Managing agent or MCST council: who does what

Notices in your estate may be signed by the MCST, the council, the managing agent or the condo manager. They are not the same, and knowing which is which tells you who can actually decide your issue.

• The MCST (management corporation) is every owner in the development together. BCA puts it simply: the MCST “consists of all SPs of the estate” — SP meaning subsidiary proprietor, or unit owner. It decides big matters by resolution at general meetings.
• The council is a group of owners elected at the annual general meeting (AGM) to run the estate between meetings. Every MCST must have one.
• The managing agent is a company the MCST may hire to handle day-to-day management and maintenance, under a written service agreement.
• The condo manager and management office staff are the people you meet on site. Where there is a managing agent, BCA’s guide expects the agreement to cover the wages of “staff members stationed on site”.

The law behind all of this is the Building (Strata Management) Act. It was called the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA) until it was renamed on 1 October 2025, so BCA’s older guides, quoted below, still use the old name.

The MCST is responsible for the estate as a whole. BCA’s guide lists its responsibilities, including managing the management and sinking funds, insuring the buildings, making by-laws, keeping records, repairing and maintaining common property, appointing an auditor and managing contracts with service providers.

In practice the work is split three ways:

• Owners at a general meeting decide the matters the law reserves for them, and can also decide that certain matters are for the general meeting only, not the council.
• The council makes decisions on behalf of the MCST, except for restricted matters. BCA describes its role as acting as the managing body, making daily decisions so the estate runs smoothly, and running general meetings.
• The managing agent carries out the work it has been given in writing. It does not replace the owners or the council as the decision-maker.

If you want a policy changed, such as a by-law or how a facility is used, the council or the general meeting is where that is decided. If you want something done, such as a lift fault reported or a booking made, the management office is usually the right first stop.

Council members are generally elected at the AGM. Up to 14 can be elected, and voting is one vote per lot. All council members retire at the end of the next AGM, but may stand again.

To be eligible, a person must be an individual of at least 21 years of age and be an owner, a non-owner nominated by a company that owns a lot, or an immediate family member nominated by an owner. A lot in arrears of contributions three days before the election affects eligibility.

The council has three office bearers:

• Chairperson — runs the meetings and rules whether a motion is in order.
• Secretary — sends out notices, agendas and minutes, keeps the strata roll and answers letters to the MCST.
• Treasurer — handles money paid to the MCST, keeps the accounts and prepares the financial statements. No one may be treasurer for more than two consecutive terms (estates of 10 or fewer lots are exempt).

A council meeting needs a quorum of a majority of council members, and notice must go on the notice board at least three days before. Owners may attend council meetings, but need the council’s permission to raise an issue.

Council members are volunteers, but the law places real duties on them. According to BCA, all council members “must act honestly and use reasonable diligence” in their duties.

• At the first council meeting after appointment, a member must declare interests in property, shareholdings or directorships that may conflict with the role — for example, a shareholding in a managing agent firm that might be appointed.
• Whenever a contract or matter comes before the council, a member with a direct or indirect financial interest must declare it and must not take part in the discussion.
• Interests of immediate family members count as the member’s own.

BCA notes that failing to meet these duties is an offence. A council member can be removed by a majority vote at a general meeting, and loses office for missing three consecutive council meetings without permission.

Appointment. A managing agent can be appointed by ordinary resolution at a general meeting, or by the council if owners authorised this at the last general meeting. The term can be up to three years, but the agent’s performance must be reviewed at every AGM. Its fees are fixed at the general meeting, or by the council where owners have given it that authority.

Before appointment, the agent must declare any direct or indirect relationship it has with any owner in the estate.

Delegation. The MCST may delegate its powers, duties and functions to the agent in writing — even the functions of the office bearers or the whole council. But it cannot let the agent:

• pass on those powers to someone else;
• decide anything that needs a unanimous, special, 90% or consensus resolution at a general meeting; or
• decide a restricted matter that only a general meeting can decide.

Responsibility. What the agent does under delegation is done on behalf of the MCST, and an agent exercising a delegated duty can be held liable for a breach of the Act as if the MCST had committed it.

Elections. A managing agent must not canvass for proxy votes or carry out any other activity for the election of council members, whether itself or through its staff. It also must not give out owners’ phone numbers or email addresses to someone canvassing for proxies.

Accreditation is voluntary. BCA recognises schemes run by the Association of Property and Facility Managers (APFM) and the Association of Strata Managers (ASM), and encourages MCSTs to appoint accredited agents.

Hiring a managing agent is a choice, not a requirement: BCA says MCSTs “may engage” managing agents. The spirit of the Act, in BCA’s words, is for each MCST “to exercise self-governance and manage its own affairs.”

In a self-managed estate there is no agent between you and the council. The secretary, treasurer and chairperson handle the work themselves, and the same council duties — honesty, diligence and declaring interests — apply in full. Contact the council secretary, who answers communications addressed to the MCST.

• Day-to-day matters — repairs to common property, bookings, access cards, by-law breaches by neighbours: call, email or write to the management office. BCA’s guide says you should give the MCST time to investigate before taking further action.
• The agent’s performance — first tell the agent exactly what the problem is (it may be acting on the council’s instructions), then the agent’s supervisor, then the council.
• Council decisions — write to the secretary, attend a council meeting as an observer, or raise a motion for the next general meeting.
• Policy changes — requisition a motion for the AGM or ask for an extraordinary general meeting (EOGM). Every owner may requisition a motion.

BCA’s advice is to approach the MCST first, even if your complaint is about the managing agent or a council member. If that does not resolve it, the options widen:

1. The general meeting. Raise the matter at the next AGM, or requisition a motion about the agent’s performance for the annual review of its appointment.
2. The agent’s accrediting body. If the managing agent is accredited, you can file a complaint with that body.
3. Mediation. The Community Mediation Centre handles voluntary mediation of interpersonal disputes between neighbours, but not cases needing technical expertise such as water seepage.
4. The Strata Titles Boards (STB). If you have an issue with how the MCST exercises or performs a power, duty or function, you may apply to the STB. It is a quasi-judicial tribunal of panel members including lawyers, architects and engineers. Among the orders it can make is one appointing a managing agent to perform certain powers. Its decisions are final; an appeal goes to the High Court only on a question of law. The STB cannot give legal advice.

Where BCA fits. BCA states that neither the Commissioner of Buildings nor BCA is empowered to resolve disputes under the law. The Commissioner of Buildings does have administrative roles, including monitoring that AGMs are held and by-laws lodged, and enforcing the offence provisions of the Act — and will investigate possible offences. If you believe an offence has been committed, such as a council member failing to declare an interest, you can contact BCA through its feedback form.

The law is under review. In 2026 BCA consulted on amendments, including proposals for council members to undergo mandatory training. Check BCA’s site for what has since changed.