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On Tuesday, 8 November, the state government ratified reforms to its body corporate laws — with the changes set to have a positive impact on Queensland unit holders.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman announced the passing of the Building Units and Group Titles and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 has brought with it changes to the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGT Act) and Mixed Use Development Act 1993 (MUD Act).
Ms Fentiman said: “It is critical that Queensland laws provide appropriate and effective protections for unit owners.”
Citing how “for many Queenslanders, investing or living in a unit is an option that suits their financial and lifestyle goals”, as a primary reason why the government “made significant reforms to enhance body corporate governance and better protect Queensland unit owners in certain resorts and complex mixed-use developments”.
Despite most community title schemes operating under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM Act), certain resorts and mixed-use developments are governed by the BUGT Act in conjunction with specialised planning laws like MUD Act.
The latest bill guarantees that unit owners in body corporates regulated by either the BUGT Act or the MUD Act will benefit from several protections applied to other Queensland unit owners.
Alterations to the BUGT Act and MUD Act include:
- Requirements for body corporate and committees to act reasonably when making decisions and performing their roles
- New committee eligibility requirements
- Fairer rules for voting at general meetings
- Increased transparency in body corporate decision making
- Strengthened laws to prevent conflicts of interest
- Enhanced financial management practices
- Increased access to information, education, and dispute resolution
Ms Fentiman confirmed that “amendments to the acts will provide better protections for owners and make sure they have increased access to information and dispute resolution services”.
“The amendments to the BUGT Act and MUD Act will commence on 1 December 2022,” she added.
Additionally, the bill also includes reforms to the Fair Trading Act to ensure the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has the power to issue infringement notices for breaches of gift card requirements under the Australian consumer law, which guarantees that OFT powers are consistent with those of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which jointly administers the ACL in Queensland.
Along with the latest legislative changes, the Palaszczuk government has made several movements throughout the year to assist in shoring up the state’s housing market, including streamlining planning approvals to accelerate the construction of community, social, and affordable housing and boosting its Housing Investment Fund to $2 billion.
Perhaps the most significant of the government’s housing action was placing its maligned land tax policy, which would calculate the land tax of Queensland property holders based on the value of all their Australian property holdings, on ice in September.
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