This week was a momentous one for the strata sector as we welcomed the passage of the most significant reforms to Queensland body corporate law in decades.
The reforms to the Building Units and Group Titles Act (“BUGTA”) that passed Parliament were positive and will pave the way for even more ambitious reforms to secure the rights of unit owners.
The Queensland Government is currently considering reforms to management rights arrangements, under which a body corporate in a new development could be saddled with service contracts for up to 25 years, with no way of even ensuring services were performed adequately.
The proposed reforms to Management Rights should follow hard on the heels of the BUGTA amendments.
Of course, we congratulate the Attorney-General and her Department for working very closely with industry to prepare a really positive suite of reforms. We were also pleased to see support for the residents of Couran Cove from the Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and the engagement members of the cross-bench have done in their own communities. The passage of this bill was a great example of the Parliament working for the common good.
So while we celebrate this important piece of reform we see it as an important first step and it was evident from the debate in Parliament this week on BUGTA that Parliament agrees. Management Rights, proper funding of the Commissioner's office and other body corporate issues affect far more people and now required urgent attention. All of these issues were raised in the debate.
We look forward to working collaboratively with the Government to ensure meaningful reform to body corporate law.
Laura Bos
General Manager
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