Just one small point, I would be very surprised if the coming changes to the Strata Act insisted on EC members having some training in Strata law. It would be a great thing – even if they made it mandatory for office-bearers would be a major step forward – but it probably isn’t going to happen for one very simple reason: 90 percent of strata buildings would have no one volunteering for their ECs.
As one strata manager said to me recently, it’s hard enough to get good people on ECs as it is, making it harder for them to join would be a nightmare.
Personally, in larger buildings I’d make it mandatory to have people with the required training OR have the office-bearers roles delegated to Strata Managers until such times as they have achieved the level of training required. That way you either let the strata managers do their job (advised by the EC) or anyone who wants to take back control of their building can go out and learn how to do it properly.
But, like I said, the chances of that happening are probably slim to negligible, if only because the Fair Trading Minister has said he wants to make Strata law and its application simpler, rather than more complicated. Let’s hope I’m wrong.