Waratah Strata Management

Unprofessional, irresponsible, and ignorant. As a female owner, I can state that their work supports discrimination, inequitable rights, and creates significant long-term financial, health, and safety risks. I have significant respiratory problems and strata manager failed to provide proper air flow in one bathroom and laundry since 2018. Water… Read more

leaks in sunroom occurring for more than five years...

This review is based on monitoring behavior of several strata managers at Waratah Strata Management who acted as strata managers for large complex in Sydney for nine years.

In financial year ending on 31 August 2023, my complex was under-insured (property valued at $146,550,000.00 was under-insured by $16,937,850.00 for catastrophe events), and in March 2025 complex was under-insured (property valued at $177,400,000.00 was insured for buildings for only $153,877,500.00). Under pressure from NSW Fair Trading, after their Senior Inspectors had attended Waratah Strata Management offices in September 2025, they secretly asked insurance company to update the insurance policy and increase insured value for the property to its full value (it was under-insured by more than $21 millions since March 2025). Insurance company charged extra $9,734.47 without owners corporation approval at any meeting.

In FY 2026, Waratah Strata Management insured the large strata complex, at significantly increased excesses and office bearers liability clause completely removed due to past legal risks (which even included being forced to repay $8,800.00 to CHU Insurance for alleged legal costs in 2014, four years after the events in 2017) - property valued at $186,970,000.00 was listed as having last insurance valuations of only $177,400,000.00 on 21 March 2026. The insurance renewal on 21 March 2026 wrongly claimed that the last insurance valuation was on 20 January 2025, where the real date was 5 February 2026. Nobody visited the complex before making insurance valuations on 20 January 2025 and 5 February 2026 - last physically inspection of the site was on 6 October 2021!

Due to long-term neglect and refusal to maintain common property (as an example, damaged entrance to complex has not been repaired for seven months), delayed Council fire orders since 2015 (and only now rushing to spend more than $900,000.00 for overdue fire safety upgrades), insurance renewal on 21 March 2026 significantly increased the excesses and increased the premium by 14.68% for the same half-year period in FY 2025. The insurance excesses in FY 2025 were $2,500.00 for water damage only, and in FY 2026 there are many more, at much higher cost:

Water Damage $5,000.00

Burst Pipe $5,000.00

Flood $5,000.00

Earthquake - insurer PDS

Fire $25,000.00

All Other Claims $5,000.00

How bad the maintenance of the complex is best shown by one example and a photo: in July 2012 Napier & Blakeley conducted a thorough professional inspection of the complex and concluded that all four roofs of the buildings needed significant repairs. This report was never disclosed to owners or discussed at general meetings.

Two of the buildings were allegedly repaired in 2015, at cost above $180,000.00. Due to long-term neglect of roofs, service provider decreased warranties for roof membranes to only five years (down from originally expected 15 years). As a consequence, in spite of repetitive complaints and leakages, Waratah Strata Management was forced to organize a committee meeting on 25 February 2026 (this would normally had to be done at general meeting), where one of the "decisions" was to urgently repair the membrane on one of those buildings at cost of $27,000.00 (excl GST). Two out of four other buildings have not been done yet (14 years after the Napier & Blakeley's report), making them not properly maintained for almost 29 years!

Planning for maintenance of roofs was allegedly delayed until year 2023 in 10-Year Capital Works Fund Plan in March 2017 without consultation with owners corporation. The most revealing figures are related to when to rectify roof problems (major issue in the complex):

In plan in March 2017, it was recommended to complete the work in August 2023 at estimated cost of $571,275.00. In plan in October 2021, it was recommended to delay the work to September 2031 at estimated cost of $900,722.00.

For the second year in a row, negative balance (deficit) in Admin Fund was "achieved" at the end of financial year:

FY 2024: -$45,584.29

FY 2025: -$72.572.18

On 30 April 2025 Admin Fund recorded negative balance of -$375,415.62, highest negative balance ever achieved in this complex. Waratah Strata Management never reported it to owners at any meeting.

In minutes of meeting on 23 September 2021, shortage of $1,515,541.00 was reported in Capital Works Fund against the forecast in April 2017 that was approved without general meeting.

"The ‘Act’ allows for loans between funds, but not for a period greater than 3 months. Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 - Section 76 Part (2) states that the Owner’s Corporation must, not later than 3 months after the transfer or use, determine by resolution at a general meeting whether the money, or part of the money, should be reimbursed to the fund from which it was transferred or paid.

Section 79 Part (3) requires that when estimating amounts needed to be credited to the administrative fund or the capital works fund, the Owners Corporation must have before it, and take into account, a statement of the existing financial situation of the strata scheme and an estimate of receipts and payments.

When the budget is being considered by the Owners Corporation at the next Annual General Meeting, the Administrative Fund should be brought back into surplus by increasing the annual budget for the fund in deficit to cover both the anticipated expenditure for the financial year plus the deficit brought forward from the previous year.

For most years, Waratah Strata Management acted and still acts as Treasurer, Secretary, and Chairperson for the complex, without allowing reviews of their work.

On 23 August 2025, I sent an email to strata manager, who did not reply. Three months later, on 5 November 2025, another strata manager from Waratah Strata Management admitted they "lost" my email.

It is difficult to say a good word for them.