Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - UPDATE NSW Fair Trading case 11204124 and Waratah Strata Management hiding discriminatory actions for levy collections on 18 February 2024

This is an unsolicited email, which we hope you will accept as friendly message to help you with sincere effort and irrefutable evidence to protect your rights and investment.

If you prefer never to be contacted again, we will comply upon request.

All files included herewith have been shared with strata agency, building manager, and committee members many times (and are part of court evidence). They chose to stay silent.

a) For additional evidence in NSW Fair Trading case 11204124 (and other pending cases), we conducted strata document search on 13 February 2024.

What we found was horrifying abuse of owners' common funds, destroyed files, missing financials, discriminatory actions against some owners and special privileges for others, and much more.

The most critical evidence that is now in our hands are detailed receipts from 2018 onward. They contain wealth of information and it is now clear why Waratah Strata Management tried to hide it from all owners for seven years.

Some of files we could not find and outstanding files Waratah Strata Management has to provide: voluntarily or through legal system.

All current committee members, Waratah Strata Management and Uniqueco property Services will have an opportunity to resign voluntarily and be part of proper tenders, or we do it through NCAT where they have no chance of success.

Hint to Lot 181: carefully compare data in SP52948 receipts with statements about your (and other owner's gas heating levies) in minutes of ordinary and general meetings (with emphasis on AGM 2019).

Committee members and Waratah Strata Management received a copy of our "SP52948-Lot-158-outcome-of-access-to-strata-documents-public-13Feb2024.pdf", and so did NSW Fair Trading. So far, no response from Waratah Strata Management.

b) At pending EGM on 22 February 2024, one of the Motions is to waive interest for overdue levy payments for Lot 7.

Lot 7 sent email with complaint to Waratah Strata Management on 14 December 2023 at 10:47 hours.

On 19 December, at 15:12 hours, Waratah Strata Management responded to Lot 7 stating that their request would be added as Motion for next general meeting.

On 29 and 30 January 2024, Waratah Strata Management did not give such option to Lot 104 (see below). This is an absolute and irrefutable evidence of discrimination.

We will vote against this proposal on grounds of clearly-defined NSW strata laws, long-term negative balance in Admin Fund (we need to collect overdue levies from all owners equally), and discrimination against some owners that Waratah Strata Management (and its predecessor BCS Strata Management) allowed in the past (they selectively waive overdue costs for some owners, causing financial losses in owners funds):

1. Strata levies must be paid even when receipt of levy notice is missing - Section 83(4) of SSMA 2015 provides, in similar terms to Section 78(6) of the SSMA 1996, that regular periodic contributions are taken to have been duly levied on an owner of a lot even though notice levying the contributions was not given to the owner.

2. As regulated by Fair Trading:

• Each owner and/or property manager needs to be aware of their owners corporation levy cycle.
• If money is not received to the trust account at the end of one month after it is due and payable, it bears interest at the rate of 10% (as prescribed by the regulations) from the due date until it is paid.
• Owners corporation may, by special resolution at general meeting, determine (either generally or in particular case) that a contribution is to bear no interest.
• Strata manager does not have authority to waive the interest as it is not money owing to the strata manager.
• The Courts have determined that non-receipt of a levy notice is not a sufficient reason for non-payment.
• If a lot is sold and there are unpaid levies, then both the owner at the time the contributions were levies and the new owner are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the contribution and the interest payable.
• If a lot is sold and there are unpaid levies, then both the owner at the time the contributions were levies and the new owner are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the contribution and the interest payable.

3. Some of irrefutable facts about SP52948 financial mismanagement that Waratah Strata Management ignored since 1 February 2017 when Waratah took office:

Waratah-Strata-Management-non-compliance-of-SP52948-Auditor-reports

SP52948-negative-trends-with-Admin-Fund-under-Waratah-Strata-Management

SP52948-dubious-utility-expenses-and-financial-accounting-data-generated-by-Waratah-Strata-Management-for-FY2018-two-days-before-strata-document-search-29May2019.pdf

SP52948-Waratah-Strata-Management-and-Uniqueco-Property-Services-repeatedly-allow-excessive-noise-and-pollution-during-renovations-that-were-not-properly-approved-at-general-meetings

As of late February 2024, negative balance in Admin Fund is $88,213.61 (attachment "SP52948-Income-and-Expenditure-Report-1Sep2023-to-17Feb2024.pdf") and one-monthly salary for building manager is still unpaid. Many other overdue expenses are awaiting, including City of Ryde Fire Safety Orders which Waratah  Strata Management hid since 2019.

SP52948-continuous-delays-with-fire-and-OHS-problems

In FY 2024 (financial year starting on 1 September 2023), SP52948 Admin Fund reached record negative balance (deficit) of $312,113.03 on 31 October 2023.

4. Waratah Strata Management deliberately shaming selective owners for overdue levies. As of late February 2024, out of 186 strata documents on Waratah Strata Management website, only four owners were singled out and their late levy payments exposed to all owners, which is very unsettling:

Lot 40
Lot 104
Lot 169
Lot 178

There are many more owners with outstanding levies but they are not listed. It is questionable why only four owners were published.

5. Waratah Strata Management is aware of secret overdue gas heating levies for FY 2012 and FY 2013 sent to 13 owners on 1 August 2016 without applying correct yearly levy and 10% simple interest per year.

Waratah Strata Management is aware of secret overdue gas heating levies for FY 2012 and FY 2013 sent to 13 owners on 1 August 2016 without applying correct yearly levy and 10% simple interest per year. Attachment "SP52948-BCS-Strata-Management-trying-enforce-overdue-gas-heating-levies-without-disclosure-to-owners-1Aug2016.webp".

6. Long-term committee member Mr. Stan Pogorelsky (Lot 181) even admitted it in 2015 (to BCS Strata Management) and 2017 (to Waratah Strata Management) that he did not pay any gas heating levies in 2012 and 2013 and full gas heating levies in in period from 1999 to 2016. Attachment "SP52948-Lot-181-gas-levy-payments-self-assessment-miscalculated-10Jun2015.webp".

Waratah Strata Management never collected correct gas heating levies from Lot 181 and selected group of owners.

7. Four committee members were allowed to attend meeting and vote on 20 July 2017, which is strictly against the law (note that levies were due almost three months earlier on 1 May 2017). Further more, none of them paid late payment fees, or legal costs.

8. At AGM on 18 October 2018, owners voted against interest charges and arrears fee be waived for Lot 90 who did not receive levy notices. So, Lot 90 was forced to pay late fees, as prescribed by law.

9. That special benefits given to some owners is persistent was shown in 2022, when Waratah Strata Management waived late fees and debt recovery charge to Lot 167:

10. In 2017, by own admission, Waratah Strata Management waived levy arrears fees for Lot 87:

11. On 29 January 2024, Lot 104 sent email to Waratah Strata Management at 11:45 hours, asking for overdue levies to be waived.

On 29 January 2024, at 12:33 hours, Waratah Strata Management declined and forced Lot 104 to pay all fees:

On 30 January 2024, at 09:20 hours, Waratah Strata Management forced Lot 104 to pay all fees:

Further more, probably in attempt to shame Lot 104, they published two emails related to Lot 104:

Regards,