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So far Sonya Acton has created 91 blog entries.

NSW Stops Short of Paying for Cladding Rectification

2020-11-30T12:17:39+11:00

18 NOVEMBER 2020 Owners of buildings with flammable cladding in NSW will still need to pay tens of thousands of dollars per apartment to rectify their complexes after the NSW Government refused to Victoria’s lead in paying for flammable cladding to be rectified. Whilst the preference would be for the government to pay for the cost of remediation, Karen Stiles, Executive Officer for OCN welcomed both the announcement of the low [...]

NSW Stops Short of Paying for Cladding Rectification2020-11-30T12:17:39+11:00

Interest-free loans part of $1b program to fix NSW’s cladding crisis

2020-11-17T12:11:30+11:00

17 NOVEMBER 2020 Apartment owners forced to replace flammable cladding on high-risk buildings across NSW will be able to access interest-free loans as part of a $1 billion government program over the next three years aimed at helping to resolve the crisis. The program, which will be unveiled in the state budget on Tuesday, includes $139 million to establish and offer technical support to owners for the remediation of at-risk buildings. [...]

Interest-free loans part of $1b program to fix NSW’s cladding crisis2020-11-17T12:11:30+11:00

NSW State Budget Announcement – Project Remediate

2020-11-25T15:19:41+11:00

16 November 2020 Today in the 2020-2021 NSW Budget, the Government announced a landmark three-year program to remove combustible cladding on hundreds of the most at risk residential buildings across the state. Minister Anderson thanks OCN as a key stakeholder in the journey. The centre-piece of Project Remediate is a commitment to pay interest on loans by commercial lenders to Class 2 residential building owners and owners corporations to help them [...]

NSW State Budget Announcement – Project Remediate2020-11-25T15:19:41+11:00

David Chandler on the need for buildings that don’t harm the environment, or people

2020-11-16T10:29:28+11:00

12 November 2020 The construction industry must deliver buildings that don’t harm people physically, emotionally or economically, and that have a small environmental footprint, if it wants to win back consumer confidence, says NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, who will be speaking at The Fifth Estate’s Building Circularity event in two weeks. The industry must start cutting embodied carbon in building projects, and could one day be subject to pricing signals [...]

David Chandler on the need for buildings that don’t harm the environment, or people2020-11-16T10:29:28+11:00

NSW building reforms to put strata managers under microscope

2021-02-22T16:19:30+11:00

NOVEMBER 2020 The conspiracy of silence that surrounds apartment buildings and possible defects would be ended in the next round of landmark building reforms. In the wake of the Grenfell, Mascot and Opal tower disasters, Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson is proposing law changes forcing strata schemes to hand over basic maintenance information about their building. OCN executive Karen Stiles said the strata portal would only be the second in the [...]

NSW building reforms to put strata managers under microscope2021-02-22T16:19:30+11:00

Opal Towers: McKenzie Group and building watchdog had secret deal

2020-11-09T17:33:48+11:00

3 November 2020 The certifiers who passed the notorious Opal Towers as fit to live in have had a finding of professional misconduct against them downgraded in a secret deal with the very government body meant to protect homeowners. The agreement between the Building Professionals Board and certifiers McKenzie Group Consulting was approved by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal with the terms to remain “confidential”, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. [...]

Opal Towers: McKenzie Group and building watchdog had secret deal2020-11-09T17:33:48+11:00

Airbnb ‘party animals’ face five-year ban in Christmas crackdown

2020-10-28T19:33:41+11:00

27 OCTOBER 2020 Consistently unruly Airbnb guests and hosts will be publicly shamed and banned for up to five years under new rules for the NSW short-term rental industry that come into force for the Christmas holidays. From December 18 the state's fair trading watchdog will have the power to craft conditions for short-term rental accommodation users and operators who have breached a new code of conduct. The new rules come [...]

Airbnb ‘party animals’ face five-year ban in Christmas crackdown2020-10-28T19:33:41+11:00

Pets in Strata

2020-10-22T15:25:33+11:00

13 OCTOBER 2020 Listen to a radio segment recording from ABC Radio Sydney including an interview with Karen Stiles, Executive Officer of OCN,  discussing pets in strata. ABC Radio Sydney, Breakfast with Robbie Buck & Wendy Harmer.

Pets in Strata2020-10-22T15:25:33+11:00

Stink of politicians and property developers hard to wash away

2020-10-22T15:16:54+11:00

21 OCTOBER 2020 We had no idea how far the disease had spread until the autopsy was carried out. We’d known something was wrong because there was no mistaking that pungent smell of rot and decay. But when we peered into those dark cavities after the first incision was made and the fragile skin had been peeled back, the full horror of it all became clear. By then, the culprit was long [...]

Stink of politicians and property developers hard to wash away2020-10-22T15:16:54+11:00

How to add value to an entire apartment block

2020-11-18T12:13:57+11:00

20 August 2020 Getting all owners in an apartment complex to agree to extensive renovations requires much more than the power of persuasion. A commercial mindset, an active and competent body corporate and good timing are also essential. Licensed real estate agent and auctioneer Craig Rosevear, who has been closely involved in the external transformation of the three blocks of 14 apartments where he is an owner, suggests treating the project as [...]

How to add value to an entire apartment block2020-11-18T12:13:57+11:00

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