Compulsory Strata Manager appointed 'secretly'

I don’t think it’s illegal. The Strata Committee is usually empowered to act on behalf of the owners corporation (with specific exclusions). Application for a statutory appointment can be made by individual owners – even the Tribunal Member can just do it off their own bat if they think an owners corp is dysfunctional enough.
Individual owners can also challenge the appointment, but it would have to be on the grounds that it was unnecessary or that the original applicants were seeking some kind of material gain. Arguing that it was invalid because of an arcane point of law will get you nowhere.
Also, the Tribunal Member must have had good reason for allowing the appointment – they don’t just hand them out like lollies.

Hi, If I’ve read this ‘right,’ Mr JT’s advice is right. Way I see it is, like, nothing is going to happen unless you get more involved? When you say the owners were never told, how many owners are you referring to. Plus, if you are an owner, that carries a natural entitlement, as it does with any owner. Could you perhaps ask a strata lawyer to be of assistance and help to clarify the issues, then you can call for a change in committee members, with yourself in charge of the accountability you are calling for?

Although I will add, that at the time of appointment the ‘functions’ appointed to the compulsory strata manager may be limited to a degree. You should find it all in the original NCAT ruling.

Hi Newlsie is this the “secret” SM appointment which you discuss in another post?
Compulsory SM and Strata Committees

Hi Phil74.

SC stands for Strata committee.

My information came from discussions with 3 strata managers and a laywer when I was enquiring about compulsory strata managers.

It was made clear that the ALL functions of the owners corporation MAY (and usually are) transferred to the compulsory SM.

My recollection is that the SSMA 2015 has a reference as well – which I do not have access to at the moment.

Good luck

“This is very irritating, arguing the same case across two topics.”  Sorry.

“And it’s ducks, not ducts.” Actually in this case it really is “ducts”. The owner is refusing access to a row of ducts adjacent to their apartment despite the need for urgent inspection and repairs to common property plumbing.

OK, I’m shutting this down.  You folks (Shackelton and Newlsie) need to accept whatever has been decided at NCAT, switch off your inner bush lawyer and maybe sit down and agree to disagree.  Public bickering doesn’t do this Forum any good and I’m guessing it’s not helpful for your community, either.

Phill74 said: 

the OC doesn’t have the power to set levies (they can call a meeting for owners to set them, which didn’t happen), and therefore by extension, neither does the compulsory SM.

This is simply not the case.  Under normal circumstances it is the OC (Owners Corporation) that sets the levies.  The OC is all the owners acting as as a group.

Also you shouldn’t be using one set of circumstances to apply to completely different ones – strata doesn’t work like that.  The idea that a compulsorily appointed strata manager can’t set the levies is ludicrous.  How else are they going to fix things in an dysfunctional building if they can’t set proper levies?

It depends on the specific terms of the appointment, but in most cases that defaults to the SM taking over all functions of the OC. Just to be clear, compulsory strata managers aren’t appointed to take over from the Strata Committee (SC) alone – they take over from the Owners Corporation of which the SC is (or should be) merely an adjunct.

This is what the Act says:

(1) Order appointing or requiring the appointment of strata managing  agent to exercise functions of owners corporation 

The Tribunal may, on its own motion or on application, make an order appointing a person as a strata managing agent or requiring an owners corporation to appoint a person as a strata managing agent:

(a) to exercise all the functions of an owners corporation, or

(b) to exercise specified functions of an owners corporation, or

(c) to exercise all the functions other than specified functions of an owners corporation.

I have left all the hyperlinks in there so you can better understand what all those terms mean.