Research

QUEENSLAND STRATA COMMITTEES AND TRAINING: CURRENT LANDSCAPE AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

From mid-2025, the second phase of strata reforms will be rolled out in New South Wales, requiring strata committee members to complete mandatory training. Failure to comply can result in a member ceasing to be on the committee.
While Queensland does not currently have mandatory training requirements for body corporate committee members, there has been ongoing discussion within the industry about the potential benefits of implementing similar training standards.

Read on for insights into the current QLD framework including optional committee training resources and potential future regulatory changes for our state.

COMPLETE GUIDE TO BODY CORPORATE BY-LAWS

By-laws are an integral part of the administration of a body corporate. The purpose of by-laws is to provide the committee with the power to regulate the use of lots, body corporate assets and common property.

Under the BCCMA, committees have a statutory obligation to enforce the body corporate’s by-laws. However, by-laws are often forgotten about until they need to be enforced.

The problem for bodies corporate is that…

INSTALLING SOLAR INFRASTRUCTURE IN A BODY CORPORATE UNDER THE BUILDING UNITS AND GROUP TITLES ACT 1980

Rising cost-of-living expenses and an environmentally conscious community have ignited a surge in demand for sustainable and energy-efficient solutions across Queensland.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate around 850,000 homes and small businesses are connected to solar energy across the state.  Queensland boasts the highest rate of residential rooftop solar installations in the nation.

With that number expected to continue to rapidly rise, this article will explore the regulatory framework regarding the installation of solar panels and solar hot water systems (solar infrastructure) in those Queensland bodies corporate that fall under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (the BUGT Act).

NETWORK CHARGES

Network charges are a component of your electricity bill, covering the costs of maintaining and operating the electricity grid. They are separate from wholesale costs and retail margins and are typically less than half of your overall bill. Each year, electricity distributors submit pricing proposals to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), detailing the network tariffs they plan to charge. These tariffs help recover the costs of delivering electricity to homes and businesses.

ENERGY MARKET UPDATE

In this article we provide insights into key electricity market observations of last month’s Base Future pricing and delve into the Economist latest report which marks the beginning of the “Dawn of Solar” which has caught experts of guard by this rapid growth.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN STRATA PERTINENT CONSIDERATIONS

The issue of electrical vehicles in strata has already become a significant issue, as bodies corporate attempt to balance the rights of individuals.

IS STRATA A FOURTH TIER OF GOVERNMENT?

strata title represents a new and subsidiary form of governance often referred to as the ‘fourth tier of government.’

TOP 10 OF 2023

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all our readers. While I’m sure we are all still adjusting to writing 2024 and getting into the swing of the New Year the team here at Smart Strata wanted to follow tradition and take the time to highlight our top-read updates from 2023. There is no denying…

WHOLESALE MARKET QUARTERLY REPORT Q3 2023

AER Wholesale Market Quarterly Report “Wholesale energy prices and demand fall in July to September period”, that is the theme from the latest AER Wholesale Market Quarterly Report. Some key findings “Rooftop solar in September was 41% higher than last September, reducing demand from the grid.” “lower demand was largely due to warmer than average…

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS REFRESHER: DEALING WITH ASSIGNMENTS AND VARIATIONS CONCURRENTLY

“Management rights”, “variations” and “assignments” – these are terms commonly used in our Body Corporate and Strata World but what are we really talking about? What does it mean to have an “assignment” that is subject to a “variation”? These appear to be the ‘flavour of the month’ at the moment. In this video, you…