You wrote
Why is this industry protected?
In the context of strata schemes, I meant the real estate agents are protected from facing the full force of what is considered “consumer protection” legislation as say KMART faces with its customers.
You wrote
I was thinking a lot of strata manager issues could be solved by having the strata roll visible to owners on strata hub
Forget the strata hub. The strata roll is not listed there; as far as I know only the Chair, Secretary and agent (if there is one) details are listed. Maybe one day the roll will be listed there, who knows?
But as for today, you as an owner are allowed to view the strata roll (which I assume lists names, phone numbers and email addresses). After all, the strata roll forms part of the strata’s records (under the control of the Owners’ Corp be it with the strata committee or the strata agent) which every owner has the legal right to inspect.
Of course the agent may be a so-and-so and not provide the data you want quickly and simply and instead may insist on you paying the (no less than) $34 inspection access fee, but even so, you should get all the details you’re after.
Here’s an idea: tell your agent you’re interested in contacting all owners about (mention some important matter) and for that you would like their names and email addresses to be sent to you (in no longer than say 3 days’ time).
The agent cannot deny you that. Oh, if he or a committee member says he cannot due to “privacy” concerns, tell him to check with NSW Fair Trading (13 32 20). One committee I deal with pulled that stunt (denying me an email address) and quickly behaved themselves when NSW Fair Trading set them straight.