Records
Records
The original owner or property developer must give an owners corporation records of the property including a copy of the plan of subdivision, planning documents, building contract, building plans etc etc. Owners corporations must collect and keep the following records for at least 7 years (unless noted otherwise):
•the full name and address of each lot owner
•a consolidated copy of the owners corporation’s rules
•minutes of meetings
•copies of resolutions
•records of the results of ballots
•proxies (12 months after expiry or revoke)
•voting papers or ballots (12 months after vote or ballot)
•correspondence
•accounting records
•records of assets and liabilities
•financial statements of income and expenditure
•income tax returns including GST records
•insurance policies
•any maintenance plan
•any notices and orders served on the owners corporation by a court or tribunal
•any notices served by the owners corporation
•any contracts and agreements entered into by the owners corporation
•any leases and licences entered into by the owners corporation.
An owners corporation is required to keep records under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 and other laws, such as Commonwealth taxation laws and the Building Act 1993.
We recommend, records for the life of the building be kept of the following:
•copies of owners corporations certificates issued
•notices and agendas & minutes of meetings
•building permits
•building plans and specifications
•building contracts
•planning permits
•Section 173 agreements (Application to appoint an administrator)
•builders warranty insurance
•occupancy permits.
•plan of subdivision
Owners corporation register
All owners corporations, except those with only two lots, must establish and maintain an owners corporation register. The owners corporation register is a summary of its activities, undertakings and membership. It must include a hard copy or electronic record of the:
•owners corporation plan number and address
•name and address of each lot owner
•name, registration number and contact details of the manager (if there is one)
•lot liability and lot entitlements for each lot
•basis for setting of lot liability and lot entitlement (if available)
•date and details of each amendment to the owners corporation rules
•details of contracts, leases and licences entered into by the owners corporation
•details of insurance policies.
An owners corporation register must be made available for inspection at no cost (reasonable charges for copies of records can be applied), upon request to a lot owner, mortgagee of a lot, buyer of a lot, representative of a lot owner, mortgagee or buyer of a lot.
Owners corporation certificate
An owners corporation must issue an owners corporation certificate to any person who submits a written application & may charge a fee up to, but not more than, $150. The certificate must be issued within 10 business days of receiving the request. If the certificate relates to a lot affected by more than one owners corporation, a separate certificate must be issued for each and the owners corporation may charge a separate fee.
Protecting privacy in owners corporations
An owners corporation may only collect and use personal information in a fair and lawful way. The personal information it holds must be accurate, up-to-date and secure.
As a general rule, the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988:
•does not apply to owners corporations with less than $3 million turnover
•will apply to an owners corporation, regardless of turnover, if it discloses personal information to another party for a benefit, without the consent of the person concerned, or without being authorised to do so by an Act of Parliament (such as the Owners Corporations Act 2006).
A person whose details are kept in the owners corporation’s records or register may apply to VCAT to restrict access to that information. The tribunal will only restrict access in exceptional circumstances and only for a limited time.
