Most people think being on a strata committee means turning up – or tuning in – to a meeting every now and then, reading a few reports and making a few decisions. On paper, it doesn’t seem like much. The surprise comes after you join, or at least it did for me.
The meetings are actually the easy part. Most of them are conducted via Zoom or Teams and there is usually someone who is an expert on how to run those platforms.
The real workload happens between meetings, in the ongoing flow of emails, documents and questions. Some of these can be small issues. The owners corporation manager emails three quotations for a repair job and asks the committee which contractor should be engaged, for example.
Or the committee is asked to consider whether expenditure should be approved, whether a proposed repair represents good value, or whether the building’s maintenance priorities need to change.
The work isn’t usually difficult. More often, it’s that steady trickle of smaller jobs that new members don’t expect. Before long, you’re answering emails in your lunch break, comparing quotations in the evening, or thinking about the building’s financial stability while everyone else in your family is watching Netflix. That’s the invisible part of governance.
Individual committee members usually take on whatever they’re comfortable with. One committee member might monitor their building’s maintenance, another might like to keep an eye on the finances, while someone else handles most of the emails. It usually happens without anyone planning it. Over time, everyone settles into a routine.
Can there be tensions and disagreements at times? Yes, there can be. There are bound to be differences of opinion and there will be times when you have to compromise.
Fortunately, strata managers can offer independent advice, based on their knowledge of the Act’s regulations and their personal – and sometimes quite extensive – experience. At other times you may need to seek outside professional advice requiring specific knowledge or skills.
It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. If the same repairs keep appearing year after year, is there a larger maintenance issue? Can the owners corporation afford to deal with that maintenance issue this year or can it wait until next year when there will be more funds in the Maintenance Fund? These are the sorts of issues that can quickly become serious if ignored, and that need good governance from the committee, taking into the account the buildings short- and long-term needs.
This blog is fully independent and self-funded. It doesn’t offer legal or financial advice. When such advice is needed, always consult a professional in those disciplines. Use the links provided here as a starting point. The author resided in Victoria and is most familiar with Victoria’s strata legislation. Always check and use the current legislation governing your own state. State legislations vary and are state-specific. Links to each state’s own strata-title Act are provided on the “Introduction” page.