“All body corporate managers are the same and useless!”
Those are not our words, but rather what one of our Committee Members wrote to us in an email.
In fact, those were not even originally her words. They were the response she received after trying to encourage her OC Committee to take action regarding ongoing frustrations with their owners corporation management company.
“Our Committee Member had enough of slow responses and general disinterest in OC matters from her owners corporation management company.”
She emailed the Committee to discuss what could be done to improve the situation, and this was the response she received:
“Most of the people have said that all body corps are the same and useless.”
Many owners and Committee Members across Melbourne ask similar questions when they become frustrated with poor communication or lack of action from their strata manager.
While these frustrations are common, the reality is that not all owners corporation managers operate the same way. Service quality, responsiveness, experience, and communication standards can vary significantly between management companies.
Key Takeaways:
- Many Victorian Committees become frustrated by slow responses, poor communication, and lack of follow-through from owners corporation managers.
- The owners corporation management industry in Victoria changed significantly after the introduction of the Owners Corporations Act 2006.
- While poor operators exist in the industry, there are still experienced and service-focused owners corporation managers who provide reliable support to Committees.
- Understanding the difference between reactive and proactive management can help Committees make better long-term decisions.
Why some Committees lose trust in owners corporation managers
For many committees in Melbourne, frustration with their owners corporation manager doesn’t come from one major incident. It builds gradually through repeated delays, inconsistent communication, and issues that never seem to get resolved.
The complaints we hear most often fall into three categories.
Communication breakdowns
- Slow response times or difficulty reaching the manager
- High staff turnover, meaning every time a portfolio manager leaves, your building’s history leaves with them
Operational failures
- Maintenance requests that drag on for months
- Reactive management where problems only get attention once they escalate
Transparency gaps
- Unclear decision-making around costs and contractors
- Limited visibility over how levies are being spent
When these issues stack up, it’s natural for owners to conclude that every owners corporation management company operates the same way. The frustration is real, but the assumption isn’t quite right.
To understand why so many committees feel this way, it helps to look at how the strata management industry in Victoria got here in the first place.
How the owners corporation management industry earned its reputation in Victoria
In Victoria, frustration with owners corporation managers may be more widespread than in other parts of Australia, and the industry’s history helps explain why.
Before the 2000s, owners corporation management in Victoria was a relatively small industry. Most buildings were managed by smaller operators, and while the sector grew steadily through the 1990s as apartment developments increased across Melbourne, it remained a straightforward business with limited scale.
The 2000s changed the landscape. Professional strata management software became widely available, and the industry attracted a wave of opportunistic operators looking for easy additional income:
- Small real estate agencies
- Accounting practices
- Single-operator businesses with little commitment to long-term service
Many of these operators had minimal interest in the communities they managed. When the Owners Corporations Act 2006 introduced stricter governance, compliance, and financial obligations, most of them couldn’t keep up and exited the market.
The operators left, but the reputation damage stuck. And for many committees in Melbourne today, that lingering distrust colours how they view the entire industry.
Are all owners corporation managers really the same?
No, but the frustration is understandable. When you’ve experienced poor management firsthand, it’s easy to assume the entire industry operates the same way.
The reality is that there are significant differences between management companies in Melbourne, and those differences directly affect your levies, your building’s condition, and how your committee’s time is spent.
How to spot a disengaged manager
If your committee is experiencing several of these, it’s likely a structural problem rather than a one-off:
- Issues only receive attention after repeated follow-ups or formal complaints
- Meeting agendas arrive late, incomplete, or not at all
- Financial reports are unclear or difficult to reconcile against actual spending
- Committee requests for records or updates go unanswered
- Your portfolio manager changes regularly with no continuity of knowledge
What good owners corporation management actually looks like
A committed manager won’t remove every challenge within a building, but the difference in day-to-day experience is significant:
- Communication is consistent and proactive, not just responsive when chased
- Maintenance is coordinated with competitive quoting, licensed and insured contractors, and follow-up on defect periods
- Meeting preparation is thorough, with clear agendas, accurate financials, and supporting documents circulated in advance
- Levy budgets are transparent, with line-item detail so the committee understands where funds are going
- The manager actively flags upcoming compliance obligations, insurance renewals, and capital works planning rather than waiting for the committee to ask
A good owners corporation manager will not remove every challenge within a building, but they can significantly improve communication, organisation, and day-to-day management outcomes.
If your Committee feels stuck with poor communication, delayed action, or inconsistent support, our Consultants can help you understand your options and whether changing managers may improve outcomes for your building.
Why some Committees stay with poor managers for too long
Even when a committee is clearly unhappy with its owners corporation manager, many delay taking action for longer than they should.
The most common reasons we see:
- Fear of disruption. Committees worry about losing building records, gaps in management during the transition, or ending up with someone worse.
- Assumption that all managers are the same. If you believe every company operates the same way, the effort of switching feels pointless.
- Uncertainty about the process. Many committee members don’t know how to change managers, what’s involved, or what alternatives are available in the Melbourne market.
- Volunteer fatigue. Committee members have jobs, families, and lives. Researching alternatives, getting quotes, and coordinating a general meeting feels like a significant undertaking on top of everything else.
These are valid concerns. But the result is that committees often tolerate poor communication, unresolved maintenance, and ongoing frustration for years when the situation could have been resolved much sooner.
Changing your owners corporation manager is not as complex as most Committees expect. When the transition is handled properly, the improvement in responsiveness, structure, and overall committee support can be substantial.
Looking to change your owners corporation manager?
We regularly work with Committees across Melbourne that are frustrated with poor communication, slow follow-through, or inconsistent management support from their current owners corporation manager.
Our Consultants help Committees understand their options and connect with experienced owners corporation management companies that better suit their building’s needs and expectations.
If your Committee is considering a change, you can contact our Consultants here.
