It was reported on the ABC yesterday by Murray Cornish that a Townsville real estate agent in north Queensland is facing legal action for exposing a staff member to mould.

The article said “Lawyers launched a workplace health and safety action against the real estate agent after a complaint from an employee that long-term exposure to toxic mould has left her with ongoing health problems.

It is believed to be the first legal action of its kind in Australia.

Lawyer Rebecca Jancauskas says if successful, it could have wide ranging implications.

“If you are a landlord letting out premises, you know you have someone living in those substandard conditions then absolutely … you could be brought to account,” she said.

She says the action highlights the dangers of failing to adequately clean commercial premises.

“The injury and ill health caused is very substantial in that it impacts on all aspects of one’s life including one’s employment capacity - the compensation could be substantial,” she said.
The Sunday Mail also reported the action and the Sun Herald include additional information.
This action is a wake up call to all employers that staff complaints are not to be trivialised and should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.  Such action may extend to the employer, the tenant, the property manager and the property owner.

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It would appear that the trials and tribulations of Suncorp who own LJ Hooker may have filtered down into the real estate group.

This week saw the rumoured departure of CEO Warren McCarthy and GM Angelo Nicholson although the media LJH media march 2009.pdf  statement put out on wednesday states they have both taken leave and that Alan Lambert is assuming their responsibilities.

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Raine & Horne held a summit of its top residential offices and Franchisees at Tranquil Park Maleny in Queensland on Sunday and Monday the 26th and 27th of October. Sixteen Franchisees and five staff were in attendance and the debate and participation was lively and constructive.  The aim of the Summit was to discuss the current real estate property market in Queensland and to review the most important issues that face a real estate agent and Raine & Horne as a group.

Paul Newall, Raine & Horne Financial Services, gave a very good and uptodate presentation on the state of the economy and gave a very positive forecast for the medium term. Paul relied on a range of statistics and quoted the ANZ Bank Chief Economist heavily.  Paul also reviewed the current state of the banks and their lending policies at present including the failure rate of buyer loans where the real estate office do not have some control.  Paul cited six loans that have been retrieved in the last month and the over $300,000 that has been paid back to paricipating offices.

Kevin Turner helped to set the scene with a presentation on the various stages of a business and some strategies to wedge complacency and decline into that all important dynamic growth phase.

Day one saw the group identify all the challenges and areas that could be addressed.  The process was collective and ended up with 67 challenges on the list.  Over night that list was distilled into 50 issues.  Day two, Monday, saw the list readdressed and validated.  Further amalgamation or groupings occured and a final priortised list of around 20 challenges were addressed.  Of the list 5 top groups were identified and basic strategy developed.  The five issues were around Profile and marketing, Organisational and office culture, Website development, Management training and group buying power.

The general consensus was that the market will improve over the next twelve months and this is the time to gain market share.  The methods to do this should be in a special management training program as well the Executive Series at Marcoola on the 16th - 18th of November 2008 additionally greater emphasis on the value of the brand and compliance with the values of the group. Communication within the group was discussed as was the need to push the referral base potential of this market.  Robert Bevan will be the keynote speaker at Marcoola and will be addressing many benchmarks that relate to the current market and how to survive the worst.  It was agreed that even though there was light at the end of the tunnel, there is still a lot of tunnel to go. 

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At the Raine & Horne Queensland Chairmans Awards function at the Gold Coast International Hotel last night, Tony Atkinson announced his retirement from the role as Chairman of Raine & Horne Queensland.  In attendance with Tony was wife Cynthia and 2oo guests. 

Long time franchisee, Dennis Wey, made the announcement and spoke about Tonys commitment to people and the industry. Tony announced that Raine & Horne Holdings had purchased the master franchise and that Angus Raine, great grandson of the founder of Raine & Horne, will take over the Chairmans role.  Queensland CEO Stephen Sharry will continue in his role.

Tony Atkinson has had over 41 years in the industry, 26 years with Raine & Horne, the brand he introduced and established into Queensland.  The opening function speech 26 years ago was given by Frank Moore, now Sir Frank Moore.  Sir Frank was in Hong Kong however recorded a video message for the group.  He outlined how Tonys vision for the Expo site helped get the project across the line and subsequently Expo was held establishing Brisbane on the world stage.

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