Spotting the Fish: Why Transparency Is Now the Only Viable Future for Strata
5 January 2026 For a long time, strata management in New South Wales has operated behind complexity. Not always maliciously.Not always deliberately.But consistently. Layers of jargon, dense contracts, “industry standard” practices, and financial arrangements that many owners corporations struggle to fully understand have become normalised. Complexity has often been mistaken for professionalism. Opacity has too […]
At Bettr Strata, transparency is non‑negotiable. Will 2026 be the year the industry catches up?
31 December 2025 | JM (John Martin) 2025 Reflections: A Year of Foundations and Growth As we close out 2025, I’m proud to reflect on Bettr Strata’s first six months in operation, a period defined by our unwavering commitment to transparency, simplicity, and people-first service. (1) We launched Bettr Strata with a clear promise: no […]
Gratitude in Strata: Why It Matters More Than Ever
Acknowledging the Moment This week has reminded us how precious community really is. In strata, we often talk about compliance, levies, and maintenance, but behind every decision are people. Families. Neighbours. Contractors who show up rain or shine. When life feels uncertain, gratitude becomes more than a nice sentiment, it’s a stabilising force. It reminds […]
Five Smart Things a Proactive Strata Committee Should Do Before Christmas
December always sneaks up on us. Before everyone goes into holiday mode, smart committees take a few deliberate steps to set their building up for a smooth, safe summer. A little planning now prevents expensive crises later, especially when trades are thin on the ground and storm season hits at the same time as higher […]
Work-Life Balance in Strata: Cutting Through the Smoke and Mirrors
The BS Narrative Scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll see the same tired story: smiling teams, “thriving” businesses, and managers who apparently have it all together. Reality check – behind those curated posts, many strata managers (not all, as there are some good companies who do the right thing by their teams who I have only […]
Why Bettr Strata is the Trusted Specialist for Compulsory Strata Management Appointments
The Market Gap Nobody Is Talking About Compulsory strata management appointments in NSW are no longer rare exceptions – they’re becoming a necessary solution for dysfunctional or deadlocked owners corporations. And here’s what I’m seeing: Bettr Strata is being sought out more and more as the preferred compulsory strata managing agent. The Reality Behind Compulsory […]
Little by Little: How Bettr Builds Stronger Strata Communities
On Saturday night, Lauren surprised me with tickets to the Oasis concert, a gift that meant more than she probably realised. I’ve been a lifelong fan, and in the midst of everything going on, welcoming our beautiful daughter Charlie, building a new company from the ground up, and recovering from three intense years of legal […]
Transparency: Championing a Better Standard After the SCA (NSW) Convention
This perspective comes not from first-hand attendance, but from my regular morning ring-around with colleagues I respect and admire. As we caught up, the topic of the Strata Community Association (NSW) Convention naturally came up – several of them had attended, while I had not as I am not a current Strata Community Association (SCA) […]
At the Crossroads: Why Strata Management Needs Real Reform
I recently read Nicole Johnston’s landmark report, At the Crossroads: Addressing Pervasive Conflicts of Interest in Strata Management, and I believe it’s essential reading for anyone involved in strata, whether you’re an owner, committee member, or industry professional. The Heart of the Problem The report lays bare what many of us have suspected for years: […]
NSW Strata Law Reforms: What changes on 27 October 2025, and how your scheme can get ahead
The NSW Government’s next wave of strata reforms begins 27 October 2025. These changes sharpen accountability for building managers, standardise support for owners in financial hardship, expand NSW Fair Trading’s compliance toolkit, and give schemes clearer levers to fix underperforming management agreements. If you sit on a strata committee – or you manage one – […]