What we do

Educate Executive Committee members and individuals

By sharing experiences and disseminating information through:

• the members' area of this website
• regular meetings with expert speakers
• seminars with expert speakers
• online discussion groups

Lobby for necessary changes to Government policy and legislation

We have appeared at commissions of inquiry (most notably the 2002 Cambell Inquiry into building self-certification); met regulary with departmental officers and ministers for Fair Trading and Planning; and made substantive submissions to the Office of Fair Trading the Department of Planning on strata legislation changes

Our opinions are frequently sought on current legislation and the need for reform, from Government departments, from politicians of all political parties, from local councillors, from various industry bodies, and the media.

Represent owners on Government, Education and Industry committees

These have included:

• Strata Industry Working Group ("SWIG") - sponsored by the NSW Department of Lands to assist the Director General in policy and procedural issues arising from the registration of strata plans by the Registar General. Other SWIG members are representatives of the survey profession, Office of Fair Trading, Law Society of NSW, Institute of Strata Title Managers.
• Property Services Advisory Committee
• Strata & Community Consultative Forum within the Consumer Trader & Tenancy Tribunal, designed to give community feedback to the CTTT in relation to its strata & community title dispute resolution process
• Strata Research Round Table - with Professor Bill Randolph of the University of NSW Faculty of the Built Environment, to prioritise options for progressing research on strata living

Address Conferences

We have appeared at conferences on panels with a variety of parties, from developers to building management companies, politicians to academics. Recent talks have included:

• Effectiveness of Public Consultation and Research at the 2007 Strata and Community Title in Australia for the 21st Century II
• Governance and Administration Into The Future at the 2007 Strata and Community Title Owners’ Forum

Play an active role in the media

We are regularly called upon to comment on strata issues, and proactively talk to media about issues that warrant attention - as evidenced by our representations on the problems of long-term building management and strata management contracts, that later led to legislation to limit their scope in the future; and the issue of contracted proxies which are about to be outlawed in NSW. OCN has appeared in numerous media, including SBS, SBC TV, Channel 7, Channel 10, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Daily Telegrah, The Sun Herald, the Sydney Morning Herald.