This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE peak body Strata Community Association (VIC) is calling on the state government to establish better policy intervention in the Victorian owners corporation sector, following disputes at Aurora Melbourne Central.
The high-rise residential tower in the Melbourne CBD has recently seen numerous issues and disputes within the owners corporation, after a change of chairperson, according to reporting from the Herald Sun.
According to Strata Community Australia, the case at Aurora has brought multiple issues to light in the sector including a lack of effective enforcement of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 and associated regulations.
“With strata living only set to grow in popularity over coming decades from 1 in 4 Victorians now to 1 in 2 by 2050, measures can and must be taken now to protect consumer confidence in apartment living, give owners and managers the tools they need to work together in harmony and ensure greater respect and understanding in strata communities,” said Julie McLean, president at Strata Community Association (VIC).
The peak body also argues there is a lack of minimum standards of education or effective regulation for owners corporation managers in the state and there being no way for strata owners to seek advice and information about their owners corporation.
As well as a backlog of hearings at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), preventing timely and effective dispute resolution, with pending owners corporation cases up 4% to 1,153 in 2021-22.
“It is a combination of good owners corporation management, legal processes being followed by everyone, and proper attention from government that will go a long way to stopping a situation such as the Aurora dispute, from happening again,” added McLean.
Strata Community Australia advocated for changes to the state of sector ahead of the 2022 state election, which they claim were ignored by Labor, while being strongly supported by the Coalition and the Greens.
The peak body’s policy proposals include:
- A dedicated and costed Strata Helpline to provide general advice and information to lot owners and residents, to address administrative burden placed on dispute resolution services such as VCAT, while also reducing out-of-pocket costs for legal advice on owners corporation matters for lot owners.
- Implementation of a Strata Commissioner or Ombudsman model of regulation for Victoria’s owners corporation sector.
- A minimum education standard for Victorian owners corporation managers be implemented within the next term of government, to create a quality benchmark for services provided by the whole of industry to strata owners.
“We call on Minister Pearson, Premier Andrews, and the Victorian Government to be less strata-blind, and to address these serious problems via policy reform before they get even worse in the future,” concluded McLean.
