🚫 Can a Body Corporate Keep an Unapproved Sign Because "Everyone Knew About It"?

leigh_oliver
Jul 15
2 min read

Condor [2026] QBCCMCmr 219 (13 July 2026)

Another interesting Queensland adjudication has highlighted an important governance principle that applies equally to strata schemes across Australia:

If common property improvements require approval, that approval should be properly documented. 📝

🏢 The Background

An owner challenged the installation of a "No Ball Games" sign that had been erected on common property.

The owner argued that:

❌ there was no recorded committee or general meeting resolution approving the sign;
❌ the installation was therefore unauthorised; and
❌ the sign should be removed unless owners formally approved it.

🤔 The Body Corporate's Position

The body corporate responded that:

✅ the committee had discussed the sign years earlier;
✅ everyone involved understood the sign was to be installed;
✅ the sign had remained in place for approximately 10 years without objection; and
✅ although formal records could not now be located, the decision had effectively been made at the time.

⚖️ What Did the Adjudicator Decide?

The adjudicator dismissed the application and allowed the sign to remain.

Importantly, the decision did not say that keeping poor records is acceptable.

Instead, the adjudicator found that:

✔️ It is not uncommon for records from many years ago to be incomplete.

✔️ The absence of records does not automatically prove that no approval was ever given.

✔️ The sign had been openly displayed for many years without challenge, supporting the body corporate's position that approval had likely occurred.

✔️ Even if there had been a procedural defect, the law can allow a body corporate to ratify decisions made on its behalf.

📚 Why This Matters

For strata managers, councils of owners and committees, this case is a useful reminder that:

✅ Decisions affecting common property should always be properly recorded in meeting minutes.

✅ Minutes are more than an administrative exercise—they are evidence that decisions were lawfully made.

✅ Good record keeping protects future committees, owners and strata managers.

What About Western Australia?

Although this decision was made under Queensland legislation, the governance lesson is universal.

In Western Australia, councils of owners should ensure that approvals for common property improvements are clearly documented in meeting minutes or resolutions. Years later, those records may become the only evidence that a decision was properly authorised.

While this case ultimately worked in the body corporate's favour, it also demonstrates the risk of relying on memories rather than records.