Does it constitute a conflict of interest if the strata manager is the child of a lot owner?

The Strata Schemes Management Act talks about ""pecuniary interests"". A pecuniary interest is an interest that a person or company would have in a matter where there is a reasonable likelihood or expectation that they will have a financial gain or loss.

Section 71 of the Strata Schemes Management Act ('the Act') requires a strata managing agent (or building manager) to disclose any direct or indirect pecuniary interests it has in the strata scheme (other than an interest arising from being appointed).

In the example given, I would not consider there to be a pecuniary interest for the strata management company as the strata management company would not gain any profit/loss by the parents of the owner(s) of the company owning the apartment. It might be different if the owner(s) of the company owned the apartment.

An example of a pecuniary interest would be if the strata management company owned the lot and therefore gained financial benefit from it (such as from rent or capital gains). Perhaps they own a commercial lot in a commercial strata scheme, and have their office there and manage the building – that would need to be disclosed.

Schedule 2, clause 18 of the Act goes on to require any member of a strata committee to disclose any pecuniary interests in a matter being considered or about to be considered at a strata committee meeting if the interest appears to raise a conflict with the proper performance of their duties in relation to the matter being considered. The disclosure must be recorded in a special disclosure book and then the strata committee can then decide whether that committee member who made the disclosure should be allowed to vote on the matter concerned or even be present during discussion of it (they also can't be present or vote while the committee considers whether they can be present or vote in future on that issue).

However, the appointment of a strata managing agent can only occur at a general meeting of the owners, not at a strata committee meeting. The disclosure requirements would only come up if there was a matter on the agenda of a strata committee meeting in relation to the strata managing agent (such as to consider tendering those services).

Interestingly, this same obligation does not apply to owners voting at a general meeting. Schedule 2 of the Act is made explicitly about strata committee meetings only.

Therefore, there appear to be no obligations on a lot owner to make a similar disclosure at a general meeting (in other words, no requirement for the owner to disclose that their child owns the strata management company).

For example, an owner of a lot who submits a motion to renovate their apartment can still vote on that motion. There's no requirement for them to abstain.

Putting the law aside, transparency in strata living is important and contributes towards a better community, so regardless of the law, I would still recommend anyone in this situation be transparent and disclose any interests to promote harmony. You may find that this was already done before you bought into the property (as you mentioned, you had done so 12 months ago in this specific example).