Bodies corporate in Tasmania

1A corporation from the day the plan is registered

No one applies to join. Each owner becomes a member when the transfer of their lot is registered by the Recorder of Titles, and no registration with the corporate regulator is needed, because corporations law does not apply to a body corporate under the Act. A body corporate can be two members in a two-lot scheme, such as a pair of villa units, or many members in a high-rise.

It holds the common property in trust for the owners, who share it as tenants in common in proportion to their unit entitlements. An owner’s interest in the common property cannot be separated from the lot: deal with one and the other goes with it. The body corporate looks after the by-laws, arranges its insurance and maintains the common property.

As soon as practicable after it begins, it must appoint a chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer. It may appoint a committee of management by ordinary resolution, of at least 3 members, which can use any of its powers except those that need a unanimous resolution. It may also appoint a manager to handle the administration and control of the common property, under the direction of the body corporate in general meeting or its committee. The Land Titles Office notes that a manager holds only the powers the body corporate gives, which a written agreement should set out.

2Waking a body corporate that has never met

The first annual general meeting is the original proprietor’s duty, due within 3 months of the plan’s registration or once half the lots are sold, whichever comes first. For a body corporate that has never become active, the Land Titles Office publishes a short guide to activating one. Its steps, in order:

1. Reach every owner

   The first step is to try to contact each lot owner, aiming to hold a meeting about setting up an active body corporate. The Land Titles Office can supply pamphlets on the body corporate, its insurance and its by-laws to share with them.

2. Hold the meeting

   Members can meet in person, by telephone, by proxy, or by electronic means such as email or messaging.

3. Fill the three offices

   The Act requires a chairperson, a treasurer and a secretary. The body corporate may also choose a committee of management, an outside manager, or both, to run the day-to-day business.

4. If the others will not take part

   An owner who cannot reach the others, or finds them unwilling, can file an application for relief with the Recorder of Titles asking for an order that a meeting be held. A small lodging fee applies.

3Insurance and the fund

Tasmania puts building insurance on the body corporate for the whole site. It must insure every building and improvement, joined or free-standing, whether on common property or on a privately owned lot, and must carry public risk insurance over the site, for at least the minimum set by regulation. Lot owners may take out contents insurance for their own lots.

• When a claim concerns one lot only, that lot’s owner pays the excess, unless the body corporate decides by ordinary resolution that this would be unreasonable; when it concerns more than one lot, the body corporate does.
• If the body corporate fails to insure, an owner may take out the required insurance and recover the cost from the body corporate as a debt, or set it against what they owe it.
• The Recorder can order a body corporate that has unreasonably refused to make or pursue an insurance claim to do so.

The money side runs through a single fund for meeting the body corporate’s obligations: all income goes into it and all spending comes out of it, though it may be split into recurrent and capital parts, and it must be kept at a level that meets reasonably foreseeable spending. Each lot has a unit entitlement, a whole number fixed on a fair and equitable basis.

A contribution falls due on a date the body corporate sets by written notice. Whoever owns the lot on that date is liable, and anyone who becomes owner before it is paid is liable jointly with them. Interest on overdue contributions runs at a rate the body corporate fixes by resolution, and the Recorder can vary a rate that is unreasonable. Equally, a body corporate can apply to the Recorder, once the due date has passed, for an order that an owner pay contributions properly levied.

4Applying to the Recorder of Titles

An application for relief can be made by anyone with an interest in a strata scheme. The Land Titles Office describes the process this way:

1. Inside the scheme first

   Any dispute procedure in the scheme’s by-laws has to be followed before applying, and most issues must go to the body corporate before the Recorder can make an order.

2. Lodge the form and the fee

   The application form is lodged at the Land Titles Office with the fee. The application, and any submission made later, is limited to five pages, not counting supporting documents such as expert reports, quotes or relevant minutes.

3. Investigation, in writing

   The Recorder may dismiss an application on the grounds in section 109; if it is taken up, the Recorder may notify interested parties and ask for submissions, and may hold a hearing. From lodging on, all contact with the Recorder is in writing.

4. A written decision

   The decision and its reasons are given in writing. No time limit is set by law, and as at October 2026 the Land Titles Office says applications may take five to seven months.

5. Appeal

   A decision can be appealed to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal within 30 days. The Tribunal can confirm, vary or revoke the decision or order.

Among the orders the Recorder can make: an interim order lasting up to 3 months, renewable for further periods of up to 3 months; an order invalidating a resolution or election at a meeting not called or run as the Act or by-laws require, if applied for within 30 days of the meeting; and an order appointing someone to call a general meeting the body corporate has failed to hold. Where a body corporate cannot maintain its common property or keep its insurance, an administrator may be appointed by the Supreme Court or by the Recorder. The Recorder also keeps a register of applications for relief, which can be searched for a fee.

The Land Titles Office is at Level 1, 134 Macquarie Street, Hobart, on 03 6165 4444. By-laws and their enforcement are in the guide to the rules, and meetings and records in what an owner can ask for.