Mediation with OFT

Does anyone know what is the OFT policy in the case where an OC will not put a mediation request on an agenda and make a decision?

I believe the process of mediation goes along the line of the following;

• Application is made and fee paid
• The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) mediation unit is sent the application and OFT contacts the respondent – in the case of the respondent being a large “self-managed” Owners Corporation (OC) the OC is sent a letter requesting they convene an Executive Committee (EC) meeting to determine if the OC would like to accept or decline mediation
• The EC puts the matter on the agenda and informs OFT of the outcome

I made application 8 weeks ago.
OFT, over 6 weeks ago, sent the EC a letter requesting the EC to convene a meeting and make a decision. The EC had already sent the agenda for the next meeting but did have a full week to mail owners notification of an extra agenda item if they did want the matter on the agenda. No additional agenda item was sent to owners. The EC had the meeting and the matter was not put on the agenda for the next meeting.

“I accept in effect the applicant’s submission that before a decision can be made by the owners corporation whether at its general meeting or by its executive committee meeting there must be due notice.”
M Balding in Bales v The Owners Corporation SP 12303 (Strata and Community Schemes) [2009] NSWCTTT 296 (2 June 2009)

If owners are to have proper notice of a matter before the OC/EC make a decision then I am at least 6 weeks from a decision. That would mean it will have been 14 weeks since I asked for mediation before the EC made a decision.
In a recent s162 application the OC claimed it was run by “expert self-management” – and a Senior Member believed it.

I will have reader note the above quote from, now Deputy CTTT Chair, Member Balding is far from universal as it is my experience that CTTT do not apply the concept universally. Giving proper notice is not a strict duty of the EC/OC.

It has been past practise for the EC Secretary to accept or decline mediation without an agenda item, without an EC meeting or an EC resolution.

This breaches cl 12 of Sch 3 of the Strata Act as there is no record of a decision of the EC.
As a quick aside; compare cl 12 of Sch 3 and s102 (and 21) of the Strata Act.

Clause 12   Records and minutes to be kept
An executive committee must cause to be kept a record of its decisions and of any notices given to its secretary under clause 11 (2) and full and accurate minutes of its meetings.

Section 102   Minutes of meetings
An owners corporation must keep minutes of its meetings that include particulars of motions passed at those meetings.

Section 21  Executive committee’s decisions to be decisions of owners corporation
(1)  A decision of an executive committee is taken to be the decision of the owners corporation, subject to subsection (4).

So if a decision of the EC is a decision of the OC does s102 apply to the EC meetings? I ask because s102 carries penalty points and cl 12 does not carry penalty points. The 3 sections seem to lack clear meaning when considered together.