Owner Education and Events
in Queensland
Roles and Responsibilities
Many people have found themselves confused about what duties fall under the responsibility of the body corporate versus the body corporate manager.
Misconceptions about the duties of a Body Corporate Manager
-
The body corporate manager is not the body corporate.
-
Body corporate levies are paid into the body corporate bank account and do not go to the body corporate manager.
-
The body corporate manager has no authority to carry out the functions of the body corporate (unless there is no committee and the body corporate manager has been engaged to carry out all the functions of the body corporate under Chapter 5 of the Act).
-
The body corporate manager cannot approve owners’ requests as these must be approved by the committee or by owners at a general meeting (depending on the nature of the request).
-
Compliance items such as work health and safety, fire safety, insurance valuation, sinking fund forecasts and asbestos reports are imposed by various legislative requirements, they are not strata manager requirements.
Disclaimer: This information is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. These bullet points do not intend to over all responsibilities of a body corporate manager or a body corporate. The contractual arrangement between a body corporate manager and a body corporate would normally disclose the duties of a body corporate manager. This may or may not include all of the following duties detailed here. The contract should be the primary reference to determine the responsibilities of a body corporate manager engaged by a body corporate.
Licensing and Accreditation
Advocating for some form of licensing or registration in Queensland has been a major focus for SCA (Qld) since inception. However, in December 2013, the Council of Australian Governments decided to no longer pursue a licensing regime for the strata sector.
Consequently, in the absence of any government initiative, SCA (Qld) implemented a self-regulatory accreditation pathway to provide a profile for body corporate managers and standards on which consumers may rely. This pathway offers an accredited and a certified strata community manager level, which reflect the degree of professional development managers have undertaken.