- The body corporate
- An owner / occupier
Who can lodge a body corporate dispute
The steps to resolve a dispute in a body corporate are:
- self resolution, which you must attempt before the next step
- conciliation, if self resolution fails
- adjudication, if conciliation is not suitable or it fails.
To lodge a body corporate dispute for conciliation or adjudication:
- you must be directly involved
- you and the other party (or respondent) must have ‘standing’.
You are responsible for ensuring all parties have standing before you lodge.
Standing
If you have standing, it means you’re allowed—under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the Act)—to start or be involved in a dispute proceeding.
Who you and the respondent are in the body corporate (e.g. a lot owner, a body corporate manager) determines whether you have standing to lodge the dispute.
Section 227 of the Act outlines which parties can bring a dispute against each other. For example, a lot owner can lodge a dispute against another owner, but not a body corporate manager.
Party combinations
We can only consider your dispute application if you and the respondent(s) are a combination of parties allowed under the Act.
Here’s a breakdown of parties you can lodge against, depending on who you are. Or see layered scheme combinations.
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- An owner / occupier
- A committee member
- The body corporate manager
- A caretaking service contractor
- A letting agent (i.e. a person the body corporate has authorised to conduct a letting agent business for the scheme)
- A service contractor—only about a contract review under chapter 3, part 2, division 7 of the Act. These are complex disputes
- A former body corporate manager—only about returning body corporate property to the body corporate
- The original owner (developer)—only about supplying required documents or materials to the body corporate
- A committee member
- The body corporate
- The committee
You can lodge a dispute against the body corporate if you are:
- the body corporate manager
- a caretaking service contractor
- a letting agent (i.e. a person the body corporate has authorised to conduct a letting agent business for the scheme)
- a service contractor—only about a contract review under chapter 3, part 2, division 7 of the Act. These are complex disputes
- a former body corporate manager—only about returning body corporate property to the body corporate
- the original owner (developer)—only about supplying required documents or materials to the body corporate.
Party combinations in layered schemes
Party combinations are different in layered schemes. Who disputes can be between will also depend on the type of dispute.
Read more about disputes in layered schemes.
Former parties
You must have standing (be eligible) at the time you lodge a dispute with our office.
If you used to have standing but no longer have it, you cannot lodge a dispute. For example, if you owned a lot in the scheme and sold it, you would no longer have standing to lodge and be a party to the dispute.
The exception to this is for someone who used to be a body corporate manager. In this case, the body corporate can lodge a dispute against the former manager to return any body corporate property they held while they were in the position.
Changes to standing
If you lodge a dispute and then your circumstances change, you may still have standing to continue with your application. You must be able to show the outcome you’re seeking is still relevant to you as an individual.
A common example is when an owner opens a dispute against the body corporate about money. The owner asks to be paid back for costs the body corporate should cover. Then they sell their lot before the dispute is settled. In this case, the owner could still continue with their dispute because the outcome still affects them—they still have standing .
Substituting parties
Sometimes the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management allows someone to be a substitute for a party in the dispute. For example, if the respondent is an owner who sells their lot before the dispute is settled, the new owner may be substituted as the respondent.
Rejecting applications
The Commissioner can reject an application if a party no longer has standing and the outcome the applicant wants isn’t relevant or required anymore.
An adjudicator can dismiss an application for the same reasons.