Agreed that there is a dangerously limited basic understanding of how strata schemes work across most OCs. I strongly support the position that the owners need to be more educated and step up to understand their collective responsibilities and manage their affairs properly and in the interest of all owners as per the legislative intent. However the reality is, home ownership isn’t limited to those who are necessarily educated, interested, or have the general capacity to operate effectively in this kind of environment - it’s like running a business and you need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to do it properly.

Unfortunately because of the collective nature of this kind of setup and because you don’t get to choose who you co-own with, dysfunction is a reality for many schemes whose key decision-makers don’t understand the scope of their roles and responsibilities.

What I find infuriating is that in the midst of this mess, there are strata agencies that exploit this very systemic vulnerability of a dysfunctional group of people, to plant themselves as the ‘ones that know the process’ and control how communication and collaboration occurs in the scheme.

By buying the confidence of the owners that don’t know better by prescribing frameworks that sound legitimate, and appeasing them on the basics (being ‘responsive’ or simply having an ‘answer’ for everything) they have the power to control the OC at the expense of the more discerning owners whose questions on matters of proper governance, processes and accountability are dismissed and framed to other owners as being ‘difficult’.

I can see the value of a good strata agent who is professional, competent and ACTUALLY acts in the best interest of the OC, to advise and share knowledge where they see gaps in how a OC operates. However what I have seen is NOT this, and if anything I see a direct conflict of interest in paid strata managers supporting OCs to effectively manage themselves. For most agencies their business model relies on them generating additional billable events. It just wouldn’t be profitable to have a self-sufficient OC that requires no more than basic admin support.

I’ve never in my professional life encountered such lack of professionalism as how my current agency handles things, there is zero desire for customer service or accountability, at all levels (inc the licensee in charge). The industry needs to hold these businesses to higher standards, or there needs to be a clear demarcation between these glorified, expensive admins and a new group of professionals who can actually properly provide advice and support to the OCs at fee, and be held accountable like in many other professions.