The [last] NSW Strata Law Reform Mirage

From the old strataexperts.blogspot archives ...

Why do governments make such a big deal about strata law reforms and then allow the processes to take so long [and is this going to happen again in NSW with the current law reform programme I’ve written about elswehere]?

It seems that the anxiously awaited and much-reported 2011 NSW strata law reforms are being delayed (again) because the new amendment bill has ‘overlaps and inconsistencies’ that need to be addressed first and the government wants to wait until after the next election in March 2015.   

So, our new strata laws are now not planned to start until January 2016.  And, at least to me, they're looking more like a strata title mirage than reality.

The history of the 2011-2015 NSW strata law reform programme goes something like this - 

• April 2011 - Anthony Roberts appointed Minister for Fair Trading 

• July 2011 - Government announces that will undertake a major reform of NSW strata title laws

• December 2011 - Global Access Partners conducts online forum and consultation programme for 3 months

• September 2012 - OFT Discussion Paper released for submissions over 3 months

• Early 2013 - Roundtable meeting with industry stakeholder groups

• November 2013 - OFT Position Paper released with reform proposals

• December 2013 - Stuart Ayres appointed Minister for Fair Trading 

• January 2014 - Draft bill circulated to industry stakeholders for comments

• March 2014 - Industry stakeholders advised strata reform bill would be introduced to parliament in June-July 2014

• April 2014 - Matthew Mason-Cox appointed Minister for Fair Trading

• June 2014 - Industry stakeholders advised strata reform bill needs revision and would not be introduced to parliament until May-June 2015

That's a lot of time for changes that are universally agreed as necessary.  

It seems to be a bit like trying to get something major approved and done in a strata corporation - where there's always another good reason to delay things, suggestions to make more inquiries, proposals to change, widen or narrow the issues covered and a tendency to have a bit more consultation.  Fortunately, there's no special levy associated with the law reforms that need approval or it might never happen. 

You can find out more about strata law reforms direct from OFT here. 

Assuming this latest reform timetable is met, then it will have taken almost half a decade to get these changes finalised.  By that time the strata and community title sector probably need a few more reforms.

The good news is that we’re now going to also have NSW community title law reforms [* more on this in another newsletter] and they will only take another 18 months. That’s great since it's only 25 years since the community title laws were introduced.

So, I'm not going to rush to prepare for the new strata or community title laws quite yet. 

* Some hyperlinks may no longer be active

January 14, 2021

Francesco …