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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-18 Daily Xml
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Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 27 November 2024.)

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the member for King, this is probably the last chance I will get to call the member for Port Adelaide Deputy Premier and minister, so thank you for your service. Member for King.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (17:14): I rise today to speak in support of the Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) Bill 2024. This is a bill that makes long overdue changes to how we manage and oversee community and strata title properties here in South Australia, and I really want to emphasise just how important that is. If you have ever lived in a community or strata-titled property, you will know how much the day-to-day management of shared spaces—from shared car parks to driveways, gardens, maintenance funds and meetings—can impact the time and quality of your life. Whether it is a leaking roof, a delayed repair, a disputed vote at a meeting or unclear financial arrangements, small matters can escalate very quickly. With over a quarter of South Australians now living in strata or community-titled properties, these issues are far from niche.

As our state continues to grow and more South Australians choose to live in townhouses, in apartments and shared developments, the systems that support these forms of housing need to be strong, they need to be fair, and they need to be future-focused. That is why we have this bill here before us today.

This bill is a result of a comprehensive review by the Environment, Resources and Development Committee, extensive public consultation, feedback from stakeholders and residents, and a growing list of problems and challenges, including some that have been brought into the spotlight by media in recent times.

One of the strongest drivers for this reform is the need for greater transparency and accountability in how these properties are managed. You may remember a recent ABC Four Corners investigation into body corporate management and strata insurance. It revealed deeply concerning conduct, including managers receiving commissions without disclosing them, self-dealing through related companies, and quietly adding fees to invoices under the radar. The truth is, these kinds of practices erode trust and make people feel powerless in their own homes. This bill responds to these concerns.

We are tightening disclosure obligations so that body corporate managers must clearly declare any commissions, benefits or financial interests, particularly when they are dealing with businesses that they have a stake in. That also includes disclosing any shared directorships or referral arrangements, the expected dollar value of services provided by related entities, and why the manager believes this is in the best interest of the owners. Importantly, managers will need to report back if the figures change after the AGM. If they fail to disclose commissions, that money may need to be paid back to the corporation.

This is about bringing these dealings out of the shadows. If there is a commercial relationship, fine, but owners have a right to know about it and make an informed decision. This is about transparency, not hidden markups or cosy arrangements that benefit the manager more than the residents. These are not just abstract issues. We have seen the very real consequences when the current system falls short.

Take the Felmeri Homes development at O'Halloran Hill. This was a community-titled development where the builder went under and critical infrastructure like access roads and utility connections were never completed. Families who had bought in good faith were left stranded. Why did this happen? Because under the current rules, when land is divided by Torrens title, council is able to step in and make sure infrastructure is delivered to standard, often requiring guarantees from the developer. However, under community title that oversight was not triggered because the future community corporation was deemed responsible for the infrastructure. That left new owners effectively inheriting unfinished developments with no clear path forward. We are addressing that in this bill.

It makes explicit that planning authorities must assess whether community titles are appropriate, particularly when there are no genuine shared facilities. That means no more gaming the system and no more risky developments slipping through a loophole because they were structured the wrong way.

We are also tackling another practical problem: what happens when a body corporate manager disappears or simply refuses to act. Unfortunately, this is not rare, and when it happens communities can be left paralysed, unable to access trust accounts and records or make essential decisions. This bill gives the Magistrates Court more flexibility to step in and terminate contracts where needed and ensure a smoother transition to a new manager. It is about giving communities a pathway forward when the manager they rely on becomes the problem.

Beyond these structural reforms, this bill also makes a range of commonsense improvements—practical changes that reflect the real needs of owners and residents today. Some of these include:

giving corporations clear powers to set by-laws on smoke drift, including from tobacco and vaping;

preventing proxy voting abuse, especially where financial conflicts exist;

making it easier for owners to add agenda items at meetings and for corporations to achieve a quorum—a real problem in smaller or less engaged groups;

doubling minimum public liability insurance from $10 million to $20 million, which is in line with other states;

extending maintenance planning from five to 10 years to encourage longer term budgeting;

removing outdated requirements, such as needing a common seal to sign documents; and

requiring that prospective buyers receive clear information up-front, such as the plan of division and a sinking fund budget, before signing the contract.

These are the kinds of things that can prevent disputes before they start and make ownership more straightforward and secure.

We are also strengthening the enforcement side. This bill gives the Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services new powers to issue expiation notices for breaches, providing more flexible, faster enforcement options. We are also increasing penalties across the acts to reflect inflation and align with other consumer protection laws. If someone is doing the wrong thing, the consequences should be meaningful.

At its heart, this bill is about fairness, transparency and modernisation. It returns power to the people who live in these developments. It strengthens protections for buyers, owners and residents, and it gives communities the tools they need to manage themselves with confidence. South Australia is changing. We are planning for more housing, greater density and smarter urban development. We need to make sure our legislative frameworks support that growth and not lag behind it. That means clear rules, fair protections, transparent processes and stronger enforcement. This bill delivers on all of that.

I would like to acknowledge and thank everybody who has contributed, from the ERD Committee and departmental staff to the many residents, strata experts, advocacy groups and industry professionals who have engaged so constructively with this work. I would also like to thank the minister very much for all her efforts in this space. With that, I commend the bill to the house.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (17:23): I rise to speak on the Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) Bill. This bill makes a range of changes to the laws that govern community and strata-titled properties in South Australia. They are important changes that will make these systems work better for the people who live in them.

I would like to focus on one reform in particular, something that I know many in our community have been asking for, and that is tackling the problem of smoke drift—something that causes ongoing distress. At the moment, if you live in a strata property your corporation already has the power to make rules about smoking, but if you live in a community-titled property the law has been silent. That has meant that, too often, people living in apartments or townhouses have had to put up with tobacco smoke coming into their homes from common areas or even drifting across from their neighbour's balcony. It is not fair and it is not safe.

Everyone deserves the right to breathe clean air in their own home. Second-hand smoke is not just unpleasant, it is unhealthy. It can make people sick. It particularly harms children, older people and those who already live with health conditions. This bill fixes that gap and makes it clear that community corporations can put by-laws in place to regulate smoking on common property and to stop smoke drift between homes. It is about giving residents the power to make decisions that keep their communities healthier and safer. Importantly, this is not about parliament telling every development how they must operate; it is about giving people the choice, the legal backing they need if they decide as a community they want to protect their shared spaces from smoke.

This is a practical, commonsense change. It brings community titles into line with strata titles. It responds to the concerns we have heard directly from residents and, above all, it puts people's health and wellbeing first. For those reasons, I support this reform and I commend the bill to the house.

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (17:25): I rise today to speak in support of the Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) Bill 2024. This is an important piece of legislation that will deliver stronger protections, fairer rules and greater transparency for those living in community and strata title developments across our state.

Before I go into detail about the bill, I want to briefly digress just for few moments. Today marks a significant day in our state's political history, with both Deputy Premier Dr Susan Close and Treasurer Stephen Mullighan announcing that they will retire from parliament. I had the privilege of working for Dr Close when she first became education minister, and I was struck immediately by the lightning pace with which she mastered her portfolio and the deep care she placed into every facet of it. While this will be a deep loss to the Labor Party and the parliament, I am sure it will be a great gain for life beyond these walls, and I wish both members for Lee and Port Adelaide every success and happiness in whatever lies ahead.

Turning now to the bill before us, it represents a wideranging update to the Community Titles Act 1996 and the Strata Titles Act 1988. Put simply, it strengthens the rights of people living in units, townhouses and other shared developments and ensures that meetings are fairer, disclosure requirements are stronger, sustainability is supported and, most importantly, that managers and developers are held to account. It is about modernising the law so that it matches the realities of how more South Australians are living.

This is especially important in the community that I am privileged to represent in Adelaide's north, where we are seeing a notable rise in subdivisions and townhouse developments. For many locals, these properties represent the first step into home ownership, while for others they are a way to downsize and remain connected to family and community. As these developments increase, the laws that govern them must provide protection and confidence: this bill does exactly that.

One of the key areas addressed is the issue of conflicts of interest among body corporate managers. Recent revelations through an ABC Four Corners investigation exposed troubling practices in the strata insurance and management industry, including undisclosed commissions, reinvoicing and steering business towards related companies. This behaviour is not only unethical but it directly harms vulnerable South Australians. It adds unnecessary costs for people already stretched thin, from first-home buyers to retirees.

The bill tightens disclosure requirements so that managers must openly declare their interests, detail the value of related party goods and services and explain why those arrangements are in the best interests of the corporation. In singling out certain elements, I am deeply relieved that at each annual general meeting managers will now have to disclose commissions and benefits received, keeping the process transparent and accountable.

I also welcome that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is looking into these issues at a national level, but it is right that we act here locally first to do all we can to ensure strata residents are protected. This is not an abstract matter for me. On two occasions in my life—in Darlington and Mount Barker—I lived under strata arrangements. Both times came in the early stages of me stepping into the property market, and I remember the strain of high fees that were never easy to manage. Those experiences impressed upon me how vital it is that residents know their money is being directed exactly where it should be.

This bill goes some way towards stamping out unethical practices and addressing those concerns, ensuring greater honesty in how people's money is managed. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.


At 17:30 the house adjourned until Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 11:00.


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