Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - Strata Management References from Internet Sources

Welcome to the blog of NSW strata investigative journalism

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was NOT involved in investigations of strata issues in Australia (primarily NSW). We never used or relied on AI, and instead deployed classical methods: thorough due diligence, mitigating bias, abiding by ethical principles, clear and transparent documentation, mitigating risk, continuous monitoring, and legal compliance.

Primary audience on the website are SP52948 owners (current and previous), tenants, investors, and potential buyers in strata complex.

Number of SP52948 owners, tenants, and investors expressed gratitude towards this website as that was the only way to gain access to lot of critical information, which was not available in minutes and notices of meetings, not available on strata manager's website, and not published on notice boards.

The rest of the audience is anyone who might be interested in problems with strata schemes in NSW...

There is no website which covers more detailed events related to strata issues with direct evidence than this one in Australia (trust through verification).

This website does not have any desire or intent to add own comments and therefore it is up to anybody to make up their own conclusions based on evidence and statements by others who did it in public forums, in courts, or elsewhere. All files on this website were provided to Fair Trading NSW, Office of Legal Services Commissioner, CTTT (now NCAT), District Court, Supreme Court, and Police.

Justice McCallum publicly stated:

Extensive media reporting of allegations of criminal conduct is not a mischief in itself. On the contrary, it is appropriate to recognise that the media play an important role in drawing attention to allegations of criminal or other misconduct and any shortcomings in the treatment of such allegations.

Since 2012, the author collected evidence of weaknesses of strata laws, perpetual abuse by strata managers and dormant committee members, and lack of law implementation.

SP52948-1-15-Fontenoy-Road-ironfist-rules

Current Status

At present time, Lot 158 is literally NOT ALLOWED to complain or contact strata manager and committee members about stalking and intimidation, damages to their property (latest is Police Event in February 2026 when garage door was damaged and access to CCTV recording prevented), and unrepaired common property items in their unit and the buildings for which they pay huge sum of $9,823.00 in levies annually without valid strata and building management tenders since year 2000. One example is roof membrane in Block A which has not properly been repaired for 29 years in spite of professional assessment and warnings by Napier and Blakeley in 2012, then long-term water leaks in sunroom, and (but not the last one!) another drastic example is poor air flow in main bathroom and laundry which exists since June 2018, directly affecting well-being and health of Lot 158 occupants. To eliminate excess moisture in an average-sized bathroom, one should ensure to have at least 10 litres/s of fan airflow per square meter of area. Bathrooms larger than 5 square meters (applies to Lot 158) need an estimated 25 litres/s for each toilet, bathtub, or shower, as well as an additional 50 litres/s for a full bathtub. In Australia, a minimum airflow rate of 25 litres/s is required for a residential bathroom vent, according to the Building Code of Australia. While this is the minimum, a higher airflow rate of 50 to 60 litres/s is often recommended to adequately handle moisture from showers and prevent condensation, mould, and mildew. In residential laundries in Australia, the minimum airflow requirement for a vent is 40 litres/s if a non-condensing dryer is installed. If a condensing dryer is used (not applicable to Lot 158 who do not have such dryer), the minimum requirement decreases to 20 litres/s. Section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (the Act), Owners Corporations (OCs) have a legal obligation to maintain and repair the common property of a strata scheme. This duty is not discretionary - it is a strict statutory obligation.

Female owner of Lot 158 has known very serious health issues, which strata and building managers, and committee members ignored and even laughed about, and are literally slowly pushing her into grave.

"Democracy" at work

Without any fear to say it, Lot 158 owners are exposed to long-term racism, discrimination, bullying, intimidation, and ridicule and everybody pretends that it is fine. We have no rights to complain, no rights to speak up, no rights to walk in the complex (does anyone remember concentration camps in WWII?), no rights to vote, no rights to submit Motions, no rights to request access to strata documents (including latest version of 10-Year Capital Works Fund, Strata Roll, and all other types of documents prescribed by strata laws), no rights to expect good services for our hard-earned money. The names we have been called many times are not for public media! As of Monday 25 May 2026, Waratah Strata Management prevented our access to basic financial documents and we collected evidence (patience is a virtue). There was also an undisclosed terrible event against Lot 158 in June 2025, which is yet to be shared with relevant legal organisations in due time.

SP52948-Lot-158-evidence-of-poor-ventilation-and-suction-bathroom-unattended-20Jun2018 (video)

SP52948-Lot-158-evidence-of-poor-ventilation-and-suction-bathroom-unattended-10Oct2018 (video)

SP52948-Lot-158-laundry-and-main-bathroom-poor-ventilation-and-suction-unresolved-since-June2018-as-of-24May2026 (video)

Trust through verification

If you want to get the evidence, the first question to ask is why the information is not publicly available any longer after 12 years and who worked hard to prevent public knowledge. You can, however, still verify it by visiting the site at 1-15 Fontenoy Road, Macquarie Park in person - do not trust anyone by words. Make sure, for example, to check all areas (including roofs, foyers, garden beds, area behind townhouses, and more), check 10-Year Capital Works Fund, check status of Consolidated By-Laws with special emphasis on major renovations and changes to common property and verification if they were approved at general meetings and registered, check NSW Fair Trading and NCAT cases, check 15 Police Events, check financial status with emphasis on verification if all owners pay full levies and overdue interest, check Fire Safety Orders and OH&S, check if all owners have equal rights and privileges, check if all owners have equitable benefits, and much more). Or, engage independent professional strata auditors (we personally communicated with two of them in the past and got interesting details of their findings about Waratah Strata Management). Finally, you can approach Waratah Strata Management (officially listed at strata agency at NSW Strata Hub for plan number SP52948) and Uniqueco Property Services (building manager officially listed on their own Facebook page), committee members, and NCAT.

Strata files not protected by privacy laws

Uniqueco Property Services websites

Of special importance are two websites by Uniqueco Property Services at Facebook and ProductReview, where they also published glossy photographs of SP52948:

Waratah Strata Management on Facebook

Waratah Strata Management on ProductReview, where they again published glossy photos of SP52948 and unambiguously identified and deliberately defamed an owner without offering any evidence for such claims - their direct claim "difficult behaviour from a disgruntle and delusional owner, (a nuisance on site)"

Uniqueco-Property-Services-review-for-Waratah-Strata-Management-at-ProductReview-May2026

What other customers say about Waratah Strata Management

Waratah Strata Management rated 2.7 out of 5 at Google reviews

Waratah Strata Management rated 3.3 out of 5 at ProductReview reviews, where two most comprehensive and factual negative references were removed recently without any valid reason; miraculously, at the same time Uniqueco Property Services published their perfect rating for Waratah Strata Management, which was reported to ProductReview as abuse of their policy because building manager was not a customer of strata agency but a close business companion with special undisclosed benefits (ProductReview was warned that not removing this review would make them an accessory to false ratings - legal precedent was established on 31 July 2018, in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Meriton Property Services Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2018] FCA 1125: Justice Moshinsky of the Federal Court of Australia imposed a penalty of $3 million upon Meriton Properties for misleading the public by filtering, selecting or limiting the guest email addresses it supplied to the TripAdvisor website, by supplying only the email addresses of those guests likely to post favourable reviews). ACCC is very clear about it.

Comparestrata website reference for Waratah Strata Management, where six NCAT cases were listed for the strata agency without negative impact on them, but somebody "conveniently" forgot to list three NCAT events published in The Daily Telegraph:

7 Dec 2022 — DRAGICA (DEE) MARTIC & XIYAN ZOELLNER v THE OWNERS - STRATA PLAN NO. 46733

22 Mar 2023 — XIYAN ZOELLNER v WARATAH STRATA MANAGEMENT & THE OWNERS - STRATA PLAN NO 46733

28 Nov 2023 — XIYAN ZOELLNER v WARATAH STRATA MANAGEMENT & OWNERS OF STRATA PLAN 46733

How easy it is to become strata manager

Democracy should be the leading avenue for managing strata complexes. But, democracy requires high level of sense and ethics, and right for all owners to have full access to strata files in order to make informed decisions. And when that does not happen, how to proceed? One way is to educate public and rise awareness that license to be a strata manager is one of the easiest in any industry: Strata Community Australia (SCA) are offering a three-day course on qualifying to be a strata manager with no prior educational requirements (apparently educational requirements are fulfilled by completing the course).

Examples of legal cases terminated contracts with strata and building managers in Australia

Should public help NCAT for everybody's benefits

What opinion a reasonable person would form from these publicly available resources and complaints about NCAT?

In 1961 the Conveyancing (Strata Titles) Act was introduced in NSW. This act created a legal mechanism for the vertical subdivision of multi-unit housing.

  1. This map shows the historical progression of strata schemes as they were registered across Sydney, and provides a unique snapshot of the development of higher density Sydney. Initially concentrated in a few small pockets on the North Shore and Eastern Suburbs, strata developments have now become an important feature of the housing landscape in all parts of Sydney:

    UNSW - Strata Schemes of Sydney: 1961 to 2015

  2. There were 2909 mediation applications received by NSW Fair Trading in 2022, compared with 1994 in 2018.

    The most common issues for mediation related to repairs and maintenance of common property and breaches of by-laws, a NSW Fair Trading spokesperson said.

    Of 2909 mediation applications, just 963 resulted in mediation, while 835 were dropped, with the respondent refusing to participate; the remaining 616 applications were either resolved before mediation or withdrawn:

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-extra-obstacle-for-owners-clashing-with-body-corporates-over-building-defects-20230713-p5do1u.html