Welcome to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management’s guide to completing and lodging an online application form, for adjudication.
The application form can be found on our website, where you can also find a written guide, practice directions and a video about the adjudication process.
The online version of the form has helpful tips, to guide you through each step.
Before you start, it is important to understand that the application and support material you provide cannot be kept confidential. The adjudicator’s order will be published online for any member of the public to view at the end of the process. Do not include any information within your application that you want to keep private.
It’s your responsibility to provide accurate information, along with all relevant material in support of the outcome you are seeking. We can’t complete the application for you, or provide legal advice about what to include.
Be aware that once you start the form, you won’t be able to save it until the very end. So, please ensure you have all of the information you need, before you start. This video will help you to prepare.
So, let’s go through the application form, step-by-step.
The first question on the form identifies the capacity in which you’re making the application. You can have multiple titles in a body corporate, so select the title most relevant to the dispute you are trying to resolve.
If you’re applying as the owner of a lot, select ‘owner’.
If you’re applying as the ‘The committee’ or ‘Body corporate’, you must include a copy of the minutes, or a record of the decision authorising you to apply.
Once you make a selection, the next part of your application will populate with the available options, to ensure that our dispute jurisdiction is met. This is because our office can only consider disputes between certain combinations of parties. Applications outside of our jurisdiction are rejected and the fee is non-refundable.
Next, you will identify who you are lodging the application against. Known as ‘the respondent’. This is the person, or entity that you are in dispute with and seeking an order against. You will supply their full contact information later in the application. Once you make the selection, the next part of the form will populate with the options available to you. Only certain types of disputes can be considered, depending on the combination of parties.
Now, tell us what you want to do by selecting the option, or options, that best describe what your dispute is about. Multiple options can be selected here.
Next, you must show that you have made reasonable attempts to resolve the dispute, directly with the respondent. This should be documented evidence, clearly addressing the outcome you are seeking in the application.
Relevant documents may include:
- Minutes of committee or general meetings related to the dispute.
- Notices of disputed committee or general meetings.
- Correspondence between the parties.
- Building, lot, or common property plans, identifying issues or areas in dispute.
- Photos, diagrams, quotes, reports and invoices.
Your documents should be numbered and referenced within the description. Please avoid including any irrelevant material.
If you are seeking more than one outcome, you must provide evidence of self-resolution for each one.
If you haven’t attempted self-resolution, the form will not allow you to go any further.
Now, let’s look at some examples of self-resolution:
Nancy’s body corporate decides against her having a dog in her unit. So, Nancy provides us with a copy of her request to have the dog, the minutes from the meeting that denied her request and any correspondence relating to the request. Nancy also provides a copy of a conciliation certificate to show that she participated in conciliation, before lodging her application for adjudication.
At a body corporate general meeting, Tom votes in favour of a motion to paint the building. The motion fails. But Tom believes the body corporate is legally obliged to paint the building. So, he provides us with a copy of the meeting agenda and minutes, as well as the quotes and expert reports given to him with his voting papers. He also provides copies of his correspondence with the body corporate, attempting resolve the matter.
A lot owner at Seaview paints a mural on a shared wall, outside his unit. The Seaview body corporate provides us with a copy of the contravention notice sent to the owner and the Form 1 sent by the lot owner who identified the breach. They also provide a copy of the conciliation certificate, which failed because the owner refused to participate.
Sam’s body corporate passes a motion to remove a palm tree from her lot as it is believed the tree impacts common property pipes. Sam believes the tree is solely her responsibility, as it is inside her lot. So, she obtains a plumber’s report, which states that the tree is not impacting any pipes. She provides this report to us, along with her letter to the body corporate asking them not to proceed and requesting reimbursement for the report cost. She also provides the minutes from the general meeting decision and any further correspondence with the body corporate, attempting to resolve the matter.
The next section requires you to confirm whether you have undergone our conciliation process, and if so, provide a copy of the conciliation certificate.
There are limited circumstances in which conciliation would not be appropriate. So, if you haven’t completed the conciliation process, you will need to explain why, here.
Now, you need to state the exact order that you are seeking. As an order is legally binding, it is essential to clearly define what you want.
You should include what you want the respondent to do, or stop doing, or any other action that would resolve the dispute. But only ask for things that the legislation allows.
Here’s an example of an incorrect order:
“The body corporate wants to cut down the tree inside my boundary because it’s damaging pipes. It has cost me money for a plumber’s report.”
This is not an outcome – it is a statement, describing the problem.
A correct statement of outcome would be:
“An order requiring motion 7 passed at the annual general meeting to cut down the tree, be declared void.”
This statement clearly defines the order you want the adjudicator to make, to resolve the dispute.
If you have multiple orders, you should number each of them.
The grounds section is your chance to explain why you think you should get the order you are seeking.
You should include the history of the issue in dispute, and the attempts made to achieve the result you are now seeking with us.
Explain, in detail, why you believe you are entitled to the order you are seeking, under the legislation, and/or on the basis that the respondent is in breach of their legal obligations. It is a good idea to reference the relevant section of the BCCM Act here. You must provide all information and evidence available, to support your application.
If you're seeking an interim order (discussed in the next step), include a separate statement here, explaining the urgency or circumstances warranting this.
If you're seeking more than one order, provide a separate statement of grounds for each order sought.
Attach any documents that support your reasons for seeking your order, and any history.
Do not include information you wish to keep private, as your application will be shared with the respondent and all the owners in the scheme.
An interim order is a temporary order that urgently protects rights and interests, until the final order is made.
Lets go back to the example of Sam and her palm tree:
Sam is disputing the body corporate decision to remove the palm tree from her property next week. She submits an interim order to prevent its removal, until the final application is decided.
The purpose of an interim order is to maintain the current situation until the application is resolved. It must be genuinely urgent and temporary in nature. Just wanting a quick result doesn’t make your application urgent.
Temporary means that the interim order will not resolve your dispute. It should provide temporary relief until the final order is made. If the interim order you are seeking would resolve your dispute, you should not request it.
It is important to understand that you still need to provide evidence that you attempted to resolve the issue first. You may remember Sam asked the body corporate not to remove the tree.
And requesting an interim order doesn’t guarantee you’ll be granted one, or that it will be made within the timeframe you want.
If you’re seeking more than one order, clearly identify which ones are interim orders.
Next, enter the name of your body corporate under ‘Name of scheme’. This is the name of your building, such as ‘Seaview’. It is not the name of your body corporate management company.
Enter the number of lots and provide your scheme’s physical address. PO Boxes are not accepted.
Then select the regulation module of your body corporate.
If your dispute is between a principal body corporate and a subsidiary body corporate, you should provide the principal body corporate details.
If you're unsure of any details, your body corporate manager may be able to help, if you have one. Or visit the Titles Queensland website to obtain a copy of your community management statement, at titlesqld.com.au.
Next, insert the body corporate secretary’s name, address, phone number and email. We need this information to communicate with the body corporate throughout the process.
You can find the secretary’s details on the most recent general meeting minutes. Or you can check with your body corporate manager, if you have one.
If your scheme doesn’t have a secretary, select ‘No’.
Now, insert the body corporate manager’s name, address, phone number and email, so we can communicate with the body corporate throughout the process.
Body corporate documents, such as levy notices, may include their details.
If your scheme doesn’t have a body corporate manager, select ‘No’.
Next tell us more about the respondent. This is the person, or entity, you are in dispute with, identified earlier in this form. If your type of dispute doesn’t require a respondent, this option won’t appear.
If you are disputing a decision that the committee has made, the body corporate should be entered as the respondent.
Now you need to provide your preferred postal address, phone number and email. You also need to provide the lot number and the body corporate’s plan type and number, which can be found on your scheme’s survey plan (‘Building’ or ‘Standard’ Format Plans are the most common). If you don’t know these details, you can ask your body corporate manager, or visit the Titles Queensland website to obtain a copy of the survey plan, at titlesqld.com.au.
If you're applying as the owner, your details must match those recorded with Titles Queensland.
If applying on behalf of the owner, you must provide evidence of your entitlement to represent them. Their name should be entered as the ‘owner’ and your name entered as the ‘contact’.
If the lot is owned in the name of a company, organisation or corporation, you must enter the full name of the registered legal entity as the ‘owner’ and provide the name of a company nominee as the ‘contact’.
If you're applying as the body corporate or committee, the ‘contact’ should be entered as ‘The body corporate or body corporate committee for…’ then the building name’. For example, ‘The body corporate committee for Seaview’.
And you should provide a copy of the meeting minutes, acknowledging body corporate approval to lodge this application.
Affected parties are all persons impacted by the order that you are seeking.
List all names and contact details here.
If a group of people, such as ‘all owners’ are affected, you can write ‘all owners’, without providing individual details.
Now, select whether you are the named applicant or are applying on behalf of the applicant, in which case you must specify your relationship to them. You should also attach any documents that provide you with the authority to lodge.
If you are lodging on behalf of a company, you need to prove that you are the nominee, perhaps by providing the relevant ASIC details.
The final step is to acknowledge that the information supplied is not false or misleading. Under the Act, the supply of false or misleading information or documents in relation to a dispute application, is an offence.
Once you have successfully completed the application form, you need to download and save it.
Review the information entered, then email the application, with all referenced documents attached, to bccm@justice.qld.gov.au
And lastly, pay the application fee. Visit our website for current fees and payment instructions. Once your application is lodged and the fee has been paid, it will not be refunded.
If you have any questions about the legislation, you can submit them online. Just Google ‘BCCM online enquiry’. Enter the enquiry, and The Community Information and Education Unit will respond, in writing.
For further information about adjudication, including guides and forms, just Google ‘BCCM adjudication’.
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