The Law of Strata Title in Australia: A jurisdictional stocktake

Abstract

This article attempts to provide researchers, legal practitioners, industry participants and stakeholders with an overview of the various legislative frameworks in the eight States and Territories around Australia. The article commences by providing a brief description of the development of the law of strata title in Australia and explaining its diverse nomenclature. This is followed by a jurisdictional analysis where each State or Territory is benchmarked against Queensland. Where possible the article flags important similarities and differences between jurisdictions in terms of governance arrangements, the creation of community title schemes and dispute resolution mechanisms. The article concludes that there should be a trend toward uniformity as each jurisdiction seeks to reform community title laws. Uniformity would be desirable in terms of both nomenclature and the structure of the legislation and associated regulations.