2010-2011 Report Card
The past financial year was another busy and successful year for the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management.
We often receive questions about what we do, how many disputes we deal with, common enquiries, and the information products and services we deliver to the sector. This article provides readers with an overview of the BCCM Office’s services and a summary of our achievements in the 2010-11 financial year.
Role of the office: The BCCM Office operates under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 and provides dispute resolution, information and education services to the community titles sector.
BCCM achievements: In the past financial year we continued to provide high quality information products and services to the community to assist body corporate participants to understand their rights and responsibilities.
The BCCM Office responded to approximately 24,900 client inquiries over the past financial year. While our telephone inquiries decreased, our written inquiries rose by over 14%. Lot owners accounted for 45% of callers to the BCCM Office.
The top five issues for callers were body corporate committees, maintenance and improvements, dispute resolution, general meetings, and by-laws.
The BCCM Office also produced a new fact sheet this year explaining the new lot entitlement arrangements.
BCCM seminars: The BCCM Office held a number of free seminars throughout the state during May 2011. The seminars, conducted from Cairns to the Gold Coast, were well attended by audiences comprised mainly of lot owners and committee members as well as body corporate managers and caretaking service contractors.
This year, the seminars focussed on changes to lot entitlements as a result of the amendments to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 passed on 14 April 2011. Feedback from the seminars was positive and audiences were pleased to have access to a representative from the BCCM Office during and after the seminars.
Dispute resolution services: With more people moving to Queensland and people living closer to each other than in previous decades, it is inevitable disputes will arise within bodies corporate from time to time. However, the good news is that in the vast majority of cases, bodies corporate are able to resolve problems without the need for intervention by the BCCM Office.
In 2010-11 we received 1375 dispute resolution applications and resolved 1376 applications.
Over 89% of adjudication applications were resolved within 60 days of referral to adjudication. Among the top issues in those applications were by-laws on animals and vehicles, general meetings – motions and procedures, financial management including debt recovery, maintenance and improvements.
Our conciliation service, established in 2006, continues to achieve great results. In 2010-11, approximately 70% of conciliation applications were resolved by agreement and over 90% of conciliation applications did not go on to adjudication, suggesting conciliation effected a lasting resolution of those disputes.
The BCCM Office is located on level 4 of the Brisbane Magistrates Court Building at 363 George Street, Brisbane.
Robert Walker
BCCM
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.
