IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME…

To help celebrate the festive season, Archers Body Corporate Management would like to offer you, our valued client a Christmas surprise….

Archers Body Corporate Management combined with Fisher & Paykel are offering an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTED shopping deal on Fisher & Paykel products, only available though our website to Archers clients.

As this is an exclusive deal to Archers Body Corporate Management, Fisher & Paykel are not able to publish a public price list. With a simple click you will be on the way to obtaining your quote. Compare your personal Fisher & Paykel price with other competitors, sit back and enjoy the great savings this Christmas.

Come on, give it ago, you won’t be disappointed!

• A representative will contact you with in 24 hours of making a quote request.
• A representative will install your brand new Fisher & Paykel product and remove all packaging from site. Also for a small fee, you can have your old product removed.
• Delivery to metropolitan areas will take 1 to 2 days.
• Gold Coast and rural areas will take 2 to 4 days.
• Cairns will take 5 to 7 days.
• Fisher & Paykel are offering a special 2 to 5 year warranty on all appliances. All white goods are covered by a 5 year rust warranty.
• Customer service is available 7 days a week, guaranteed.

Interested…?

To find out more, and take advantage of this special deal, select the MyABCM tab on the top right hand corner of the screen and then follow the step by step instructions (featured below) to be on your way to receive your brand new Fisher & Paykel product. It’s that simple!

To begin searching: Select – click here to start.
You are now free to scroll through the Fisher and Paykel product catalogue.
To request a product quote – click request a quote - and a representative will be in contact with you in less then 24 hours.

To purchase your new Fisher & Paykel product follow these four simple steps:

Step 1: Enter in the access code - myabcm001 and then click next.

Step 2: Enter in the product model number, colour and any necessary notes and click next.

Step 3: Enter in your details including name, email, body corporate name, contact phone number and delivery address and click next.

Step 4: Congratulations! You have submitted your product request; a Fisher & Paykel representative will be in contact with you shortly.

See, it’s that simple!

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Who’s Who at Archers

Colin Archer is the Managing Director of Archers Body Corporate Management, he is based in Brisbane and spends his time between our five offices in Queensland. Colin, a chartered accountant is a founding member of Community Titles Institute Queensland (CTIQ), founding president and current Queensland representative for the National Community Titles Institute (NCTI).

Sharon Withford our Technical Director and Shareholder in Archers resides at the Sunshine Coast. Sharon also spends her time between the Maroochydore office and our Whitsundays office. As the office manager for the Maroochydore office and as a body corporate manager she is still active in managing a portfolio.

We have always paid particular attention to financial assurance and our association with Archer Gowland Chartered Accountants continues. Colin oversees and approves the financial reports and income tax returns for our extensive portfolio along with being an active signatory on all the accounts.

We have appointed Aaron Margaritis as financial controller to administer and implement our ‘best practice’ strategies and internal processes. Aaron is from the Gold Coast office and with the support of Kelly James will provide training and support to our other offices.

Our office managers are:

• Kim Cullen – Gold Coast. Kim has 10 years experience in the Body Corporate Management Industry as a Body Corporate Manager before moving her career to become the office manager with Archers in the Gold Coast office.
  Kim is contactable on 5597 2077.
  
  
• Jenny Phillips – Brisbane Office. Jenny has over 6 years experience as a body corporate manager and manages an extensive and varied portfolio. Jenny joined Archers in 2002 and has since progressed to a more senior role as the Brisbane Office Manager. Jenny has a certificate IV in Body Corporate Management and is a member of the CTIQ.
  Jenny is contactable on 07 3002 2600.
  
  
• John Downes – Whitsundays. John has over 10 years experience in the Body Corporate Management Industry commencing his career with 6 years as a resident manager. John joined Archers in 2004 and has a certificate IV in Body Corporate Management.
  John is contactable on 4946 4508.
  
  
• Stephen McCulloch – Cairns. Stephen has over 3 years in body corporate management and has a Bachelor of Law and practiced as a solicitor for a number years.
  Stephen is contactable on 4031 6633.
  
  
• Sharon Withford – Maroochydore. Sharon is a fellow member of the CTIQ and holds a Certificate IV in Body Corporate Management. Sharon has lived on the Sunshine Coast for 25 years and has been a senior body corporate manager with Archers since 1992.
  Sharon is contactable on 5443 2562.
  

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ARCHERS SPONSORED THE TOURISM WHITSUNDAYS AWARDS 2008

Archers were proud to be a sponsor of the recent Whitsunday Tourism Awards held on the 11th October, 2008. Tourism Whitsundays, considers the awards night to be paramount and is seen as the industry night of nights. The evening showcases the regions best operators, businesses and individuals that strive for excellence in greater tourism products and services.


Archers Area Manager John Downes presented the awards for ‘best deluxe accommodation’ – won by Coral Sea Resort and ‘Best new tourism development’ - won by Qualia.

The highly sought after tourism awards are a major highlight on the Whitsunday social calendar,” stated John Downes and also present were the Local State member; Jan Jarratt, Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Mike Brunker and General Manager Mackay Tourism; David Phillips.

Information regarding this event can be found here.

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THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN - BCCM ACT NEW REGULATIONS

The new regulation modules under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 commenced on the 1st September 2008. This occurred as the old regulation modules expired and necessitated the need to review the requirements. It is very important that body corporate lot owners and committee members understand the implications of the changes.

The major changes for the accommodation and standard module include:

• eligibility for committee membership,
• reserved (restricted) issues for the committee,
• relevant spending limits for committee spending and major spending,
• improvements to common property by the body corporate and by owners; and
• the requirements to have an insurance valuation report.

There are many comparisons to make between the expired modules and the new modules and sufficient time needs to be devoted by committees to understand how the changes apply to their scheme. There is a proviso for bodies corporate who have called an Annual General Meeting prior to the 30th August 2008 to follow the expired procedures for committee nominations etc. regardless of the meeting being held after the 1st September 2008.

Part of the new regulations is the new spending limits for committee spending and major spending. It would be fair to assume that the reason or motivation for changing these amounts is due to the ever-increasing cost of supply, particularly building construction costs and building maintenance costs and with other requirements coming under legislation to be ‘green efficient’. Thus the changes will allow for bodies corporate to be more efficient in authorising work orders.

Major Spending
The new default amount under the new regulations for major spending is worked out by multiplying $1,100.00 excluding GST by the number of lots in the scheme but is capped at $10,000.00. To calculate the number of lots in layered bodies corporate, it is the total number of lots in the subsidiary schemes. The new regulations also allow for this limit to be increased by ordinary resolution of the body corporate to an unstipulated amount. If this resolution is passed this limit will remain until another ordinary resolution is passed by the body corporate to have the limit changed.

Committee Spending
The new default amount under the new regulations for committee spending is worked out at $200.00 exclusive of GST multiplied by the number of lots in the scheme, with the same methodology of number of lots for layered bodies corporate. Again this limit can be increased unconditionally by ordinary resolution. If however this limit is greater than the relevant limit for major spending it provides that the committee is required to obtain two quotations prior to resolving the motion. Evidence of these quotes are to accompany the minutes of the committee meeting.



Insurance Valuations
If the body corporate is required to insure one or more buildings in the scheme for full replacement value then it must, at least every five years, obtain an independent valuation report. The value from this report and the date it was obtained is required to be attached with the Annual General Meeting notice. Such a valuation must be obtained under the new provisions by the 30th August 2009 unless it has already one purchased between 31st August 2004 and 1st September 2008. If it has been purchased in this period than the 5 year applicable timeframe commences from the date of the report.

Archers are able to help bodies corporate meet their obligations through:

• Expert advice and administration
• In-house Services Division;
  Quantity Surveyor – Insurance Valuations & Sinking Fund Forecasts
  WPH&S Officer – Workplace Health & Safety Audits

Factsheets detailing new regulations

Accommodation Module Regulations 2008

Commercial Module Regulations 2008

Small Schemes Module Regulations 2008

Standard Module Regulations 2008

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HOT TOPIC - BUILDING FIRE REGULATIONS 2008

The Department of Emergency Services (DES) has completed a review of the Building Fire Safety Regulation 1991. The amended legislation has been passed to cover fire evacuation procedures and planning for all buildings except fully detached residential buildings. The legislation came into effect on 1 July 2008 and the owners of these types of buildings must be compliant by 1 July 2009.
The legislation provides a definition of who exactly is responsible for the implementation and is as follows; the owner of the building; and the occupier of the building and the Managing Entity. The Managing Entity of a multi-occupancy building means the entity that is the occupier of or in control of the general access areas of the building. An example of entities that may be the managing entity is; the body corporate of a community titles scheme.

Where the body corporate has engaged a caretaker/resident manager this would be the obvious choice under the legislation’s definition as the person who has general access to common property, but it is still the responsibility of the body corporate and therefore the committee to ensure that action is being taken. There is a long list of requirements and the main objectives are; to ensure people can evacuate buildings safely and quickly in the event of a fire or should a hazardous materials emergency occur and; to ensure that prescribed safety installations for these types of buildings are in place and maintained.
The complete list of requirements is available at; http://www.fire.qld.gov.au/buildingsafety/legislation.asp
The specific requirements are lengthy and many remain the same, however some are quite challenging and are as follows:

• Evacuation procedures training must be given to each person annually
• Evacuation practice must be conducted at least annually (organised by owner, occupier or managing agent)
• Must have a Fire Safety Advisor if it is a high occupancy building (residential building > 25m high; with > 29 workers; special buildings like budget accommodation)
• A deadlock can be fitted to residential unit fire doors, provided; it allows the door to self close (not a dead bolt). The lock is installed, fire rated and complies with Australian Standard AS1905
• Security screen doors in front of a fire door are not acceptable
  

Archers Body Corporate Management is undertaking training to have a comprehensive understanding and will nominate a specific professional to advise Bodies Corporate.
Committees should table this item for discussion at early in 2009 to ensure compliance before 1 July 2009. Committees also need to consider whether their by-laws have any conflicting provisions and rulings to the new regulations. For example;
‘An owner or occupier of a lot shall not mark, paint, drive nails or screws or the like into, or otherwise damage or deface, any structure that forms part of the common property except with the consent in writing of the Body Corporate, but this by-law does not prevent an owner or person authorised by them from installing:

(1) any locking or other safety device for protection of his lot against intruders; or

(2) any screen or other device to prevent entry of animals or insets upon his lots; provided that the locking or other safety device, or as the case may be, screen or other device, is constructed in a workmanlike manner, is maintained in a state of good and serviceable repair by the owner and does not detract from the amenity of the building.

Statutory laws override any by-laws in community title schemes but in the case that your by-laws contain such a by-law you may need to consider engaging a solicitor to review the by-laws and lodge a new Community Management Statement (CMS) with the department. This would be prudent to avoid any confusion and/or disputes.
For more information on the Building Fire Regulations you can visit http://www.fire.qld.gov.au/ website or call them on (07) 3247 8100.

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UOAQ Continuing Education Seminars - Highly Topical

Once again, the latest series of UOAQ Continuing Education Seminars were very well received. Archers had large mumbers in attendance as the interest in the topics proved to be high. The panel presenting was diverse with Colin Archer, Chairman of Archers Body Corporate Management, Garry Maynard President of the Unit Owners Association of Queensland, Andrew Suttie of Nicholsons Solicitors and Don Pitt of QBM.


The information presented to a range of Committee Members, Resident Managers and interested Owners was very topical and stirred mixed reactions from the attendees. Fortunately our expert speakers were able to shed some light and advice to Bodies Corporate dealing with the (now) new Body Corporate Community Management Regulations and it's implications. Also presented was the new Building Fire Regulations which was passed on 1 July 2008 which was daunting information, to all affected in properties that are not fully detached residential buildings.

The feedback received was very positive and comments received were; 'Excellent Presentation - Very Informative', 'Most Enlightening!' and 'A very good overview of the new legislation!'

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FREE EDUCATION SEMINARS WILL BENEFIT BODY CORPORATE OWNERS AND COMMITTEES

Archers Body Corporate Management is joining forces with the Unit Owners Association of Queensland to present a series of free seminars to focus on the Proposed Amendments to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act (BCCM Act) Regulations.
This opportunity is available to anyone interested in understanding or learning more about the ruling legislation and its applications to managing strata titled properties.


“Most Bodies Corporate are valued between $10 and $100 million with budgets of up to $1 million dollars in administrative and sinking funds, however many Committee Members have limited knowledge of the BCCM Act or the financial expertise to help them manage these assets,” Colin Archer, Chairman of Archers Body Corporate Management said.

Key speakers at these seminars include Andrew Suttie of Nicholsons Solicitors, a regular industry spokesperson who will be speaking about the proposed amendments to the BCCM Act regulations that will take effect from September 2008. Other key speakers are Garry Maynard, President of the Unit Owners Association of Queensland and QBM’s, Don Pitt.

The seminars are open to everyone and will be of particular interest to anyone buying into strata titled property, including Body Corporate Lot Owners, Committee Members and Caretaking Managers.

“Archers Body Corporate Management is at the forefront of professional body corporate and community management, with a continuing reputation for the highest professional standards,” Mr Archer said.

With six locations throughout Queensland, Archers is sponsoring these continuing education seminars for unit owners at the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and the Whitsundays.

The first of the series will be held in Cairns on 29 July from 5:00-7:00pm and the final seminar will be held in the Whitsundays on 4 September from 5:00-6:30pm.

For full details and to reserve your seat at any of the seminars, go to www.abcm.com.au/seminars.php

Catering will be provided at each event and registration is essential to ensure your attendance.

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