Adjudicators rightly view strata owner’s contact information as public records and available to ‘interested parties’ on application, which might include owners, agents, settlement solicitors etc. Withholding them is typically used as a ploy by the strata manager who knows this, or is required to know this, but they often try it on at the behest of the committee who doesn’t know their obligations to release it as requested or feel an aggrieved owner will use the contacts to tell a side of a story they disagree with – and on ‘paying a fee’ (which had value years ago when photocopying was required and before a simple pdf could be sent). Apparent misuse of any records given doesn’t come in to it and assumption that this may happen is no excuse.
I previously had this issue and stood my ground until they conceded after I pointed out the legislation says it’s to be made available to interested parties, that the strata manager’s own monthly online newsletter carried an article saying this very thing, that they had given these out to another owner just 3 months prior, that though I had credited my account for a nominal amount as pre-payment there was actually no real way to make a payment for an unsent invoice for the undetermined cost.
I filed an application for adjudication seeking the roll, and after they eventually conceded they sent it to me. After-which they wrote to all owners totally defaming me as of suspicious character and motive and to report me to who knows who for who knows what should they feel I was misusing the information. I considered personally suing both the author (secretary), and the publisher (strata manager) for defamation but decided I could live without further and on-going stress.