How to change owners corporation managers in Victoria.

Victoria rewrote the rules on owners corporation manager contracts on 1 December 2021 — and rewrote them in owners' favour. Contracts are now capped at three years, manager-controlled rollover clauses are void, and a contract can no longer demand a special resolution before you're allowed to leave. But the reforms are not retrospective, which means the first question for any Victorian committee is a dating question: when was your contract of appointment signed?

First question: pre- or post-December 2021 contract?

The Owners Corporations and Other Acts Amendment Act 2021 commenced on 1 December 2021, and it drew a line through Victorian manager contracts.

Contracts signed since 1 December 2021 are capped at 3 years under section 119(1D), cannot let the manager renew at their own option, cannot require anything more than an ordinary resolution to terminate, and cannot demand a termination notice period longer than 3 months (for tier one and tier two owners corporations) or 1 month (for other tiers).

Contracts signed before 1 December 2021 are messier. The 3-year cap applies to new appointments, so a longer term signed in the old era may still run its course. Some of the void-term protections do reach into pre-existing contracts of appointment, but exactly what still binds a particular scheme depends on the contract and the transitional provisions — committees carrying a developer-era agreement should get specific legal advice on where they actually stand before acting.

Who makes the decision — committee or general meeting?

Victoria is more flexible here than most states. Under section 119, the appointment and removal of a manager is a decision the committee can generally make — no general meeting is automatically required — provided the committee's delegated authority has not been restricted to prevent it. Some owners corporations restrict this power under section 82 of the Act, in which case termination and appointment must go to a general meeting instead.

Two cautions sit alongside that flexibility. First, whatever the Act allows, the contract of appointment still binds: terminating mid-term outside the contract's own terms can put the owners corporation in breach and expose it to a damages claim, even if the decision itself was validly made. Second, where the decision goes to a general meeting, it is carried by ordinary resolution — and the manager has no right to demand a ballot of all owners unless authorised under the Act.

The exit paths

Non-renewal at end of term — the clean path

Since the 2021 amendments, a manager cannot renew the contract without the owners corporation's permission. Diarise the expiry date, resolve not to renew, give whatever notice the contract requires (within the statutory caps), and appoint the incoming manager to commence at expiry. One quirk worth knowing: if the owners corporation fails to give notice about renewal at all, the contract is taken to have been renewed — but that deemed renewal can then be terminated by either party on at least one month's written notice. In Victoria, missing the date costs you weeks, not years.

Termination after the initial term — the commercial path

Many Victorian contracts of appointment allow the owners corporation to terminate after the initial term on relatively short written notice — commonly around 28 days under widely used contract templates. Where that clause exists, a committee resolution (or general meeting resolution, depending on the scheme's settings) plus proper written notice is the whole process.

Termination for breach — the fundamental breach path

Where a manager fails on core duties — issuing levies, maintaining proper financial records, complying with statutory obligations, following the committee's lawful written directions — contracts typically allow termination for serious breach that isn't remedied after written notice. The statutory duties added in 2021 sharpen this path: managers must disclose commissions and benefits in writing to the chairperson, disclose beneficial relationships with proposed suppliers, ensure goods and services are competitively procured, and report on trust monies at each AGM. Documented failures against these duties are exactly what breach-based termination clauses are built for. Take legal advice before pulling this lever — the process requirements are strict and the consequences of a defective termination are real.

Running the selection process

Before terminating anything, have the replacement lined up. Obtain written proposals from at least two or three registered managers and compare them on the full annual cost (base fee plus the additional-charges schedule, which is where Victorian management costs typically balloon), on commission and benefit disclosure — every candidate should tell you in writing what they would receive from insurance and supplier arrangements — and on how contractor procurement actually works: how quotes are sourced, how many trades are approached for a typical job, and what visibility the committee gets over the process.

The handover: 28 days, no hostages

Section 151 of the Act requires the outgoing manager to return the owners corporation's records and funds within 28 days of the appointment ending — and the manager cannot withhold documents or money because of a disagreement. The incoming manager should receive the roll, financial records, bank account control, insurance policies and claims history, maintenance plan, contracts, correspondence, registered rules and meeting records. Reconcile the funds as at handover and put anything missing in writing immediately.

Frequently asked questions