Adjudication for body corporate disputes

Adjudication is a more formal process than conciliation. An adjudicator makes a decision after considering the application and written submissions from all those affected by the dispute.

The information on this page only applies if your body corporate has a community titles scheme (CTS) number and CMS registered with Titles Queensland. This means it falls under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act).

This applies to most bodies corporate, but there are other Acts that apply to some bodies corporate instead.

To find out which Act and regulation your body corporate is registered under, contact Titles Queensland. If you don’t have a CMS registered, the scanned survey plan may tell you which Act applies to your body corporate.

To learn more about which information applies to your body corporate, you can ask a body corporate question or phone our information service on 1800 060 119.

If your body corporate does not have a CMS recorded, learn about referee orders for body corporate disputes in this case.

You can only make an adjudication application if you (as the applicant) have tried self resolution and in most cases attempted conciliation with the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (the BCCM office).

You need to read about interim orders if you intend to seek an urgent interim order with your application for adjudication.

Welcome to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management's guide to the adjudication process under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (also known as the BCCM Act). If you have a dispute within a body corporate regulated under the BCCM Act you might consider applying for an adjudicator's order to resolve it. This can be helpful when you can't resolve a dispute yourself and conciliation was unsuccessful or not appropriate. Before making an application, visit our website to review the adjudication application guide and relevant practice directions and to find and complete the application form. There are two types of orders that you can apply for: interim and final. The purpose of an interim order is to maintain the current situation for up to 12 months to safeguard your rights until the application is resolved, usually by final order. Our office is neutral and won't provide legal advice or conduct investigations for you. For legal advice you will need to talk to a solicitor. You may consider doing this prior to lodging your application. Once your application has been submitted, with the fee, it will undergo three steps—case management, submissions and replies, and adjudication. First you'll receive a formal acknowledgement of application with a reference number from us. Always use this number when communicating about your dispute with us. A case manager will ensure your application meets all the legislative requirements. They may contact you for clarification or additional information. The case manager cannot complete your application for you. The onus is on you to provide information promptly to avoid delays. Once all requirements are met, your application moves to the next step—submissions and replies. The respondent and affected parties may be sent a copy of your application and attachments and may be invited to make a non-compulsory submission, which is usually the only chance parties have to express their views for or against the application. An extension request—stating how long is needed and why—may be accepted by the case manager if appropriate. If you applied for an interim order, a decision may be made without seeking comments or notifying other parties. However, the full submission process must be followed before a final order is made. Once all submissions have been received, any party can request and pay a fee to receive a copy. If you choose to reply, you should limit your response to the issues raised and not include new ones. Keep in mind that submissions and replies cannot be kept confidential. Adjudicators appointed under the BCCM Act are part of our office. They can make legally binding orders to resolve certain body corporate disputes. Once the submission and reply step has been completed the commissioner makes a dispute resolution recommendation. For most disputes this is the point at which the application is referred to adjudication. Once referred it awaits allocation to an adjudicator. Once referred to an adjudicator they consider the application with attachments, submissions and replies, and the legislation, then issue a final order. The final order will include detailed reasons behind how the decision was reached. Copies of the order are provided to the applicant, respondent, body corporate and anyone given notice. Following the final order the adjudicator and our office will have no further role in the dispute. The application cannot be reopened or the order changed, even if further evidence is submitted. Only parties to the application can appeal the adjudicator's order on a question of law. They have six weeks to appeal the order through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). Some orders may be enforced in the Magistrates court if they are not complied with. If you have questions about the legislation you can submit them online or contact our Information and Community Education Unit on 1800 060 119 for a call-back. Or just Google BCCM adjudication. Our website has lots of information, including guides and forms. Subscribe to our newsletter, Common Ground, for updates, topics and events.

Apply for adjudication

• post to GPO Box 1049, Brisbane QLD 4001
• email to bccm@justice.qld.gov.au

If these options don't suit, you can deliver your application to us in person at Level 4, 154 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane.

Please email us when communicating about new or current applications. Read communication and document management (practice direction 3) for more details about this issue.

What disputes can be decided by adjudication

Adjudicators determine disputes that involve claimed contraventions (breaches) of:

• the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the Act)
• a community management statement for a community titles scheme.

Disputes an adjudicator cannot decide

An adjudicator cannot:

• resolve questions about title of land
• decide a dispute about a debt owed to the body corporate
• decide about scheme termination issues.

Decisions about these certain types of complex disputes can only be made by:

• the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Decisions about terminating a scheme can only be made by:

• a specialist adjudicator, for disputes about the economic reasons for termination

• the District Court, for disputes about the decision to terminate a scheme.

For more information see:

• s229 of the Act (disputes that adjudicators cannot decide)
• complex disputes
• debt disputes
• terminate a basic community titles scheme
• s81G of the Act (application for a specialist adjudicator about economic reasons for termination)
• s81N of the Act (application to District Court about termination decision).

The adjudication process

Applying

To apply for adjudication, you must complete the adjudication application form.

You will be asked for more details if your application is not complete, is unclear, or does not meet the requirements of the legislation. Your application could be rejected if you do not provide all the information requested.

You can amend or add to your application after it is lodged. If your amendment is not received before submissions have been sought from others, conditions may be imposed (e.g. you may have to send the amendments to everyone who has been asked to make a submission).

Interim orders

Interim orders are temporary orders. They are put in place to urgently protect your interests until final orders can be made. A final order is an outcome you want that will resolve the dispute.

An interim order will not speed up a final order.

You can apply for an interim order by completing the adjudication application form. Both the interim and final order details are included in the same application.

Your application must include evidence that:

• the order you are requesting is
  • genuinely urgent
  • temporary only, until the application is decided by final orders

  By requesting an interim order that does not meet the above requirements, you are accepting that:

  • the progress of your application may be delayed
  • interim order applications have a larger application fee
  • the application fee will not be refunded.

  Submissions

  The respondent (i.e. the other person in the dispute) and others affected by the dispute will usually be asked to make a written submission.

  If invited to make a submission, it is an individual's choice if they want to do so. However, if you choose not to make a submission, you need to be aware that this may limit your ability to appeal any order made.

  Those invited must make any submissions within a specified timeframe. In some cases, the Commissioner may extend the time limit.

  The body corporate, a committee member or anyone who has made a submission may ask for a copy of the application and all submissions. The BCCM Office must charge a legislative fee for the copies and it must be paid by whoever requests them.

  Right of reply

  You (the applicant) can make a written reply to the submissions. You are the only person who has a right of reply.

  Your reply must not bring up any new issues. If it does, your reply might have to be circulated to the others involved for further submissions. This could delay the dispute.

  What the adjudicator considers

  When considering a dispute, an adjudicator has the power to:

  • request information (e.g. expert reports)
  • interview the people involved in the dispute (and others if necessary)
  • obtain or inspect body corporate records
  • inspect lots, or common property in a community titles scheme.

  The adjudicator will make a formal order deciding the dispute after considering:

  • the application
  • all submissions
  • the reply to submissions
  • any further information the adjudicator has asked for.

  Adjudicator’s orders

  An adjudicator must decide whether an order should be made. An adjudicator can make an order that is ‘just and equitable’ to resolve the dispute.

  For example, adjudicators can:

  • declare a committee or general meeting, or a motion at a meeting, void
  • declare a committee or general meeting motion to have passed
  • require a general meeting to be held to deal with specific business
  • declare a by-law invalid
  • require the body corporate or an owner to undertake maintenance
  • require a body corporate to provide access to body corporate records.

  An adjudicator can also appoint an administrator with the authority to do the job of a body corporate or committee.

  An adjudicator can dismiss an application if it is frivolous (i.e. unimportant or inconsequential), vexatious (i.e. intended to cause annoyance or inconvenience) or without substance (i.e. not supported by facts or law). You (the applicant) may have to pay up to $2,000 in costs if your application is dismissed for one of these reasons.

  An adjudicator can also dismiss an application for other reasons, such as if:

  • they don't have the authority to decide the dispute
  • the dispute should be decided by a court or tribunal.

  Withdrawing an application

  If you decide you don’t want to proceed with your application—because the dispute is resolved or for any other reason—you can ask in writing to withdraw the application.

  The application fee will not be refunded.

  Enforcing an adjudicator’s order

  The court can impose fines of up to $64,520 (current from 1 July 2024) if you do not comply with an order.

  Appealing against an order

  You must start the appeal within 6 weeks of the date of the adjudicator’s order (unless a later start is allowed by the court).

  Specialist adjudicators

  You can ask for a specialist adjudicator to be appointed to decide a dispute. This can be useful if your dispute is complex or requires expert knowledge. The process for appointing the specialist adjudicator depends what the dispute is about.

  For a complex dispute, you and the other people in the dispute must agree on appointing a specialist adjudicator and who that person will be. You must also agree on how you will pay the costs.

  For a dispute about an economic reasons resolution for terminating the scheme, the body corporate will be liable to pay the costs for the specialist adjudicator if the application is not deemed frivolous or vexatious.

  Privacy

  Please be aware that we will make your application available to others in the dispute. Some information in your application will also be made public if the adjudicator makes an order.

  Last updated: 1 July 2024
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

  Further questions?

  If you have further body corporate questions you can submit an enquiry or phone the information service on 1800 060 119 (freecall).

  We cannot give legal advice or rulings—we can only give you general information on body corporate legislation.

  Apply for adjudication

  Complete the adjudication application online and then lodge it by post, fax or email.

  Adjudication timeline

  The adjudication process can be quite lengthy.

  Once we receive your application, our dispute resolution coordinators review it and may ask you for more information. The other party will also be asked to comment on your application. These steps take time.

  Once the application has been reviewed, and the other party has responded, the application is referred to an adjudicator. The average time from this referral to an order is 22 weeks.

  To avoid this lengthy process, always try to resolve the dispute yourself first.