Richie Goonan, Infoxchange
This paper will explore the history of Infoxchange Australia, within the housing sector and the benefits ICT brings to the community-housing sector.
In 1989, the Housing Bulletin Board Network (HBBN) was established under the auspices of the Inner Urban Regional Housing Council to explore the feasibility of the establishment of a computer based housing information network. The following year, funding was secured for the completion of the first on-line database and program for updating accommodation vacancies remotely. By 1995, the on-line database had grown to contain over 12,000 services and just over 700 people had registered as users of the HBBN. A decision to move onto the Internet was made to respond to the growing calls for access by rural Victoria, and in the following year the HBBN became The info Xchange.
Infoxchange Australia has been working closely with the Housing sector since the organisation was created in 1988. Working in partnership with the sector we have developed and deployed numerous intranets and innovative information sharing solutions, which greatly enhance the effectiveness of service delivery and network development. Intranets built for the housing sector:
Infoxchange Australia believes Information Technology plays a critical role as a tool to assist community building and participation in both housing estates and the housing sector. We also believe that ICT can be used to create communication lines between Government departments and the various Non-government organisations in the housing sector, such as Infoxchange Australia's use of on-line discussion forums to allow people to build networks, subscribe to topics of interest and participate freely in the exchange of information with others.
http://www.infoxchange.net.au