Body Corporate Act
In Queensland, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 or BCCM Act is what most Bodies Corporate are registered under. You may see the term ‘Owners Corporation Act’ when researching on the internet, but this refers to schemes that are not registered in Queensland. The BCCM Act and Regulations set out legalities and obligations which Bodies Corporate are required to adhere to.
Each Strata Scheme is also registered under one of the five regulation modules. These modules are;
• Standard Module – Highly regulated, suitable for all schemes but especially where most owners live in their own lots.
• Accommodation Module – Less regulated, suitable for schemes where most owner let their lots out to tenants or holiday rentals.
• Commercial Module – Some regulation, suitable for commercial premises like offices or retail shops.
• Small Schemes Module – Some regulation, for schemes with 6 lots or less.
• Specified Two-Lot Schemes Module – Less regulation, for schemes with only 2 residential lots.
Points to note regarding a Regulation Module;
• Only 1 regulation module applies to a Strata Title at any time.
• The regulation module is set by the original owner or the person that developed the scheme.
• The regulation module that the Strata Title is registered under, can be changed by the Body Corporate.
• The regulation module that applies to your Body Corporate is listed in the Community Management Statement (CMS).
• The BCCM Act remains the same but the Regulations are updated from time to time.
If you would like to know which Regulation Module your Body Corporate is registered under you can either contact your Strata Manager or alternatively if you are a self-managed Body Corporate, contact the Titles Registry Office to find out which module applies to your scheme.
Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980
Before the BCCM Act existed (pre 1997), Strata Titles were governed under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 or BUGTA. A change of government in 1996 resulted in BUGTA being replaced by the more flexible Body Corporate Act.
