Legal Articles
Lighter burning ciggarette, balconies and pets.

The Queensland Government introduced the Body Corporate and Community Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 (“Bill”) to the Queensland Parliament on 24 August 2023. This legislation aims to reform Queensland’s body corporate regulations, primarily governed by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (“Act”). The Bill is not yet law, but its adoption is not far away. The Parliament Legal Affairs and Safety Committee recently released their report regarding the Bill and recommended the Bill be adopted. Termination of Schemes A significant change proposed by the Bill is the introduction of the termination threshold of 75% in cases… Continue Reading

defamation digital communication

It is quite common for us to be consulted regarding disputes involving defamation in a body corporate context. The ingredients for conflict that are present in community title schemes – strangers living together in close proximity, the sharing of facilities, members of the body corporate having different priorities in respect of the management of the body corporate, competition for committee positions, and so on – coupled with the ease of communication facilitated by email and social media, create an environment conducive to the publishing of insulting, and even defamatory, comments. Many people may be of the view that defamation is… Continue Reading

airbnb lounge

If you are looking to start renting out your property on Airbnb (or other similar platform) there are a few things to consider – namely whether or not you are actually entitled to set up a short term rental. As we have discussed in previous posts, the Council regulates short term rentals quite strictly and it is often not as simple of a process to organise as you might think. Have a look here to read an overview of the by-laws and regulations that surround short term rentals on the Gold Coast. WHAT IS THE COUNCIL APPROVALS PROCESS? In the… Continue Reading

Man in wheelchair

  As the population ages and housing trends shift towards higher density living in community titles schemes, we are seeing issues arise regarding accessibility to and around schemes. Many older buildings will not comply (and are not required to comply) with current disability access standards for new buildings.

Other Changes

On 1 March 2021, the new Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation comes into force. The new regulation clarifies and adds provisions to the existing regulation to provide for more flexible and contemporary arrangements within body corporates. The changes are split into three categories – Committees, General Meetings, and Other. In this article, being the third of a three part series, the others changes to the module are explained.  

General Meetings

On 1 March 2021, the new Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation comes into force. The new regulation clarifies and adds provisions to the existing regulation to provide for more flexible and contemporary arrangements within body corporates. The changes are split into three categories – Committees, General Meetings, and Other. In this article, being the second of a three part series, the changes being made to general meetings are explained.

Committees

On 1 March 2021, the new Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation comes into force. The new regulation clarifies and adds provisions to the existing regulation to provide for more flexible and contemporary arrangements within body corporates. The changes are split into three categories – Committees, General Meetings, and Other. In this article, the changes being made to committees are explained.

The Queensland Government has now enacted the Retail Shop Leases and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020 (referred to in this update as the “Regulations“), which was expected to legislate for the State of Queensland the National Cabinet’s ‘Mandatory Code of Conduct – SME Commercial Leasing Principles During COVID-19’ (referred to in this update as the “National Cabinet Code“).

With media reporting that the alleged cost of the rectification of the infamous Sydney Mascot Towers could exceed $50 million, it is timely to look at the current law relating to building defects in a body corporate context. Defects in the common property (i.e. in essence, anything other than the inside of individual apartments – for more information, see our recent article regarding how to read your scheme’s survey plan) should be of concern to owners in community titles schemes, particularly in relation to new buildings. Broadly speaking, the body corporate is responsible for maintaining the common property.

Go to top