Tasmania Recap – Summer 20/21

I was recently elected president of the Tasmanian chapter, and would like to take this opportunity to thank Nigel Burridge for everything he has done for SCA (TAS) over the past two years.

A key event for SCA (TAS) was the breakfast seminar cobranded with Page Seager, where lawyer Marc Edwards discussed a number of recent cases including interpretation of numbers for a quorum and the use of residential lots for short term stays. The law and regulation around short term stays are changing rapidly in response to increased Airbnb usage. Some strata corporations have enacted by-laws which have been registered by the Land Titles office in an attempt to retain the residential amenity of their strata scheme, which have been and will continue to be challenged.

Hobart also hosted the national Strata Leading Change forum in late 2019. This event opened with a presentation by Land Titles office staff on the review of the Strata Titles Act. Notable attendees included SCA National President, Andrew Chambers, SCA CEO Alisha Fisher, SCA (NSW) President Chris Duggan and presenters who are experts in their respective fields.

We will continue to work with the Land Titles Office to share our knowledge and experience of the implications and impact of the legislation on owners and bodies corporate with a view to enhancing the workability and liveability of bodies corporate and strata developments.

My main focus as president will be to raise the profile of strata managers, and what we offer. Strata and the role of the strata manager is misunderstood, with legislation being poorly or rarely enforced. There are significant issues within the sector, including an estimated 90% of bodies corporate that are inactive, of which a high percentage would be incorrectly insured. In addition, insurers are still insuring units separately, in contravention of the legislation and often resulting in gaps in cover.

My goal is to share knowledge as widely as possible, by way of advertising and seminars for associated professionals such as real estate agents, architects and lawyers.

I’m looking forward to working with SCA National to push our nationally consistent, but locally relevant responses to regulations, accreditation and some of the largest issues facing strata in Tasmania and across the country such as building defects and insurance.

My goal is to share knowledge as widely as possible, by way of advertising and seminars for associated professionals such as real estate agents, architects and lawyers.