The Strata Company How-To Guide (Western Australia)

How to change your strata manager in WA

The 2020 reforms professionalised strata management in WA — and gave strata companies more leverage than they often realise.

Step 1: Check the written contract

Since 1 May 2020, every strata manager must have a written contract with the strata company specifying the functions they perform. Check:

1. The term and expiry date — and any renewal mechanism
2. The termination clause — notice period and grounds
3. Whether the contract meets the minimum requirements of sections 144 and 145 of the Strata Titles Act — a non-compliant contract weakens the manager’s position considerably

If your arrangement predates 2020 and was never put into a compliant written contract, you have a genuine question about whether it’s enforceable at all — get advice before relying on that, but it changes the negotiation.

Step 2: Understand who decides

The functions of the strata company are performed by the council of owners, subject to the Act, the scheme by-laws, and any restriction imposed by ordinary resolution of the strata company. In practice this means the council can usually appoint or terminate a strata manager on the strata company’s behalf — unless your by-laws or a prior resolution reserve the decision to a general meeting. Check both before proceeding; where the decision is likely to be contested, an ordinary resolution at a general meeting is the safer route.

Executing the new contract also needs authority: an ordinary resolution under section 118 authorising a council member (or members jointly) to execute documents covers this.

Step 3: Verify the statutory requirements on candidates

WA strata managers must now:

• Hold professional indemnity insurance
• Have current national criminal record checks for staff performing strata functions
• Meet educational qualification requirements
• Lodge annual returns with Landgate

Ask for evidence of each. Also ask directly about insurance commissions and any other benefits the manager or related entities receive — the reformed Act imposes statutory duties on managers to act in the strata company’s best interests, and undisclosed commission conflicts sit uneasily with those duties. When you’re comparing candidates, put every one of these questions in writing.

Step 4: Resolve, notify, and hand over

Pass the council resolution (or general meeting resolution if required), give written notice per the contract, and execute a compliant new contract with the incoming manager. The outgoing manager must return the strata company’s records, funds and the roll. Refusal to hand over records is a dispute you can take to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).

How to lodge a motion at a general meeting

1. Submit the motion in writing to the council or secretary before the meeting notice goes out, drafted as a resolution
2. Know your resolution types:
   • Ordinary resolution — an ordinary resolution requires a simple majority in favour, measured either by number of lots or by the sum of unit entitlements; most decisions
   • Special resolution — a special resolution requires votes in favour of at least 50% of the lots and at least 50% of the unit entitlement, with votes against fewer than 25% of the lots and less than 25% of the unit entitlements. In a two-lot scheme a special resolution must be unanimous. Meeting the 25% test alone is not enough — a resolution can attract very few objections and still fail for want of positive support. Needed for by-law changes and structural matters.
   • Resolution without dissent / unanimous resolution — reserved for the most significant matters, like scheme termination in small schemes
3. Voting rights follow unit entitlement as set out in the strata plan
4. AGM vs EGM: the AGM handles budget, council election and annual business; an EGM can be convened for anything that can’t wait

How to raise an issue with the council of owners

Write to the secretary or the strata manager asking for the item to be tabled at the next council meeting. Correspondence to the strata company should be tabled; if your council routinely ignores owner correspondence, put your request in a form that requires a decision — a proposed resolution — rather than a general complaint, and follow up in writing so a paper trail exists for any later SAT application.

Owners can also restrict or direct the council by ordinary resolution of the strata company — the council’s power is real but not unconditional.

How to access strata company records in WA

Owners (and buyers, via the pre-contractual disclosure regime) are entitled to the strata company’s information:

1. Apply in writing for inspection of the records — minutes, financial statements, insurance details, contracts, and the roll
2. The 2020 reforms significantly strengthened buyer disclosure: sellers must provide scheme documents and details of debts — non-compliance can allow a buyer to delay settlement or void the contract
3. As an owner, use records access to check the insurance placement: the invoice, the broker, and what commission is flowing to whom

How to resolve a strata dispute in WA

1. Internal first. Raise the issue in writing with the council or strata manager, proposing a specific resolution
2. SAT — the one-stop shop. Since the 2020 reforms, virtually all strata disputes are centralised in the State Administrative Tribunal — meeting and by-law disputes, manager conduct, records access, common property issues. The main exception is recovery of unpaid levies, which stays with the civil courts
3. SAT is designed to be accessible: modest fees, and legal representation isn’t required for most matters

Quick reference: WA strata terminology

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The Strata Titles Act 1985 was substantially reformed effective 1 May 2020 — check your scheme by-laws and any restricting resolutions before the council acts on manager termination.