stratus – There appears to be serious misunderstanding between you and both your committee and your strata manager.
What type of records are you looking for? If they are strata records that you are looking for then you, as an owner, cannot be stopped from looking at them.
Don’t forget that the committee represents the owner’s corporation. The committee and the strata manger look after the records on the owner’s behalf. The records do not belong to the committee and they do not belong to the strata manager. The records belong to all of the owners.
Try again with your request by doing just do as the Office of Fair Trade suggested in comment (2) above.
You, as an owner, have every right to look at the records. The word ‘owner’ is included in the group of persons who may inspect the records of the owners corporation – see Section 182 of the Strata scheme Management Act 2015.
Also, send your strata manager and your committee these sections of the legislation:
STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 – SECT 182
Requests for inspection of records of owners corporation
182 Requests for inspection of records of owners corporation
(1) Persons who may inspect An owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot in a strata scheme, or a person authorised by the owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee, may request the owners corporation to allow an inspection to be carried out under this section.
(2) Form of request The request must be made by written notice given to the owners corporation and be accompanied by the fee prescribed by the regulations.
(3) Items to be made available for inspection The owners corporation must make the following items available for inspection by the person who makes the request or the person’s agent:
(a) the strata roll,
(b) any other records or documents required to be kept under this Part,
(c) the plans, specifications, certificates, diagrams and other documents required to be delivered to the owners corporation before its first annual general meeting by the original owneror the lessor of a leasehold strata scheme,
(d) if in its custody or under its control, the certificate of title comprising the common property or, in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, the certificate of title for the lease of thecommon property,
(e) any applicable 10-year capital works fund plan,
(f) the last financial statements prepared,
(g) every current policy of insurance taken out by the owners corporation and the receipt for the premium last paid for each such policy,
(h) if a strata managing agent has been appointed, a copy of the instrument of appointment,
(i) if a strata renewal plan has been given to owners for their consideration under Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 , a copy of the plan,
(j) any other record or document in the custody or under the control of the owners corporation,
(k) if the duties of the owners corporation under this subsection have been delegated to a strata managing agent, any other records (including records of the strata managing agent) relating to the strata scheme that are prescribed by the regulations,
(l) if a building manager agreement is in force or has been entered into but has not yet commenced, a copy of the building manager agreement,
(m) particulars of any service agreement entered into by the owners corporation,
(n) particulars of any agreement entered into with a local council for a strata parking area,
(o) if the request is made within 5 years after the end of the initial period, particulars of any orders made under section 27 and copies of any related contracts or other documents.
Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(4) Meeting inspections For the purpose of complying with requirements for the giving of notice of a meeting of the owners corporation, the original owner (whether or not having ceased to be anowner) or an agent authorised in writing by the original owner is entitled to inspect the strata roll without payment on making a written application.
and
STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT REGULATION 2016 – REG 42
Inspection of records
42 Inspection of records
For the purposes of section 182 (3) (k) of the Act, the owners corporation must make available for inspection the accounting records and other records relating to the strata scheme that are kept by the strata managing agent.