Same money. Different envelope.
2 June 2026 You can almost hear the sigh. “He’s doing commissions again.” Yep. The Age put a strata kickback on its front page this weekend. A strata manager, on a recording the paper says it’s reviewed, allegedly asking a contractor for a cut to rig a tender. If it stands up, it’s a straight […]
When “no commissions” doesn’t mean what you think it means
26 May 2026 The question that keeps coming up A prospect compares two strata management quotes. Both say “no commissions.” On paper they look the same on that line, so the prospect moves to comparing the management fee. The lower fee wins. What the prospect doesn’t see is that one of the two quotes is […]
Winter is coming. Here’s what your committee should be doing now.
21 May 2026 The first cold snap usually arrives in late May or early June. By July, every strata manager in NSW is fielding the same calls – burst pipes, ceiling leaks, blocked drains, dead hot water systems. The damage was preventable in almost every case. The window to prevent it is now. Here’s what […]
Wollongong’s next decade isn’t just about height.
7 May 2026 There was a piece in the Illawarra Mercury today about the race for Wollongong’s tallest building. Three contenders, all over 38 storeys. The Bunnings site alone is now planned for 1,500 apartments across six towers – three of those at 40 storeys. Add Crown Square, the twin 26-storey towers at Crown and […]
Nine months in, a quarter to go. The No BS version.
7 April 2026 One quarter left in year one. Here’s what the first nine months really looked like. I started Bettr Strata on 1 July 2025. No existing client base. No arrangements carried over from a previous employer. No shortcuts. People had to find us, and they did, slowly, the way real things tend to […]
Why Strata Committees Avoid Difficult Decisions
16 March 2026 Strata committees rarely intend to make poor decisions. In most cases the people around the table genuinely care about their building and want to see it well maintained and financially stable. But difficult decisions are often the ones that get postponed. I have sat in meetings where the same agenda item appears […]
The Strata Industry Is Growing, But Running a Strata Business Is Getting Harder
9 March 2026 Over the weekend I spent some time reading Macquarie Group‘s latest strata industry benchmarking report. As always, it’s a useful document. The study draws on responses from more than 200 strata businesses managing around 1.4 million lots across Australia, which provides a fairly broad view of how the industry is performing. At […]
Why Good Governance Still Fails in Capable Rooms
4 February 2026 This blog applies to strata committees operating under a standard committee structure: decisions made collectively, professional advice available, and responsibility formally shared across elected members. In this setting, I repeatedly see the same failure pattern. Decisions stall or produce weak outcomes even when committee members are engaged, informed, and acting in good […]
Interest Rates Rise: What It Means for Strata Communities
3 February 2026 The Reserve Bank has increased the cash rate by 25 basis points following higher-than-expected inflation data. While interest rate movements are often discussed in the context of mortgages, their impact extends well beyond individual households. Strata communities are not insulated from this environment. The flow-on effects for strata Higher interest rates and […]
Transparency Fails When Responsibility Is Abstract
30 January 2026 Transparency in strata is often treated as a disclosure problem, as though better paperwork, longer reports, or more detailed declarations will naturally lead to better outcomes. In practice, most of the information people say they want already exists. Relationships are disclosed. Interests are declared. Processes are documented. Yet frustration persists, trust erodes, […]