Hi Dudley,
If the Strata Manager has had Tax Returns lodged in the past surely a copy can easily be supplied to the owners? If not I would ask for a copy (under the Tax Act you are required to keep copies of documents and Tax Returns for 5 years). There should not be a charge or supplying documents you should have been given a copy for. My understanding (and anyone feel free to correct me) is that the EC is simply a smaller group of the OC who make the final decisions in the best interests of the Strata, they are not special or different in any way. This would fall under the same category under the strata act or being able to request documents from the Strata Manager relating to the Strata Act.
If a Tax Agent has been used under the Tax Act the Tax Agent is required to provide a copy of the return to the person. If a registered Tax Agent has not been used and the Manager is trying to pull the wool over your eyes and they have prepared the return (ie charging extra) then not getting an owner to sign the Tax Return before lodging the return or providing a copy is could be considered a breach of the act. You are part of the Strata and therefore technically required to be given a copy of the return. You may not be able to ring the Tax Agent directly as they may not have you listed as a person related to this strata. It would breach privacy rules for the Tax Agent.
The Strata Name could unfortunately be a few different ways with the Tax Office. This will all depend on the person who registered the Strata Plan in the first place. It could be “The Owners of Strata Plan xxxx” It could be “(Strata Name) Plan (plan Number). Just put Strata Plan (name of strata plan) into the ABN LookUp Site and it should find it. It has the location State and Postcode, so this will help narrow the search.
I would first call/email the Strata Manager and ask for a copy of the last Tax Return lodged. If they advise they do not have a copy advise them that they are required to keep copies of returns for 5 years under the Tax Act. This might shock them into some action if can throw the law back at them. It may also give you some reasons to kick them out if the other owners agree – that they are not good at keeping records. If they can not provide a copy I would be asking some hard questions as to why. There simply is no reason why you can not have a copy of the Tax Return as an owner.
I would fill out as much as you can, and bring to the AGM (if you do not get any additional information from the Strata Manager first) surely the other owners would not complain at the idea of a person doing free work for them. I would not. Advise them this will sort out the need to visit this issue each year. Push the point of saving money, and their time. People are always going to invest in things that benefit them/make their life easier.
Sorry to ramble, but I felt that it was important to give you all the information.
Hope this helps. Happy to answer any further queries.