Question: Qualified owners who aren’t on our committee have offered to help with maintenance work, but we’ve been told our insurance won’t cover them. What can we do about this?
Our body corporate committee includes two people with engineering qualifications. They help when we get quotes for maintenance work. They understand the issues, can prepare a scope of works and can supervise the work. As committee members, they are covered by our public liability and office bearers’ liability insurance policies.
We also have owners with relevant qualifications, such as building, project management and engineering. These owners have offered their help and advice. We’ve been told our policies don’t cover them. Is there anything we can do about this?
Answer: Voluntary workers cover may extend to a non-committee owner if the committee passes a resolution formally recording the specific tasks they will do.
This is a great question. It’s common for lot owners to offer voluntary services and advice to their committees.
Without knowing the specific policy wording in place for this body corporate, the following is general guidance only.
Generally speaking, if the body corporate holds cover for voluntary workers, this could extend to a non-committee owner carrying out work or duties on behalf of the body corporate without expectation of reward or remuneration. To rely on this, the committee should pass a resolution formally recording the specific tasks the owner will undertake.
Professional advice sits differently. The strata policy does not provide professional indemnity cover for owners. This means that where advice is given using a professional qualification, for example, a structural sign-off or engineering design, the insurer may decline any resulting claim, on the basis that a commercial professional indemnity policy should respond instead.
If owners do proceed in offering advice or guidance, we’d recommend it be peer reviewed and kept general in nature, with the owner stating explicitly in writing that they are providing informal guidance rather than a certified professional sign-off. If the body corporate wants to formally engage an owner for their services, we recommend they hold their own commercial public liability and professional indemnity insurance relevant to their qualifications. Any conflicts of interest arising from this arrangement should also be formally recorded.
This post appears in the October 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Leave a Reply