Sometimes a body corporate dispute requires an urgent short-term response. In these situations, waiting for a final adjudication order may not address the immediate issue. An interim order can provide a temporary, legally binding outcome while a final order is considered.
While interim orders may seem like a loophole to fast track your final adjudication order, the reality is, they have no effect on how quickly your final order is decided. You should really consider if an interim order application is the right course of action for your circumstances because they are not all successful.
So far this financial year, the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM office) has received 164 interim order applications. Of these, 71 were refused or withdrawn, and 93 were referred to an adjudicator. Fewer than 1 in 5 applications resulted in interim orders being granted. Application fees are not refunded if your application is refused or dismissed.
Many applicants misunderstand the limited purpose of interim orders. This article explains what interim orders are, the key requirements, common misunderstandings, and recent decisions to help applicants make well-informed choices.
What is an interim order?
An interim order is a temporary, legally binding decision made by an adjudicator. Its most common purpose is to maintain the current situation or prevent something from happening until a final order is made. You can only request an interim order as part of a final order application. Although both requests are lodged on the same form, the interim and final orders are treated as separate applications, and you need to clearly state the different outcomes you are seeking for each.
If you think your issue is urgent and needs a temporary fix while you wait for a final order to be decided, you may choose to apply for an interim order.
Before you apply
When preparing an interim order application, you must be able to demonstrate both self-resolution and urgency.
Self-resolution
You must attempt to resolve the issue before lodging your interim and final order applications. This may include:
- submitting a motion to the body corporate
- writing to the other party; and
- following any legislated processes relevant to your dispute.
When assessing whether your efforts meet the self-resolution requirements, ask yourself:
- Have I clearly explained what I want to the other party or the body corporate?
- If my request was rejected, did I ask why?
- Is the respondent aware there is a dispute?
- Have I followed the proper legal process? For example, have I submitted a BCCM Form 1 to the body about an alleged by-law breach?
You can read more about self-resolution on the BCCM office’s webpage and Commissioner’s Practice Direction 1 – Internal dispute resolution.
Evidence of urgency
You must show:
- what is happening or about to happen
- when it will happen; and
- why it is urgent.
For example, if you are seeking to stop a tree from being cut down on common property – you should include the correspondence you received from the committee confirming the date the works are scheduled.
As part of your preparation, you may find it helpful to read Commissioner’s Practice Direction 4 – Interim orders.
What happens after you lodge your application?
Dispute resolution co-ordinators (delegates of the Commissioner) assess whether your application meets the criteria to be referred to an adjudicator. They consider:
- Clear outcomes: Requests must be specific. Avoid vague wording such as “all necessary steps” or “whatever the adjudicator deems fit”. Cllearly state what work should be done, by whom and when.
- Temporary nature: The outcome you are seeking must be limited in duration – most commonly lasting only until the final order is made.
- Self-resolution: Any evidence you have attempted to resolve the dispute with the other party.
- Urgency: Evidence of what is happening, when, and why it requires urgent attention.
- Interim v final order: Your interim order cannot be final in nature. It must only address the immediate issue, not the entire dispute.
If information is missing from your application, a dispute resolution co-ordinator may contact you and ask for more information. If the criteria are not met, your interim application will be refused. This does not affect your final order application, which will continue through the usual process.
If the criteria are met, the interim application is referred to an adjudicator.
How adjudicators assess interim applications
An adjudicator must be satisfied on reasonable grounds, that an interim order is necessary given the nature and urgency of the circumstance 1. When making this decision, the adjudicator considers the following:
- whether the situation is genuinely urgent
- whether there is a serious legal question that may succeed at final orders; and
- the impact on each party if the order is granted or refused.
While previous adjudicators’ orders are not binding, they can help applicants understand how previous issues have been considered. For example: Hanflame Court [2025] QBCCMCmr 95. The adjudicator granted an interim order to stop repair and maintenance work on an easement, until a final order could determine responsibility for cost because:2.
- Urgency: The AGM decision to undertake maintenance had occurred two months earlier and works were imminent.
- Serious legal question: The applicant raised the question of responsibility for maintaining the easement which required proper legal consideration.
- Comparative impact: The adjudicator found the applicant would suffer greater detriment if the interim order was refused as funds may have been spent by the body corporate before determining responsibility of the maintenance.
Reasons interim applications are dismissed
Adjudicators have commonly dismissed applications on the following grounds:
- lack of urgency
- outcomes sought are overly broad or unclear requests
- insufficuient evidence
- no evidence of self-resolution; or
- greater impact on the respondent if the order were granted.
216 Cypress Street [2025] QBCCMCmr 411. The adjudicator dismissed an interim application to stop gardening works because:
- An application to stop gardening works was dismissed because there was no clear evidence the works were approved or imminent, and the request was overly broad.
Landsborough 65 [2025] QBCCMCmr 322. Orders seeking mould removal were dismissed because:
- Applications seeking mould removal were dismissed due to insufficient evidence and a failure to demonstrate reasonable attempts at self-resolution.
- An interim order restraining spending was dismissed because it would have caused greater harm to the body corporate by preventing necessary financial decisions.
Ready to apply?
A well-prepared and well-understood interim order application has the best chance of success.
To apply:
- fill out the Form 15 Adjudication application form
- email it to bccm@justice.qld.gov.au
- refer to the Adjudication Guide for assistance.
For more information about interim orders and applying for adjudication, please visit the BCCM website.
[1] Section 279(1) of the Act [2] Hanflame Court [2025] QBCCMCmr 95
Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management P: Information Service Freecall 1800 060 119
This post appears in Strata News #797.
This article has been republished with permission from the author and first appeared on the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management website.