The Knight Alliance

Over the years as a strata manager , countless owners have come to me with bold plans to make their strata lot more sustainable by installing solar panels. They go out, get a quote, present it to their committee of management and it gets voted down. Why? Too often, simply because other owners don’t like the look of solar panels. This is especially true at townhouse estates where owners want to maintain a consistent appearance. It was always disheartening when aesthetics came before combatting climate change. However, things have changed. With the changes to the Owners Corporation Act introduced in December 2021, owners corporations may no longer make rules that unreasonably prohibit the installation of a sustainability item on a lot. For example, if a lot owner wants to install solar panels, the owners corporation cannot deny this request simply on aesthetic grounds. However, they may be able to deny the request if they have a legitimate reason. For example, if the solar panel imp...

The Knight is an Owners Corporation, Strata and Body Corporate management company with an office in Caulfield North. In 2021 they achieved Climate Active Certification as a carbon neutral organisation, becoming the first Owners Corporation Management company to do so. “Going carbon neutral for us was a way to lead by example and demonstrate to our industry colleagues and clients that sustainable strata is an option.” – taken from https://www.climateactive.org.au/buy-climate-active/certified-members/knight Sustainability highlights The Knight has reduced their environmental impact through the following achievements and actions: Achieved a Climate Active carbon neutral certification in 2021. Provided all staff with reusable coffee cups. Recycling of soft plastics in a small bin saving about one bag of soft plastic from landfill a week. Set up of e-waste bin for office equipment and broken fobs/remotes for their properties that is regularly dropped off at ...

Owners corporation managers are seeing increasing demand for retrofitting electric vehicle (EV) charging into apartment buildings. The Knight recently spoke with David Hamilton, an OC committee member at Triptych and EV charging solutions consultant. He graciously agreed to share with us his experiences with EV charging in strata. The Knight: Starting with your Owners Corporation, Triptych, could you explain what drives your sustainability ethos? David: Triptych was designed to be a building with extensive sustainability features incorporated into it from its conception in 2007, so it was ahead of the curve as far as Melbourne high-rise apartment developments back then, and even today. Sustainability has been a key attraction for many owners and renters over its history but more so today with greater awareness of climate change and the need to transition to a low carbon economy. In a building where the ethos is sustainability, it is an easy step for people to understand the ben...

Delivering on the Victorian Government’s election promise to ban new embedded networks. In 2018, the Victorian Government announced an election commitment to ban embedded networks in new residential apartment buildings , with exemptions for buildings that use renewable energy to deliver low-cost renewable energy to apartment buildings. This commitment was made in response to ongoing concerns that customers currently living in embedded networks pay higher prices and do not have access to the same level of consumer protections as those who live outside of embedded networks. An expert panel was appointed to conduct an extensive review and develop recommendations to present to the government on how best to implement the ban. In January 2021 the panel released an issues paper setting out key issues related to the review and sought stakeholder feedback. In June 2021, the Panel released a draft report that set out 16 recommendations and provided stakeholders with a clear understanding...

Accessibility and discrimination within Owners Corporations: The topic of discrimination within strata properties is a complex one. Private property does not need to comply with the provisions of antidiscrimination legislations, such as the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (EO Act). Owners Corporations however, despite being private property, cannot be treated in the same way as a standalone house due to their shared nature, and the range of persons who may require access to and use of the property. This access is a fundamental right of those who privately own or lease within the property. While more legislative guidance in this area would be welcome, a ruling in the 2018 case OC1-POS539033E v Black has helped clear things up, by irrefutably defining an Owners Corporation as a ‘service provider’ under the EO Act. In this case, the Supreme Court found that sections 44 and 45 of the EO Act – which state that a service provider ‘must not discriminate against another person’ and ‘must make...

The most important role within an owners’ corporation (OC) is that of the committee of management. Working together with the OC manager, it is the committee’s role to ensure things are running smoothly. Without good governance, this can be an impossible task. We’ve rounded up some best-practice suggestions to help your committee and community thrive. Preparation for the AGM The annual general meeting (AGM) is an integral date in an OC’s calendar. It is the time for all members to come together, discuss issues, understand progress and vote upon the future direction of the OC. It also the best opportunity a committee has to highlight the hard work they do on behalf of all owners and celebrate achievements. An AGM must be held within 15 months of the previous one, and best-practice is to hold it within three months of the end of the OC’s financial year. To ensure the AGM is as productive as possible, committees should ensure they meet ahead of the AGM to review the financials, appr...

Sustainable businesses have realised that it is not enough to ensure their practices are sustainable, they also must look to their supply chain and ensure they employ businesses that share their values. Owners Corporations are major employers. Caretakers, plumbers, painters and much more all get engaged by owners corporations on a regular basis. However, few owners corporations consider the impact the services they employ have on the planet. It is common for strata managers to obtain several quotes when work needs doing at a property. Most often we find the choice of whom to engage comes down to price primarily, but what if there was other criteria committees could consider? Sustainably minded committees can choose to engage contractors who share their values. For example, Miss V, a cleaning company that services owners corporations, uses only non toxic cleaning supplies and arrives on bicycle wherever possible. Another example is Wheelie Bin Cleaning Man who follows EPA law on r...