New training to empower NSW strata committee members
IFrom today, new and returning strata committee members will be required to complete free online training delivered by NSW Fair Trading within three months of their appointment. The self-paced online course, Introduction to Strata Committee Rights and Responsibilities, takes around one hour to complete and covers key topics including committee member duties, repairs and maintenance, financial management, meetings, record keeping and dispute resolution. The training was developed by NSW Fair [...]
Owners of units in Jean Nassif’s dodgy Sydney developments fear little consequence from ICAC probe
When Michael Jones bought his first home in 2017, his wife was pregnant with their first child. The two-bedroom apartment at Toplace's Vicinity complex in Sydney was meant to be their "nest egg", a place to build memories for the young family. Nine years and two more children later, his family has long outgrown the apartment. But major structural defects in the complex have left them financially trapped. The head [...]
NIBA: OCN and other consumer groups walk away from NIBA code talks
Three consumer organisations have abandoned the National Insurance Brokers Association's (NIBA) code of practice consultation, declaring that meaningful reform of the strata insurance sector will not come through industry self-regulation. Instead, they are redirecting their campaign to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and government. In a joint submission with the Owners Corporation Network of Australia and the Unit Owners Association of Queensland, the Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby (ACIL) called on [...]
Fresh calls for ACT Government to ban insurance commissions to strata managers.
Owners in strata properties are still unwittingly paying more for insurance than they should, as some strata managers in the ACT continue to take opaque commissions from brokers. ACT Owners Corporation Network president Gary Petherbridge told Region last year that commissions should go, even if it meant higher costs for property owners. Mr Petherbridge said their removal would create complete transparency of charges and costs. You can learn more here [...]
Victorian OC Act review – the good the bad and the “needs improvement”
Our expert panel scored the Victorian Government’s OC Act review and rated what’s good, the bad and the “needs improvement” in a recent webinar. We explained what we (and you) can do about it to get this once in a generation legislation right. Tom Bacon (Strata Title Lawyers), strata industry leader, Julie McLean, and OCN Director Dr. Janette Corcoran unpacked the Government’s report break down the implications, and highlight next steps. If [...]
Push to deliver solar to 2.5m apartment dwellers gains traction
OCN this week won a grant from the NSW government to provide a specialist resource to help apartment owners through the process.A push to improve access to rooftop solar for Australia’s 2.5 million apartment dwellers is gaining momentum, but owners are still facing headwinds from strata and government bureaucracy. About 35 to 40 per cent of detached homes have rooftop solar – making Australia the world leader – but less [...]
Owners push for strata commission ban after ‘first salvo’
The Owners Corporation Network says it is disappointed the Victorian government has deferred an expert panel’s recommendation to ban strata commissions pending more analysis, but it will continue to press the issue. Development MD Chris Irons says the panel’s report and response, released last week, marked “a first salvo” and the network looks forward to working with the government further on responses. “OCN’s position is that those kinds of conflicted remuneration [...]
Strata giant unmasked in secret lobbying to save insurance kickbacks
According to the Melbourne Age this week, PICA Group, the country’s biggest strata manager, secretly lobbied the Victorian Government against a proposed ban on insurance commissions, making claims – without apparent evidence – that it would lead to industry collapse. OCN has always opposed insurance commissions and all conflicted remuneration to strata managers. We’ve made detailed submissions to state governments against the practice. And PICA’s claims are belied by the [...]
Chris Irons on ABC Brisbane radio with Ellen Fanning May 2026
Chris spoke with Queensland callers to assist with helping them navigate the challenges residents living in strata are facing. General - strata talk back (listen from 2:25 on the link) Listen to the recording here
Australia’s $1 billion car park problem has an answer
A recent report has found that Australia is spending $1 billion a year on vacant car parks. But according to some industry bodies and companies, there's a solution. The chair of the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), Fred Tuckwell, said that EV anxiety and misconceptions – as well as generational divides – among apartment owners also contribute to the lack of charging infrastructure. "The biggest issue is FUD, fear, uncertainty and [...]
Why strata buyers risk costly hidden problems
Mixed-use developments are becoming more common, says David Glover, managing director of the owners corporation network (OCN). And the problem with many BMSs is that they are drafted by the developer and registered before residents move in. Read more here
OCN ACT calls for insurance commission ban as ACT Strata Inquiry reports
An ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry has delivered broad support for a Strata Commissioner, backed by all major parties. While OCN ACT President Gary Petherbridge welcomed the move, he argued the committee didn't go far enough - insurance commissions should be banned outright, not just disclosed. He also warned that the proposed $312,000 two-year budget was barely a starting point for a properly resourced role. Read the full article here [...]
Apartments Left Behind in Solar Boom — Victorian Inquiry Hears Call for Change
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry is examining why apartment residents have been left behind in the rooftop solar revolution. OCN board director Dr Janette Corcoran told the inquiry that energy policy has largely been designed around detached housing, where individuals control their roofs, their energy systems and their investment decisions leaving strata communities at a disadvantage. She noted that in apartments, energy infrastructure is shared, decisions are collective and responsibility [...]
Commission Crackdown Creeps Beyond Strata Managers
A NSW Productivity Commission review has proposed banning strata manager commissions in a move that could save apartment owners $333 million. OCN Managing Director David Glover welcomed the findings, saying conflicts of interest run "up and down the chain" and that removing them would be "fundamentally better for everyone." Read the article here
Chris Irons on ABC Brisbane radio with Ellen Fanning
Chris spoke with Queensland callers to assist with helping them navigate the challenges residents living in strata are facing. General - strata talk back (listen from 1:35 at the link) Listen to the recording here
Apartment sustainability: turning attention into action
Following the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Renewable and Affordable Energy for Apartments. Owners’ Corporation Network (OCN), is drawing on its submission, appeared before the Inquiry. Viewed positively, there is clearly growing – if somewhat belated – attention to the fact that apartments must be part of the energy transition. With a significant and rising proportion of Victorians living in strata communities – note the proposed Activity Centres – there [...]
This idea would save apartment owners $333m. Strata managers took ‘high offence’
A NSW Productivity and Equality Commission report obtained by the Herald before its publication recommends banning strata commissions, finding they have fostered conflicts of interest, eroded trust and inflated costs across one of the state’s fastest-growing housing sectors. Read the article here You can view the article here as a PDF Or view ABC nes coverage on the same issue here
Strata owners back call to ban conflicted payments following landmark report
The Owners Corporation Network of Australia (OCN) welcomes the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s final report on strata commissions, calling on the NSW Government to adopt its recommendations in full and end conflicted payments across the sector. The report finds that commission-based payments to strata managers create systemic conflicts of interest, leading to higher costs, reduced transparency and weaker competition. OCN says the findings confirm long-standing concerns from strata [...]
Consumer advocates back proposed strata commissions ban
.Consumer groups have welcomed NSW inquiry recommendations that would prohibit commission payments for strata managers and insurance brokers providing services to the sector. Owners Corporation Network of Australia MD David Glover says the state Productivity and Equality Commission findings confirm long-standing concerns and the group is calling on the government to adopt the recommendations in full. Read the article here
Poaching, wage rises to hit strata as apartments boom
A pick-up in new apartment completions to a five-year high will trigger poaching of staff in a strata sector that already manages 3.2 million residential properties and loses almost as many strata managers each year as it hires, industry figures say. The forecast jump to 23,828 new apartment completions this year, the most since 2021 – and 64,561 new units over the three years to 2028 – would drive [...]
New register reveals exactly which Canberra apartments support EV charging
EVs are all well and good when you own your standalone home, with a garage and ideally some solar panels. But they’re a bit of a pain if you’re renting an apartment. A new public register aims to change that. Published by the ACT branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA), the online list of ‘EV-friendly strata complexes in the ACT’ shows exactly which Canberra apartment complexes support [...]
Vincent’s unit block was riddled with problems. He found a clever fix
in NSW, new laws have recently been introduced giving regulators unprecedented powers to force strata committees to repair leaks and fix buildings’ faults if they are not already doing so. Fred Tuckwell was, at first, against the new laws when Fair Trading came to him for his thoughts, branding it “sledgehammer legislation” in forcing committees to comply. But then a massive strata survey the OCN conducted of 6000 apartment owners found [...]
Calling Victorian apartment owners: Time to get organised
In Victoria, OCN Director Tom Bacon is calling for Docklands residents to get organised. The Vic government is supportive of more apartment towers being built but the legislation has been lagging behind for many years, and now we are poised to see the latest re-write of the Owners’ Corporation Act in the early New Year, It is now more important than ever for OCs to join the Owners’ Corporation Network (OCN) [...]
Barking dogs, prams and air-con: What Sydney’s apartment dwellers fight about
Battles over noisy pets, quarrels over parking spaces and barneys over building bylaws are among a rising number of disputes unfolding between neighbours in NSW’s strata properties. David Glover, joint managing director of the Owners Corporation Network, said the dispute resolution process could be equally challenging for building owners corporations. Read the article here
Sins of commission – strata firm digs in on fees
The strata and property management giant PICA is digging in on its rejection of plans to end insurance commissions for strata managers, warning it could cost owners hundreds of millions of dollars a year. David Glover, managing director of the strata owners’ peak body the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), was even more scathing. “PICA needs to get the message: commissions are going, whether you like it or not. Consumers have [...]
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