The Insurance Council of Australia has urged the ACT to introduce strata transparency laws and help drive better building repairs and maintenance oversight by owners’ committees.

Regulatory and consumer policy GM Alexandra Hordern told an ACT parliamentary inquiry on Thursday that ICA supports NSW legislative changes, and committees should be aware of what is being charged.

“We support full transparency of all fees and charges paid through the purchase of insurance and recommend that the ACT consider strengthening disclosure requirements to support full transparency across those supply chains,” she said.

“The ACT may also wish to consider implementation of similar reforms to some of those recently undertaken in NSW.”

Ms Hordern says challenges obtaining cover are often due to maintenance shortcomings, or because a building has problems such as water ingress, and volunteer owners’ committees may struggle with complexities.

“Maintenance is a major concern across strata communities. Often, strata complexes can be quite difficult to manage, and what we see through our membership is that sometimes maintenance is not done proactively, and it’s not done effectively.”  

ICA’s submission recommends the ACT consider strengthening and enforcing maintenance and repair regimes, and it suggests improving committee education.

Ms Hordern says it is important obligations placed on committees do not deter participation.

“I think you would need to balance placing a duty on people with making sure that we still have an adequate pool of volunteers to undertake this work,” she said.

ICA has also urged the ACT to promote lithium-ion battery safety, particularly in e-scooters and e-bikes.

Ms Hordern says ICA is working with Fire and Rescue NSW and would like a broader campaign around battery safety, covering simple steps such as not charging overnight or plugging devices in and leaving the property for hours.

National Insurance Brokers Association CEO Richard Kiplin told the ACT inquiry the group supports reforms strengthening strata governance, transparency and promotion of effective risk management.

“We encourage the committee to recognise the distinct but complementary roles that brokers and strata managers play and to ensure that future regulation continues to support these partnerships,” he said.

The Standing Committee on Legal Affairs began its management of strata properties inquiry earlier this year. A reporting date is not yet confirmed.