Strata Management

• electing your strata committee
• reviewing and approving the annual financial statement
• establishing a budget and strata levies for the coming 12 months
• reviewing and approving the strata insurances
• approving the annual fire safety statement (if one applies to your scheme).

A General Meeting
General meetings of the Owners Corporation are usually called when the need arises through the year, such as approving major maintenance works or raising special levies. They may be convened by the appointed Secretary, the Strata Committee or by a written requisition of owners whose total Unit of Entitlement exceeds 25% of the total ownership in your scheme.

Strata Committee Meetings
Committee meetings are held by your strata committee to determine day to day administrative issues affecting lot owners and your scheme, such as;

• reviewing quotations and approving maintenance works for the common property
• granting approval under the strata by-laws, e.g. granting approval to keep a pet
• administering by-law complaints
• granting approval for minor renovations to lots
• reviewing financials and expenditure.

Strata Legislation does not obligate the Strata Committee to convene meetings at any particular time during the year, as such committee meetings are usually held as the need arises.

• Insurances Common
• Electricity Costs
• Audit & Valuation Costs
• Gardening and Lawnmowing
• Cleaning of Common Areas
• Management and Administration
• General Maintenance
• Annual Fire Certification
• Common Water Consumption
• Taxation and Statutory Costs.

There are other types of administration expenses, many of which will depend on the facilities at your property such as caretaking services, automatic garage doors, elevators, air-conditioning plants, swimming pools, gymnasiums, shared hot water systems etc.

Capital Works Fund
The Capital Works Fund is intended for the long-term maintenance of the buildings and improvements at your property, such as replacement of common area carpet, repainting of common areas, replacement of building components or building refurbishment etc. This fund is required to accumulate over time so that the scheme has sufficient reserves to accommodate these long-term maintenance items as they arise.

How and when are levies determined?
Your levy contributions are reviewed yearly by the owners at the annual general meeting, the amount of levies you pay is determined by you and the other owners of your scheme. This determination is usually based on the budget estimates submitted with the meeting notice. It is important that you carefully review and understand these estimates before each meeting so you are fully aware what expenses your levies are being applied to at your property.

To pay your levies, click here.

Generally speaking, the elements of your property that fall within the cubic air-space or boundaries of your lot such as internal walls, internal doors are the lot owners’ responsibility for maintenance. Those elements that fall on the boundary of your lot, I.E. perimeter walls, floor and ceiling and the elements outside your lot such as common stairwells, common garden areas and the common property generally are the Owners Corporation’s responsibility to repair and maintain.

Before determining whether a particular item is a lot owner or Owners Corporations maintenance responsibility the following should be undertaken;

• a detailed examination of the strata plan
• reviewing the date your strata plan was registered*
• a review of the strata by-laws to determine whether any specific maintenance obligations have been determined by your Owners Corporation.

*Different rules apply to schemes registered prior to 1 July 1974

For a detailed understanding of the concepts of Understanding Strata Maintenance, please refer to the following guide.

Understanding the strict legal impositions that are placed on a Strata Committee by the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Regulations 2016 (the Act), the Owners Corporation itself, the Strata By-laws and other legislation is paramount. This is particularly so for owners that may not have served on a committee previously or who may not be familiar with the operation of an Owners Corporation.

The following guide has been written for all owners and Strata Committee members to assist in their understanding of what the roles, duties and responsibilities of the committee are and how they relate to the operation of the Owners Corporation.

At Netstrata we only take on the management of your scheme with Full Delegated authority, this means we are able to provide you and the owners within your scheme with complete management services for your scheme.

Rather than the owners or Strata Committee members having to undertake and be liable for the statutory duties of the Secretary, Treasurer and Chairperson, these functions are delegated to our office to ensure that your scheme is being managed and administered in accordance with its lawful obligations.

For a complete list of all the functions and services provided by our office to you, read the below guide.

Depending on the size of the strata scheme, a building manager may be appointed on a part-time or full-time basis and may also facilitate any after-hours emergency work.

Typically reports are issued by a building manager on a regular basis noting any maintenance works, improvements or items actioned for the reporting period.

Often, software is utilised by building managers to communicate with owners, occupants and managing agents on various items occurring within a scheme. Some of the software programs commonly used allow occupants to report maintenance issues, order additional access devices (keys, remotes etc.), organise a move in or out of the building (to reserve the loading dock where applicable or install elevator protection equipment) and generally to communicate with building management.

When thinking of the delineation between Strata Managers and Building Managers remember;

• Strata Managers look after Books and Records
• Building Managers look after Bricks and Mortar.

For further information of the standard duties of a building manager (and in some cases the strata manager) please refer to the following guide.