An Owners Corporation levy is an invoice issued by the Owners Corporation to its members so that it can meet its ongoing payment obligations. There are three types of levies:
- Annual Fees (Administration or Maintenance Fund Fees)
- Special Fees
- Other Fees (e.g. cost of remotes/fobs, cost recovery levies)More information: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/owners-corporations/finance-insurance-and-recordkeeping/fees
Annually, your Owners Corporation committee, with the strata manager’s assistance assess the
financial needs of the Owners Corporation to put together a budget. This budget is then voted on by
owners at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The levy amount is set based on the budgeted
expenses for the coming year. At the AGM, a motion is put forward detailing the exact amount of levies
to be charged by the Owners Corporation. Owners have the chance to discuss and seek clarifications
during the AGM about budget items. Owners attending the meeting will than vote on the proposed
levies.
If you are unable to attend the AGM, the approved budget is attached to the minutes of the meeting.
Your levy amount is determined by the lot liability associated with your property, as outlined in the registered Plan of Subdivision.
To calculate your proportion of levies:
(Annual Levy / Total Lot Liabilities) x Your Lot Liabilities = Annual Lot Contribution
Example: Annual levies approved - $30,000 incl. GST, Total lot liabilities – 2000, Your lot liability – 167
i.e. ($30,000 / 2000) x 167 = $2,505 p/a
Levies are sent no less than 28 days prior to the due date.
In most cases levies are due quarterly on the 1st of January, April, July and October each year.
What is the difference between an admin and maintenance fund?
Admin Fund – covers day to day expenses associated with the property (e.g. insurance, electricity,
caretaker, water etc).
Maintenance Fund – covers planned or unplanned capital improvements and big-ticket maintenance
items (e.g. repainting the building or replacing a lift). The Maintenance Fund of an Owners Corporation
must be used in conjunction with an agreed Maintenance Plan.
More information about a Maintenance Fund can be found here:
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/owners-corporations/finance-insurance-and-recordkeeping/maintenance-fund
A special levy is an additional, one-off fee charged to owners beyond their regular strata fees, typically
to cover unexpected or extraordinary expenses such as major repairs or upgrades that aren't covered
by the regular levies or increases to insurance premiums that have exceeded expectation or following
an insurance valuation. The special levy is typically paid by all members of the Owners Corporation,
however in some cases a Special Levy may be issued to only select members of the Owners
Corporation in accordance with the benefit principle.
Your Owners Corporation would have recently held an AGM, where it was resolved by the Owners
Corporation to increase the Owners Corporation annual fees compared to the previous year.
As your previous levy would have been issued to you prior to the Owners Corporation’s annual fees
being increased, a one-off adjustment levy is required to ensure your Owners Corporation collects the
full annual fees over the course of the Owners Corporation’s financial year.
All proceeding levies will be issued at this new amount (excluding the One-Off AGM Adjustment) until
after the next AGM
For most buildings, Tideways offer access to an online portal where you can log on to check the
balance of your account. You should have received login details for the portal following settlement.
If you have misplaced or did not receive a login, please contact us at ownerdetails@tideways.com.au
and we will resend your login details.
Some Owners Corporations are split into multiple OC’s meaning you may be liable for multiple levies.
The premise behind multiple OC’s is to ensure lot owners share rights, responsibilities, and costs only
to those areas and or services they have access to or benefit them. This is common in subdivisions that
have a mix of residential and commercial lots within the one complex.
As an example, an OC may be split into 3 separate OC’s as per below;
OC1 – Entire building (Everyone in a member)
OC2 – Residential Lots (Only residential lots contribute)
OC3 – Commercial Lots (Only commercial lots contribute)
Your levy notice details seven convenient payment channels for you to choose from when paying your
levies.
Payments can be made via cheque, EFT, BPay or Credit Card (cash is not accepted).
Please note that all payments are via StrataPay and Tideways is unable to process payments in our
office.
Credit card payments can be made by calling 1300 552 311 or visiting www.stratamax.com.au.
Please have you StrataPay reference ready for ease of payment.
Surcharges apply to all payments made by credit card. You will be given the option to accept and be
advised of the service fee amount prior to completion of the transaction.
For more details regarding surcharges you can view the Terms and Conditions and the StrataPay
Privacy Policy.
You can set up a direct deposit by going to https://www.stratapay.com/levy-direct-debits and selecting
‘Setup/Amend Direct Deposit’.
With StrataPay’s online direct debit, you can easily setup an automatic payment for your levy balance
to come directly from your bank account or credit card. Alternatively, you can set a scheduled fixed
amount to be drawn at a time and frequency that suits you.
Depending on your choice of payment method, payments can take between 3 and 14 business days to
clear
Payment by BPay and Direct deposit take up to 3 business days to clear while payments made by
cheques can take up to 14 business days to clear.
Penalty interest is applied to any levy that remains outstanding for more than 28 days past its due
date. The interest is collected by the Owners Corporation and any interest collected goes into the
Owners Corporations bank account, not Tideways.
You may be charged a fee of $72.60 when a Final Fee Notice is issued for overdue levies. In most
cases, a final fee notice will only be issued when your levy remains outstanding for more than 28 days
after the due date of the levy. Prior to being issued a final fee notice, you should have been issued a
reminder notice approx. 15 days after the levy due date.
If you do not pay your levy after the final fee notice is issued, the Owners Corporation may refer your
debt to solicitors for formal debt recovery. Before your debt is referred to solicitors, Tideways will
always attempt to contact you by both phone and email where these details have been provided to
Tideways to confirm you received the levy notice and have had a chance to discuss payment
arrangements. In the event we are unable to contact you, or appropriate payment arrangements have
been confirmed, your debt will be referred to a solicitor.
If you are experiencing financial hardship and struggling to pay your Owners Corporation levies and
fees on time, contact our office as soon as possible. Ask for a payment plan application form.
Once submitted your payment plan application will be forwarded to the Owners Corporation
Committee for consideration.
If approved, it is important you make payments in accordance with your approved payment plan. By
not adhering to your agreed payment plan your account will revert to the normal debt recovery process
which may include VCAT action.
Payment Plan FAQ’s
- What is the minimum payment I can make?
The OC Committee will decide if your payment plan request is at a sufficient level. Please note:
No payment plan is to run longer than 12 months.
- Does interest accrue on the outstanding balance whilst a payment plan is in place?
Yes, interest will accrue on the outstanding levy amount until your levy is paid in full.
- What is the payment plan is NOT accepted by the OC Committee?
The Committee is not obligated to approve the payment plan application. If payment plan is not
approved the debt will continue through the normal debt recovery process which may include
VCAT action. To increase the chance of the plan being approved, it is suggested that the reason
for the request is detailed and that the proposed payment terms are the shortest that can be
managed to clear the debt.
- Will other levies also accrue as they fall due?
Yes. Any other upcoming scheduled or unscheduled levies will continue to fall due on their due
date. For this reason, it is best to factor any scheduled levies yet to fall due into the calculations
of the proposed payment terms.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and need help to deal with financial issues, you can get free,
independent, and confidential advice from a community based financial counsellor. To speak to a
financial counsellor, call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 or visit the National Debt
Helpline's find a financial counsellor page (http://www.ndh.org.au/financial-counselling/find-afinancial-counsellor) to find a financial counsellor near you.
Levies that remain unpaid following settlement or are struck and issued after property settlement, no
matter what period they are for, become the current / new owners’ liability to pay.
As per section 28 of the act, the owner and any purchaser in possession of the lot are liable to pay any
outstanding fees, charges, contribution or amount owing to the Owners Corporation in respect of that
lot.
These amounts can’t be removed from your account, nor does the Owners Corporation have the power
or authority to chase a previous owner for this amount.
If you have a dispute regarding your levies, first we recommend your write to Tideways via
levies@tideways.com.au outlining your concerns as soon as possible for these to be addressed with
the Owners Corporation Committee.
It is important to note that there is no legal provision that allows an owner to withhold levies, therefore,
even if in dispute it is recommended you make payment by the due date to avoid any penalties or legal
actions.
Following initial contact, if your dispute is not resolved, you may lodge a formal dispute in accordance
with Model Rule 7, however in accordance with Section 152 of the Act this complaint cannot be made
in relation to amounts owing. The dispute needs to be made in relation to an action.
More information about Complaints and Dispute Resolution can be found here:
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/owners-corporations/complaint-handling-and-resolvingdisputes
As an owner, you are generally not entitled to withhold levy payments to the Owners Corporation even
if you believe you have a dispute or debt owed to you. There is no legal provision that allows an owner
to withhold levies to set off a debt they believe is owed to them by the Owners Corporation.
Withholding levies can lead to legal action and penalties.
An owner’s obligation to pay strata levies is independent of any other matter between the owner and
the Owners Corporation.
If you are unhappy with the service of the Owners Corporation, you will need to raise this with the
Committee to have the matter addressed.
