Question: Is an 8 storey 30 unit strata plan under the accommodation module required to conduct a WHS inspection every year? The strata plan does not employ staff but has a contracted building manager/cleaner.
Answer: A WHS report is the simplest and easiest way to show that, as a BC, you have fulfilled your duty of care and to alert you and your manager to anything that needs rectifying.
William Marquand, Tower Body Corporate:
There is no requirement to have a periodic WHS inspection, however, as a body corporate manager I would recommend that you do. They are a very good way of ensuring that your site is safe for all who use it.
In terms of the legislation, the basic requirement in the standard and accommodation modules for maintaining the common property is stated as:
The body corporate must maintain common property in good condition, including, to the extent that common property is structural in nature, in a structurally sound condition.
Maintaining a safe site is part of keeping a property in good condition so all body corporates have an obligation to keep their site safe, but there is no specific direction on how to do this.
Body Corporate owners also have to consider their obligations under the WHS Act, particularly if they are deemed to be a PCBU – a person conducting a business or undertaking. However, these obligations do not extend to a requirement to have an annual (or any) inspection.
You can find out more information about this on the Work Safe Queensland site: Apartment owners and bodies corporate
Dakota Panetta, Solutions in Engineering:
Whilst it is hard to distinguish a direct correlation between a WHS report and a PCBU’s obligations under the WHS 2011, it is much simpler to consider the common law duty of care that everyone shares and that will ultimately see the BC liable for damages.
A body corporate has a duty of care to the safety of every person on that property including residents, visitors and even trespassers. If someone injures themselves on common property, the first thing the courts will ask when a claim is lodged is: “what did you do as a body corporate that was reasonably practical to mitigate and minimise the risk of the injury that occurred?”
If as a BC you did nothing, no annual safety report, no proactive maintenance, the body corporate will be liable for the personal injury. Each year we see millions of dollars paid out by Bodies Corporate for simple injuries on common property.
A WHS report is the simplest and easiest way to show that, as a BC, you have fulfilled your duty of care and to alert you and your manager to anything that needs rectifying.
This post appears in the April 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
Dakota Panetta Solutions in Engineering E: dakotap@solutionsinengineering.com P: 1300 136 036