Question: When I applied and paid for a strata search, the strata manager only supplied my strata roll records, not the roll for the unit block. What information should I receive?
I recently applied and paid for a strata search. Our strata records are kept electronically. The strata manager would only supply the strata roll records related to my unit, not the roll for the unit block. They said I only paid for a standard search and supplying all roll details would cost more. What information should I receive?
Answer: I suggest you return to the strata manager to follow up on your request.
Under the NSW Strata legislation, the owners corporation must provide access to all records kept for the strata plan, including the strata roll (section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015). It sounds like you have made a valid written request to search the records and paid the prescribed maximum fee ($31.00 plus GST).
Some strata managers insist on charging higher fees for online/remote searches of strata records. In my opinion, this is a breach of the strata law. In any case, if the strata manager has provided part of the strata roll, I can see no reason why the entire strata roll should not be provided to you as part of the records search. I suggest you return to the strata manager and follow up on your request.
This post appears in the July 2024 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Michael Ferrier
EYEON Property Inspections
E: michael.ferrier@eyeon.com.au
P: 02 9260 5510
Why are Strata Managers referring to the Privacy Act as if it justifies withholding strata records from owners?
I have no legal training but I’m no fool so I couldn’t understand why state legislators would provide strata lot owners with a statutory entitlement to inspect any and virtually all strata records if the Privacy Act obligated strata schemes to prevent this. As the following excerpts show, it doesn’t…ever.
The Privacy Act 1988 was introduced to promote and protect the privacy of individuals and to regulate how Australian Government agencies and organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million, and some other organisations, handle personal information.
The Privacy Act includes 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) (APPs), which apply to some private sector organisations, as well as most Australian Government agencies. Such organisations and agencies are collectively known as ‘APP entities’.
Accordingly, the Privacy Act is entirely irrelevant to the vast majority of strata schemes because they aren’t “APP entities”.
APP 6 Outlines the circumstances in which an APP entity may use or disclose personal information that it holds. Chapter 6: APP 6 Use or disclosure of personal information | OAIC
An APP entity can only use or disclose personal information for a purpose for which it was collected (known as the ‘primary purpose’), or for a secondary purpose if an exception applies.
The exceptions include where:
the individual has consented to a secondary use or disclosure
the individual would reasonably expect the APP entity to use or disclose their personal information for the secondary purpose, and that purpose is related to the primary purpose of collection, or, in the case of sensitive information, directly related to the primary purpose
the secondary use or disclosure is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order”.
Lot owners have an obligation to provide some private information to their strata schemes manager and have a general entitlement to expect this and records related to their lot are protected. However, these records are owned by the strata scheme which has a statutory duty to provide other lot owners with access to any and virtually* all strata records.
Any SM that relies in the Privacy Act to restrict an owners access to strata records is wrongfully withholding them.
Some strata records may be privileged and therefore withheld from some owners (eg the records that the scheme produced itself to defend itself when an lot owner applied for orders against it) but if withheld the scheme needs to identify each withheld record and state the reason why it was withheld.
The scheme has the burden to establish privilege in relation to each person seeking access to a withheld strata records…it can’t just put a bunch of documents in an envelope or box and mark it “never to be opened” .
What if the Strata Committee Members as well as Strata Management Agent are not giving the required by Strata Management Act 2015 Schedule 2,17 minutes on owners request or treat the request with silence?
When requested this is the Strata Manager for NSW Strata Management response:
“All files or approvals by way of email are saved” followed by when I asked
2. When you said saved – where ?
“Community hub which is accessible to all owners (we have a new platform now) but for privacy reasons not everything is made available to all owners so although the committee have access to most and owner would not. This will not change as privacy is the main factor. Any owner review all reports and files by attending the office and booking a strata inspection. There is a fee for this”.
I don’t know how to deal with this as I cannot see an answer to my question: Why the Strata Committee Members are not willing to give the owner the Minutes From their meettings?
Does anyone have similar situation or can advice what can be done?
Grace
“
MF on accessing information perhaps forgets to mention that if you have a strata agent then the Property Stack and Agent Regulations say the following.
38 Managing agent to permit executive committee to inspect records
(1) A strata managing agent must permit, on demand made at any reasonable time, any member of the executive committee of an owners corporation, community association, precinct association or neighbourhood association for whom the agent acts as managing agent to inspect any records or books of account of the corporation or association.
So, if you are a member of the SC and you have an agent then use that as it is cheaper. It is a free search.
And ask to see everything just to make it hard for them for not being nice to you in the first place and just giving you the information. Perhaps they might choose the easier, transparent path, in the future.
I find it strange most agents do not even know this regulation exists.
MF says: “Under NSW law, the Strata Committee must be elected at each annual general meeting of the strata plan”
It does not actually say that, it says the AGM notice requires a form of motion to elect the SC. The same Schedule also uses the same language for several other motions required to be included.
None of these motions are mandatory to pass.
The OC can decide not to elect a new SC. Bannermans once wrote a nice short paper on it, try their website and see if you can find it.
Anyway, as MF says, it should be in the minutes of the AGM who got elected to the SC and it should be in the minutes of the first SC meeting who got the gigs as office bearers. Armed with that you could do a search under s 182 and get everything on these people. Names, addresses for service, a look at their levy register, possibly email addresses and more.
People who think all this type of information is private …. bahahahahaha; no idea.