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The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) is recruiting a Queensland representative for its board, following the Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s (REIQ) statement that it intended to remain independent.
REIA president Hayden Groves said the institute had created the new position in a bid to restore national representation and regional diversity to the REIA board. The Queensland representative will be given the title of additional director.
Currently, the REIA board is made up of directors of the state and territory institutes of Tasmania, Victoria, Northern Territory, Western Australia, the ACT, and NSW.
Ray Ellis, chief executive of the First National network, also serves as additional director. Queensland is not currently represented on the board due to its decision not to be a member of the organisation. There is currently no board representative listed for South Australia, though the REIA still counts the state institute as a member.
Mr Groves said that in recruiting a Queensland practitioner to sit on its board, the body would seek to find a candidate with senior experience who had worked across small and middle-sized agencies in a leadership position either in sales or property management.
“Key attributes include significant expertise in Queensland real estate markets and demonstrated comprehensive networks within the real estate sector in Queensland,” he said.
“The successful applicant will also share [a] big picture and ‘beyond the borders’ commitment to advancing the ethics, transparency and integrity of the entire national Australian real estate industry,” Mr Groves added.
The move comes shortly after tensions bubbled to the surface between the REIA and REIQ earlier in the month. The state body, which decided not to continue with its membership in the national organisation in 2015, recently restated its intention to remain independent, accusing the REIA of trying to destabilise its membership in retaliation for not being a part of the network.
At the time, the REIA said it would be focusing on ensuring that its representation encompassed the entire country, despite Queensland’s decision. This appears to be the body’s method for achieving that aim.
In his statement announcing the Queensland-focused position, Mr Groves said the REIA remained committed to being a national body that works for all real estate practitioners.
“The REIA board knows that the people of Australian real estate must come first,” he said.
“It is our view [that] Queensland-based agents are equally deserving of expressing their opinions of REIA’s national policy and strategic objectives.”
The successful applicant will serve an initial two-year term as Queensland additional director, beginning this year and extending through 2024.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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