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Topic
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We are a small strata of 10 villas. One of the Owners would be quite happy to carry out minor gardening work to the Common Property, such as pruning.
Is it permissible to give this person any sort of remuneration, as a sign of appreciation for the work done, or do we need to have all the insurances etc in place, to make it a formal contract?
Also, if an Owner is injured whilst pottering about in the Common Garden, is the OC liable?
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Replies
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I looked at this issue for our strata a couple of years ago. My findings, as best as I remember, were:
Insurance: as long as the strata doesn’t make payments over a certain threshold a year (back then it was around $7,500) there is no need to have a workers compensation policy. As for other insurance as long as the strata did not know and ignore safety issues the general strata insurance should cover anything else.
Payment to the owner: as long as payment is made only after work is done and is not excessive for the work done payment is ok. I think payment needed to be minuted, declared and ratified at the next held AGM.
Most Strata insurance packages include a limited “Voluntary Workers” cover.
But bear in mind that these usually only pay out for expenses not claimable elsewhere; e.g medical expenses covered under Medicare. Read the small print in the policy.