Attempt at self resolution of disputes essential
Having been commissioner now for a little over a month, I can safely say that the scope and breadth of topics in the body corporate and community management sector never ceases to amaze me.
Needless to say, it has been a considerable learning curve for me thus far and I am grateful to have had the benefit of the wealth of expertise and knowledge of the staff of the office to guide me through. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Ingrid Rosemann’s ongoing contribution to getting me fully ‘acclimatised’ in the ways of the office and for her leadership as acting commissioner for a good deal of 2014.
One of the points which has stuck with me thus far is the potentially vexed topic of ‘self-resolution’. As obvious as it might sound, the need for an attempt at self-resolution to have been made is essential.
Sometimes, however, the nature of issues arising in a scheme may obscure this need or push it into the background as other factors take over. This is particularly so if and when things become emotive or heated and it can become difficult for people to remember to take some of the most basic of self-resolution steps.
These might include such things as:
• Talking with fellow lot owners or the resident manager
• Speaking with or writing to committee members or the body corporate manager
• Referring to legislation and fact sheets about rights and responsibilities, and
• Contacting the information service in the Commissioner’s Office.
These last two points reinforce the adage that ‘information is power’ – by becoming accurately informed about what can or should occur in any given body corporate situation, people can have a much better chance of going about the task of self-resolution with confidence.
Of course, these steps are sometimes easier said than done.
In the tourism sector, for example, things might get particularly challenging where there are interstate and overseas body corporate members who might not always be readily available to ‘chat’ with, or if the day-to-day business of running a busy tour desk or accommodation service makes informal communication a bit more harried.
At the least, the attempt should be made and should things have a need to proceed to the Office’s Dispute Resolution Service, this attempt will need to be noted as part of the application.
Legislatively speaking, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 was amended to require this self-resolution step. Indeed, it is probably worth noting at this juncture that as commissioner, I have legislated power to reject an application for dispute resolution if self-resolution has not been attempted.
This amendment occurred for a number of reasons.
First, it is an approach consistent with other sectors and with the provision of justice services generally, in which decision-makers in dispute resolution are often empowered to decline to consider a dispute or refer the dispute back to the parties where there has been insufficient or no attempt to self-resolution.
More pertinently though, for the community titles sector, self-resolution is not only consistent with the self-management objects of the act, it recognises the unique nature of issues and disputes in the sector. That is, unlike other dispute scenarios where the parties might have the dispute, resolve it one way or the other, and then never see each other again, the parties to a body corporate dispute are quite likely to have to deal with each other again, on an ongoing basis.
A relatively informal resolution to an issue is thus essential, as it goes a long way to ensuring that the parties can be on good (or at least, working) terms afterwards.
For further information on self-resolution, please refer to our information, including practice directions, at:
http://www.qld.gov.au/law/housing-and-neighbours/body-corporate/body-corporate-disputes/types-of-dispute-resolution/self-resolution-for-disputes/.
Finally, as this is my first contribution to Resort News, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to contribute and expand upon issues of interest to the tourism, accommodation and community management sectors.
I am in the process of getting to know people and groups within these sectors and I look forward to seeing and working with you more in the future.
