Does converting a parking bay to disability parking need a committee vote or general meeting?

William Marquand, Tower Body Corporate

The change of a parking space into a disabled parking space would classify as an improvement to the common property.

There may be some variations if you are in a commercial complex, but generally the conditions for authorising the improvement depend on the cost.

The Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) Office provides the following table on its website outlining the limits:

As your scheme has 13 lots, the basic limit for committee approval is $200 per lot, so $2,600. If you have extended the limit, it may be $3,900.

Neither amount is very high in the modern economy. It is long overdue for legislation to increase these rates.

So the next step is to get a quote for the change and then determine if it can be approved within the committee limit or whether you need to go to a general meeting.

Andrew Francis, Safer Buildings

While the committee's decision-making process under the BCCM Act may be relatively straightforward, converting a parking space to a disability parking bay can also raise a separate question: is the alteration permissible under the Building Act, the Planning Act, the relevant planning scheme, and any conditions attached to the original development approval? These are worth checking before settling on an approval pathway under strata legislation.

Some of the areas to consider include:

• Development approval conditions. The original development approval may have set out the number, location and dimensions of visitor parking spaces, accessible spaces, or overall parking supply. Converting an existing bay could take the building below an approved minimum, for example if visitor parking numbers drop as a result.
• Planning scheme requirements. The local planning scheme may set its own minimum number of accessible parking spaces based on the building's use or classification. Adding an accessible bay is generally a good outcome, but converting another required space to do it may create a separate planning compliance issue.
• Building Act and National Construction Code (NCC). An accessible parking space is more than a wider painted bay. Where an accessible parking space is required or proposed to be provided as a compliant accessible space, the design generally needs to consider the applicable NCC requirements and referenced Australian Standard, AS/NZS 2890.6, including minimum dimensions, a shared access aisle, gradients, signage and line marking, and an accessible path of travel to the building entrance. Because of this, a standard bay often can't simply be re-marked as an accessible one without first considering these requirements.
• Fire safety and access. Any alteration should also be checked against emergency vehicle access, fire hydrants, hose reels, exits and required clearances, to make sure none of these is affected.

These sorts of issues show that body corporate approval is often only one part of a broader compliance picture. This doesn't mean every parking bay change will require multiple separate approvals, but it is worth checking the applicable building, planning and development approval requirements before committing to a particular approval pathway or undertaking the works.