News

An increasing number of children have been admitted into hospital as a result from falling from windows. In response, the NSW government launched the “kids don’t fly campaign” and a change in legislation requiring window safety locks to be installed by 13^th March 2018.

 

Residents will still be able to open their windows but will have the security of knowing that children will be safe when the window is open. Speak to your strata team to ensure your building is compliant.

 

Resources

• NSW Department of Fair Trading information for owners and tenants
• NSW Healths "Kids Don't Fly" Multi-Lingual Resources
• Sydney Children's Hospital Network "Kids Don't Fly"

 

Register Now! Strata Owners Seminar

SIX MONTHS ON FROM THE NEW STRATA LAWS: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

The new strata regulations came into force on 30 November 2016. How have the new laws affected owners and the industry so far?

Our expert speakers will discuss the changes and their ramifications with you.

Colin Grace - Grace Lawyers

Michael Courtney - NSW Fair Trading

Scott Martin - Managing Director, Strata Choice

When: Wednesday 17 May 2017

Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm (tea & coffee will be provided)

Where: Premier Room, Kirribilli Club, 11 Harbourview Crescent, Lavender Bay NSW 2060

Cost: FREE for SCA (NSW) Strata Owner Chapter Members $50 Fee for Non-Members & Guests (includes complimentary membership until 30 June 2018) *conditions apply

Click here to register

In what can be best described as character building conditions, thanks to constant rain and a heavy dump during the night, the event was a huge success.

• Total funds raised edging towards an incredible $500,000 (an all time record)
• Over 1,400 registered walkers (a three fold increase from 2016)
• Bright & Duggan team had over 30 staff join us throughout the day plus teams of supporters from our partner companies in strata.

Time to let the blisters heal, the clothes dry and muscles ease.

Big thanks to the incredible team at Cystic Fibrosis NSW for delivering such a high quality and well organised fundraiser.

The 65K 4 65 Roses Walkathon is an annual fun walk and endurance event held to raise funds for the fight against cystic fibrosis. Bright & Duggan have been a proud major sponsor of this event for five years and have seen the event grow each year from a handful of participants to over 1,000 people competing today.

The 2017 65K 4 65 Roses Walkathon will be held on Saturday February 25th 2017. The iconic walk will take place around Sydney's Iron Cove Bay, with a base camp at Leichhardt Park. 65K 4 65 Roses is named after the ultra-marathon distance of 65 kilometres, and uses the name 65 Roses, which is the nickname for cystic fibrosis. Participants can choose to walk or run as many 7km laps as wanted.

Presently, the charity has raised $285,000 to date but needs your help to reach the $500,000 target. If you would like to support this worthy cause, please click on the below link which will direct you to the Bright & Duggan team page and nominate a participant to sponsor. Your support will be most appreciated.

This is a great day out for family and friends with entertainment, music and food. Come and join us at the Bright & Duggan team tent at base camp with water station, massage therapist and support crew (including a Bright & Duggan water boy) and help cheer along the team.

All proceeds from the 65k 4 65 Roses Walkathon go towards helping The Children's Hospital at Westmead and Cystic Fibrosis NSW who provide vital support to those with cystic fibrosis.

Many thanks for your support.

The Bright & Duggan Team

Click here to Sponsor the team

The changing Strata Laws and what they mean to you

On the 30 November 2016, the new NSW strata laws came into effect which are the first significant change in strata law since 1996. The new legislation is broadly intended to reduce red tape, facilitate more modern technology and deal with an increasingly complex building defects process.

Please click here to visit the Fair Trading website for a summary of the key changes

How Bright & Duggan is supporting you with these changes?

Whilst elements of the new legislation changes are complex, Bright & Duggan has made significant changes and invested heavily to help guide our customers through this new legislation. We have implemented upgrades to our systems, processes, procedures and intensive staff training to ensure we are best prepared to assist you and your strata scheme to comply with the new legislation.

NOTE: as these laws are new, there will be a period of uncertainly around interpretation and application, and we request your patience during this time.

What we have done to prepare for the new laws;

• Introduced new templates for meetings, notices and documentation to be compliant with the new legislation;
• Introduced a new strata management agency agreement to capture the obligations under the new Act;
• Undertaken extensive internal staff training and specialist content expert presentations;
• System Upgrades - Major IT upgrade across our platform to provide flexibility for future communication and interface requirements.
• Electronic meetings - investigation and beta testing of various online and pre-voting meeting platforms to ensure we can provide market leading options for our customer base - watch this space!
• Re-engineered business processes to ensure compliance with new Act obligations.
• The development of fact sheets relating to the law changes - available on our website.

Did you know?

Bright & Duggan were recently awarded the 2016 Large Strata Management Business of the Year by Strata Community Australia (NSW) - the peak industry body of strata management. This represented back to back wins for Bright & Duggan, having also being awarded the 2015 award. As Australia's strata leader, you can turn to Bright & Duggan to guide you through these historic changes impacting on the strata sector. Also at the same awards, Alex Borzilo, was crowned "Strata Manager of the Year" which is a fantastic achievement.

We are delighted to announce that our joint managing director, Chris Duggan, has been appointed President of Strata Community Australia (NSW). SCA (NSW) is an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the fostering and recognition of professionalism, excellence and harmonious communities in all aspects of strata living. SCA (NSW) members manage approx 75% of all strata lots in NSW.

Hear from our Joint Managing Director & Strata Community Australia (NSW) President talk about the new strata laws on Sydney radio.

Click here to listen to the segment