Communal Facility Restrictions Less Burdensome
From noon Friday last week, stage 3 of the roadmap to easing restrictions commences with some changes to communal facility management in body corporate complexes. Strata Community Association (SCA) (Qld)’s Guide Return to (the new) Normal, Stage 3 outlines what is important for strata communities to comply with. Non-compliance may result in fines of up to $13,345.
You can check out the Roadmap Stage 3 and the SCA’s Best Practices Guide – Stage 3 by following the links.
Major Changes from Stage 2 restrictions
- Spaces below 200 square metres can have one person per two square metres, up to 50 persons at a time
- Larger spaces continue to have permission for one person per four square metres, up to a maximum of 100 people in a private, non-commercial gathering
- Gyms may be left unsupervised provided an accurate attendance record is kept. The body corporate must keep contact information about all residents, guests and staff at any communal facility for contact tracing purposes, including name, address and mobile phone number, and the date and time period facilities were used at (to be kept for a period of at least 56 days). If requested, this information must be provided to public health officers. The information should be securely stored, not used for any other purpose and deleted after 56 days.
- Saunas require a COVID Safe Plan
Fitness Industry COVID-Safe Plan
This information was first published by Strata Community Association (QLD) on 3 July 2020.
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Our Body Corporate has been given a Covid Safe Plan by a Yoga instructor to conducts sessions for residents in one of our common areas rooms.
She has asked the Committee to approve her plan and allow classes to resume.
While the plan seems reasonable, none of the committee members have any health experience nor feel competent to judge whether this plan is adequate or not.
What should we do with it?
I have tried ringing the Qld Work Health & Safety Hotline number 1300 005 018 but they were of no help.
Hi Dennis,
Great question and more details on the activity will be needed for specific advice to the circumstances your Body Corporate is facing. Questions from a legal professional will likely include:
1. Are the classes conducted as a commercial business? If the answer is yes then this will open up another series of questions about prior authority to occupy and conduct the business on common property so that authority and or requirement to approve the plan submitted can be ascertained.
2. Is this just a resident instructing other residents in a mutual hobby of yoga with all people in attendance entitled to use the common property? If the answer is yes then the Body Corporate does not need to get involved in the groups personal activities, provided they are adhering to the scheme by-laws which the Body Corporate does have authority to enforce and government directives which is enforced by the government.
In all cases, you should seek a legal opinion for certainty of your specific circumstances.
I hope this reply helps guide the direction you take. All the best.
Grant
We are talking about commercial activities – the instructor charges the patrons to attend the classes but may not be an owner within the CTS.
I put this question to the Workplace Health and Safety Hotline and was told that the Govt only approves Industry Covid Plans – it does not approve them for individual business units within an industry.
If Govt does not approve individual plans then who does?
Do they not need to be approved as long as the provider self certifies them to comply with their industry plan?
Getting a legal opinion will just be a waste of time as it will just be an opinion.