1. Network & Industry

In This Edition… 

💫 Rebrand countdown begins as key dates locked in

🇻🇳 Vietnam Convention set to unveil First National’s future

🤔 AI tells New Zealand tenant she should ask for $40,000 - tribunal hands her $80

🏠 New tax twist could reshape Australia’s housing supply

🤖 AI threat escalation raises serious business risk questions

🏅 Futures Club signals a decisive shift in leadership development

Serving Aotearoa/New Zealand

👓 20 second read

Network News now covers both Australia and New Zealand. Where updates are country-specific, headlines will be flagged accordingly – AU or NZ. To our Kiwi whānau reading the second trans-Tasman edition - welcome back.

AU: First National’s New Era Takes Shape

👓 1 minute read

First National Real Estate's much anticipated rebrand is moving steadily toward one of the network's most significant milestones in years. Here is what you need to know.

The big reveal

The new brand will be unveiled at Convention in Da Nang, Vietnam on the morning of 19 May 2026. For those not attending in person, a recording of the presentation will be made available via Zoom during the day. 

How the rollout works

Following Convention, the rollout will begin in stages across the network, with completion targeted by the end of 2027. This approach is designed to give members time to plan, budget and transition in a way that works for their office, while still delivering a consistent national outcome.

Different paths are available: a staged approach that tackles core digital assets first, then physical; or an integrated approach running both streams simultaneously, typically completing within six to eight weeks. 

What changes, and when

Members do not need to act all at once. The 12-to-18-month window is specifically designed to allow staged budgeting and planning. Digital assets including websites, email signatures, social media profiles and portal listings will be covered by step-by-step guides. Physical assets, from building signage and reception areas to vehicle wraps, can be sequenced based on each office's priorities.

Your starting point

Brand Hub, a new section on FN Central, will become the central location for rollout information, tools and resources, accessible via your existing credentials.  

In the meantime, please save the date for the reveal at Convention and keep an eye out for the next communication. 

AU: National Convention Vietnam, Keynote Revealed

👓 1.5 minute read

Time is running out to register for an unforgettable experience at our upcoming Convention in Da Nang, Vietnam. It’s not only one of Southeast Asia’s most stunning coastal cities, where we’re staying at the luxurious 5-star Sheraton Grand Resort, but your keynote speaker is Jana Pitman - world champion athlete - who will talk about mindset, managing setbacks, resilience, and managing change.

Don’t miss out on:

• The reveal of First National’s rebrand and next steps

• Workshops and breakout sessions

• Networking with colleagues and exploring the beauty of Vietnam

AU: Futures Club Builds the Next Generation

👓 2 minute read

The response to our recently launched Futures Club has been strong, and for good reason. This initiative marks a clear step forward in how First National develops future leaders across the network.

Building on the foundations of FN Squad, Futures Club is a structured two-year leadership and business development programme designed to develop capable, commercially aware people who can help drive the future of member businesses. Nearly twenty offices are already indicating firm interest!

For Principals, the value is practical from day one. The programme supports succession planning, reduces dependence on external recruitment and strengthens leadership depth within the office. Participants apply what they learn in real business settings, helping improve judgement, team performance and operational capability. With a nationally recognised Diploma of Property (Agency Management) embedded into the programme, Futures Club also strengthens compliance awareness, financial understanding and business discipline.

For team members, the appeal is equally clear. Futures Club offers a credible pathway for those ready to grow. It goes beyond theory and places participants in genuine leadership situations, supported by mentoring, state-based sessions and national collaboration. They build practical skills, broaden their industry perspective and gain the confidence to take on greater responsibility, whether that leads to management or future ownership.

This is a serious investment in people and in the long-term strength of the network. It helps offices retain talented team members, create clearer career pathways and prepare the next generation of business leaders.

Every office should now be asking a simple question: who in your team is ready to step forward, and who could help lead the next chapter of your business? 

Download the information pack the Learning & Development chapter for all the exciting details. 

AU: The Changing Face of First National

👓 30 second read

First National welcomes our newest members to Australia's leading network of independent real estate agencies.

Welcome

• FN Aziz Hoque Property (Glenfield, NSW)
• FN Co Bridge Group (Carlingford, NSW)
• FN Empire (St Albans, VIC)
• FN 101 Realty (Hoppers Crossing / Tarneit, VIC)
• FN Bunbury (Bunbury, WA)
• FN Prom Country (Meeniyan, VIC)

Farewell

• FN Robina (QLD)
• FN Innisfail (QLD)
• FN Janssen & Co (Camberwell, VIC)

Thank you to the above members for your membership. We've enjoyed helping you along your journey.

AU: A Full Circle Moment for First National Cleveland

👓 1.5 minute read

Ryan McCann and Lisa Turner have acquired First National Wynnum Manly, merging it into First National Cleveland in what is the office's fourth rent roll acquisition in eleven years. The merged portfolio now sits at just under 1,000 managed properties, extending Cleveland's footprint across both the Brisbane City and Redland City markets.

The story behind the deal is as compelling as the numbers. Ken Isaacs - who worked alongside Ryan's father in Capalaba in the 1980s - was the man who first put a teenage Ryan in his car and showed him what a day in real estate actually looked like. That mentorship set Ryan on the path that led, nearly three decades later, to acquiring the Isaacs family business. When Ryan later joined First National, it was his enthusiasm for the network that influenced Ken and Kelly Isaacs to join as well.

Importantly, the acquisition keeps everyone firmly within the First National family. Kelly Isaacs, Principal of First National Wynnum Manly, ten-year network member, and current Queensland Regional Council Chair, joins First National Cleveland as a Business Development Manager. Her senior property manager Janelle McGregor joins the Cleveland team alongside her, ensuring a smooth transition for clients.

Lisa Turner, who led the due diligence, put it plainly: 'What you find in a portfolio reflects how a business has been run. This one was in exceptional order.'

Ryan has consistently pointed to First National's not-for-profit cooperative model as central to the office's growth strategy -- savings on fees reinvested directly into acquisitions, year after year. Four rent rolls in eleven years is the result.

What does it take to grow a business that significantly, that consistently? Apparently, it starts with getting into the right person's car at nineteen.

AU: Terry Godde Makes the Move North to Mission Beach

👓 30 second read

FN Townsville - Principal, QLD Regional Councillor and 5-year Townsville member, Terry Godde,  recently became the first member to operate an agency under First National's new 'White Label - Powered by First National' model. 

He has sold his FN Townsville business and will concentrate on his Mission Beach White Label agency for the immediate future, and we look forward to supporting that venture. 

Congratulations Terry!

AU: 2025 Annual Report & Financials Now Available

👓 30 - 40 minute read

The First National Real Estate 2025 Annual Report has been released to all network principals, along with the requisite Annual General Meeting notification. This year's AGM will be held at National Convention in Da Nang, Vietnam.

A copy of the report is available as a digital Flipbook on FN Central under the Membership menu.

AU: New housing could be spared from CGT change

👓 1.3 minute read

Australia's central bank has used the word nightmare. Not a challenge. Not a headwind. A nightmare. 

RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser's description of stagflation, high inflation and slowing growth arriving simultaneously is the most direct language the Reserve Bank has used about the current economic environment and it deserves to be taken seriously. 

The Middle East oil price shock is delivering an income hit to Australian households that the RBA cannot offset with rate cuts without making inflation worse, and cannot ignore without making growth worse. That is not a problem with a clean policy solution.

Into that environment the Capital Gains Tax and negative gearing story is moving in an interesting direction. The government appears to be considering preferential treatment for new housing under a scaled-back capital gains tax discount, potentially exempting new builds or offering them a higher discount than existing stock. 

If that is the shape of the budget measure it is a more intelligent policy design than the blanket cut that has been speculated about, because it targets the supply side rather than simply repricing the existing stock. 

Whether it will actually move the development needle in a market where construction costs are rising at 18% is the question the policy does not yet answer.

AU: AUSTRAC Enrolment Now Open

👓 15 second read

All real estate agencies providing a ‘designated service’ under AML/CTF legislation, i.e. buying or selling real estate or business may now enrol with AUSTRAC. 

All First National FirstAML subscribers have been emailed video guidelines on registering with AUSTRAC.

You must apply to enrol by 29 July 2026 as a provider of designated services from 1 July 2026.

• Find out more about preparing to enrol here…
• Sign up to enrol your business with AUSTRAC here…