As of the beginning of this month, all strata schemes across NSW will need to report key information about their schemes and the people who run them using the new strata portal.

To help owners and committee members to navigate this change, the NSW Department of Customer Service is hosting a special online event on Wednesday July 20, from 12 noon to 1pm.

The lunch hour webinar features a Q&A panel discussion on what the new reporting requirements will mean for NSW strata communities and will answer some questions posted by participants.

The extremely high-powered panel comprises strata experts from the highest levels of the government and community organisations.  It includes:

• John Minns – NSW Property Services Commissioner
• David Chandler OAM – NSW Building Commissioner
• Kerrie Burgess – Director, Digital & Program Delivery, Department of Customer Service
• Karen Stiles – Executive Officer, the Owners Corporation Network
• Stephen Brell – President, the Strata Community Association (NSW)

If you want to sit in on this one, you were supposed to register by Friday, July15 on THIS LINK but it’s worth a shot if you’re still interested. If you’d like to submit a question to the panel at this late stage, email: st**********@*********************ov.au and cross your fingers.

Short-term letting and by-laws

Strata lawyer (and Flat Chat sponsor) David Bannerman will be hosting two free webinars this month (July).

In the first, at 3.30 pm on Thursday, July 21, join David as he covers the evolution of by-laws dealing with short term letting, recent amendments to the planning of strata laws, practical difficulties for enforcing by-laws restricting short term letting and ways to obtain development consent to trump such by-laws.

You can register for that webinar HERE.

In the second, on July 26 at 3.30 pm David will be discussing everything to do with by-laws!

During the session he will look at invalid by-laws, pets, noise, parking, difficult owners, short-term letting and by-laws trending post the strata reform (but not renovations).

You can register for that session HERE.

Strata law for seniors

One week later, on July 27, from 1pm you can sit in on a free community legal webinar covering common strata issues, specifically from the point of view of senior members of strata communities.

If you are new to strata or just confused about what you can, can’t and should do as an owner or resident in a strata scheme, you can learn from a team of Seniors Rights Service Solicitors about your rights and obligations living in a strata community. 

This is the first in a series of quarterly “masterclasses” and another is planned to offer practical guidance resolving strata disputes. With sufficient interest, these events will run monthly.

You can register for the first event, on July 27,  HERE.

Seniors Rights Service is a community organisation that has been assisting older Australians across New South Wales for over 35 years. They provide legal advice, aged care advocacy and information on the rights of older people.

This online event is brought to you by The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) and presented by Seniors Rights Service Solicitors.