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 three meetings in a row. It is usually something nobody really wants to talk about, a fire safety item, a building defect, or a maintenance issue that has suddenly come with a five-figure quote attached to it.
The report gets noted, a couple of questions are asked, and the committee agrees to obtain another quote or gather further information. The meeting moves on and the issue sits there until the next meeting.
Six months later it is still unresolved.
This pattern appears far more often in strata than people realise. Most of the time it does not happen because anyone is being negligent. It happens because of the way strata governance is structured.
Strata committees are made up of volunteers. The people involved are usually owners who want the building to function well, but they also have careers, families and everything else that comes with normal life. They are not professional directors.
Yet the decisions they are being asked to make can involve building safety compliance, capital works planning, legal risk and significant financial commitments. In many buildings a group of volunteers is effectively overseeing an asset worth tens of millions of dollars.
That responsibility can feel confronting when difficult issues arise.
One of the realities of strata governance is that major decisions often come with a cost attached. A fire safety upgrade, a roof repair or waterproofing works may be necessary, but someone still needs to advocate for the expenditure. Even when everyone understands the issue needs attention, there can be a natural hesitation.
Nobody particularly enjoys being the person who says, “We need to spend this money,” especially when the result will be higher levies for neighbours.
Committees sometimes look for ways to delay the moment of decision. Another report is requested, another quote is obtained, or the matter is deferred until the next meeting. Occasionally that is sensible. But sometimes it simply pushes the issue forward another few months.
Another factor is that strata committees are communities. The people sitting around the table are neighbours. They see each other in lifts and hallways and often want meetings to remain calm and cooperative.
When difficult issues arise, particularly those involving cost or conflict, committees can soften the discussion or postpone it rather than forcing a decision. The instinct to preserve harmony is understandable, but it can also mean problems sit unresolved for longer than they should.
Strata governance has also become more complex. Fire safety compliance, building defects, cladding issues and long-term capital works planning all require technical understanding. When committees receive lengthy reports filled with engineering or compliance language, it can be difficult to determine what is urgent and what can wait.
Uncertainty often leads to delay.
Most building problems do not appear overnight. They develop slowly. A small maintenance issue sits unresolved, water intrusion worsens, or a compliance item remains outstanding while the committee gathers more information.
From the outside it can look as though a problem has suddenly appeared. But if you look back through the meeting minutes, the warning signs were usually there long before the crisis. They simply sat on agendas without being acted on.
A strata manager does not make decisions for the owners corporation, but part of the role is explaining the consequences of inaction. Sometimes that means saying things committees would prefer not to hear, that a problem will become more expensive if left alone, that a compliance item cannot be deferred indefinitely, or that delaying a repair may expose the building to greater risk.
None of that advice is particularly enjoyable to deliver, but clarity matters. Committees deserve to understand the implications of their choices.
Over the coming weeks I will share a few observations from day-to-day strata management that often sit quietly inside buildings until they become larger issues. Understanding how these patterns develop can help committees address them earlier.
JM
Founder + Managing Director
Bettr Strata