Jimmy’s point on the a fee (regulated at $31 + GST for the first hr and additional fee for each additional time) often being charged to owners to access the records of the strata scheme, including inspecting the strata roll is true.
But recently when I complained to Fair Trading that a strata mgr wants to charge me $49 for each document that is not available for free viewing on the strata mgr’s portal – and I want a history of a current dispute and have no idea if it’s 10 documents or 50 documents I need – FT told me that a SC member can inspect at no charge.
All an SC member needs to do is ask the strata mgr (in writing) when it would be convenient to inspect the records “in order to acquaint myself with all the facts regarding matters currently before the SC, so that I can make good decisions as a member of the SC”.
Emphasis must be on “filling your knowledge gaps in order to understand the scheme’s current situation“.
FT said that if a SC member comes across as merely wanting to embark on a fishing expedition, without making clear the purpose is to be able to tackle a current problem facing the OC, then often a strata mgr will indeed charge and get away with doing so.
The strata roll is part of the records whose ownership is the OC whilst being held by the OC’s agen, the strata mgr.