opportunities for, and the pathway to, a single national entity to represent the strata community. The milestones reached in this endeavour include unanimous principle agreement by National Council in support of a single national entity for the future of SCA. Development of a written Unification Proposal outlining proposed governance and staffing structure and timelines for key steps such as WA Council resolution to support the Unification Proposal subject to certain assurances regarding status of life members, Board representation and budgetary processes and uniformity in staff structure

SCA Ltd Board and SCA (WA) Inc. Council see important opportunities that can be more easily realised through the proposed new structure. The proposed structure is the natural landing place for the process that was commenced in 2011 when SCA Ltd was incorporated and branding across the country was standardised. A single national structure should, we believe, enable acceleration towards uniformity and raising the benchmark in education, professional standards and accreditation, communications and our public relations activities.

However, we hope too that it will unlock internal efficiencies, costs savings and achieve economies of scale.

Like all strategic decisions, there will be trade-offs involved in choosing this course. Council is conscious of the trade-offs and believes that the long term sustainability and effectiveness of SCA demands that this trade-offs be made. However what should not and cannot be compromised is the level of service to members at a local level. We also know that the vision cannot be achieved without the support and commitment of our members to this vision.

Professional Standards SCA (WA) Inc. Council has formally endorsed and adopted a new Code of Conduct for our members.

Rachel Cosentino SCA (WA) President

Panel Members Angela Hayward, Cancer Council; Dora Oliva, ACOSH; Kristy Ward, Prestige Strata Management

Smoking in Strata Event

Laura Chapman, Strata Alliance

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State News

Australian Capital Territory

Networking and professional growth This year we are making a conscious effort to create a range of events at which our members can not only network, but also grow through professional development.

We kicked off the year with a professional development luncheon on ‘building defects’, followed by a social event at Bentspoke Brewery, which then led to another professional development luncheon held by Meyer Vandemberg. Guest speaker, Alisa Taylor from Meyer Vandemberg, discussed issues including; •• Embracing high rise living – soon, with added defects protection •• The Supreme Court tells us what the ‘end’ of the statutory warranty means, with surprising results •• Rooting for the underdog: minority owner rights •• Stratum arrangements & community title – the first two of their kind in the ACT If you feel like your networking efforts have gone stale – then I would highly recommend becoming a SCA ACT member and attending our end of year events, such as our annual Awards Night and not missing out on our Christmas party. If your not making the most of our networking events, you’re probably not keeping up-to-date with trends, benefiting from new ideas or connecting with key influences.

If you feel like it is time to mix up your networking routine with some fresh tactics, then grab a SCA ACT membership and try some of these networking strategies. Remember, Networking can happen anywhere: Start a meetup group: you’ll get more out of a group that is focused on an industry topic rather then simply attending a networking event. As the organiser, you’ll be the face of the group, and that role will help to establish you as an expert in your area.

Break a sweat: physical activity requires discipline and teamwork, and side-byside effort naturally builds bonds between people. You can grow your contacts list by joining a soccer team, long-distance running club or yoga class.

Join that work committee: Volunteering to help plan the company party or mentor the latest crop of newbies probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list, but it does give you the chance to build relationships with a wider range of people across your organisation and position yourself as a team player and a leader.

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Make time for volunteering: many people who self-identify as leaders make a point of being involved in the community through charitable organisations, so it is a good avenue for connecting with other motivated professionals.

Networking in another industry: have you thoughts about checking out a networking event in a related field? Hone in on a related industry, then do a little Google sleuthing to uncover promising groups and events.

You’ll likely come away with a wider knowledge base and new contacts.

Keep your eyes open for unexpected places to make new and lasting connections. You might just discover that both your personal and professional lives become more fulfilled!

Chris Miller SCA (ACT) President

2016 CHU STRATA COMMUNITY AWARDS

ACT invitation

SCA (ACT) 2016 CHU STRATA COMMUNITY AWARDS Friday, 7 October 2016 WHEN Friday, 7 October 2016

WHERE National Museum of Australia

ADDRESS Lawson Crescent, Acton ACT 2601 DRESS CODE Black Tie TIME Pre-dinner drinks from 6pm with formal proceedings to commence at 7pm sharp REGISTRATION Access the registration form on the SCA (ACT) website RSVP admin.act@stratacommunity.org.au by Friday, 23 September 2016

2016 CHU STRATA COMMUNITY AWARDS

SA invitation

SCA (SA) 2016 CHU STRATA COMMUNITY AWARDS Friday, 4 November 2016 WHEN Friday, 4 November 2016

WHERE Adelaide Oval

ADDRESS War Memorial Dr, North Adelaide SA 5006 DRESS CODE Black Tie TIME Pre-dinner drinks from 6pm with formal proceedings to commence at 7pm sharp REGISTRATION Access the registration form on the SCA (SA) website RSVP admin.sa@stratacommunity.org.au by Friday, 21 October 2016

State News

South Australia

Return of development and legislative updates South Australia The last 6 months has delivered significant activity in South Australia, the return of development to the city and suburbs has all Managers quite buoyed with the prospect of new development work.

Currently there are projects that will push all the development boundaries for the planners and planning departments.

The downturn over the last 5 years has allowed the market and developers to determine what new product the markets needs and wants, Developers have more than ever commenced consulting with SCA managers about their projects and the specific site requirements of mixed use developments.

The errors of the last development boom in the early 2000’s have fortunately caught the attention of the current day developer and there are lessons to be learnt, from the times when consumers began to challenge the standard finishes and pre construction documentation of “off the plan” purchases.

The Adelaide “Off Plan” consumer has set many of the standards with respect to accountability and expectation, not only for the developers but also the Strata Manager. While some of the new development work has seen some managers in Adelaide scrambling to grasp how a new building takes to life, creates its own identity and develops reputation, the established an well trained SCA members will reap the rewards of delivering well to these buildings.

Legislation Changes While South Australia has undergone a review of the previous changes to see if they have been effective, the Attorney General also held a Parliamentary enquiry to consider the current issues and practices in the market. Further to this, the SCA (SA) council also looks at other states to see if South Australia will be affected at some point by the proposed changes that are taking place around the country. We hold the view that whilst changes may not be upon us here locally, we will consider the elements of best practice, and look at the impact to managers. This is considered from both educational and operational perspectives, if we are to maintain current practises they must be robust and demonstrate leadership to all customers. SCA remains the only vehicle for the industry to connect all participants in the sector, demonstrating the value of a national Brand, supported through the state boards to highlight the activity and work that we can all prosper from.

Education I write this article as the outgoing South Australian President, a council and board member for over 15 years at both Local and National boards, it remains our challenge in SA to provide solid education. Delivered through the SCA industry briefings and educations sessions, one key training area is to provide education and understanding of what it takes to manage buildings with $1M

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plus annual budget. The size of the South Australian chapter dictates that we struggle to get large amounts of Intellectual Property pulled together for training sessions. It is important that as a sector body we open all doors for the sharing of Intellectual Property across all states, mostly because the poorest performing company unfortunately reflects on us all. The use of more material between the states will see much better cross state employment opportunities. From time to time this is the reason we see great talent stay in the sector when they relocate to another city, all the time lifting the professional standards. South Australia is a producer of younger strata mangers, who head off to the larger city markets, it is of great benefit to them and their next employer to have had exposure through training to larger schemes and differing state legislation. This highlights the significance of how much SCA (SA) believes education is the corner stone to all states future growth.

As a personal parting comment, I have enjoyed working and developing the face of this sector, it’s been a hard and challenging road getting to this point, and I am satisfied that we have come a long way in the last 6 years. The sector has really only just commenced in many ways and I feel that we are set up well for the sector to enter into a far more mature era. In handing over the chalice to the new comers and changing board members, both locally and nationally, my view is the industry will flourish where we provide value and benefit to our customers, but mostly importantly in a manner that is consistent around Australia. SCA must continue and will continue to encompass all those who are members, to support their business and their people who are the face of the sector.

My best to you all and Cheers, Matthew Amber

State News

Tasmania

New building opportunities Well there has been some snow on the mountain and things are fairly chilled here at the moment. Hobart is currently experiencing a boom of sorts with a lot of new building projects on the go. Our symposium held in February seems so long ago now, and the year is flying. The Myer site has been completed right in the heart of the CBD and is open for business after a fire wiped this area out some eight years ago.

A number of new hotels are being built around the city to help with the growing number of tourists. We have just had the Dark Mofo festival, and are led to believe that next year a cruise liner from Sydney will grace our shores with an extra 2000 people expected for this event alone.

The number of units being built around Hobart in the other suburbs has also remained steady. Some old property sites are being demolished and brand new blocks of units are being built right in the CBD. There seems to be a break away from people wanting to live in the suburbs and now they are wanting a shorter commute to work, or perhaps don’t require the five acre lot whereby all weekend is spent on the lawn mower.

The old Tepid Baths, site at 212 Collins Street, is currently being revamped into approximately 30 residential and commercial units.

I’m sure our state will continue to grow and flourish as new properties are constructed and while our relaxed way of life remains as a draw card.

Tim Barwick SCA (TAS) President

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State News

New Zealand

NZ welcomed into SCA family In February 2016 SCA went international! We are proud to have founded the NZ chapter of SCA (NZ) and feel privileged to have been welcomed into the SCA family!

Having experienced firsthand the advantages of SCA across the states of Australia and attended the annual conferences for the past 3 years, with valuable guidance from the Australian parent body, I facilitated the establishment of our chapter. The aim is for SCA (NZ) to be seen as a professional body acting as an independent voice in the industry.

Having worked alongside some of the industry leaders in New Zealand and Australia for the past 18 years, I believed it was time to increase the education and professionalism across all elements of the industry. The various disciplines involved in this sector as a whole needed to evolve with the times through government lobbying, consistent practices and standards, codes of conduct, education and regulation and what better way to do it than to learn from Australia’s $1.2 trillion sector! While the New Zealand Sector is smaller, the issues we face mirror those of Oz pre-SCA. We have already made significant progress in terms of future events, education, training and qualifications. The Executive and sub-committees have agreed the focus for 2016 is on education and embracing the resources available to us. We are currently contextualizing the A100 course for roll out in NZ. I was lucky enough to meet some key stakeholders at the Alice Springs conference and combined with the EAB the advice, support and assistance has been exceptional! We have been able to engage with industry leaders in taking a positive step forward towards raising the bar in NZ. One thing New Zealand does have going for it is one piece of legislation that applies to the whole Country! For our first Inside Strata article, we would like to outline some statistics prepared by one of our Inaugural members with respect to the Strata Numbers Auckland and North as illustrated by the supplied table.

From this, a rough measure might be that 35% of NAKLD BC (representing say 2,000 BC’s) having around 55,000 titles (an average of 28 titles per BC) could be described as being vertically strata’d titles. That is, Unit Titles being horizontally and vertically layered – a strata title.

In respect to total Unit Titles in NZ, the present LINZ Online system shows the following information: •• Total land titles 2.2 million, with Unit Titles being 8.5% or 184,000 titles.

•• 65% of NAKLD BC’s have 5 or fewer titles, Strata Titles in NAKLD are approx. 55,000 in 35% of BC

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•• NAKLD titles at 66,266 are approximately 36% of New Zealand Unit Titles •• If NAKLD profile is representative of NZ profile, then total NZ-wide strata titles could be 150,000 (55,000 / 0.36).

•• Value of sector, if each of the Unit Titles were valued at $300,000 then the value of the sector would be $45 billion (150,000 x $300,000).

Some members of SCA (NZ) Chapter have participated in their individual capacities in a major working group review of the Unit Titles Act 2010.This review, which was submitted to Minister of Housing Hon Dr Nick Smith on 25th May 2016 recommending a number of legislative changes, included a new focus on education and membership of professional bodies.

We are delighted to report that as a result of this working group report, a review of the Act is underway and I have been asked to assist on the advisory board both individually and on behalf of SCA (NZ).

The introduction of an independent reputable body to add professionalism, resource, knowledge and training to the strata industry will benefit everyone in the long run.

We look forward to working with our trans-Tasman Neighbours to drive membership, sponsorship and achieve ongoing goals.

Should you have any sponsorship or membership inquiries, please contact us at admin@stratacommunity.org.au Joanne Barreto SCA (NZ) President

CONTACT: 1300 851 585 strata@lannock.com.au www.lannock.com.au

Australasian Concrete Repair Association Ltd

Setting the standards in concrete repair for 25 years!

CONCRETE FACTS ABOUT STRATA BUILDINGS ACRA believes that when you invest your time to achieve the best results for your client then the only source of dedicated strata specialists for concrete repairs are our members

Do you use professional Consultant services?

Consider a member of ACRA ACOR Consultants AECOM Australia Arcadis ARUP BAAM Consulting Bellmont Façade Engineering

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Our team of Building Consultants and Engineers specialise in the Diagnosis, Specification and Project Management of all types of remedial works for the Strata Community including: • Structural Engineering • Concrete Spalling • Waterproofing • Structural Defects • Façade Engineering • Building Defect Reports • Rope Access Surveys

We are an accredited ISO 9001 Company

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for searchable list of Consultants, Contractors, Material Suppliers and Asset Owners in Australia and New Zealand

SOCIAL PAGES

SCA (Qld) Golf Day

1st Place – Valspar

The 2016 Golf Day at Nudgee Golf Course was a sell out with 138 players in 35 teams playing for a plaque on the SCA (Qld) Golf Day trophy. In a beautiful Queensland winter setting, the wind was not a deterrent to the winning team VALSPAR who were thrilled to be first time winners with a score of 53 3/8. Renee Bellert, Jeff Hills, Sandra Clarke and Tony Martin were stoked winning generous $150 vouchers each for a night out, sponsored by CMBM Facility Services.

In second Place with a score of 54 were Team Hartleys 2: Adrian Butcher, Grant Inglis, Gabe Walker and Jeremy Witton, closely followed by Solutions In Engineering Team 1 with players James Freestun, Jamie Kerr, Lynette Dux and Mark Jennings (Score 54 6/8).

Congratulations to the players and a fantastic day on the green.

2nd Place – Hartley’s Body Corporate Management

3rd Place – Solutions in Engineering

SCA (NSW) 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards

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SCA (Vic) Smoking in Strata Workshop 2016

SCA (NZ) at the SCA National ConveNTion 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016

INSIDE STRATA

41

EVENTS CALENDAR CHAPTERS

AUGUST

16

SCA (NZ) Safety & Health

at Work Seminar

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

07

SCA (ACT) 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards, National Museum, Canberra

VICTORIA 19

CHU SCA (Vic) 2016 Symposium

23

Education Seminar, Go to Whoa

04 20 23

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

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04

07

SCA (SA) 2016 CHU Strata Community Awards, Adelaide Oval

SCA (ACT) 2016 Christmas Party, The Rugby Union Club, Canberra

SEPTEMBER 2016

08 18

02

Special Interest Group, Young Professionals Major Event, Principals Retreat [Fiji] Major Event, Principals Retreat [Fiji]

Special Interest Group, Support Roles in Strata Education Seminar, Media Messaging Workshop [1 day]

Education Seminar, Owners Corporation Certificates

QUEENSLAND 05

SCA (Qld) Golf Day

WESTERN AUSTRALIA 03 16 19 31

27

Brisbane F2F/4 webinars, Soft Skills

13 28

20

Annual General Meeting

04

and

Networking Skills

20

17 24

Role of the Council, SP Library Smoke Drift in Strata Housing (Free Seminar), Perron Centre, Vic Smoke Drift in Strata Housing (Free Seminar), Perron Centre, Vic

Lot Owners Forum, AIC, Vick Pk Managing your Building Fire Safety - Best Practice, Tech Pk, Bentley

Role of the Council, SP Library

Brisbane F2F/4 Webinars – BCCM Office

Brisbane F2F/4 webinars Networking: Christmas,

Gold Coast

01

Networking: Christmas,

Sunshine Coast

06 07 08

South Western Region All Day Workshop, Bunker Bay

Networking: Christmas, Cairns

02 08 11

06 07

Return to SAT, Perron Centre, Vic Lot Owners Forum, AIC, Vick Pk 2016 Symposium, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre

Role of the Council, SP Library Motivation Life Coaching Yourself, Crown Studio

Networking: Christmas, Networking: Christmas, Brisbane

SEPTEMBER 2016

INSIDE STRATA

43

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Colouring life...

Wattblock

Wattblock completes Virtual Energy Assessments Project for city of Sydney Wattblock engaged to assist residential apartment buildings drastically reduce carbon emissions

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia — May, 17th, 2016 — Wattblock is an Australian technology startup which has received investment from muru-D as part of Telstra’s startup accelerator program.

In June 2015 City of Sydney awarded $10,000 innovation grant* funding to Wattblock to undertake their Virtual Energy Assessments feasibility project with in-kind contributions from muru-D and Microsoft CityNext.

• Retrofitting existing technologies into strata buildings can allow them to lower carbon emissions by up to 70%

While energy audits provide a high level of detailed and customised feedback on a specific building, the process is time consuming and costly which prohibits scalability. The project sought to investigate the merits of using data benchmarking for residential energy efficiency assessment. This is due to interest in lowering the costs of raising awareness and mobilising action on energy efficiency in apartment buildings.

Strata buildings represent 10% of Australia’s national electricity consumption at $3.6 billion p.a. and 75% of residents in the City of Sydney already live in apartments, with the trend set to increase.

As part of the project 10 residential apartment buildings were engaged to receive a Wattblock Virtual Energy Assessment report for their building. Participant buildings were selected to cover a cross section of building size, demographics, and representation across different suburbs within the City of Sydney.

Wattblock engaged 20 students from UNSW’s solar engineering school to assist in collecting data on a large sample of buildings within the City of Sydney Each Virtual Energy Assessment gave the buildings a simple report showing the benefits of energy efficiency (e.g. LED lighting), solar photovoltaic and smart metering would have on their communal energy bills and the resulting contribution to the City of Sydney’s 2030 carbon emission reduction target.

The pilot demonstrated that: • Data analytics can be used to rapidly generate energy savings reports for strata buildings at a lower cost • Strata representatives initially guessed 17% savings were possible with a 7 year payback. The project showed 45% savings were possible with a 3.6 year payback.

• 4 out of the 10 participating buildings are now mobilized on further energy saving activities

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The key take-away is that apartment dwellers underestimate the energy savings possible in their communal areas and how quickly they can achieve payback said Brent Clark, CEO and founder, Wattblock.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it was a win-win-win for the City - supporting a high potential local startup while driving down carbon emissions and helping apartment dwellers reduce their electricity bills.

“WattBlock’s technology is a great, cost-effective way for communities to reduce the environmental impact of apartment living and save on power bills. We’re really pleased to be able to help it get up and running,” the Lord Mayor said.

Wattblock was founded by Brent Clark and Ross McIntyre in 2014 to reduce energy waste in multi-tenant residential buildings.

It has assisted 600 strata buildings across Australia with energy saving reports.

For more information: Brent Clark, CEO Wattblock, +61 (02) 9977 1801, brent.clark@wattblock.com.au *Note: The City’s Environmental Performance – Innovation Grant program supports feasibility and demonstration projects that test or demonstrate new technologies and processes that are not currently implemented in the local market, but have the potential to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions and resource efficiencies at scale within the City of Sydney Local Government Area. Grant funding supports the City’s work towards the environmental performance targets included in its community strategic plan Sustainable Sydney 2030.

This article was kindly supplied by WattBlock

THE SCA NATIONAL CONVENTION

HUNTER VALLEY 14-16 JUNE 2017

ON THE GRAPEVINE The SCA National Convention 2017 will be held in one of Australia’s best known wine regions, the Hunter Valley. The serene beauty and tranquility of the area gives the Hunter Valley the feeling of quiet country charm, making it the perfect getaway.

More details will be announced shortly, but please mark the dates in your diary 14-16 June 2017.

SAVE THE DATE 14-16 June 2017

SCA National ConveNTion 2016 Great Southern Strata Land SCA members celebrated our great southern strata land at the SCA National Convention held in Alice Springs, NT in May. We welcomed you at the picturesque Alice Springs Historical Reserve Telegraph Station during our welcome cocktail party. The beautiful location set the scene for the inspirational two days ahead.

Business Futurist, Morris Miselowski led a thought-provoking keynote session that explored the idea that we’re all just one innovation or technology away from becoming irrelvant or even worse, extinct.

He encouraged us to think towards the future and embrace the technological advances in the strata industry.

Founding Director of RedBalloon and ‘shark’ on Channel Ten’s ‘The Shark Tank’, Naomi Simson shared some entrepreneural pears of wisdom during her keynote session. Naomi helped us ignite our passion for strata.

Another stand-out session was Michael Coyne’s ‘Capturing the Moment: Motivation, Persistence and Achievement’. As an international photographer for over 30 years, Michael covered wars, revolutions, famine and natural disasters. He told a remarkable story with his awe-inspiring and thought-provoking photographs.

SCA NATIONAL CONVENTION 2016: ALICE SPRINGS

We were priviledged to have Tom Skiba from Community Associations Institute in the USA join us, as our international guest speaker. Tom asked us what we really know about challenges and opportunities that await our association in the next 20 years. He discussed the findings from Community Next, CAI’s initiave as an in-depth case study.

SCA NATIONAL CONVE NT ION ‘16

Great Southern STRATA LAND Alice Springs, NT 25-27 May

Strata Community Australia’s CEO, Kim Henshaw gave an important update on SCA’s new educational program. The Certificate IV in Strata Community Management will be open for enrolments as of October.

Bobby Lehane from CHU provided us with a simple outline of steps we can take to develop a digital strategy, during his session ‘FutureProof Your Business’.

Our strata breakout sessions were held by Colin Grace from Grace Lawyers, Tim Mackenzie from Macquarie Bank, Daniel Borin from StrataMax, Timothy Strachan from TPG Telecom and Tim Petersen from Higgins Coatings. The interactive strata sessions were a success and we thank our strata experts for sharing their knowledge.

One of the social highlights on the strata calendar is the convention’s gala dinner. Held at Ooraminna Homestead, the boots & black tie gala dinner was a magical night under the stars. We enjoyed performances

by Paul Christie’s Rock House and Simon Melli.

We watched the sun go down at Simpsons Gap, a majestic location for the closing cocktail party. At this beautiful spot we said goodbye to our friends in strata. We hope to see you next year.

SCA NATIONAL CONVENTION 2016: ALICE SPRINGS

F E AT U R E

How does a strata-manager fit in the property industry?

By Tim Benson

Photo: Tim Benson

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M

any new developments are currently sold off the plan.

What that means is that a developer purchases land and, with the help of architects, designs a building that meets planning guidelines and restrictions. A strata management company is then often engaged at that early stage, to assist the developer in deciding how common property amenities can be built and managed.

Strata Communities Australia National President, Erik Adriaanse says a strata management company plays a major role in providing estimates of the costs in running an owners’ corporation.

“These estimates are based on quotes received from the suppliers of goods and services, including energy providers, cleaners, facilities managers, gardeners, pool maintenance and lift companies,” Erik says.

“SCA is the professional body looking after owners, managers and suppliers in the strata sector.

We encourage our members to adhere to certain standards to ensure owners are not disadvantaged through underquoting.”

“This can occasionally be a bit tricky because there is a possibility that levies arising from the cost estimates may be more than the developer or project marketer has anticipated”.

“A developer may also seek alternative quotes using a tender process. This may be more palatable for the ultimate buyers than those provided by a strata management company, bringing the developer’s costs down and making the property more attractive to potential buyers”.

“However it is important that these estimates are prepared for the developer and the eventual buyers in a commercial and legally defensible manner.”

According to Erik, this means that, as well as being arguable, estimates need to be defensible in a potential legal dispute should a buyer not wish to proceed with the full settlement of the property.

“To complicate matters further, there

F E AT U R E

“Prudent strata managers will update estimates and supply them to developers up until completion, to ensure the ultimate owners are aware of the costs of being part of an owners’ corporation.” is often a need to make a preliminary estimate of the unit entitlement before an accurate assessment can be made by a quantity surveyor. This is done using the value of the units across the value of the development,” Erik said.

“Provided the plans are given Development Approval, the developer is then able to offer the units for sale. Units are often sold with a low deposit and full payment on settlement, enabling the buyer time to gather sufficient funds”.

“A recent legal opinion by Stephanie lynch from Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers outlines significant risks to developers were identified if the budgets included in Contracts are not ‘based on reasonable grounds’ . These were: 1. The developer’s financier refusing to finance the development (given the risk of cancellation of the contract by the buyer; 2. Buyer actually pursuing claims for damages or cancelling their contracts prior to settlement; and/or 3. The Executive Committee increasing the budget either at or shortly after the first annual general meeting causing reputational risk and associated aggravation towards the developer on other matters including rectification of defects,” Erik said.

“As the National President of Strata Community Australia, I want to highlight the importance of developers avoiding strata managers who underquote, because it will eventually be to the detriment of future owners and their investments,” Erik advised.

“SCA is the professional body looking after owners, managers and suppliers in the strata sector. We encourage our members to adhere to certain standards to ensure owners are not disadvantaged through underquoting.”

Erik says there may be circumstances where market conditions change and prices fluctuate irrationally, or there are extenuating circumstances that lead to cost overruns.

“Legitimate cost fluctuations can occur

Erik Adriaanse (FCPA) (FPS) National President and Director Strata Community Australia Limited when a project takes considerably longer to come to completion and initial estimates become out of date,” Erik explained.

“Prudent strata managers will update estimates and supply them to developers up until completion, to ensure the ultimate owners are aware of the costs of being part of an owners’ corporation.”

This is just one of the many ways Strata Community Australia is working with all parts of the building industry to continuously improve standards in strata management and provide better outcomes for all involved.

Strata Community Australia Limited (SCA) is the peak industry body for Body Corporate and Community Title Management in Australia. Membership includes body corporate managers, support staff, committee members and suppliers of products and services to the industry. SCA proudly fulfils the dual roles of a professional institute and consumer advocate. SCA has in excess of 3,300 members who help oversee, advise or manage a combined property portfolio with an estimated replacement value of over $1.2 trillion.

Strata Community Australia Limited P +6209 1504 M +61 418 641 988 www.stratacommunity.org.au

SEPTEMBER 2016

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It was important to us that we trusted the builder and could rely on their advice that the proposed design was possible to build and would achieve our aspirations. Buildcorp’s approach was the right fit for this project which required smart solutions, careful management and patience when communicating with stakeholders. The final transformation is one that we all happy with; the building has a new lease of life, market perception has increased values and there has been a positive impact on the units’ internal performance. These outcomes make for a fantastic return on investment.

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Not sinking, investing An ad hoc approach exists around Australia to funding required maintenance and capital works in strata title properties, despite opportunities to increase the effectiveness of a forward-thinking approach such as a sinking fund.

A number of strata title reviews are currently underway with state and territory governments often waiting to evaluate each other’s legislative improvements to develop something approaching national best practice.

Ultimately, Australian state and territory authorities see the value in sinking funds as an equitable way for strata owners to contribute overtime to maintenance.

But there is no doubt sinking funds have an image problem.

This is resulting in a serious shortfall of money to ensure mandated works underpinning the value of the property assets can be carried out in a timely manner.

Rapid growth in the number of strata titles around Australia demonstrates why this preventative, long-term approach will be important in protecting the market value of each owner’s property.

According to the New South Wales Government, almost 25 percent of Sydney’s population1, or over two million people, were living or working in strata title buildings in 2015.

With a nationwide push to higher density accommodation, including a Reserve Bank of Australia finding that apartments accounted for one-third of the country’s residential building approvals in 20152, other states are likely to report similar figures.

However, creating engagement with owners covering the gamut of strata titles – residential units, commercial buildings, hotels and car parks – on the benefits of a sinking fund remains elusive.

A sinking fund is established to cover future capital expenses such as repairs, refurbishment or replacement of common property items.

For many owners, the attitude towards supporting a sinking fund has parallels with superannuation – money they would like to put to other purposes now but is earmarked for future benefits.

Indeed, there are diverging views within the industry about the merits of a sinking fund, as opposed to other mechanisms, such as a special levy.

There is little harmonisation of laws governing strata titles across Australia’s states and territories but the requirement that owners should map out maintenance, repairs and refurbishment of the overall asset is a constant.

1 https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/about-us/media-releases/strata-reform-bills-released 2 http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2016/jun/pdf/bu-0616-3.pdf

Industry experts estimate more than 80 percent of sinking funds created for strata title development maintenance throughout Australia are under-capitalised, resulting in a $10 billion shortfall.

Despite the issues behind the lack of education and engagement on the benefits of a sinking fund there are opportunities for strata managers and owner committee members to increase their awareness of how to effectively manage the funds.

Industry bodies, such as Strata Community Australia, run comprehensive strata management courses for new or experienced managers, which are tailored to reflect their property type and the laws governing each state.

Professional body corporate managers also play an important role in setting up and implementing sinking funds for long-term requirements or, when required, special levies and strata loans for urgent maintenance.

Crucially, professional body corporate managers help to establish a much-needed culture within owners committees that prioritises maintenance requirements, both in the short- and long-term.

For an in-depth analysis of the benefits and issues facing sinking funds around Australia contact Programmed (1800 620 911 or marketing@programmed.com.au) for a new report on the topic.

The report identifies a lack of big picture thinking and the need to manage potential conflicts among stakeholders, while explaining how a sinking fund or other levies can be utilised to fund maintenance.

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Feature

Access control opportunities to improve energy efficiency David Ward from ASSA ABLOY explains why access control is a vital area in which significant savings can be gained.

Assessment of access control systems has become increasingly crucial as new solutions being created for easy access and egress often provide a more energy efficient outcome than what is currently in place.

Schemes, such as the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), have put greater emphasis on how much energy is being used in commercial buildings in Australia.

NABERS is a national rating system that measures the environmental performance of Australian buildings, tenancies and homes. It measures the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality of a building and its impact on the environment.

For more than 10 years, NABERS has helped FM professionals across Australia to improve their sustainability performance, delivering financial benefits and a stronger environmental reputation for their company.

Schemes like NABERS have led FM providers to assess the areas in which their building can be more energy efficient, for example in lifts, heating, ventilation and lighting.

Access control is another area that has been identified as having the potential to deliver significant energy and cost reductions, making assessment of what is already in place crucial as alternatives become available.

Access control in commercial buildings Overhead door magnets have traditionally been the go-to devices for access control points in commercial buildings, as their upfront cost is lower than alternative products.

In instances where a carbon footprint and energy costs need to be reduced, however, electric locks are rapidly becoming the preferred solution for many companies.

By selecting electric locks, FM providers can ensure they are choosing a system that not only allows for swift and easy access, as well as egress alongside an enhanced security provision, but also reduces the energy consumption and carbon footprint of a building at the same time.

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Feature

Door magnets are less energy efficient because they require a continuous electric current to lock the door. This current then breaks with the use of a request-to-exit button, cutting the lock’s magnetic hold and allowing the door to be opened.

In contrast, a motorised or solenoid electric lock only uses power to open or activate the door, so energy can be saved because doors are closed for the majority of the time.

As a general rule, 13 door magnets use the equivalent energy of a kettle being run for an entire day, while electric locks use 10 to 20 percent of the energy in the same period. So although door magnets may have a smaller initial cost, in the long run electric locks could be substantially more energy efficient, reducing costs.

Access control safety Aside from the environmental energy efficiency benefits, some electric locks also offer a superior level of safety, which can be essential in certain applications.

In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, there needs to be a reliable exit route that allows a quick and easy escape. There can be risks associated with installing a magnet on a door that is used as an escape route.

desirable. It is important, however, to not solely rely on symbols to offer a guarantee of a quality product.

For access control in commercial buildings, consideration should also be given to the level of security a product can provide, and the effectiveness of the solution when it comes to safety.

Identifying the right solution Although there will always be the temptation to cut costs in order to have the cheapest solution possible, the growing importance of energy efficiency and standards in helping buildings make the grade has to be front of mind. It is also about ensuring that public and staff safety is the number one priority.

With energy efficiency schemes high on the agenda, it is likely that access control will be one of the areas under heavy scrutiny.

Therefore, the security industry needs to provide more energy efficient solutions in the form of electric locks, and this will be greatly beneficial for all parties involved, and help to create a greener environment across Australia.

From the points raised, it is clear to see that electric locks offer the most energy efficient solution, which is also secure. ASSA ABLOY recommends FM providers select electric locking systems every time for effective and energy efficient access control.

Door magnets require special arrangements to be made to guarantee they are fail-safe at all times in the event of an emergency. It may be that an alarm or ‘request to exit’ mechanism is required for electromagnetic locks to allow someone to exit, as there is no mechanical override.

With energy efficiency in mind, ASSA ABLOY has developed a range of low-energy electric locks, which have been designed to use significantly less energy than door magnets.

This is a great concern as it could hinder the safety of the occupants by not allowing for swift and easy access and egress.

These devices boast an annual energy consumption of 0.6 kilowatts per hour in comparison to a door magnet that uses 32.5 kilowatts per hour per year. The locking solutions are compatible with traditional devices.

“By selecting electric locks, FM providers can ensure they are choosing a system that not only allows for swift and easy access, as well as egress alongside an enhanced security provision, but also reduces the energy consumption and carbon footprint of a building at the same time.”

In contrast, motorised and solenoid electric solutions satisfy the needs of both fire doors, and emergency and panic situations where a mechanical means of escape is required.

Motorised electric locks are also ideal for more secure access control, as they do not feature a handle on the external side – which can be the most vulnerable part of a door – making them a hands-free solution.

This can improve the flow of people through the door, which is especially useful when a swift and smooth exit is needed for a large number of people.Therefore, electric locks are the superior device, not only in terms of energy efficiency but also public and staff safety.

Quality is another major concern when it comes to effective access control, so having a symbol of quality assurance is

They boast low current consumption due to energy only being used when the lock status is changed. In addition to the energy and cost reductions, the low-energy electric locks have a wide voltage range and a number of usage possibilities.

The ASSA ABLOY range of electric locks includes motor and solenoid locks, which are the most effective forms of electric locking. Solenoid locks work by pushing to actuate the locking mechanism.

Motorised locks work by winding to actuate the locking mechanism, which provides the most energy efficient form of electric lock and makes them suitable for the internal doors of public buildings, offices, schools or hospitals, and the external doors of apartments and detached houses.

Opinions and findings are based on ASSA ABLOY’s technology and may not be representative and/or indicative of the performance of other wireless access control offerings.

This article contains insights from the ASSA ABLOY white paper titled: ‘ Effective and Energy Efficient Access Control in Commercial Buildings’. *This article appeared in the Apr/May issue of FM Magazine and on the FM Magazine website.

This article was kindly supplied by Facility Management

SEPTEMBER 2016

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Locality Planning Energy is pleased to announce that UDIA has voted in favour of LPE to become their Institute Partner for Utilities.

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