Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (13:12): Last week I hosted a listening session at my electorate office as part of the review of the Owners Corporations Act 2006. It was a great chance to bring together residents from my community to talk honestly about what is working and what is not in strata living. My constituents really appreciated being able to speak openly to the panellists. My office has dealt with numerous complaints about poor-quality builds and ongoing defects that leave owners footing huge repair bills with nowhere to turn. We discussed confusing governance rules, rising fees and owners corporation managers who were simply not held to account when they should have been. We also heard how hard it can be for ordinary residents to resolve disputes. Many feel they are up against well-resourced developers or managers and have no real pathway to getting things fixed.

What was clear is that the current system is not working for far too many people. Owners and residents want clearer rules, better protections and a process that listens to them instead of leaving them stuck with problems they did not create. I think it is incredibly important that these issues are fixed now, before Victoria moves further towards higher density living. We cannot keep adding more apartments and houses on top of a system that is already struggling to protect owners and residents. I want to thank everyone who came along and shared their stories. I will keep pushing to make sure the voices of local strata residents are front and centre. As the panel prepares its report – an important piece of work for the Minister for Consumer Affairs – it is absolutely critical that the Owners Corporations Act is modified to radically improve the outcomes for residents and their communities.