New and amended legislation for owners’ corporations? Not anytime soon

It’s been three months since the expert panel appointed by the Victorian Labor Government finalised and provided its report to parliament in relation to the effectiveness of the current legislation, and any recommendations for amendments and new laws.

Over the course of the panel’s consultation and submissions phase that occurred between August and November last year, plenty of compelling case studies were provided by lawyers, not-for-profits, consumers groups and members of the public in relation to the ineffectiveness of the current legislation, and the great need to update and pass new legislation.

Despite the urgency, it appears this legislative review has now fallen back into the black hole that is Consumer Affairs Victoria.

It is envisaged that right now, policy makers are drafting the new legislation in the form of a Bill that can then be tabled in the lower house of parliament. However, there is absolutely no clarity or certainty over whether that process has even started. Nor is there even an indicative timeline provided either.

A draft Bill might be ready to be submitted to parliament later this year, or later next year, or later the year after that. Who knows?

What we do know is that we have a strata sector worth hundreds of billions of dollars in Victoria stuck and bogged down, left to navigate regulations and laws that have been around (in some cases) since the 1960s.

On top of that, the much-vaunted rebrand of the Building and Plumbing Commission (the BPC) has been an abject failure. One only needs to read the Google reviews on the internet to know that the same organisational problems remain.

The BPC compliance team just isn’t interested in getting tough with plumbers, builders and insurers to make sure that buildings and structures are built properly in accordance with plans and in accordance with the Australian Standards and the National Construction Code.

We only have to look around the skyline to note that large apartment buildings are still being built in droves by developers and builders who know that no-one is watching over their shoulder to require them to do it properly.

These overdue legislative reforms are crucial and critical to the wellbeing of around one million people in Victoria who reside or own in an apartment building. These issues need to be priority number one for the Allen government, and the people of Victoria should demand it be so. •