Acts affecting some bodies corporate
We provide a range of information and services to those who live, invest or work in bodies corporate in Queensland.
Most of the bodies corporate in Queensland are governed by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act) and will have a community management statement (CMS) recorded with Titles Queensland.
A body corporate that does not have a CMS registered will fall under one of the following Acts.
The information on this page applies to bodies corporate created under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGT Act) or one of the following specified Acts:
- Mixed Use Development Act 1993 (MUD Act)
- Integrated Resort Development Act 1987 (IRD Act)
- Sanctuary Cove Resort Act 1985 (SCR Act).
Which Act applies
If you want to find out if the BUGT Act or one of the specified Acts applies to your body corporate, you can get a copy of the registered survey plan for your body corporate from Titles Queensland.
If you have any questions about this process, contact Titles Queensland.
Learn more about the different Acts and how to access them.
Layered developments
A layered development is a grouping of bodies corporate, where bodies corporate and owners’ lots sit within the umbrella of a higher body corporate.
Each of the bodies corporate developed under one of the specified Acts is set up in a layered development. The higher bodies corporate include:
- the community or precinct body corporate, created and operating under the MUD Act
- the primary thoroughfare or principal body corporate, created and operating under either the SCR Act or the IRD Act.
Subsidiary bodies corporate usually sit within one of the higher bodies corporate and will operate under the BUGT Act.
The subsidiary bodies corporate may also need to refer to the specified Act that applies to their higher body corporate for some processes.
Subsidiary bodies corporate are registered as either:
- group titles plan (GTP)
- building units plan (BUP).
The survey plan that is registered at Titles Queensland will state which legislation the development and subsidiary bodies corporate were created under.
Why there are different Acts—a brief history
Before the BCCM Act started, most multi-owner developments in Queensland were established and regulated under the BUGT Act.
Most of these developments were simple subdivisions of land or buildings with a single body corporate. These bodies corporate were transferred to the BCCM Act in 1997 and given a CMS, so they became community titles schemes.
Some more complex developments were also created under special planning laws (known as ‘specified Acts’), because the BUGT Act did not allow for the creation of layered developments.
The specified Acts were created to enable a layered structure. This means the development is a grouping of already developed bodies corporate and other lots which are planned for future developments. These future development lots and associated bodies corporate fall under the umbrella of one higher body corporate development.
In addition, some developments were created under the:
- South Bank Corporation Act 1989 (SBC Act)
- Registration of Plans (HSP (Nominees) Pty Limited) Enabling Act 1980 (ROPE1)
- Registration of Plans (Stage 2) (HSP (Nominees) Pty Limited) Enabling Act 1984 (ROPE2).
While we can’t give you information about these specified Acts, referees in our office can determine disputes under them.
More information
Access the body corporate legislation.