By the way, only the complainant should be involved in the mediation. The other side doesn`t even need to show up and often chooses not to. Jimmy Thomson edits the Strata Living website flat-chat.com.au and produces a weekly podcast called Flat Chat Wrap, which this week deals with mediation (and how to get rid of committee officials). Strata laws vary from state to state. In New South Wales, the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA 2015) sets out the framework for resolving condominium disputes. It provides that parties to disputes may submit claims to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales (NCAT) for the settlement of such disputes. I declare that the information I provide is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I acknowledge that NSW Fair Trading: The latest set of legislative amendments states that face-to-face MEDIATION must be attempted by the Strata Committee BEFORE the NCAT participates in dispute resolution. This is officially called “internal dispute settlement”. (See NSW SSMA 2015: Section 216). Therefore, the responsibility again lies with each individual stratum committee to try to get a solution to the problem first through internal procedures, and if this fails, a request can be submitted to the NCAT for arbitration. (See NSW SSMA 2015: Section 227). Google “Vic strata disputes” to find its fact sheets on the dispute resolution procedures of owner companies.
The Downtown Legal Centre (CLC) has an excellent PDF on disputes and, while it`s not specifically about shifts, it offers really rewarding “generic” advice on how to deal with certain situations, what to do, where to turn, etc. Make sure you have read this. and while you`re in this “dispute area”, take a look at the New South Wales Government`s Department of Justice – Neighbourhood Disputes The mistake most claimants make in mediation is that they think they will get a decision (preferably in their favour) on the issue in question. You won`t – fair trade doesn`t. However, this framework is intended to divert the attention of the parties from the CBSC`s comprehensive dispute resolution process by encouraging them to try to resolve these disputes first. To do this, it provides that an aggrieved party may not apply to the NCAT without first conducting mediation organised by NSW Fair Trading. The relevant provision of the SSMA 2015 is section 227. Section 227 provides that an NCAT Registrar may not accept a request for litigation submitted to the NCAT unless the mediation of the Secretary of NSW Fair Trading has been attempted but failed or a party has refused to participate in the mediation, or the Registrar considers that the mediation is unnecessary or inappropriate in the circumstances. In New South Wales, the first step is to turn to Fair Trading for mediation, a process that starts with a fairly simple online form, although you have tricky things like your condominium plan (SP) number and the address and phone number of your strata manager. Elsewhere in Australia, dispute resolution procedures vary, including through local courts. Google “Strata Disputes” and your status and see what appears.
The application may take about 15 minutes. In Victoria, each Strata system must have its own internal dispute resolution system, but its use is not mandatory. If there is no result, various options occur. If the owner company is the plaintiff, it applies directly to the Victorian Court (VCAT). Watson & Watson has highly experienced strata lawyers who can assist and advise you on strata or strata litigation. If you have any questions about Strata`s issues and/or if you offer or would like mediation to resolve a Strata dispute, please contact Richard Watson Senior Strata Solicitor or his personal assistant Shereen Da Gloria to discuss your concerns and seek the right advice before participating in the mediation. If the “mediation via a 3rd party” method also fails, a request can be made to the co-ownership scheme arbitrator of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Court. Detailed information on the decision-making process can be found in the NCAT section on the application of condominium systems AND the application of community regimes The three major states for apartment buildings – NSW, Victoria and Queensland – have similar but significantly different systems for settling stratum disputes. But only then can the plaintiff request a judgment from the NCAT. Google “NSW Fair Trading Strata Disputes” to access relevant fair trading websites that tell you exactly how to do it. You can`t save your progress through the form, so make sure you have all the information at your fingertips before you start.
You will receive an email copy of the information you provide to us when you submit the form. (f) an order requesting the provision of documents to an owner company by a former Strata manager for the Strata plan What they will get is someone with some knowledge of how Strata works who will try to get both parties to agree to disagree. It can be a win-lose-one outcome and for many, it`s just a tedious but necessary step to get to the court where the actual action takes place. Many apartment residents go to mediation and think they will get a decision from a condominium arbitrator. You probably won`t. So what is it all about? Fair Trading`s free Strata mediation service can help you in case of disagreement in your Strata scheme. And don`t forget our good friends at NCAT (NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal) – formerly CTTT. There are some really interesting things on this page, so be sure to take a look. I`ve included a lot of NCAT links to have fun with in the Nsw Civil and Administrative Court (NCAT) links section below. However, if a dispute between the owners cannot be resolved by the “simpler” methods, mediation via a 3rd party might be just the answer. Such a service is available free of charge through NSW Fair Trading (FT) and more details can be found on the Dispute Resolution and Mediation page. And according to Fair Trading, more than 65% of all disputes handled by this service are successfully resolved.
For more information on mediation, issues that are appropriate for mediation, and the procedure for hearings, please visit our Dispute Resolution and Mediation page. The mediation request procedure is to obtain a mediation request form from the NSW Fair Trading website. A plaintiff then completes the form and files it with NSW Fair Trading, which then contacts the parties about the available dates for mediation. In some circumstances, an applicant does not need to mediate before making an application. In these circumstances, orders are sought: disputes in a co-ownership system can take many forms. Sometimes they can occur between owners because they live in close proximity to each other. At other times, disputes may arise because some landlords are not fulfilling their responsibilities to pay their dues or comply with the system`s bylaws. And then there may be disagreements between the owners and the condominium committee about how certain aspects of the system are managed. These examples are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. You can go to the Request Co-ownership Mediation page to submit an application. Just follow the links.
Obviously, this should be your LAST resort because of the amount of time and effort (and cost) required. But there is another stage – the district court. Fortunately, I know of very few cases that have been forced to go that far, and we`re not going to get into a discussion about it here, so hopefully it will never go that far for your strata system. We hear a lot about mediation and arbitration in housing disputes – but what do these terms mean? If an applicant to the NCAT has not met the mediation requirement to resolve a dispute, the Registrar must inform the applicant to arrange mediation if the Registrar has rejected the request. You`ll find plenty of goodies in this section – everything from fees and fact sheets to PDFs and application forms. .