Australasian Residential Tenancies Conference - Conference Program

Please note: PDF files from the 2009 conference can be downloaded and/or viewed only. Printing has been restricted to protect the intellectual property of the presenters work. If you wish to obtain a copy of the presentation for printing purposes, please contact the presenter directly to obtain.

Day 2: Thursday, 10 September 2009

8:45	Introduction and welcome – Ella James - MC
8:55	Traditional Land owners welcome
9:00 - 9:15	Official opening Hon. Karen Struthers MP Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women, Queensland
9:20 - 10:10	Keynote address 1: Rod Fehring, Chief Executive, Lend Lease Primelife, Chairman - AHURI
10:15 – 10:45

Theme:	Tenancy Information and Community Education	Tenancy Tribunals and Dispute Resolution	Tenancy Policy and Legislation
10:45 – 11:15	Connecting with target audiences Jessie Henderson Department of Building and Housing New Zealand	Encouraging tenants to attend hearings - a pilot project Bernadette Steele Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal	African refugees in the Southeast Queensland Housing Market Wendy Harte Queensland University of Technology
11:20 – 11:50	Community education - by communities for communities Julia Maloney Residential Tenancies Authority Queensland	A day at the bench: accessibility and accountability of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Damian Stock Tenants Union of Victoria	Protecting renters from climate change: overcoming the split incentives Toby Archer Tenants Union of Victoria
11:55 – 12:25	Law reform consultation – a new approach Mary Jane Francis & Gael Kennedy Office of Fair Trading NSW	Taking dispute resolution and tenancy education to the heart of the community Brendan Fitzgerald Department of Building and Housing New Zealand	Bridging the gaps: towards national uniform tenancy database legislation David Breen Residential Tenancies Authority & Office of Fair Trading Queensland
12:30 - 13:30	State of Play: Queensland, New Zealand, South Australia & Northern Territory
13:30 - 14:30	Keynote Address: Changing times emerging trends Understanding 21st Century Australia Mark McCrindle Futurist, Demographer & Social Commentator McCrindle Research
14:30 – 15:00
Theme:	Tenancy Information and Community Education	Tenancy Tribunals and Dispute Resolution	Tenancy Policy and Legislation
15:05 – 15:35	Natural Disasters and Tenancies Rose Brown Tenants' Union of Queensland	What does the Housing Ombudsman bring to the dispute resolution table; is he worth his salt? Dr Mike Biles Housing Ombudsman Service United Kingdom	Has the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities made a difference for tenants in Victoria? Lee Hansen Tenants Union of Victoria
15:40 – 16:10	Indigenous Community Housing in WA Tammy Solonec Aboriginal Legal service Western Australia	Victoria's Charter Of Human Rights: Has It Made A Difference? Jacky Kefford & Stella Moraitis The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal	Long Day's Journey Into Right Janice McDonald Tenant Advice & Advocacy Service Inner North Queensland
16:15 – 16:45	The Role of the Tribunal in Tenancy Information and Community education Heather Lambrick Tony Jacobs The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal	Addressing Power Imbalances in Residential Tenancy Disputes Lalita D'Netto Residential Tenancies Authority Queensland	Infringement Notices as a Compliance Tool Jane Sprott Residential Tenancies Authority Queensland
18:15 – 18:30	Coaches Depart Sheraton Mirage for Sea World
19:00 – 22:00	Conference Dinner at Sea World
22:00	Sea World Coaches depart for return to Sheraton Mirage

Day 3: Friday, 11 September 2009

8.45 – 9.45	Keynote Address 3 Clare Martin, Chief Executive Officer, The Australian Council of Social Service
9:45 – 10:15

Theme:	Tenancy Information and Community Education	Tenancy Tribunals and Dispute Resolution	Tenancy Policy and Legislation
10:15 – 10:45	Hoarding: don't hide it away Michele Slatter Flinders University South Australia	Implementing Telephone Conferencing Melanie Banner and Kristin Kersenbrock Residential Tenancies Authority Queensland	RentConnect - forging pathways to private tenancies Robin Zakharov Department of Communities (Housing Services), Queensland
10:50 – 11:20	Monday’s with Caravans Cim Gilles Sunshine Coast Housing Company Queensland	NSW Housing Appeals Process and the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Stacey Broadbent Greater Sydney Aboriginal Tenancy Service, NSW	Student housing as an emerging sector Anita Narayan The University of Melbourne
11:25 – 11:55	Do Agents Do it Better? Tenants’ experiences of ‘professional’ management and self managing lessors Penny Carr Tenants' Union of QLD and Grant Arbuthnot Principal Legal Officer Tenants' Union of NSW	How the tribunal saved my life? Peter Mott New Farm Neighourhood Centre Queensland	The National Rental Affordability Scheme – one year on (in Queensland) Robin Zakharov Department of Communities (Housing Services) Queensland Jason Cubit Gold Coast Housing Company
12.00 – 13.00	State of Play: New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory & Victoria
Theme:	Community Education Workshop	Dispute Resolution Workshop	Property Managers Workshop
13.00 – 14.15	An introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture Tammy Solonec Aboriginal Legal Service Western Australia	Dealing with Toxic Negotiators – The Outrageous, The Delusional, the Obsessed and The Liars Pat Cavanagh Co-Director - Dispute Resolution Centre Bond University Queensland	Common Mistakes Property Managers make and the Top Ten tips for Successful Property Management Stacey Holt Best Practice and Policy Manager The Real Estate Institute of Queensland And Angie Johnson Senior Asset Manager REIQ Residential Property Manager of the Year 2009 My Mooloolaba Queensland
14:15 – 14:30	Overview of upcoming events and introduction to next conference
14:40 – 15:00
15:15 – 16:00	Under the spotlight: how Queensland’s new tenancy laws are measuring up The RTA will report on the roll out of the new Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 which commenced on 1 July 2009. Content will be drawn from the 40 information sessions the RTA recently conducted in 15 locations around Queensland and will include: - a short overview of the key changes, - key themes arising from the sector’s response, - creative solutions by the sector, - emerging policy issues, and - where to from here. The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 was the result of a four year review and consultation process and covers general tenancies, moveable dwelling tenancies and room only accommodation in Queensland.