MAINTENANCE SEMINAR WRAP-UP — PRIZE WINNERS NEXT WEEK!

A Memorable Close to the Final 2025 Smart Strata Seminar Series

Maintenance Seminar Wrap-Up! The Smart Strata Community Education Seminar Series has officially wrapped up for the final half of 2025, culminating in a fantastic closing event in Cairns last Thursday night.

Following four successful seminars held across the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Mackay, and Brisbane, this statewide series reached over 350 attendees, each eager to deepen their understanding of strata maintenance responsibilities and governance best practice.

This series theme, Clarifying Maintenance & Improvement Obligations — covering common property, lot boundaries, and exclusive use areas — generated insightful discussion and provided strata stakeholders with practical tools to support confident, compliant decision-making within their communities.

🎟 Access Maintenance Seminar Slides Here

What We Covered

Throughout the series, our legal and industry expert panelists guided attendees through one of the most debated topics in strata living — understanding who is responsible for maintenance, repairs, and improvements within bodies corporate.

Each session combined legal clarity with practical and regional focused examples, ensuring attendees walked away with knowledge that could be applied immediately in real-world scenarios.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Distinguish between maintenance, repair, and improvement — and why the difference matters.
• Identify whether the body corporate or lot owner is responsible for specific works.
• Manage and assess owner requests to improve common property.
• Understand who pays and how to avoid common financial pitfalls.
• Make transparent, compliant, and well-documented committee decisions.

These sessions have empowered committees, owners and managers to make informed choices, maintain harmony, and reduce costly disputes.

Expert Speakers Across the State

A sincere thank-you to our panel of legal and industry experts who shared their experience and insight across the state:

Jessica Cannon – Partner, Chambers Russell Lawyers (Sunshine Coast & Gold Coast)
Todd Garsden – Partner, Mahoneys Lawyers & Advisors (Sunshine Coast)
Mario Esera – Partner, HWLE Lawyers (Gold Coast, Brisbane & Cairns)
Brenton Schoch – Partner, Grace Lawyers (Brisbane & Mackay)
Nigel Hales – Partner, Miller Harris Lawyers (Cairns)

From Archers the Strata Professionals, we were joined by:

Andrew Staehr – Partner (Sunshine Coast)
Adam Ford – Partner (Gold Coast)
Rachel Blaxland – Senior Strata Community Manager (Mackay)
Wayne Hewitt – Partner (Brisbane)
Stephen McCulloch – Partner (Cairns)

Our speakers tackled crucial questions around maintenance responsibilities, including:

• Understanding the two most common format plan types and their key differences.
• Defining lot owner improvements and determining default responsibility.
• Clarifying approval thresholds, Exclusive Use By-laws, and utility infrastructure duties.
• Highlighting the importance of accurate documentation for improvement approvals and special conditions.

Their combined expertise helped attendees confidently navigate the complex world of strata maintenance and improvement obligations.

Attendee Engagement and Feedback

The response from participants was outstanding. Across all regions, the seminars achieved an average rating of 9.5/10 for content quality, relevance, and presentation delivery.

Most importantly, attendees reported a stronger understanding of the practical aspects of maintenance and improvement obligations.

• 90% of attendees said they now have a clearer understanding of the difference between maintenance, repairs, and improvements.
• 97–100% felt more informed about determining whether maintenance falls to the body corporate or lot owner.
• 98% now better understand how to handle owner requests to improve common property.
• 95% agreed they have a better grasp of why accurate documentation of lot owner improvements is critical.

These results underscore the continued importance of accessible, region-specific education within Queensland’s evolving strata sector.

Thank You to Our Exhibitors

A heartfelt thank-you to our exhibitor partners who joined us across the series. Your presence, expertise, and contributions provided invaluable support to strata communities statewide. Click the image to access their full contacts.

Each exhibitor added immense value by sharing solutions in maintenance, compliance, legal, energy, coatings, and more — helping attendees take practical ideas back to their schemes.

Major Prize Winner — Announced Next Week!

🎉 Stay tuned for next week’s Smart Strata Update, where we’ll announce the major prize winners from each regions Exhibitor Passport Competition!

It’s our way of wrapping up an outstanding seminar series that combined education, engagement, and a little fun.

What’s Next

We’re already planning the next Smart Strata Community Education Seminar Series, returning in May 2026. Details will be released early next year via the Smart Strata Newsletter — so keep an eye on your inbox to be among the first to register.

Thank you to everyone who joined us throughout this series. Your participation, questions, and enthusiasm are what make these events so impactful.

📷 View event photos here

📩 For more information, contact info@smartstrata.com

Article contributed by the Smart Strata Team.