From my chats with strata lawyers in Victoria, there’s quite a demand for quantity surveyors by OCs wanting to implement the “benefit principle”.
It seems that a quantity surveyor’s assessment is an accepted way of determining cost distribution.
How it all unfolds in VCAT remains to be seen.
In Victoria, the committee alone can approve special levies up to an amount of double the current annual budget.
There have been several VCAT published cases (particularly by Senior Member Vassie) since the GRUNDL case that have given more guidance on how the “benefit principle” is to be implemented.