Ozzietars should carefully read the Strata Management agreement as the fees charged by a Strata Manager are often dependent on a commission being received from the Owners Corporation insurer. If there’s no commission then under the terms the Manager may charge the Owners Corporation more in fees to compensate. In the case he outlines his Strata Manager is certainly going to receive a windfall from the doubling of the commission, so there is certainly room to negotiate a reduction in fees when the agreement comes up for renewal. You’ll find that’s in itself a good reason not to enter into these agreements for too long a term.
There are arguments for and against self management of Strata Schemes, but like Whale I find that commission system is very fuzzy, but like the airlines with add-on charges for almost everything under the sun it has become entrenched, and without our governments being really committed to consumer protection, it won’t go away in a hurry.