Business View Oceania - April 2024

has offices in each capital city, and a number of regional cities. The Association and its members are committed to promoting the highest standards of customer service, workmanship and business conduct. Business View Oceania spoke with Kristin Brookfield, Chief Executive – Industry Policy for HIA, about the association’s evolution, its current focuses, and the forecast for the future of the residential building industry in Australia. The following is an edited transcript of the conversation. BVO: Given that you service all of Australia, how does HIA address the regional differences? Brookfield: “That story begins with the fact that we have an office on the ground in every capital city with staff on hand to assist our members. We also have regional offices. For instance, the New South Wales region is serviced out of our Sydney office, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and Canberra. This helps us have people within a reasonable distance of our members to provide them with services. And people who know the local lingo. An example of why that’s important would be the planning system. Our home building members are always dealing with local councils and trying to get approvals. Those rules are very state based and even local council based. So we need staff who are experts in their state and that’s who we have in the capital offices. The national building code is primarily the same across the country but we also have specialist building and technical staff in most of our offices to provide that kind of local flavour, as well as the national expertise. “In the area of networking,we run a variety of member events; ranging from get-togethers for meeting industry peers and learning information through to recognising members’ success with our housing awards program. We also host industry events like economic updates and breakfasts or luncheons with guest speakers across the year. There is always a whole suite of calendar opportunities in the event space.” BVO: What types of services do you provide? Brookfield: “The core of HIA is our Member Servicing. Our membership operates small and 13 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 06, ISSUE 04 HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIAT ION LTD. (HIA)