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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.


STRATA MANAGEMENT LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2008





                       New South Wales




Strata Management Legislation
Amendment Bill 2008


Contents

                                                                 Page
          1    Name of Act                                         2
          2    Commencement                                        2
          3    Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996
               No 138                                              2
           4   Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147          2
           5   Repeal of Act                                       2
  Schedule 1   Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996     3
  Schedule 2   Amendment of Home Building Act 1989                 7
I certify that this public bill, which originated in the Legislative Assembly, has
finally passed the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of New
South Wales.


                                                Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
                                                Legislative Assembly,
                                                Sydney,                     , 2008




                             New South Wales




Strata Management Legislation
Amendment Bill 2008
Act No      , 2008




An Act to amend the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 and the Home Building
Act 1989 to provide further rights and protections for owners of lots who are not
developers; and for other purposes.




I have examined this bill and find it to correspond in all respects with the bill as
finally passed by both Houses.


                                   Assistant Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Clause 1          Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008




The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:
 1    Name of Act
               This Act is the Strata Management Legislation Amendment Act 2008.
 2    Commencement
               This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.
 3    Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 No 138
               The Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 is amended as set out in
               Schedule 1.
 4    Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147
               The Home Building Act 1989 is amended as set out in Schedule 2.
 5    Repeal of Act
         (1)   This Act is repealed on the day following the day on which all of the
               provisions of this Act have commenced.
         (2)   The repeal of this Act does not, because of the operation of section 30
               of the Interpretation Act 1987, affect any amendment made by this Act.




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Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996                         Schedule 1




Schedule 1             Amendment of Strata Schemes
                       Management Act 1996
                                                                           (Section 3)
[1]   Section 40A Who is a caretaker?
      Insert after section 40A (3):
             (4)   For the purposes of this Act, a person is taken to be a caretaker
                   for a strata scheme if the person meets the description of a
                   caretaker set out in this section, regardless of whether the title
                   given to the person's position is caretaker, building manager,
                   resident manager or any other title.
[2]   Section 56 Certain by-laws relating to parking may be made during initial
      period
      Omit the section.
[3]   Schedule 2 Meetings and procedure of owners corporation
      Insert after clause 11 (7):
         (7AA)     An original owner or a person connected with the original owner
                   may not cast a vote by means of a proxy or power of attorney
                   given by another owner of a lot in the strata scheme concerned if
                   the proxy or power of attorney was given pursuant to a term of
                   the sale contract for the lot or pursuant to another contract or
                   arrangement that is ancillary to the sale contract.
           (7AB)   Any contract or arrangement referred to in subclause (7AA) is
                   unenforceable to the extent that it requires the giving of any such
                   proxy or power of attorney.
           (7AC)   Subclauses (7AA) and (7AB) do not apply to a proxy or power of
                   attorney given by a person to another person connected with him
                   or her.
[4]   Schedule 3 Constitution of executive committee of the owners
      corporation and meetings of executive committee
      Insert after clause 3:
      3A     Disclosure of certain interests by candidates for executive
             committee elections and acting members
             (1)   A person who is connected with the original owner or caretaker
                   of a strata scheme is not eligible to be elected as a member of an
                   executive committee for the strata scheme unless:



                                                                             Page 3
                Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Schedule 1         Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996




                      (a)    the person discloses the connection that the person has
                             with the original owner or caretaker, and
                      (b)    the disclosure is made at the meeting of the owners
                             corporation at which the executive committee is to be
                             elected and before the election is conducted.
             (2)      A disclosure made under subclause (1) is to be included in the
                      minutes of the meeting at which the disclosure is made.
             (3)      A person who is connected with the original owner or caretaker
                      of a strata scheme is not eligible for appointment to act in the
                      place of a member of the executive committee unless:
                      (a) the person discloses any connection that the person has
                             with the original owner or caretaker, and
                      (b) the disclosure is made in writing to the executive
                             committee before the consent of the executive committee
                             is given under clause 3.
             (4)      A person who becomes connected with the original owner or
                      caretaker of a strata scheme after being appointed as, or to act in
                      the place of, a member of the executive committee must disclose
                      any connection that the person has with the original owner or
                      caretaker to the secretary or, if the person is the secretary, to the
                      chairperson. The disclosure must be made as soon as possible
                      after the person becomes aware of the connection.
             (5)      The secretary or chairperson to whom a disclosure is made under
                      subclause (4) must ensure that the disclosure is included on the
                      agenda for the next general meeting of the owners corporation.
[5]   Schedule 3, clause 4 (4)
      Insert after clause 4 (3):
             (4)      If a motion is proposed to determine that a person's office as a
                      member of the executive committee should be vacated:
                       (a) the original owner or, where the original owner is a
                            corporation, a company nominee of the corporation has
                            one vote for each 3 lots in respect of which the original
                            owner is entitled to vote (ignoring any fraction) unless the
                            original owner is the owner of less than one-half of the lots,
                            and
                      (b) the original owner or, where the original owner is a
                            corporation, a company nominee of the corporation is not
                            entitled to vote on the motion as a proxy for any person.
                      Note. A determination by an owners corporation that a person's office as
                      member of the executive committee is vacated requires a special



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Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996                            Schedule 1




                    resolution which is defined as a resolution which is passed at a duly
                    convened general meeting of an owners corporation and against which
                    not more than one-quarter in value, ascertained in accordance with
                    clause 18 (2) and (3) of Part 2 of Schedule 2, of votes is cast.

[6]   Schedule 4 Savings, transitional and other provisions
      Insert at the end of clause 1 (1):
                    Strata Management Legislation Amendment Act 2008
[7]   Schedule 4, Part 6
      Insert after Part 5:

      Part 6        Provisions consequent on enactment of
                    Strata Management Legislation
                    Amendment Act 2008
       23    Definition
                    In this Part, amending Act means the Strata Management
                    Legislation Amendment Act 2008.
       24    Exclusive by-laws relating to parking
             (1)    The repeal of section 56 by the amending Act does not affect any
                    by-law that was recorded by the Registrar-General before that
                    repeal.
             (2)    Section 56 as in force immediately before its repeal by the
                    amending Act is taken to continue to apply to a proposed by-law
                    for which written approval was given under that section before
                    that repeal but that was not recorded by the Registrar-General
                    before that repeal.
       25    Existing proxies and powers of attorney
             (1)    An amendment made to this Act by the amending Act does not
                    affect the casting of a vote by means of any proxy or power of
                    attorney in force immediately before the commencement of the
                    amendment.
             (2)    However, subclause (1) does not operate in relation to the casting
                    of a vote in any period during which the proxy or power of
                    attorney is in force because of a renewal or extension of its term
                    that took place after the commencement of the amendment
                    concerned.




                                                                                Page 5
                Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Schedule 1         Amendment of Strata Schemes Management Act 1996




[8]   Dictionary
      Insert in alphabetical order in Part 1:
                      caretaker means a person described in section 40A as a caretaker.
[9]   Dictionary, Part 2
      Insert after clause 6:
         7   References to a person connected with another person
             (1)      For the purposes of this Act, a person (the principal person) is
                      connected with another person if the other person:
                      (a) is a relative (within the meaning of the Local Government
                            Act 1993) of the principal person or, where the principal
                            person is a corporation, is a relative of the holder of an
                            executive position in the corporation, or
                      (b) is employed or engaged by the principal person or is a
                            partner of the principal person, or
                      (c) where the principal person is a corporation, holds an
                            executive position in the corporation, or
                      (d) is the employer of the principal person, or
                      (e) is employed or engaged by, or holds an executive position
                            in, a corporation that also employs or engages the principal
                            person or in which the principal person holds an executive
                            position, or
                       (f) has any other connection or relationship with the principal
                            person of a kind prescribed by the regulations.
             (2)      However, the principal person is not connected with another
                      person who is a member of an owners corporation, or the
                      executive committee of an owners corporation, merely because
                      of any dealing, contact or arrangement the other person has with
                      the principal person in the other person's capacity as such a
                      member.
             (3)      In this clause, executive position in a corporation means the
                      position of director, manager or secretary of the corporation, or
                      any other executive position of the corporation, however those
                      positions are designated.




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Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Amendment of Home Building Act 1989                                     Schedule 2




Schedule 2             Amendment of Home Building Act 1989
                                                                           (Section 4)
[1]   Section 48C Notification of building dispute
      Insert at the end of the section:
             (2)   Without limiting subsection (1), a notification under that
                   subsection may be made by:
                   (a) an owner of a lot in a strata scheme (within the meaning of
                         the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996) about
                         residential building work or specialist work relating to
                         common property in the strata scheme, or
                   (b) a proprietor of a lot in a scheme (within the meaning of the
                         Community Land Management Act 1989) about residential
                         building work or specialist work relating to association
                         property in the scheme.
[2]   Section 48D Investigation of dispute
      Insert after section 48D (2):
             (3)   For the purposes of making an investigation in relation to
                   common property in a strata scheme (within the meaning of the
                   Strata Schemes Management Act 1996), an inspector may enter
                   and inspect the common property at the request of the owner of a
                   lot in the scheme concerned.
             (4)   The owners corporation, any person who has exclusive use of the
                   common property concerned and any caretaker or manager of the
                   common property are to provide such assistance as is reasonable
                   to enable an inspection of that common property to be carried out
                   by an inspector under this section.
             (5)   For the purposes of making an investigation in relation to
                   association property in a scheme (within the meaning of the
                   Community Land Management Act 1989), an inspector may enter
                   and inspect the association property at the request of the
                   proprietor of a lot in the scheme concerned.
             (6)   The relevant association that has the use of the association
                   property concerned and, if the use of that association property has
                   been restricted to a particular proprietor or proprietors, any such
                   proprietor, and any caretaker or manager of the association
                   property are to provide such assistance as is reasonable to enable
                   an inspection of that association property to be carried out by an
                   inspector under this section.



                                                                             Page 7
               Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008

Schedule 2         Amendment of Home Building Act 1989




             (7)      For the avoidance of doubt, a person may be authorised under
                      section 126 by the Director-General for the purposes of this
                      section.




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