The Owners Corporation How-To Guide (Victoria)

How to change your owners corporation manager in Victoria

Victoria makes changing managers easier than any other state — and most committees don’t realise it.

The key fact: check what the committee has been delegated

Under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, the committee holds all the powers of the owners corporation except those requiring a special resolution, unanimous resolution, or a decision reserved to a general meeting. Appointing a manager requires an ordinary resolution of the owners corporation, passed at a general meeting or by ballot. The owners corporation may delegate that decision to the committee, but the committee has no power of its own to make it — check whether your owners corporation has made that delegation. Removing a manager requires a vote at a general meeting or a postal ballot, or an application to VCAT. The committee cannot do it alone.

Step 1: Review the contract of appointment

Victorian manager contracts are tightly regulated:

1. Maximum term is three years, or five years for a retirement village owners corporation — a manager cannot lock you in longer
2. Automatic renewal at the manager’s discretion is prohibited. A contract cannot roll itself over; renewal requires both parties to agree to a new contract
3. Check the termination and notice provisions for ending within term versus at expiry

If your manager has been “extending” the same contract at each AGM to restart a three-year term, that practice is on shaky legal ground — extension of an existing contract’s duration isn’t permitted; only a genuine new contract is.

Step 2: Check for conflicts before you re-appoint anyone

The Act now explicitly restricts managers from receiving undisclosed payments and benefits connected to their appointment, and from a range of conflicted conduct. When comparing candidates, ask each one in writing:

• What insurance commissions, rebates or other benefits do you or related entities receive?
• Are you registered with the Business Licensing Authority (mandatory for professional managers)?
• Do you hold current professional indemnity insurance?

Step 3: Resolve, give notice, and manage handover

Pass the committee resolution (or general meeting resolution), give written notice per the contract, and appoint the incoming manager under a compliant written contract of appointment in the approved form. The outgoing manager must return all owners corporation records and funds. If they don’t, that’s a matter for Consumer Affairs Victoria or VCAT’s Owners Corporations List.

How to lodge a motion at a general meeting

1. Put it in writing to the secretary or manager before the meeting notice is issued, drafted as a resolution (“That the owners corporation…”)
2. Know your resolution type:
   • Ordinary resolution — simple majority; most decisions
   • Special resolution — a special resolution requires 75% of lots, or 75% of lot entitlements where the decision is made on a ballot or poll (with an “interim special resolution” mechanism if turnout is low); needed for things like significant common property alterations and legal proceedings above certain thresholds
   • Unanimous resolution — every lot; rare, structural matters
3. Ballots are an alternative to meetings. Victorian owners corporations can decide matters by written ballot of all owners without convening a meeting — often faster for a single clear question

How to raise an issue with the committee

Write to the secretary or manager and ask for the item to be listed at the next committee meeting. Useful context on committee powers:

• Committees are capped at 12 members (default seven, expandable by ordinary resolution)
• Committee resolutions are resolutions of the owners corporation — they carry full legal force
• The committee cannot, without going back to owners, make decisions affecting the manager’s contract of appointment where the Act reserves that decision

That last point cuts both ways — check whether your owners corporation has passed a resolution limiting the committee’s powers over the manager before assuming the committee route is open.

Which tier is your owners corporation? (It matters)

Since December 2021, obligations scale by size:

A maintenance plan is mandatory only for tier one and tier two owners corporations — that is, those with more than 50 occupiable lots. Tier three, four and five owners corporations may choose to prepare and approve one by ordinary resolution, but are not required to. If your building has fewer than 51 occupiable lots and no maintenance plan, that is not a compliance gap. It may still be worth having one.

How to access owners corporation records

Lot owners (and buyers, via the owners corporation certificate) can inspect the register and records — financial statements, insurance policies, contracts including the manager’s contract of appointment, minutes, and correspondence.

1. Apply in writing and pay the prescribed fee
2. Records must be made available for inspection; copies can be requested
3. Pay particular attention to the insurance invoice and broker disclosures — commission arrangements between managers and brokers are among the most common conflicts in Victorian strata

How to resolve an owners corporation dispute in Victoria

1. Internal dispute resolution. Raise a written complaint with the owners corporation using its internal grievance procedure (all OCs must have one)
2. Consumer Affairs Victoria. Provides guidance and conciliation for many owners corporation disputes
3. VCAT — Owners Corporations List. The main forum. VCAT can resolve disputes about manager conduct, meeting validity, repairs and maintenance, fees, and can make orders about manager appointments. Applications are low-cost, and legal representation is often unnecessary for straightforward matters
4. Business Licensing Authority. Complaints about a manager’s registration and conduct can also be directed here — registered managers face professional obligations including mandatory CPD

Quick reference: Victorian strata terminology

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The Owners Corporations Act 2006 was substantially amended in December 2021 and remains under review — verify current requirements with Consumer Affairs Victoria before terminating a contract.