Strata Building Management

State elective: Tasmania

Goal: apply the core lessons in Tasmania, where the Recorder of Titles settles most strata disputes and the law is being reformed.

The framework

The law:

Strata Titles Act 1998, administered by the Recorder of Titles (Land Titles Office, Land Tasmania). The owners form a body corporate, usually run by a committee.
The Act has been under review since 2020, with reforms rolled out in tranches. Check the current status on Land Tasmania’s reform page before relying on the details here.

Disputes and enforcement

The Recorder of Titles decides most strata disputes, through an application for relief, once any dispute process in the by-laws has been followed. The Recorder can, for example, order a meeting to be held, an insurance claim to be made, or levies to be paid.
A body corporate can give a compliance notice to an owner or occupier who breaches the by-laws. If it’s ignored, TASCAT can impose a fine.
Decisions of the Recorder can be appealed.

Building managers

There’s no specific regime for building managers or caretakers in Tasmania. You work under your contract with the body corporate.

Fire safety and maintenance

The law: under the Building Act 2016, the building surveyor who issues the occupancy permit also issues a maintenance schedule for the building’s essential building services (fire systems, emergency lighting, exits and so on). The owner must follow it and keep records available for the Director of Building Control, an authorised officer or the Tasmania Fire Service. There’s no annual statement to lodge, so the records are your evidence.

Licences and WHS

Builders, plumbers, electricians and other practitioners are licensed through Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS), which has a public register.
WHS: Tasmania has the model Work Health and Safety Act 2012. Regulator: WorkSafe Tasmania.

Tasmania checklist

By-laws and any dispute process in them on file
Maintenance schedule from the occupancy permit found, and maintenance records kept to it
Contractors’ CBOS licences checked
Land Tasmania’s strata reform page checked for new rules

On the job

Find your building’s maintenance schedule (it may be with the original building surveyor’s documents) and compare it with what your fire and services contractors actually do.

Sources

Land Tasmania, Strata living in Tasmania and What you should know about strata schemes (2025)
Land Tasmania, Strata Titles Act 1998: current reform
Strata Titles Act 1998 (Tas), legislation.tas.gov.au
Wormald, Differing fire safety compliance requirements across Australia

General education, not legal advice. Strata law is different in every state and territory and it changes often (NSW and Victoria both changed theirs in 2025 and 2026), so check the current Act and your own agreement, and get advice before acting on anything here.