This article discusses how body corporate regulation interpretation works in practice, including why legislation is often unclear and when committees should seek formal guidance or legal advice.
Question: If the committee is required to operate in compliance with the Act, is it correct that the Act’s regulations are open to interpretation?
The Body Corporate and Community Management ACT 1997 SCHEDULE 1A(4) – Code of conduct for committee voting members requires that a committee voting member must take reasonable steps to ensure the members comply with this Act, including this code, in performing the member’s duties as a committee voting member. Given this, is it correct to say that the Act’s regulations are open to interpretation?
Answer: EVERY piece of legislation in Queensland, regardless of whether it is about strata, is open to interpretation.
Goodness, that’s a broad question.
Let me respond this way: EVERY piece of legislation in Queensland, regardless of whether it is about strata, is open to interpretation. That’s what lawyers exist for and then it is over to tribunals, courts and my former Office (the Commissioner’s Office) to offer more formal interpretation in the form of orders and judgments.
When it comes to a body corporate committee, you are correct they are meant to operate in compliance with legislation. Sometimes, what that means is not black and white. Actually, not sometimes, a lot of the time. When that happens, the best thing the committee can do is seek information to assist their interpretation. That can sometimes be found from the Commissioner’s Office, and when the interpretation is more complex in nature, the committee might require legal advice to provide that interpretation. It is, of course, open to ANYONE to interpret legislation. Unless, though, they have some expertise, knowledge or uncanny legislative understanding, you need to take that kind of interpretation with a grain of salt. People who interpret legislation without any sound basis for doing so are often referred to as bush lawyers – you want to avoid them at all costs if you can.
I suspect you have a specific issue that you are referring to, so perhaps you might want to put that forward and I or maybe someone else involved with LookUpStrata can hopefully help.
This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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