Australian Apartment Advocacy (AAA) says strata firms who do not comply with owner directions, take secret or undeclared commissions and fail to act in the best interests of Australia’s 2.5 million apartment owners should be permanently blacklisted.
AAA CEO Samantha Reece, speaking after an ABC Four Corners investigation revealed the high price apartment owners are paying for lack of transparency, said strata companies needed to be licensed, regulated and held accountable.
“The time for action is now,” she said.
An ABC Four Corners investigation on Monday night found insurance giant Steadfast took part in undisclosed schemes to give strata management firms part of the fees apartment owners pay for their insurance and obscured lower priced insurance options. Steadfast writes more than half of Australia’s strata policies.
“The ABC’s Four Corners has exposed the sort of behaviour we have been dealing with at Australian Apartment Advocacy almost daily,” Ms Reece said.
“Government inaction on strata company conflicts of interest, kickbacks and lack of transparency has allowed strata companies to get away with unethical and sometimes corrupt activity.”
Ms Reece said the AAA is calling on each state government to regulate the strata sector, including licensing each strata company; conducting annual audits of trust funds; banning developers from any role on strata committees; and for a commitment to enforce the rules.
“Strata companies that do not put the interests of apartment owners first, do not declare conflicts of interest and engage in deceptive conduct are eroding consumer confidence in the apartment sector,” she said. “They should be banished from the industry.”
AAA has long campaigned for properly funded regulation of strata companies in every state and territory, with a laser-like focus on the inadequate process for resolving apartment owners’ complaints about strata managers.
“If we want more people to live in apartments, we need more transparency, enforceable accountability and better governance,” Ms Reece said.
To view the 4 Corners story click here.
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