This week saw us halfway through our Community Education Seminar Series, with the third round held on the Gold Coast after the Sunshine Coast event was held last week and Airlie Beach the week prior. Focusing on the crucial areas of the new Legislation Changes – Pets, Parking, Smoking and Scheme Termination, our wrap up provides an insight into what each region thinks about the changes.

There are still 3 more event to run in the series with Townsville & Cairns next week! You can register here.

Read on for more detail on the topics discussed, audience views and how to register for the next events in Townsville 22/05, Cairns 23/05 and Brisbane 29/05.

Like the previous seminars, the presentations were well received by all in attendance. Todd Garsden of Mahoneys Lawyers and Advisors opened the very first session in Airlie Beach on the 1^st of May, the day the new legislation changes commenced. Then Andrew Suttie of Stratify Legal opened up the Sunshine Coast event and Robert Lalor of Hynes Legal, accompanied by Jarad Maher of Grace Lawyers kicked off for the Gold Coast.

Having representatives from different legal firms provide insights into the laws in place and the subsequent changes was invaluable for attendees.

Three Archers the Strata Professionals Partners were on stage at each event, Joel McBride in Airlie Beach. Grant Mifsud on the Sunshine Coast and Adam Ford on the Gold Coast, they elaborated the current state of play with each of these topics and the disputes that can arise dealing with them.

We were thrilled to have an incredible panel of presenters and a wide range of exhibitor partners which delivered good attendance at all 3 locations. Halfway through we have seen over 300 registrations come through. The feedback rated the seminars 9.5/10 across the board on the quality of content, relevant topics, presentation, and exhibitor/ suppliers.

It was also great to see that there were multiple occasions where the attendee’s first indicated that they believed the presentations expanded their knowledge and understanding of the topic. For us here at Smart Strata, that is the best feedback that we can receive, being able to provide the Strata community with the education to make informed and considered decisions is our ultimate objective.

To gauge audience opinion if they think the new pet laws are fair and reduce disputes, we collated feedback on this question during each session.

In Airlie Beach, the audience view was 60% believed the new pet laws are unfair, 35% thought they we fair and 5% were undecided. So, the overall opinion at this event was that most people think the new laws for pets are unfair, mostly due to experiences they have had with pets in a Body Corporate.

The Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast sessions results displayed a similar outcome. The audiences’ views were, 45% overall agreed the pet laws are unfair, 30% think they are fair and 15% were undecided. So, the overall opinion was like our friends in Airlie Beach, our communities on the Sunshine Coast believe the new pet laws are unfair.

Three other important questions were asked with the first being, ‘Are you confident the new towing laws will reduce illegal parking?’. Across the board in all 3 regions, a whopping 70% of the audience said no. 29% of the audience said yes and only 1% were undecided at this stage.

The next question was ‘will the new smoking laws deter complaints arising from smoke drift?’ and once again across all 3 regions, a whopping 78% said no, 20% were undecided and only 2% of the audience said yes, the laws will reduce smoke drift.

The final question, ‘Do you think the new scheme termination provisions will be useful to your Body Corporate?’ Most votes across all 3 regions were undecided and we believe this is because Scheme Termination is rarely raised and very few communities have experienced a Scheme Termination however 26% believed that the new Scheme Termination provisions won’t be useful to their Body Corporate, only 3% of the audiences thought the new provisions will be useful.

When averaging the percentages for the series halfway through, it is clear that the majority believe the new laws are either unfair, will reduce unlawful actions or be useful to their Body Corporate. However, as each building is unique and seeking professional advice prior to making any decisions will be pivotal in tailoring solutions to implement the new legislation laws into your community.

A big thank you to all our Exhibitors who got involved, with 3 still to go, make sure you book in and come and meet our exhibitors and lawyer panellists face to face!

• Marsh Advantage Insurance
• Strata Compliance Solutions
• Higgins
• Smart Strata
• Hospitality and Strata
• Archers the Strata Professionals
• LML Lifts
• HumEnergy
• CMBM Facility Management
• Stop & Seal
• Strongcast
• Hynes Legal
• O’Brien Glass
• Grace Lawyers
• Dulux
• Higgins Coatings
• Independent Roof Inspections
• PASG Projects
• Remedial Building Services
• Stratify Legal
• Archer Gowland Redshaw
• Boss Fire Protection
• Gecko Rope Access
• The Little Guy Pest Control
• LPE
• Mahoneys Lawyers and Advisors

Don’t miss out on our final three seminars on Legislation Changes – Pets, Parking, Smoking and Scheme Termination

There is still time to register;

Townsville – Wednesday 22nd May, 5.00pm for 5.30pm start, Mercure Townsville – Register Here

Cairns – Thursday, 23rd May, 5.30pm for 6.00pm start, Crystalbrook Riley – Register Here

Brisbane – Wednesday 29th May, 6.00pm for 6.30pm start, Pat Rafter Tennis Arena– Register Here

We are working hard to create a knowledgeable and insightful discussion that you will want to be a part of.

Article Contributed by the Smart Strata Team.

The post NEW LEGISLATION – FIRST HALF SEMINAR SERIES WRAP UP – TOWNSVILLE & CAIRNS NEXT WEEK! appeared first on Smart Strata | Body Corporate Management.