New South Wales Consolidated Acts

STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 - SECT 273

273 Affixing of seal of owners corporation

(1) The seal of an owners corporation that has only one owner or 2 owners must not be affixed to any instrument or document except in the presence of the owner or owners or the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.

(2) The seal of an owners corporation that has more than 2 owners must not be affixed to any instrument or document except in the presence of--

(a) 2 persons, being owners of lots or members of the strata committee, that the owners corporation determines for the purpose or, in the absence of a determination, the secretary of the owners corporation and any other member of the strata committee, or

(b) the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.

(3) The strata managing agent must attest the fact and date of the affixing of the seal--

(a) by his or her signature, or

(b) if the strata managing agent is a corporation, by the signature of the president, chairperson or other principal officer of the corporation or by any member of staff of the corporation authorised to do so by the president, chairperson or other principal officer.

(3A) The seal of the owners corporation may be affixed physically or electronically.

(3B) If the seal is affixed electronically--

(a) subsections (1)-(3) do not apply in relation to affixing the seal, and

(b) the seal must be affixed in accordance with any requirements prescribed by the regulations under subsection (7).

(3C) An instrument or document to which the seal has been electronically affixed has effect as if the seal had been physically affixed to the instrument or document.

(4) A strata managing agent who has affixed the seal of the owners corporation to any instrument or document is taken to have done so under the authority of a delegation from the owners corporation.

(5) Subsection (4) does not operate so as to enable a person to fraudulently obtain a benefit.

(6) A person is taken not to have fraudulently obtained a benefit from the operation of subsection (4) if the benefit was, without any fraud by the person, obtained before the seal was affixed.

(7) The regulations may provide for the following--

(a) any requirements for affixing the seal electronically,

(b) alternatives to affixing the seal of the owners corporation, including any requirements for witnessing or attesting to the alternatives and records relating to the alternatives,

(c) records required to be kept relating to the electronic seal or any prescribed alternatives to affixing the seal.

(8) A reference in subsections (4)-(6) to affixing the seal of an owners corporation to an instrument or document is taken to include a reference to an alternative to affixing the seal in accordance with the regulations made under subsection (7).