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I’ve mentioned this before, about a VCAT decision in a test case I ran on Victoria’s strata governance. It’s now part of the public record but I think the identity rules do not allow me to go into details. So writing generally, strata owners in other major states should be grateful for their advantages in their strata governance and tribunal legislation. If the state government does not close the gap this year, Victoria may not be a good place to buy an apartment. What did the tribunal member say (and remember, there is no tribunal appeal pathway in Victoria other than to the Supreme Court, so hopeless usually)? To quote: “Application by lot owner to require owners corporation to put proposed motions by lot owner on AGM agenda, and to permit lot owners to attend committee meetings. Application dismissed. Sections 71(1)(2), 89D, 109 Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) … I am of the view that there is no requirement upon the OC to include an item on the agenda of an AGM that has been proposed at the request of a lot owner. … [The applicant] says that it should be incumbent upon the OC to include on the agenda any motion proposed by a lot owner who is financial and is proposing a lawful motion. There is simply no provision in the Act, or elsewhere that requires the OC to do so, and the Tribunal cannot make the order as sought … There is no requirement to provide any notification to lot owners of committee meetings. Likewise, there is no legal requirement placed upon the OC requiring it to permit lot owners to attend committee meetings. There is logic in this. The committee are elected by lot owners at an AGM to consider issues and pass resolutions for the benefit of the OC and all of its members.” I think that’s clear, ha.
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And yet, when I tell Victorians that their strata system is stuffed, they get very uptight and parochial, pointing out that there are a lot fewer disputes in Vic. But maybe that’s because the odds are stacked against anyone who raises one.
The media in Victoria has long put strata issues in the too-hard basket, which is the main reason your state is about 10 years behind NSW and even Queensland in protecting strata owners and residents. Your politicians don’t care because nobody makes them care.
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Rachael Dexter has published a number of articles on the Victorian strata sector in The Age.
Her most recent articles have exposed kickbacks and a review of the Statutory Review of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 – Final Report. The heading on the report says it all: Strata overhaul a ‘dogs’s breakfast’.Victorian owners may have fewer disputes, but that is easily explained by the fac that owners have just given up.
If the case discussed by Gloucester 19 is now on the public record why can’t it be reported on?
Rachael Dexter has published a number of articles on the Victorian strata sector in The Age.
I stand corrected. Good to see someone is paying attention. Getting things right is a long slow process as evinced by strata managers complaining that they have been “dumped on” but not mentioning that the expert panel found only 11 per cent of strata resident in Victoria thought they could be trusted. By the way, “dumped on” means having to be licensed and maybe, but only maybe, being scrutinised over things like commissions and other kickbacks.
It’s a simple fact of political life – when there is any course correction, those furthest from the right track will feel it most.
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What is on the public record that can be shared?
I have tried telling interested strata friends and they don’t believe it?
Gloucester 19: I have sent you a direct message (possibly – i may have sent it to myself unwittingly 🙂
Gloucester 19: I have sent you a direct message (possibly – i may have sent it to myself unwittingly
For anyone else’s info, you can communicate directly with other Flatchatters provided you are logged in. Then just click on their name at the top left of their post and scroll down to “send message”. Probably a good idea to post something (with their name on it) in the forum to let them know to expect a message.
It should go without saying but I’m going to say it anyway, while we understand that people might want to contact each other directly without postimg their personal email addresses for everyone to see, we’d rather you held discussions on the Forum for everyone’s benefit.
Also, anyone using the direct message system to abuse or troll other users will be bumped off this website faster than a Washinton computer can redact Donald Trump’s name from the Epstein files.
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
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Rachael Dexter has published a number of articles on the Victorian strata sector in The Age.
If the case discussed by Gloucester 19 is now on the public record why can’t it be reported on?
It looks like this VCAT decision is now cited: I have seen a reference:
Lawnham v Owners Corporation PS746092G[2026] VCAT 363I read about it on another site and their “Practical Takeaway” is:
Transparency is good governance, but the law does not require open committee meetings.