Must-do checks and tasks a strata committee should complete

Checks and tasks strata committee should complete header image

This handy to-do list covers many of the crucial checks and tasks a strata committee should complete every year

Whether you are a strata committee member or lot owner, you likely have a vested interest in maintaining your strata property. After all, it’s only natural to want to live in a harmonious, well-maintained environment.

However, when it comes to successfully managing and maintaining a strata property and remaining compliant with laws that govern community living, it isn’t always clear what exactly needs to be done on an annual basis.

To help you out, we’ve put together a list of checks and tasks a strata committee should complete every 12 months between annual general meetings (AGMs). While this information is most relevant to strata committee members, lot owners can also use it as a tool to understand which tasks your elected strata committee should be completing.

While there are numerous checks and tasks a strata committee should engage in on an annual basis in maintaining your strata property, these are some of the more important ones to complete:

Fire safety
Health and safety
Capital works plan, sinking fund forecast or maintenance plan
Insurance
Annual budget
Annual general meeting.

1. Fire safety

Ever since the London Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, fire safety has been top of mind for government departments that oversee community living and those who choose to live in community living settings alike. It’s easy to see why — a severe fire can result in the loss of lives, valuable investments and livelihoods, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to prevent fires from occurring and getting out of control in the first place.

That’s why we recommend placing fire safety checks at the very top of the list of checks and tasks a strata committee should complete. A strata property’s mandatory fire safety requirements will differ a little from state to state, so each property’s strata committee must stay up-to-date with state-based requirements.

nsw

New South Wales

In New South Wales, a fire safety certificate should be issued whenever new building work is complete to certify the changes uphold fire safety standards. If a strata committee improves a property’s fire safety by installing measures like sprinklers, the measures will need to be checked and a fire safety certificate will need to be issued by a qualified inspector.

Your strata property should have an accredited practitioner (fire safety) assess the property’s fire safety measures (like smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and fire exits) each year before signing off an annual fire safety statement. While this not mandatory for some properties — depending on rules laid out by your local council — we recommend having this certification completed every year for peace of mind.

You can learn more about New South Wales strata fire safety requirements by clicking here.

qld

Queensland

In Queensland, all fire safety installations, including structural features, fire protection systems, firefighting equipment and safety features, must be tested and well-maintained. Specific requirements for your property may vary. Body corporate committees should ensure:

Evacuation routes are clear and safe
The property’s fire and safety evacuation plan is reviewed annually
A fire evacuation drill is completed every year
An evacuation coordinator is appointed and completes quarterly training
All records and documents relating to fire safety are made available to the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) at any time, and copies are also kept off-site.

vic

Victoria

In Victoria, all owners corporation properties must have Essential Fire Safety Measures (ESMs) — such as fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, emergency lighting and sprinkler systems — installed, and check that they are operational. Each building should have an evacuation plan, and all residents must have access to it. Owners corporation committees must also organise an annual essential safety measures report and maintain records of all fire safety checks and upgrades.

You can learn more about Victorian owners corporation fire safety requirements by clicking here.

2. Health and safety

While there are many benefits to community living, this doesn’t mean owners and residents are immune from risks, especially when it comes to health and safety. Thankfully, such risks can be managed quite easily by an organised and informed strata committee with the help of an experienced strata manager.

Owners corporations are responsible for ensuring all common areas of a strata property are safe for all residents, visitors and workers alike. Also, the Work Health and Safety Act may come into play if a worker — such as a cleaner, gardener or building manager — is injured on the property.

In this light, a property’s strata committee needs to prioritise annual risk assessments of all common property areas and ensure any arising risks are minimised or managed.

Things you may check include:

If previously identified trip hazards are removed or fixed
If signage advising owners and residents of potential hazards is up to date
If shared amenities such as pools and gyms are regularly maintained to ensure safety

If incidents on the property are reported, logged and filed appropriately
If common property repairs have been carried out according to legislated guidelines
If those who perform services on the property can carry out their work safely.

Completing this task on an annual basis may help your owners corporation and strata committee avoid dealing with major health and safety incidents in the long run. Having the entire strata committee complete public liability and health and safety training may also be beneficial.

If this seems like an overwhelming task, or your strata committee needs guidance on what exactly needs to be done, you may find services such as PICA Group’s Community Health & Safety service helpful. This service provides access to expert consultants and best practice procedures, keeps committees up-to-date about relevant legislations, helps committees report, file and log incidents, and more.

3. Capital works plan, sinking fund forecast or maintenance plan

A capital works plan, also known as a sinking fund forecast or maintenance plan, is essentially a 10-year plan of action for maintaining your strata property and everything on it — from the paint and flooring in common property areas through to fire safety equipment and shared amenities. This plan is an essential tool that will help a property’s strata committee map and spread out planned maintenance and repair work. Importantly, the plan will help your strata committee plan out the funds required for repairs and maintenance and may give you an indication of whether a special levy will be required to replenish your capital works fund, sinking fund or maintenance fund in the future.

A lot can happen in a year — trees may deteriorate, cracks may appear where they shouldn’t and general wear and tear may start affecting shared amenities. This is why we recommend adding a review of your capital works plan or maintenance plan to the list of checks and tasks a strata committee should complete every 12 months.

Perhaps your committee can complete a walk-through of the entire property as part of a committee meeting to seek out areas that need repair or maintenance proactively. This may also be an excellent opportunity to go through repairs and maintenance tasks completed during the previous 12 months to make sure no further work is needed. A facilities management provider, such as Building Facilities Management Services (BFMS) which is located in NSW, may also be able to help your committee prepare or update a capital works or maintenance plan.

4. Insurance

Organising strata insurance is among the most important tasks a strata committee will work on during each 12 month period. As we all know, things tend to go wrong when we least expect it. This is why it’s important to have an adequate strata insurance policy like CommunitySure to cover a strata property’s buildings, common property and common area contents. Your strata insurance will need to have a liability cover component, as this is mandatory in Australia.

Like personal insurance policies such as private healthcare and car insurance, researching your options and obtaining a new set of quotes every year is wise. That way, you can make sure your policy is competitive, covers all necessary areas, and provides good value for money.

When you’re researching insurance options, take the time to consider any specific factors that may affect your strata property. For example, if your property is located in a fire or flood-prone area, it may be best to research insurance providers who specialise in this. Similarly, if your strata property features non-compliant cladding, you may need to disclose this fact upfront.

5. Annual budget

An annual budget is a document that lists all foreseeable expenses a strata property will need to account for within a 12 month period, and it is among the most important of all the checks and tasks a strata committee should complete. Generally, the strata scheme budget is also the mechanism used to set the levies payable for owners for the year or period ahead. The strata committee will work with the strata management provider to determine the best timing to review the end of year accounts and prepare the budget to meet the required timelines across each state.

An experienced strata management provider will likely be able to help finalise your annual budget by guiding you on what needs to be included. We recommend completing this task before your strata property’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) notice is sent out so that it can be included in the documentation and approved at the AGM.

Don’t forget to take your updated capital works plan, sinking fund forecast or maintenance plan into account when finalising your budget! You should also make sure to include the following:

Strata management fees
Building management fees
Regular maintenance costs (e.g gardener’s fees, cleaner’s fees)
Safety inspection costs (e.g fire safety inspector’s fees)

Insurance costs
Special repairs and maintenance work scheduled for the next 12 month period
Common property bills (e.g. electricity, gas, water, sewerage, rubbish collection)

The finalised budget will help the owners corporation determine if strata levies can be maintained at the current rate or whether they must be raised.

6. Annual general meeting (AGM)

Each owners corporation must have one AGM each year. All lot owners can attend this meeting and vote on matters that arise.

Each property’s strata committee secretary should organise this meeting and provide all lot owners with a meeting agenda, a list of motions, and any other necessary details well in advance of the AGM and in line with the required timelines in each state’s strata legislation.

Having your strata property’s fire safety checks, health and safety plan, capital work plan, insurance research, and annual budget prepared prior to the AGM is ideal, as each of these items can be put to the entire owners corporation for review and approval.

While this list of checks and tasks a strata committee should complete only details the most critical jobs, checking off each item every 12 months may help your strata committee stay on top of essential responsibilities and remain compliant for the duration of your term.

Having set up the very first strata scheme in Australia back in 1948, we’ve come a long way in our knowledge and experience across a variety of property types. Whether you are new to strata management or an active committee member, we have developed an extensive library of resources to assist you. Click here to download our FREE Community Living guide on committee management.If you would like a consultation to review your by-laws, our Kemps Petersons Legal team is at your service to assist. Or to find out more about the services we offer, click here for a free strata assessment.

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