Strata Operational
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Independent strata governance and analysis, Australia-wide

Before you spend money on a complex strata problem, make sure you understand it.

Strata Operational Support (SOS) helps strata committees, owners corporations and body corporates resolve complex matters and strengthen how their scheme is run — assembling the facts, testing contracts and costs, and coordinating the right advice so decisions are informed before significant money is committed.

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Backed by the resources of Australasia Consulting Group (ACG)

People, information and outcomes overlap, with coordination where all three meet People Information Outcomes
Complex matters move when the right people work from reliable information towards a clear outcome — with coordination where all three meet.

Does this sound familiar?

If several of these apply, the matter may lack a coordinated view of the people, the information and the outcome the scheme needs.

  • The same issues keep returning to committee meetings without getting closer to resolution.
  • Reports, quotations and opinions keep accumulating without producing a clear way forward.
  • The committee is asked to approve substantial expenditure without confidence it understands the whole problem.
  • Engineers, lawyers and contractors each address part of the issue, but nobody brings their findings together.
  • Work was completed to fix a problem, but the problem is still there or keeps recurring.
  • Everyone agrees action is needed, but nobody is sure what should happen next or who to engage.

Service one · Complex matter analysis

Front-end work that makes the next decision a sound one.

Difficult matters often move towards legal action, specialist reports or contractor engagement before the underlying problem is properly defined. We work at the front end, so the scheme becomes informed and decision-ready, and any specialist engaged next receives a clearer, more useful brief.

  • Gather and organise the recordsReports, correspondence, minutes and contracts assembled in one reliable place.
  • Establish an accurate chronologyWhat happened, when, and what work has already been undertaken.
  • Separate facts from assumptionsEstablished facts distinguished from allegations and information gaps.
  • Find the underlying problemThe cause, rather than only its visible symptoms.
  • Analyse governance and stakeholdersManagement, process and relationship issues that keep a matter stuck.
  • Clarify the decision requiredWhat actually needs to be decided now, and by whom.
  • Brief the right specialistsWhere legal, engineering, financial or other advice is needed, with focused questions.
  • Options paper and action planEvidence-based, and clear enough to take to owners at a general meeting.

Service two · Governance, commercial & process health checks

Find where money, control and accountability are leaking.

Larger organisations routinely test the market, define services properly, measure performance and control expenditure. In strata, that discipline is often missing. A health check reviews the whole operating model and puts practical governance around it.

Beyond the audit

An audit confirms the invoice was approved and paid. It rarely asks whether it should have been a $10,000 invoice or a $2,000 job.

We don’t replace your strata manager, building manager, accountant or lawyer. We independently review the services you already pay for — to check they are delivering what they should, and to find what may be falling between them.

That wider view of how the scheme is actually being managed is what routine financial audits are not designed to provide.

  • Contracts & procurement

    Rolled-over agreements, lock-in clauses, renewals and CPI terms, and market testing so the scheme isn’t paying a loyalty tax.

  • Value for money

    The real cost beyond the headline fee: add-ons, call-outs, subcontractor margins, commissions and recurring extras.

  • Supplier performance

    Defined scopes, KPIs, reporting and escalation in place of subjective complaints.

  • Financial controls

    Invoice scrutiny, coding and cost allocation, reconciliations, and who should really bear each cost.

  • Governance

    Decision-making, delegations, approval limits and meeting discipline — including BMC and shared-services arrangements.

  • Assets & capital works

    Maintenance brought into a lifecycle plan, with capital fund and levy settings that reflect known works and risks.

  • Records & systems

    Registers and action tracking, and auditable workflow in place of email chains and individual memories.

  • Risk & compliance

    Contractual, financial, safety and maintenance issues identified early, before they become disputes or major costs.

The basic questions that sometimes stop being asked

  • Why are we doing this?
  • Why this supplier?
  • Why this price?
  • Is it still necessary?
  • Is this actually our cost?
  • Is there a better way?

The approach

Four questions before appointing the next specialist.

A symptom — water on a wall, a rising charge, an unresolved compliance item — shows something is wrong. It does not establish the cause. Each engagement works through these questions with the committee.

  1. What do we know?

    Facts supported by records, observations or reliable professional evidence.

  2. What do we presently believe?

    Competing explanations and concerns — possibilities until the evidence supports them.

  3. What do we not know?

    Missing records and gaps, each turned into a focused question for the right professional.

  4. What must be decided now?

    Often a defined investigation or a comparison of two approaches, not an entire strategy.

People

Committee, owners, managers and advisers understand their roles, use the same evidence and work towards the same result.

Information

Records are organised, reliable and current, with facts, assumptions and gaps clearly separated.

Outcomes

Everyone understands the problem, the decision required and how success will be assessed.

Case example

~$250k

Estimated saving per building, by pausing before committing to the proposed solution.

Fire rectification at a large four-building complex

A passive fire rectification program raised concerns about the garbage-chute areas. The initial proposal was extensive reconstruction across all four buildings, with substantial cost and disruption.

Before accepting it, an on-site meeting brought the inspectors, engineers and fire specialists together to examine the installation as a complete system. It showed the chute areas were already within enclosed, fire-separated spaces, allowing the specialists to consider an alternative compliant pathway — subject to risk assessment, verification and fire-engineer certification — without reducing fire safety.

The committee did not design its own fire-engineering solution. It brought the right people together, gave them the same evidence, and asked the right question.

Figures are estimates based on the proposals and advice available at the time. Every scheme’s circumstances differ.

What an independent review often finds

These are common patterns, not accusations. Most arise simply because nobody has been asked to look across the whole picture.

Who we work with

  • Self-managed schemes facing a matter too large or technical to coordinate internally.
  • Committees and owners in strata schemes, owners corporations and body corporates across Australia dealing with complex, costly or long-running problems.
  • Committees wanting an independent check on how their scheme is being managed, before anything has gone wrong.
  • Strata managers who want an unusually time-consuming matter properly analysed alongside their ongoing role.

What this is not

  • It does not replace your strata manager, lawyer, accountant, engineer or other specialists. It reviews whether those services are delivering what they should, and helps them do their best work.
  • We do not provide legal, accounting, engineering, certification or licensed strata-management services.
  • The decision stays with the committee and owners. Our role is to make sure it is an informed one.

Insights

LookUpStrata

Before You Spend Money on a Complex Strata Problem

How committees can define the real issue before choosing a solution.

Publishing soon

Getting started

It starts with listening.

Before anything is proposed, we want to understand what the committee is dealing with and what it actually needs.

  1. Get in touch

    Call, email or use the form below. A brief outline of the issue is enough to start.

  2. An initial conversation

    Complimentary, by phone or Teams, or at a committee meeting where practical. We listen, ask questions and help the committee see what the real issues are. Anything shared is treated confidentially.

  3. A tailored proposal

    Where there is a clear role for us, a short written proposal sets out the scope, deliverables and timing for the committee to consider.

  4. Your decision

    No obligation either way. We take on matters where we can add real value, and will say so if another adviser is better placed.

Contact

Start with a conversation.

Tell us what the scheme is dealing with. The initial conversation is complimentary, confidential and carries no obligation.

0412 010 366 enquiries@strata-sos.com.au PO Box 285, Epping NSW 1710

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