Adjudication for body corporate disputes is a more formal process than conciliation. An adjudicator makes a decision after considering the application and written submissions from all those affected by the dispute. This decision can be enforced.
The information on this page only applies if your body corporate has a community titles scheme (CTS) number and CMS registered with Titles Queensland. This means it falls under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act).
To find out which Act and regulation your body corporate is registered under, contact Titles Queensland. If you don’t have a CMS registered, the scanned survey plan may tell you which Act applies to your body corporate.
in most cases, attempted conciliation with the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (the BCCM office).
You need to read about interim orders if you plan to ask for an urgent interim order in your application.
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Welcome to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management's guide to the adjudication process under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (also known as the BCCM Act).
If you have a dispute within a body corporate regulated under the BCCM Act, you might consider applying for an adjudicator's order to resolve it. This can be helpful when you can't resolve a dispute yourself and conciliation was unsuccessful or not appropriate.
Before making an application, visit our website to review the adjudication application guide and relevant practice directions, and to find and complete the application form. There are two types of orders that you can apply for: interim and final. The purpose of an interim order is to maintain the current situation for up to 12 months to safeguard your rights until the application is resolved, usually by final order.
Our office is neutral and won't provide legal advice or conduct investigations for you. For legal advice you will need to talk to a solicitor. You may consider doing this prior to lodging your application.
Once your application has been submitted, with the fee, it will undergo three steps—case management, submissions and replies, and adjudication. First, you'll receive a formal acknowledgement of application with a reference number from us. Always use this number when communicating about your dispute with us.
A case manager will ensure your application meets all the legislative requirements. They may contact you for clarification or additional information. The case manager cannot complete your application for you. The onus is on you to provide information promptly to avoid delays. Once all requirements are met, your application moves to the next step—submissions and replies.
The respondent and affected parties may be sent a copy of your application and attachments and may be invited to make a non-compulsory submission, which is usually the only chance parties have to express their views for or against the application. An extension request—stating how long is needed and why—may be accepted by the case manager if appropriate. If you applied for an interim order, a decision may be made without seeking comments or notifying other parties. However, the full submission process must be followed before a final order is made.
Once all submissions have been received, any party can request and pay a fee to receive a copy. If you choose to reply, you should limit your response to the issues raised and not include new ones. Keep in mind that submissions and replies cannot be kept confidential.
Adjudicators appointed under the BCCM Act are part of our office. They can make legally binding orders to resolve certain body corporate disputes. Once the submission and reply step has been completed, the commissioner makes a dispute resolution recommendation.
For most disputes, this is the point at which the application is referred to adjudication. Once referred it awaits allocation to an adjudicator. Once referred to an adjudicator, they consider the application with attachments, submissions and replies, and the legislation, then issue a final order. The final order will include detailed reasons behind how the decision was reached. Copies of the order are provided to the applicant, respondent, body corporate and anyone given notice.
Following the final order, the adjudicator and our office will have no further role in the dispute. The application cannot be reopened or the order changed, even if further evidence is submitted. Only parties to the application can appeal the adjudicator's order on a question of law. They have six weeks to appeal the order through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). Some orders may be enforced in the magistrates court if they are not complied with.
If you have questions about the legislation, you can submit them online or contact our Information and Community Education Unit on 1800 060 119 for a call back. Or just google 'BCCM adjudication'. Our website has lots of information, including guides and forms.
Subscribe to our newsletter—Common Ground—for updates, topics and events.
How to apply
There are 2 ways to apply for adjudication—either:
fill out the online form, which generates a PDF application that you can download and email to us
s81G of the Act (applying to a specialist adjudicator about economic reasons for termination)
s81N of the Act (applying to the District Court about a termination decision).
The adjudication process
Applying
To apply for adjudication, you must complete the adjudication application form.
You will be asked for more details if your application is not complete, is unclear, or does not meet the requirements of the legislation. Your application could be rejected if you do not provide all the information requested.
You can amend or add to your application after it is lodged. If your amendment is not received before submissions have been sought from others, conditions may be imposed (e.g. you may have to send the amendments to everyone who has been asked to make a submission).
Interim orders
Interim orders are temporary orders. They are put in place to urgently protect your interests until final orders can be made. A final order is an outcome you want that will resolve the dispute.
An interim order will not speed up a final order.
You can apply for an interim order by completing the adjudication application form. Both the interim and final order details are included in the same application.
Your application must include evidence that:
the order you are requesting is
genuinely urgent
temporary only, until the application is decided by final orders
there is a related final order to resolve the dispute
you have attempted to resolve the dispute for both the interim and final orders.
By requesting an interim order that does not meet the above requirements, you are accepting that the progress of your application may be delayed.
The respondent (i.e. the other person in the dispute) and others affected by the dispute will usually be invited to make a written submission. It is their choice if they want to make a submission. However, choosing not to may limit their ability to appeal any order made.
Those invited must make any submissions within a specified timeframe. In some cases, the Commissioner may extend the time limit.
You (the applicant) will then be invited to access these submissions and make a written reply. You must reply within a specified timeframe. You are the only person who has a right of reply.
Your reply can only relate to the issues raised in the submissions. If you bring up new issues in your reply, it might have to be sent to the others involved for further submissions. This could delay the dispute.
An interested person can make a written request and pay a fee to see or get a copy of the application, the submissions and your reply to the submissions. Find out more about interested persons and accessing application documents.
What the adjudicator considers
When considering a dispute, an adjudicator has the power to:
request information (e.g. expert reports)
interview the people involved in the dispute (and others if necessary)
obtain or inspect body corporate records
inspect lots or common property.
The adjudicator will make a formal order deciding the dispute after considering:
the application
all submissions
the reply to submissions
any further information the adjudicator has asked for.
Adjudicator’s orders
An adjudicator must decide whether an order should be made. An adjudicator can make an order that is ‘just and equitable’ to resolve the dispute.
For example, adjudicators can:
declare a committee or general meeting, or a motion at a meeting, void
declare a committee or general meeting motion to have passed
require a general meeting to be held to deal with specific business
declare a by-law invalid
require the body corporate or an owner to undertake maintenance
require a body corporate to provide access to body corporate records.
An adjudicator can also appoint an administrator with the authority to do the job of a body corporate or committee.
An adjudicator can dismiss an application if it is:
frivolous (i.e. unimportant or inconsequential),
vexatious (i.e. intended to cause annoyance or inconvenience)
without substance (i.e. not supported by facts or law).
You (the applicant) may have to pay up to $2,000 in costs if your application is dismissed for one of these reasons.
An adjudicator can also dismiss an application for other reasons, such as if:
they don't have the authority to decide the dispute
the dispute should be decided by a court or tribunal.
Withdrawing an application
If you decide you don’t want to proceed with your application—because the dispute is resolved or for any other reason—you can ask in writing to withdraw the application.
You must start the appeal within 6 weeks of the date of the adjudicator’s order (unless a later start is allowed by the tribunal).
Specialist adjudicators
You can ask for a specialist adjudicator to be appointed to decide a dispute. This can be useful if your dispute is complex or requires expert knowledge. The process for appointing a specialist adjudicator depends on what the dispute is about.
For a complex dispute, you and the other people in the dispute must agree on appointing a specialist adjudicator and who that person will be. You must also agree on how you will pay the costs.
For a dispute about an economic reasons resolution for terminating the scheme, the body corporate will be liable to pay the costs for the specialist adjudicator if the application is not deemed frivolous or vexatious.
Privacy
Please be aware that we will make your application available to others in the dispute. Some information in your application will also be made public if the adjudicator makes an order.
