Short answer
If the owners corporation won’t fix a common-property defect it’s responsible for, you can escalate: raise it formally in writing, get it onto a meeting agenda, and if it’s still not addressed, seek mediation through NSW Fair Trading and ultimately apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). NCAT can make orders requiring the owners corporation to carry out the repair. Because the owners corporation has a statutory duty to maintain common property, ignoring a genuine defect is not simply optional.
Step 1 — put it in writing and on the agenda
Start by reporting the defect in writing to the secretary or committee, describing what’s wrong and where. Ask for it to be placed on the agenda of the next committee or general meeting so there’s a record of the request and the response. Keeping this trail matters — it’s the evidence that the issue was raised and how the owners corporation dealt with it.
Step 2 — mediation through Fair Trading
If the issue still isn’t addressed, NSW Fair Trading offers a free mediation service for strata disputes. Many disputes are resolved at this stage without going further. In most cases mediation is a step you’re expected to try before applying to the Tribunal.
Step 3 — apply to NCAT
If mediation doesn’t resolve it, you can apply to NCAT, which has power to make orders about the management of a strata scheme — including ordering the owners corporation to carry out a repair it’s responsible for. Where a breach of the maintenance duty has caused you loss, the Act also allows an owner to recover reasonably foreseeable loss as damages; there is a statutory time limit on such claims, so check the current limitation period before relying on it.
Building the record that supports your case
Every one of these steps rests on evidence — when you reported it, what was said, what was (or wasn’t) done. For a self-managed scheme, keeping that trail is far easier when issues live in one place: a system such as Straita records each report, the committee’s response and the repair history, so the scheme can act on its duty and, if a dispute arises, show exactly what happened and when.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — s 106, duty to maintain and repair (and recovery of loss).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — resolving disputes and mediation.
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) — strata scheme orders.