Contributed By: Michael Kleinschmidt of Stratum Legal on

The recent decision in Application by Ms A [2018] FWC 4147 by the Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission establishes that even a contracted caretaker is protected from bullying in the workplace. Particularly, the Deputy President found the chairperson bullied the caretaker, within a Queensland Community Title Scheme, by: sending emails to Mrs A about matters which were not urgent at times that were not reasonable. The emails used sarcastic and derogatory language in relation to Ms A which was exacerbated by the fact that the emails were sent to other members of the committee; by sending emails with an unreasonable (very high) frequency;Read More →

Contributed By: Mike Phipps Finance on

By the time you read this the holiday season will be behind us (mostly) and 2019 upon us. As always, a time to reflect and give thanks that the MD continues to put up with me and my children still remember my birthday. And what a funny old year 2018 turned out to be. Poor dear Malcolm gets the bums rush, The Donald is still in the White House, the Aussie cricket team can’t even get cheating right, the cash rate remains lethargic and people are still borrowing for business. In 2018 I started to notice two significant trends in Australia which I am goingRead More →

Contributed By: Hynes Legal on

Governments create laws.  Courts and tribunals interpret those laws when they make decisions on disputes.  We all then rely on those interpretations as gospel in terms of what the legislation actually means. Industry always holds its breath when what has been a long-standing practice or assumption is appealed. Higher authorities can overturn the decisions of lower ones. Take the deck dispute that went all the way to the High Court, with opposing decisions along the way. The other recent example was the decision on the timing for commencement of proceedings for recovery of body corporate debts.  A lower court interpreted a time frame that no one had operatedRead More →

Contributed By: Wesley Venz. Principle of Venz Management Rights Buyers Agency on

Management Rights is a unique and specialised industry. After all, what other small business do you require an educational qualification and a licence before you can operate the business? For those of you looking into this industry, the easiest way to obtain up-to-date, factual information is to attend a Management Rights Buyers Seminar. The REIQ (Real Estate Institute of QLD) is the original provider of the Management Rights seminars. Starting in the 1990’s, they are conducted by current professionals who work in the industry and are designed for people interested in learning more about Management Rights. The point of difference with this seminar is thatRead More →

Contributed By: Mike Phipps Finance on

Irony: noun; the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. I’ve got this mate, well, more a long term acquaintance really. Known her since I was in my teens. Purely platonic relationship over the past 40 years and we still catch up regularly to this day. She was pretty popular back in the day and had most of the local boys tied in knots. Even after 40 years she’s still a very attractive lady, super intelligent and very professional, at least to the casual observer. She’s had an interesting life and recently called me to seeRead More →

Contributed By: Nick Buick on

2018 was the maiden year of our Industry Recommended Professional program – an initiative where we ask our ~420 onsite managers around the country to nominate the best-of-industry suppliers across a range of categories. The purpose of this program is to identify industry suppliers operating at the highest levels of integrity and merit. Any supplier displaying an Industry Recommended Professional decal can be regarded as coming highly recommended by onsite managers, themselves. Last Friday, the 19th of October we held our inaugural Industry Recommended Professional Awards Night where we tallied up ALL the nominations, identified the industry suppliers with the MOST nominations in each category,Read More →

Contributed By: Mike Phipps Finance on

Bob Was Right The Stones said time is on our side.  Prince said it was a sign of the times. The Foo Fighters said times like these. Bob said it best Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’. Bob Dylan , The Times They Are A Changin’, 1964 Life moves pretty fast and, as Ferris Bueller wisely noted, if youRead More →

Contributed By: Michael Kleinschmidt of Stratum Legal on

In the Norwinn Commercial CTS 38094 the developer had been paying all the costs of maintaining an elevator located on common property. The elevator serviced foyers on only two levels of one building in the Scheme. Each foyer led to common property and Lot 8. None of Lots 1 – 7 could access their upper-level using the elevator, however all Lots had internal stairs. The developer went into receivership and all lots were sold. The new owner of Lot 8 determined, correctly, that the elevator should be maintained by the Body Corporate as utility infrastructure. The reason being that it supplied utility services not onlyRead More →

Contributed By: FNX Finance Group on

Today we present the fifth in our series of analysis on the selling market for Management and Letting Rights (MLR).  We have been collating this data quarterly since June 2017 and the following is a broad summary;      – Stock levels continue their growth which commenced in January 2018.  There is now $1b of MLRs on the market.      – This has largely been in the Permanent and to a lesser extent the Corporate space.      – The average listing period of all buildings has been 71 days in the last quarter.  With an additional 90-100 days to complete settlement.      – There is about 0.2x lower multiplier for Standard AgreementsRead More →

Contributed By: Michael Kleinschmidt Stratum Legal on

On 26 September 2018 Adjudicator Roseman declared the letting authorisation for Allure Apartments in Townsville void.  The management rights operator, Allure Townsville Accommodation Pty Ltd (ATA), had taken a transfer of the letting authorisation in June of 2015.  The management rights were transferred from Allure Hotel and Apartments Pty Ltd (AHA) who had acquired them from the developer, South Townsville Developments Pty Ltd, on 3 September 2014. From the beginning, the management rights business had been operated from a manager’s unit (lot 201) and a reception area, initially located on the common property. While AHA was the operator, that area of common property was convertedRead More →

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