Short answer
Office-bearers’ (or committee) liability insurance protects strata committee members against claims arising from decisions and duties they carry out in their role. It is commonly held by NSW schemes and is often included in a strata insurance package, though it is a separate cover from the scheme’s public liability policy. Many schemes take it out by resolution to reassure the volunteers who serve on the committee.
Why schemes take it out
Committee members are volunteers making decisions on the scheme’s behalf, and occasionally those decisions attract a complaint or claim. Office-bearers’ liability insurance responds to genuine mistakes made in carrying out the role, so an individual isn’t personally exposed for stepping up to serve. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 the owners corporation may take out this kind of additional insurance, over and above the mandatory building and public liability cover.
What it does and doesn’t cover
This cover is aimed at the committee’s management decisions and administration — not physical injury on the common property, which is what the scheme’s public liability policy handles (see public liability insurance). Like any policy it has limits and exclusions; it generally won’t protect deliberate wrongdoing or bad-faith conduct, only honest mistakes made in good faith.
How it’s arranged
Because it is optional rather than mandatory, a scheme usually adds office-bearers’ cover by resolution and funds it through levies, often bundled into the broader strata insurance package at renewal. It is worth confirming each year whether the current policy includes it and at what limit.
Giving volunteers the confidence to serve
Knowing this cover is in place — and stays in place — makes it easier to fill committee roles on a self-managed scheme. A system such as Straita keeps every policy, including office-bearers’ cover, together with its renewal date and prompts the committee before it lapses, so members can serve knowing the protection is current and simply confirm it at renewal.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — mandatory insurance (s 164) and the power to take out other insurance (s 165).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — committee roles and strata insurance.