Help and information
The government's own plain-English guidance for your scheme.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Owners corporationsThe main Victorian guide to rules, maintenance, money and disputes.
- Meetings and committeesCommittee roles, AGMs, voting, and working with a manager.
Disputes
Where to go when something can't be sorted out at the committee table.
- Complaints and disputes in an owners corporationThe three steps: your internal process, the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria, then VCAT.
- VCAT: Owners corporationsApplying to the tribunal, or responding, for owners corporation and common property disputes.
The law itself
The Acts, straight from the official legislation website.
- Owners Corporations Act 2006Victoria's main owners corporation law.
- Subdivision Act 1988The law that creates owners corporations, including lot entitlement and lot liability.
Plans, titles and scheme documents
Where to search or order the scheme plan, title and registered by-laws.
- LANDATAOrder titles, plans of subdivision and owners corporation certificates.
- Land Use Victoria: Owners corporationsHow owners corporation rules and changes are recorded. Rules must be registered to be enforceable.
Builders, trades and defects
Check a licence before you hire, and where to take defective work.
- Find and check a practitionerCheck a builder's or plumber's registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission.
- Issues, complaints and disputesFree help with defective building and plumbing work, and reporting unlicensed work.
Also worth bookmarking
Other official pages committee members end up needing.
- Public register of owners corporation managersVictorian managers must be registered. Check yours here.
- Short stay levyThe levy on short-stay bookings, relevant where owners run Airbnb-style lets.
Official forms
Where your state has an official or prescribed form, use it. For everything else, use our free forms.
- CAV forms and publicationsTemplates for notices of meeting, agendas, minutes, proxies, ballots, breach notices, fee notices and complaints.
- VCAT owners corporation applicationApply to the tribunal about unpaid fees, breaches or owners corporation decisions.
- Victorian statutory declarationThe statutory declaration form for body corporate matters in Victoria.
Strata managers in Victoria
Thinking about changing managers? Start with these. Changing manager is usually a decision for a general meeting, and your current agreement sets out the notice period, so check both before you sign anything new.
Finders and registers
- Register of owners corporation managers (CAV)Check a manager is registered, and see their business names and insurer.
- SCA Strata DirectoryThe Strata Community Association's national directory of member strata managers and suppliers.
Strata management companies, A to Z
| Company | Areas they list |
|---|---|
| Ace Body Corporate Management | Metro Melbourne and regional Victoria |
| BCS Strata (PICA Group) | Melbourne |
| Bright & Duggan | Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo |
| Dixon Kestles | Melbourne inner suburbs, Geelong |
| MBCM Strata Specialists | Melbourne and regional Victoria |
| Strata Management Victoria | Melbourne and Victoria-wide |
| The Knight | Melbourne, Geelong |
| Victoria Body Corporate Services | Victoria-wide |
| Whittles | Melbourne, Bayswater |
Listed alphabetically. No company paid to be listed and none is recommended over another. Get at least three quotes and ask each one what is included in the base fee.
Local reading
Owner groups, the industry body and law firms that publish free plain-English articles for Victoria.
- Strata Owners AllianceVolunteer group giving free advice and education to Victorian owners.
- SCA Victoria: owners corporation resourcesVictorian terms, compliance and sustainability guides.
- Tisher Liner FC Law: owners corporationRegular updates on Victorian owners corporation cases.
- Lovegrove & Cotton: e-libraryExplains the Victorian owners corporation reforms.
For news, forums and podcasts from across Australia, see what owners are talking about.
Want it all explained in one place?
The Victoria edition of The Committee Member Handbook walks through the job in plain English, written for VIC's own law.