#24552
Austman
Flatchatter

    This is a rather important sub-topic, that I’ve looked at a few times.

    I have received a lot of views from lot owners who think they know the Privacy Act.   But it has turned out that they didn’t.  It seems that in the majority of circumstances the Privacy Act does not apply to stratas (OCs/BCs) at all.  And in general, the affairs of a strata are an open book to all those within the strata.   So anything in the strata records is available to any member of the strata.  That includes emails and phone numbers used in correspondence with the strata (eg to the manager/committee).  I don’t think a strata organisation itself can share that information with anyone for commercial purposes but they can for internal strata purposes.

    I do know that all my strata managers in various states, seem to handle it this way. All will supply owner email address and phone numbers if they have them on file.  One SM, of a very large strata management firm, has told me that they will hand over a CD-ROM of all the correspondence and records they have, relating to a strata plan, to any owner in that strata plan who formally requests it.  Not much privacy there!  But I can’t see that it’s illegal. 

    Here’s some information on the topic from Consumer Affairs Victoria, but as the Privacy Act is a Commonwealth Act, it should be relevant Australia wide:

    Protecting privacy in owners corporations

    Your owners corporation may only collect and use personal information in a fair and lawful way.

    The personal information it holds must be accurate, up-to-date and secure.

    As a general rule, the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988:

    • does not apply to owners corporations with less than $3 million turnover (also called gross income)
    • will apply to an owners corporation, regardless of turnover, if it discloses personal information to another party for a benefit, without the consent of the person concerned, or without being authorised to do so by an Act of Parliament (such as the Owners Corporations Act 2006).

    Your owners corporation should:

    • require a written request from all people seeking to inspect the owners corporation’s records. This identifies the person making the request and can be used to report to the owners corporation, and
    • supervise records inspections to ensure that documents are not lost, destroyed or interfered with.

    A person whose details are kept in the owners corporation’s records or register may apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to restrict access to that information. The tribunal will only restrict access in exceptional circumstances and only for a limited time.