South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts19—Articles of strata corporation
(1) Subject to this
section, the articles of a strata corporation will be as set out in
Schedule 3.
(2) A strata
corporation may by special resolution—
(a)
adopt articles in substitution for those set out in Schedule 3; or
(b)
revoke or vary articles previously so adopted.
(3) A resolution under
subsection (2) has no effect until a copy of the resolution certified in
the prescribed manner and accompanied (where appropriate) by the substituted
articles, or the variation to the articles, is lodged with the
Registrar-General.
(3a) The articles of a
strata corporation may impose a penalty, not exceeding the prescribed amount,
for contravention of, or failure to comply with, any articles.
(3b) The following
provisions apply in relation to a penalty imposed on a person for
contravention of, or failure to comply with, articles:
(a) the
penalty is (despite section 29 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1915
) payable to the strata corporation in accordance with this subsection;
(b)
subject to the making of an application under paragraph (e), the penalty
is payable by the person on the date specified for payment in a notice served
by the corporation on the person;
(c) the
notice must—
(i)
be in writing in the form prescribed by regulation; and
(ii)
specify the amount of the penalty payable and a date for
payment (being not less than 60 days after the notice is served);
(d) the
penalty payable under the notice is recoverable by the strata corporation as a
debt and, in the case of a notice served on a unit holder, may be recovered by
the strata corporation as if it were a contribution payable to the
strata corporation under section 27 (and interest will be payable on the
penalty amount in the same way as if it were such a contribution);
(e) the
person may, within 60 days after service of the notice, apply to the
Magistrates Court for revocation of the notice and the Court must grant the
application if either—
(i)
the Court is not satisfied that the person committed the
contravention or failure alleged in the notice; or
(ii)
the Court is satisfied that the contravention or failure
alleged in the notice is trifling;
(f) the
strata corporation is a party to an application under paragraph (e) and
bears the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the person
committed the contravention, or failure alleged in the notice;
(g) if
an application is made in accordance with paragraph (e), the penalty
specified in the notice is not payable unless the application for revocation
is withdrawn or otherwise discontinued by the applicant or is dismissed or
refused by the Court (and, in such a case, the penalty will be payable on the
date on which the application is so withdrawn, discontinued, dismissed or
refused or on the date for payment specified in the notice, whichever occurs
later).
(3c) A person's
contravention of, or failure to comply with, articles will, for the purposes
of this section, be regarded as trifling if, and only if, the person
establishes that the circumstances surrounding the commission of the
contravention or failure were such that he or she ought to be excused from the
imposition of a penalty on the ground that—
(a)
there were compelling humanitarian or safety reasons for the conduct that
allegedly constituted the contravention or failure; or
(b) the
person could not, in all the circumstances, reasonably have averted committing
the contravention or failure; or
(c) the
conduct allegedly constituting the contravention or failure was merely a
technical, trivial or petty instance of a contravention of or failure to
comply with the relevant articles.
(3d) The regulations
may make further provision in relation to enforcement of the articles of a
strata corporation.
(4) The articles of a
strata corporation cannot—
(a)
prevent or restrict alienation of a unit by a unit holder; or
(b)
prevent or restrict a unit holder from leasing or granting rights of
occupation in respect of a unit; or
(c)
prevent an occupier of a unit who has a disability from keeping a
relevant animal at the unit, or restrict the use of a relevant animal by the
occupier if the relevant animal is trained to assist the occupier in respect
of the disability; or
(d)
prevent a visitor to a unit who has a disability from using a relevant animal
trained to assist the visitor in respect of the disability.
(5) In this
section—
"prescribed amount", in relation to a penalty imposed under articles of a
strata corporation, means—
(a) if
the strata scheme only includes units that are used, or are intended to be
used, solely or predominantly for business or commercial
purposes—$2 000; or
(b) in
any other case—$500.