Community Link

Proactive repairs for the good of your communityIs your strata community aware of any repairs needed on common property that have not been addressed?

Perhaps that corner of the carpet in the foyer hasn’t been glued down yet as you have more pressing matters to attend to, and you’re putting off fixing that cracked concrete path until more funds are available.

But committees should be warned, a number of recent cases in Australia have shown that lax attitudes to common property repair can have significant consequences.

In a case heard before the Victorian Supreme Court (Brown v OC201532U), damages were awarded to Mr Brown who was injured while attempting to climb over a common property fence and gate which were not functioning.

The owners corporation knew that the rear fence and gate had fallen into disrepair, but were planning on addressing them at a later stage.

The court decided that the injury Mr Brown received was reasonably foreseeable given the state of the fence and gate, and that he was owed a duty of care by the owners corporation. He was awarded $600,000 in damages plus legal costs.

In the case of Taylor v The Owners Strata Plan 11564, a man was tragically killed when a shop’s awning collapsed and fell on top of him. Similarly, the owners corporation were aware of the danger but had not taken active steps to repair the awnings.

Tom Bacon, principal lawyer of Strata Title Lawyers, emphasises that most insurance policies providing indemnity for executive committee members will contain a clause that indemnity will not extend to negligent or bad-faith decisions.

Owners corporations should be aware

of their obligations in maintaining safe common property in light of the potential ramifications.

But avoiding legal action and personal injury is not the only reason to be proactive in repairs of common property.

Ensuring repairs on common property are addressed promptly will assist in maintaining a pleasant place to live. Keeping up to date with repairs and maintenance will prevent the proporty from appearing old or unappealing, protecting the value of your property. Also, a committee which organises repairs promptly facilitates harmonious living in a community, as lot owners are confident required works are actioned.

Building Management Consultant, Chris Nezmah from STAR BMS has said “From our experience, committees engaging in routine maintenance and timely repairs of key pieces of plant equipment experience minimum replacement costs and less breakdowns while effectively saving money in the long run.”

The lesson for committees is simple: take proactive steps to inspect and repair common property to avoid legal ramifications and maintain the harmony of the community.

Tim Sheehan

Free Strata Information Online

Gold CoastP: 07 5504 2000 10 Frigo Court Bundall QLD 4217

MelbourneP: 03 8641 6555Level 5, 520 Collins StreetMelbourne Vic 3000

BrisbaneP: 07 3010 5555 Level 6, Icon Place270 Adelaide StreetBrisbane QLD 4000

Sunshine CoastP: 07 5453 9550 1/66 Duporth AvenueMaroochydore QLD 4558

North QueenslandP: 07 4059 1399 Level 1, The PierPierpoint Road Cairns QLD 4870

Northern New South WalesP: 07 5536 8401 6/75 Wharf Street Tweed Heads NSW 2485

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Your local SSKB office

FIND SSKB ONLINELocal General managers

Brisbane General Manager, Kim Fenton

Kim has unofficially been in charge of the Brisbane office for years, where her unique management skills and strong body corporate knowledge have made her increasingly popular with staff and clients. Before joining SSKB, Kim Fen-ton was a trusted name in the Strata Management and Real Estate circles of New South Wales. With a solid background in property and manage-ment, Kim is the ideal candidate to lead the Brisbane office and we congratulate her on the official ap-pointment.The expanding Brisbane office now accommodates 7 Community Managers and 6 Assistant Community Managers, covering a broad and diverse range of buildings of which we are all exceptionally proud to be associated with.

FNQ General Manager,John Atkinson John has been with SSKB for 10 years, first as Community Manager and then as Gen-eral Manager of the Sunshine Coast Office for just on 8 years. Prior to his engagement with SSKB, John’s career includes 24 years with the Australian Public Service, during which he

oversaw the transition of Northern Territory to Self-Government. John’s combination of a strong public sector administrative and management background coupled with the financial disciplines essential to op-erating a business in the private sector brands him a strong asset to our Cairns office.

Gold Coast GeneralManager, Katie ToddWith international real estate ex-perience and more than 13 years of experience in the body corpo-rate industry, Katie is a pivotal leader to the Gold Coast Com-munity management team. Katie organises weekly training for the team ensuring everyone are up-to-date with current legislative re-

quirements. Katie and her team also organise events for committees, building managers and lot owners for the purposes of educating everyone involved in the in-dustry for the betterment of their communities.

Sunshine Coast GeneralManager, Brendan EdwardsSince Brendan started at SSKB in 2009 it quickly became evident that his calm demeanour and positive approach to commu-nity management was a perfect match to our Sunshine Coast clients. His good spirits coupled with experience from working as a Resident Unit Manager and in the Hotel and Resorts industry has seen him profi-ciently managing communities from Morayfield all the way to Hamilton Island.

Victorian General Manager, Kristi Harris (Kinast)Matching Kristi to the Victorian office in Melbourne is a move to increase our support and level of service in Victoria.During her eight years with SSKB, Kristi has become known for her tenacity, enthusiasm and skills in conflict resolution.Further to her skilful manage-

ment of large and prestigious communities, Kristi has had an instrumental role in facilitating training pro-grams to SSKB staff. Kristi’s vision for the Victorian SSKB team is to further develop the unique services offered while building on new and established positive relations.

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In our continued efforts to provide the best possible service to our strata communities, we have appoint-ed key people in charge of the local SSKB offices. The new General Managers will, of course continue to have national support from our industry leading experts and unique client care team.

We appreciate your ongoing support.We appreciate your ongoing support.

SSKB would like to thank the following communities for renewing their agreements with us.We look forward to assisting them with all of their community management needs.

SSKB would like to thank the following communities for renewing their agreements with us.We look forward to assisting them with all of their community management needs.

SOLEIL BMS - SOLEIL ADELAIDE LOWER LEVELS- EVOLUTION APARTMENTS53-55 STEEL STREET - THIS - CENTRE PARK - NEPTUNE RESORT - SUNRISE UNITS

SOLEIL - HIBISCUS LANE 2 - INALA SHOPPING CENTRE - JACARANDA CUMBERLAND OC 1, 2 & 3 - SEA RESORT & SPA BMS Making a positive difference in the lives of our lot owners

Jack Mullins from STAR Building Management Services discussing the importance proper building maintenance and strata WH&S with Community Manager Melodee Panapa., Assistant Community Managers Alice Maclellan and Megan Longford

Community Link

In an afternoon of education, information and community, visitors at this year’s Living in Strata Body Corporate Trade Show had the opportunity to listen to the latest in property news from industry professionals and speak (one on one) with suppliers to the industry- who were able to assist with their body cor-porate needs.This year, the exhibitor booths saw many re-turning exhibitors, some of whom have been attending the Gold Coast Trade Show for more than 4 consecutive years.The 38 exhibits included lawyers, accoun-tants, painters, building maintenance, project management, energy efficiency initiatives, even body corporate app developers and many more. The broad range of exhibitors ensured that there was a supplier for all body corporate needs.SSKB Director, Paul Wood said he was im-pressed with the great turnout of both visitors and exhibitors and stressed how events like

these are truly helpful to committee members and unit managers looking for reliable suppli-ers and information. He also noted that to the SSKB community managers it had been an invaluable day of networking, both with clients but certainly also with the many innovative ex-hibitors.A new feature this year was the Expert Panel, consisting of Body Corporate Law expert Mark Mellick from Active Law-yers, ARAMA CEO Trevor Rawnsley, utilities spe-cialist David Reid from Silver Asset Services and chaired by SSKBDirector Paul Wood.Covering different view-points, the panel had a very popular discussion on issues faced by body corporate committee members, unit managers

Most lot owners in Australia use the DEFT Payments Systems (DEFT) to pay their strata levies in a quick, easy and secure way. DEFT usage has grown significantly and the reason for this is simple – in our view, it is the fastest and most convenient way for lot owners to pay their levies.

Convenient and efficientDEFT makes it as easy as possible for owners to pay their levies and to manage these payments more efficiently. The DEFT system has always been about choice and convenience, offering a variety of reliable payment options for owners to choose a method that suits their own preference and lifestyle, such as BPAY®, Australia Post and paying via mail.

DEFT also provides owners with the flexibility to make a one-off credit card or direct debit payment quickly and securely. By registering your details on deft.com.au, owners can conveniently store payment information, schedule future or recurring payments, and keep track of payments from the previous 12 months.

It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, giving you, the owner, the opportunity to make payments when you want and how you want, in a secure environment. Owners can also make payments anywhere and anytime through the deft.com.au website, which is optimised for smartphones.

Transparent and accurateDEFT is not only a very efficient way to manage levies, it also provides transparency of transactions relating to a lot owner’s strata scheme.

Through DEFT, owner payments are receipted on a daily basis, ensuring a seamless reconciliation process and up-to-date payment records, giving owner’s peace of mind that their payments are being reconciled accurately.

Saves time and moneyDEFT can also help owners to save time and money. Generally speaking, the easiest way for a scheme to save on the transaction costs associated with paying their levies is to make payments electronically, rather than by cheque.

A reduction in levy transaction costs decreases the expenses on your body corporate account, in turn maximising the available funds to meet day-to-day expenses. As a result, you will start to see the benefits of making electronic payments on the next levy run.

Operated by Macquarie Bank since 1995, DEFT processes millions of payments each year, giving owners the freedom, flexibility, security and convenience of paying levies.

As part of Macquarie’s commitment to the strata industry, we offer a range of tailored products and services to strata management

companies, outside of DEFT, to help them manage lot owner’s levies in an efficient, accurate and low-risk way. This provides peace of mind not only to your strata manager, but to you too.

If you have any questions or would like further information about DEFT, please call Macquarie on 07 3233 5357

DisclaimerBPAY® is registered to BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518.

This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL & Australian Credit Licence 237502 for general information purposes only, without taking into account any of your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, you must consider its appropriateness having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. You should obtain independent financial, legal and taxation advice before making any decision regarding this information.

About the author:Cameron McMillan is a Division Director of Macquarie Business Banking. He holds dual roles as National Head of the Strata Segment and Head of Macquarie Business Solutions.

Cameron entered the banking industr y in the mid-1990s af ter beginning his career with an international accounting practice and becoming a qualified Char tered Accountant. Af ter reviewing the industr y landscape, he quickly identified Macquarie as a leading Australian financial institution with a unique strategy and clear understanding of their target markets.

Cameron joined Macquarie in 1999 and commenced managing and assisting professional services businesses to grow and prosper. For the past 15 years, he has been actively involved with the strata management industr y, suppor ting businesses to grow ef ficiently and profitably. He is also actively involved in suppor ting the strata industr y through Macquarie’s national Benchmarking campaigns. More recently, he and the Macquarie Business Solutions team have been developing a series of solutions for their clients to improve process ef ficiency, technology experience and decision making.

Levies play a critical role in protecting the value of a property and ensuring a scheme can meet the expenses associated with maintaining a property day in and day out.

Save Time and Money With DEFT

Strata Trade Show

and lot-owners.Questions from the audience revealed a particular interest in the challenges some committee members may find in working with unit managers and vice versa. A de-lightful focus from all panel members was the importance of finding common ground and co-operating within communities. Both Mark and Trevor highlighted that it is easier, cheaper, and less stressful for committee members and managers alike to work to-gether rather than against each other. Both stressed the importance of solving differ-ences and problems, instead of escalating them. Trevor Rawnsley emphasised even if no common ground can be found it will still be in everybody’s best interest to part ways amicably.Equally popular was a discussion sur-rounding by-laws and the process involved in enforcing them. Audience grabbed the opportunity to ask questions about pet by-laws and how to enforce them, particularly in relation to pet weight limits. Many were surprised that imposing weight limits on pets may be a flawed strategy and not a valid argument for rejecting a pet applica-tion.Other popular subjects were building de-fects, the carbon tax and smoking.

Keep your info up-to-date!

Make sure to have your roll information current. Go to

www.sskb.com.au/change-of-address-form.html to update

your information.

The owners card is designed to ensure that lot owners will have convenient access to their login details when they need it.

The owners card holds the following details:

• Building name and CTS• Lot Number• Unit Number• Contributions Entitlement• Website address of your portal• Stratamax tech support contact number• Your member ID• Your StrataPay RefAt the back of your card, you will find the contact details of your local SSKB Strata Manager.

Call your SSKB office today to order your free owners card, or go online to order at

sskb.com.au/free-sskb-owners-card.html

THE SSKb OWNERS CARDYou may already know that SSKB has an online portal dedicated to your community, giving you 24/7 access to your owners corporation / body corporate records.But did you know that we now offer all lot-owners a free business card sized document with all their login details?

By Cameron McMillan, National Head of Strata,Macquarie Business Banking

Statutory ComplianceYou can still order a free copy of Tim and Paul's guide to statutory compliance from the sskb website.

Understanding the responsibilities of a strata community's statutory obligations can be a daunting task. We designed this guide to provide an overview of the obligations held by strata communities. We hope that by breaking the issues down and directing you to those who may help, we can make a positive difference to your strata community.

From lef t to right: SSKB's Kate Lamber t,Mark Brady, Janisha Dheda and Katie Moule

From lef t to right: Mark Mellick, Trevor Rawnsley, David Reid & Paul Wood