The Amendments Bill is currently under review by the State Government of Victoria. It is expected that the Bill will be enacted in 2021. Some key areas under review that will have a direct effect on Owners Corporations, committees, owners and managers are as follows:
- A four tier system with new thresholds for owners corporations that must have committees, professional managers, external audits, building insurance, maintenance plans and annual financial statements.
- Increase the minimum level of public liability insurance from $10,000,000 to $20,000,000
- Ensure sufficient fees are deposited into the maintenance fund to implement the approved maintenance plan
- Remove the requirement of a common seal
- Improve decision-making within inactive owners corporations by giving owners corporation managers authority to make interim decisions in certain circumstances.
- Expand the duties of owners corporations committee members to include a duty to act in the owners corporation’s best interests
- Special Resolutions that do not obtain the required voting threshold, but which are unopposed, to be treated as interim special resolutions
- Reduce the maximum size of owners corporation committees from 12 to 7 members
- Permit owners corporations to recover reasonable pre-litigation costs from defaulting lot owners
- Developing a Model Rule on smoke drift that requires residents to ensure that their smoke does not penetrate to the common property or any other lot.
- Permit owners corporations to dispose of goods abandoned on common property
As the Amendment Act is processed through parliament, we will bring you further updates as they occur. For a full summary of the reform proposals, click here
