Pinnacle 2025: Why Being in the Room Matters

Every year, our entire network from Australia and New Zealand is invited to come together for Pinnacle, LJ Hooker’s flagship conference and international awards event.

It’s no small thing to get everyone in the one place and to ask entire teams to step away from their offices, appointments, family life and dedicate themselves to three days of connection, insight and recognition.

But it’s worth stepping away when possible, because of what comes from those three days together more than justifies this sacrifice.

The benefit of alignment is clarity

Pinnacle was an opportunity to present what we’d achieved and what we’re committed to over the next 12 months, reinforcing what sets our network apart. This year’s highlights include LJ Hooker’s brand reset, that refreshed our visual identity and reintroduced The Difference as the core idea that unites our network.

This rebrand was a response to what we were hearing time and again in market research; that real estate brands had become indistinguishable, and no one could clearly say what made one different from the next.

The reset brought forward what has always been true of this network, a confidence in the results we deliver, the way we show up in market, and the experience we create for vendors and buyers.

From the updated tri-colour palette and stronger brand assets to the simplified messaging and refreshed customer touchpoints, the focus was on helping our people stand out.

This work sits within our six-year strategic roadmap taking us to our centenary in 2028. We’ve already successfully completed our first three phases, Underpin, Transform and Enhance, and are now entering our Accelerate phase.

In the past 12 months alone, we’ve delivered:

• 103 insightful training events with 6,222 total participants
• 63 informative webinars with 3,535 people joining in
• 23 collaborative social events celebrated by 2,988 revellers
• 79 new online courses completed by 1,989 learners

It’s been deliberate and methodical, designed for relevance and longevity.

Proof in real business outcomes

What made this year’s Pinnacle so valuable was hearing the impact of our brand reset and how it’s being used in practice, inside offices across Australia and New Zealand.

The roll out of our cutting-edge martech ecosystem Acceler8 has changed how LJ Hooker Kensington | Unley principal Nick Ploubidis and his team operate. Canva templates have elevated their everyday marketing, Properti has made it easy to stay visible online without adding admin, and Realtair has brought new speed and consistency when pitching to clients, all integrated and saving valuable time and money. 

There’s also been real value in our third-party business partnerships for LJ Hooker Southern Gold Coast principal Dan Alexander and his team. From health benefits through Bupa to Anytime Fitness gym memberships and car leasing with Novated Lease Australia, these initiatives help staff optimise their tax and wellbeing. BMT Tax Depreciation has supported both their business and clients with smarter financial insights. Together, these benefits strengthen their point of difference and the value they can pass on to clients and employees.

New industry compliance regulations front and centre

One of the most talked-about topics at Pinnacle 2025 was compliance. Specifically, the incoming Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation and the operational change it will demand across the industry by mid-2026.

LJ Hooker is the first major network to partner with a preferred AML provider. Leveraging its scale to benefit its franchisees, LJ Hooker negotiated a deal with First AML, simplifying the process and delivering a significant cost saving. We’re doing the heavy lifting centrally, so business owners aren’t left trying to interpret complex regulations on their own.

Every agency will need to register as a reporting entity. They’ll be required to appoint a compliance officer, create a formal AML/CTF program, and ensure every team member understands their obligations when it comes to customer due diligence. This isn’t a small adjustment, it’s a whole new compliance regime that will affect how we onboard clients, manage data, and record transactions.

At Pinnacle, the engagement around AML was high. Business owners wanted to understand what it means, what needs to be actioned between now and mid 2026, and what tools will be in place to support the rollout. These conversations were informative, strategic, and focused on timelines and risk minimisation, so offices feel empowered and fully informed.

Recognition reflects what we value

Pinnacle’s defining moment is always our international awards evening, recognising those across LJ Hooker who go above and beyond, contribute meaningfully to their communities, and demonstrate excellence.

We always kick off with an exclusive Captains Club members event for those within the network whose results and commitment place them among the top performers across Australia and New Zealand. This year we celebrated several new Captains along with our Life Members, who have given decades of service to LJ Hooker and continue to provide valued mentorship throughout the network.

Our rarest distinction was the induction of a new member into the LJ Hooker Hall of Fame. Representative of something far greater than performance, it’s an award only presented when someone significant marks a lifetime of influence. On this occasion we recognised David Loy, the Managing Director of LJ Hooker Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs, who has spent more than 40 years shaping real estate across the Northern Territory and more than 25 strengthening our network. His calm and generous dedication is a testament to the impact that steady, values-driven leadership can have over time.

Significant growth in real estate happens when you have the right people, systems and culture behind you. It’s what allows you to focus on building a profitable business, whether that means creating something new for yourself, expanding or planning for succession.

That’s our focus across the LJ Hooker network. If that’s the kind of partnership you’re looking for, there’s no better time to have a confidential conversation at ljhooker.com/join-us.