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The AGM notice from my OC includes a motion to “renew the insurances required under s88(2) as listed in the attached table”….
Section 88(2) actually refers to office bearers insurance and the referred to table lists 3 of the 4 required insurances.
Every year the AGM agenda has a motion to approve the required insurances. The table does not contain the renewal of a worker comp policy as required by s87 1(a). I can find mention of such a policy last year either.
The Act requires information on the current policies to be included with the AGM agenda and the Act requires a motion for optional insurances (s88(2)).
There is no specific requirement to have a motion to approve required insurances. It seems to be a management role of the OC to keep these insurances current and no motion is required.
Am i correct in believing the AGM agenda does not need a motion to approve the required insurances because the insurances are required and am i correct in believing the new EC should immediately seek a workers comp policy as it appears we do not have one, i.e. that matter does not need an EGM.
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Building Insurance and Workers Comp Insurance are statutory requirements so the only reason it would be on the agenda would be to choose one insurer over another. EC insurance is optional so it has to be on the agenda for discussion and approval.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Hi Jimmy & Billen Ben,
I suggest it may be prudent to have a chat to a reputable insurance broker in relation to what insurances an OC is required to have.
I do note under the SSMA it doesn’t require an OC to have workers comp insurance, but insurances required under the Workers Compensation Act. There have been several recent changes to this legislation which in effect means that if the OC is not employing sole traders,they do not need to have WC insurance… It gets a bit more complicated than this… But something to look at.
Yes the OC only needs to consider at the AGM whether to obtain a valuation and whether to take out additional insurances under s88(2). You do not need to make any further decisions on insurances at the AGM
Mr Strata said:
I do note under the SSMA it doesn't require an OC to have workers comp insurance, but insurances required under the Workers Compensation Act. There have been several recent changes to this legislation which in effect means that if the OC is not employing sole traders,they do not need to have WC insurance… It gets a bit more complicated than this… But something to look at.
Mr Strata is absolutely right …
Now at this point, when I first wrote this post I got confused between Workers Comp (blathering on about legal advice) and Occupational Health and Safety checks which a lot of buildings think they don't need but they do …
To avoid confusion, I've excised that bit and you can go straight to the bit where Mr Strata puts me right…
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Jimmy,
It would be good to clarify does your legal eagle friend wish to advise why the OC's workers comp policy would extend to someone that works from home?? (See JimmyT's grovelling retraction below)I may have misunderstood, but it was my understanding that workers comp insurance is for employees of the owners corporation?? It would be good to clarify this point.
I would have thought it would be the public liability insurance that would cover an owner/occupier that works within a strata, otherwise those commercial strata schemes are significantly under insured for workers comp.
Oops, my bad! I confused Workers Comp with Occupational Health and Safety surveys.
Mr Strata is right. According to Workcover NSW …
Residential bodies corporate paying Wages of $7,500 or less per annum are not required to hold a Policy under section 155AA of the Act and therefore in regards to Workers Compensation insurance are deemed to comply with Section 87(1)(a) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2002.
And if you are now worried about your OHS commitments THEY are the ones that apply to all strata plans for the reasons stated previously.
Apologies for any confusion. Through the magic of editing , I will now go and correct my mistake.
Many thanks to Mr Strata for providing additional information.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
In reference to Jimmy's reference to OH&S, the Office of Fair Trading recently told me OH&S checks are NOT compulsory, nor is it compulsory to address the many suggested actions they usually say need to be carried out.
Strata Managers are the ones insisting on them and I am told abuse is occurring. People in-the-know reckon OH&S checks have become a real money-spinner for Strata Managers who may, possibly, sometimes get commissions from the companies who carryout the checks, and then the work identified which 'must' be carried out.
True?
Urban Spaceman,
I suggest you need to call Workcover in this instance instead of OFT as they are the enforcers of the OH&S legislation.It is understood that they are able to issue fines starting at $100k.
OH&S reports create more work for a strata manager/ec, unless you have a really up to date and well maintained building, which is the last thing that a strata manager wants.
If an SM is getting any commission, than this should be disclosed and be propotionate to the work that may be involved, but it would be highly unlikely for a SM to be receiving any form of undisclosed commission.
Urban,
Did the contact at Fair Trading promise to indemnify you and your Owners Corporation if someone was injured while working on your common property?
There's a big difference between what's mandatory and what's good practice and this is such a grey area anyway I reckon, if anybody is doing any work in your building in any capacity, you are taking a huge risk by not complying with Occupational Health and Safety requirements.
Reading the available literature, I'm pretty sure you have been given bad advice (how unusual to get that from Fair Trading!)
I also think that if an OHS survey told your Owners Corporation to fix something and your EC decided it wasn't necessary or too expensive, and someone was then injured as a result, your EC's liability insurance would be invalidated because of negligence and the individuals who made the decision could be facing substantial PERSONAL pay-outs in damages.
Sure, there may be some strata managers who are picking up fees, some of which may be excessive, for arranging these things – but if they are getting excessive commissions for recommending necessary services from incompetent suppliers, that's about having bad strata managers, not about not needing OHS surveys.
In any cas, have a look at Mr Strata's response above about disclosure of fees.
I have heard the legal view that if, for instance, just one person is working from home in your strata block, your requirement to have an OHS surveys kicks in. And that's not the only trigger, by any means.
FYI: the Institute of Strata Title Management's submission to the National Review of Model OHS Laws in 2008, said they were concerned that Owners Corporations were being misled about their OHS responsibilities and that the exemption for OHS liabilities in private dwellings only applied to strata in very limited circumstances.
Read that submission HERE and ask yourself who's right – some phone jockey in the Fair Trading call centre or the Strata Managers' professional body and their legal advisors?
I had a feeling I had been asked this question before and I found THIS COLUMN dating back to 2008. The answer is the same. Be very careful before deciding you don't need an OHS survey, and even more so before you decide to ignore professional advice given to you as a result of one.
Now, I don't want to get this wrong so if there's any strata professional out there with a definitive opinion on this, especially if things have changed in the past three years, please let us know.
JimmyT
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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