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Research > Industry Info
Australia
The industry continues to grow rapidly in Australia with around 250,000 owners corporations comprising 2,000,000 lots Australia wide. It represents the management of property worth more than $500 billion. There are approximately 2,500 owners corporation managers in Australia; with 3.5 million people living or working in owners corporation schemes. Conservatively, it is estimated 20,000 Australians work in and derive their income from the strata title industry. Urban planning policies around Australia are targeting annual growth of more than 10% for the next 15-25 years, so the prevalence and importance of this sector is increasing.
Victoria
In Victoria, there are approximately 65,650 owners corporations and 483,590 lots, and more than $1 billion per year is collected and spent. This represents the management of property worth more than $48 billion (approximately 7% of the total value of all property in Victoria).
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Approx 65,650 owners corporations in Victoria 69% growth in residential dwellings consisting of flats, units or apartments in the City of Melbourne (1996-2001):
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In 2001, 25% (1.2 million dwellings) of all residential dwellings in Vic consisted of higher density housing.
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In 2001, 14% (638,488) of Victorians were living in higher density housing. Of these:
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45% were living in semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse with one, two or more storeys, and
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55% were living in flats, units and apartments.
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- Over 26,000 new owners corporations were created in the last 5 years. One in four (1 million) Victorians are now living, owning or working in a property affected by an owners corporation.
- In the City of Melbourne Alone it is estimated that 20,000 new dwellings will be completed over the next five to ten years.
- Current estimated distribution of bodies corporate in Victoria:
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Size of Owners Corporation |
Number of Lots |
% of Total |
Number of Owners Corporations |
% of Total |
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Less than 5 lots |
140,400 |
29% |
46,800 |
71% |
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5 to 20 lots |
125,440 |
26% |
15,600 |
24% |
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20 to 50 lots |
60,450 |
13% |
1950 |
3% |
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50 to 100 lots |
37,700 |
8% |
650 |
1% |
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100 lots plus |
119,600 |
25% |
650 |
1% |
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TOTAL |
483,590 |
100% |
65,650 |
100% |
- Approximately 2,000 new owners corporations are created each year.
Final Report of Water Research Project
Researchers at Griffith University have been studying the potential of strata and community title serving as a vehicle for facilitating decentralised water management systems. The final report detailing the study’s findings has now been submitted to the National Water Commission and the NCTI (the research funding bodies). The report entitled “Exploring the regulatory framework and governance of decentralised water management systems: a strata and community title perspective", is now available.
The study’s findings provide support for the view that strata and community title subdivisions carry considerable potential as a facilitator of decentralised water management systems, although a number of issues would have to be addressed prior to the widespread promotion of these systems within a strata and community title context. While a number of recommendations designed to alleviate these impediments are advanced in the final report, a particularly significant issue concerns the need for individual lot water metering.
It is recommended that for all decentralised water management systems, lots should be individually water metered in order to provide water saving incentives for unit occupants. The researchers note that without individual water meters the pursuit of ambitious water saving targets is rendered futile. Further, it is clear that in order to reduce water consumption, water charges should be paid for by occupiers of lots, which in the case of rented units, is not the lot owner. Individual lot water metering has so far only been recognised in Queensland where mandatory provisions were introduced for all lots in all new strata and community title developments approved after 1 January 2008 (all lots in class 2 to 8 buildings are to be fitted with individual water meters).
Amongst other things, the report also recognises that: the extent and nature of the decentralised water management system to be developed is dependent on the site and size of the scheme in question, the minimum level of public liability insurance should be raised, mandatory auditing of (sinking) funds should be introduced, and that specialist managers need to be consulted at the outset of a development.
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