deesee2304 – See below for a link to info from a legal firm that may be worth reading. It relates specifically to QLD but may also be pertinent to your situation.
The link states : An important proviso is that the amount charged does not exceed the amount “necessary for reimbursing the body corporate for supplying the services”. The amount recovered can include costs of installation, maintenance and operating costs.
Some questions for you: What record does your strata scheme have of any Agreement(s) that may have been entered into? Who was(were) the Agreement(s) between? Was(were) the Agreement(s) correctly made?
There should have been a long trail of EC Meeting Minutes and OC Motions for you to discover how this deal was set up.
Who owns the LPG tank?
Who has control of the LPG tank – the property manager? or the strata manager? Neither should have this control in my opinion.
Where is the tank located? Who owns the ground upon which the LPG tank sits?
Does the property manager pay a fee to the owner’s corporation for the use of the site?
How long does the Property Manager’s contract have to run?
The LPG tank is probably located on common property and unless there is a separate agreement (e.g. a license) which has the endorsement of the owner’s corporation via a Motion at a General Meeting then it should be the owner’s corporation who owns and/or operates the LPG tank and/or the common property on which it sits.
See also from SSMA 2015 Sections 71 and if you wish to mount an action against the building manager then see 72(3)(f).
https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ssma2015242/index.html#s72
The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW site states: We can investigate billing disputes about customers’ hot water consumption charges where a gas or electricity common hot water system is installed. Customers should contact their provider to try and resolve the problem first.