More information on the Let's Talk Strata podcast guest Speakers

The success of the Let's Talk Strata podcast is owed to the high calibre of its guests, whose wealth of knowledge and experience shared in the Podcast offer valuable insights on complex and practical Strata matters alike. 
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The Let's Talk Strata podcast Speakers are mainly industry leaders, decision makers, professionals and experts who generously provide their valuable time to raise awareness into matters that affect the Body Corporate industry. Our listeners then benefit from their invaluable viewpoints and expert advice.
Lynn Smith
Senior Community Education Officer
Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA)
Lynn Smith is a Senior Community Education Officer with the Residential Tenancies Authority. Her role involves raising awareness of RTA services, rights and responsibilities of tenants, landlords and agents and providing information and education on the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.
Lynn has worked at the RTA for over 13 years, including five years as a Senior Conciliator in the RTA’s dispute resolution service before joining the Communication and Education team. Lynn has delivered presentations and webinars across Queensland to diverse audiences including landlords, agents, tenants and other community and stakeholder groups.
Prior to joining the RTA, Lynn worked in the private rental sector for over 20 years in New South Wales and Queensland. With over 30 years’ experience with tenancy laws, Lynn shares her experiences and practical knowledge with industry stakeholders and clients.
 
RTA Information
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) is the Queensland Government statutory authority which administers the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008. The RTA’s vision is renting that works for everyone, and we support the sector by administering the Act’s provisions, providing impartial and free advice to all parties involved in a tenancy and enabling the Queensland renting community to understand and comply with Queensland residential rental market regulations.
The RTA provides state-wide tenancy information and support, rental bond management, dispute resolution, investigations and prosecutions, communication, education and stakeholder engagement services.
Tenancy information, forms, factsheets and publications can be found at rta.qld.gov.au
 
Residential Tenancies Authority
Phone 1300 366 311
Website rta.qld.gov.a
Coralie Mott
Director
CTS Management
Coralie first became involved in the Strata Industry in NSW in 1980 when she joined Bright & Duggan, Strata Managers, based in Crow’s Nest, Sydney, as a Meeting Convenor. This initiation was invaluable as Coralie was involved with a whole range of Buildings- from small to large which were located in an area from Hornsby to Penrith and down to Cronulla, covering a range of socio-economic groups. Given her teaching experience, Coralie’s handling of meetings and disputes were of second nature to her.

Coralie moved to Queensland in 1991 and established her first Body Corporate Management business, ‘Body Corp Management Pty Ltd’ in 1992. In 1993 she joined the Body Corporate Managers’ Institute of Qld (BCMIQ) which later was renamed to the Community Titles Institute of QLD (CTIQ). Over a period of many years, Coralie was an active Member of the Institute, and eventually became a Director. For several years Coralie lead the Education Committee and the Conference Committee, organising many events, including conferences for the Industry.

In 2006 Coralie established another body corporate management business, CTS Management Pty Ltd ‘from scratch’. CTS Management P/L is currently recognised as a ‘medium –sized’ Body Corporate Management Company. It is based in Milton, Brisbane.
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Coralie remains committed to the Strata Industry by devoting hours of her voluntary time to various groups including the Building Managers’ Association, ARAMA, and Body Corporate Committees.
Daniel Wignall
Principal Lawyer - Litigation and Dispute Resolution, QLD
MK Lawyers
Daniel has extensive experience practising in the areas of commercial litigation and restructuring, property and planning appeals, and the full spectrum of body corporate disputes including management rights matters in QCAT, adjudications in the Commissioner's Office, and unpaid levy recovery matters in the Courts.
Daniel is just as comfortable inside the courtroom as he is advising in a committee meeting or observing the conduct of a general meeting. Daniel enjoys communicating simply to clients without delving into complex legalese.
Daniel has appeared in the Magistrates Court, District Court (including the Planning & Environment Court) Supreme Court, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the High Court of Australia.

Significant matters:
  • Urgent Commissioner's Office application– successfully applied to the BCCM Commissioner's Office for an urgent ex parte order to approve fire safety spending over the committee's spending limit.
  • Large residential body corporate – acted for a body corporate for a residential scheme, caught in the middle of a dispute between competing fibre optic suppliers in the Federal Court, achieving a resolution
  • Finance industry – successfully negotiated compromise of complex dispute involving various cross collateralised loans to Financial Ombudsman Service on behalf of a client against a large Australian financial service provider.
  • Mining industry – acted in the Supreme Court of Queensland for damages of $10 million dollars for breach of contract against one of Australia’s largest mining companies.
  • Property developer – acted in Supreme Court of Queensland proceedings on behalf of a developer who sought damages of approximately $20 million dollars against a large international investment bank for breach of contract and misrepresentation.
Deryck Walker
strata management consultant, 
COURSE DEVELOPER AND FACILITATOR AT RMIT UNIVERSITY
Deryck Walker is a strata management consultant, course developer and facilitator at RMIT University, with 16 years of combined industry experience, 13 of which were spent as a Managing Director in Strata Management.

Entering the industry at the age of 21 in 2003 provided a unique opportunity to experience both the “old ways” and methods of strata management, as well as the transition to modern strata management as it is known today.

​With a passion for the industry and extensive experience, Deryck seeks to use knowledge and experiences gained at the coal face to bring relevance and effectiveness to vocational training for the next generation of strata managers.  
Trevor Rawnsley​
CEO of ARAMA​
Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association​
Trevor Rawnsley is the CEO of ARAMA (Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association) the not for profit peak industry body for people involved in Management Rights. Trevor will deliver practical insight into how effective the BCCM Act is in modern density living in Queensland.

The Australian Resident Accommodation Manager’s Association (ARAMA) is the peak body for the Management Rights Industry and represents more than 2500 Resident Managers across the country.

ARAMA seeks to serve the corporate and industry needs of members in order that ARAMA can properly represent the interests of all stakeholders and the resident accommodation industry as a whole.
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ARAMA provides benefits for its members including industry representation on issues that directly impact the viability of member businesses.
Jason Carlson
Partner and ​Director 
GRACE LAWYERS
Jason Carlson began practising law in 2008, and quickly developed a passion for strata. From a very early stage in his career, he focused exclusively on strata. He is now a director of Grace Lawyers, a firm that acts for bodies corporate, owners corporations and strata managers across all eastern seaboard states.

Jason joined Grace Lawyers in 2015 as a 29 year old. In that same year, he was listed as a finalist in the Dispute Resolution category of the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30, an awards program that identifies the best young lawyers across Australia. He was one of only two finalists in that category from Queensland, and the only finalist practicing in strata law.

Unsurprisingly, Jason is the youngest member of the firm’s partnership and was brought on board to grow the strata law practice in Queensland. During his first three years at the helm, the firm’s Queensland practice has tripled in size and revenue.

In 2016, Jason was elected to the Board of Directors of Strata Community Association (Qld), the peak industry body for strata, and has been a member of its Legislation Committee since 2013. As a director of SCA (Qld), he has led the charge in improving the quality and engagement levels of its educational offerings, and pushed for the introduction of support networks for new entrants to the strata management industry. At its AGM in October 2018, he was re-elected to the Board for another two years.
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While studying law at Griffith University, Jason also completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in psychology and philosophy. This motivated his considered approach to legal practice in which he takes a big picture view of the matters he assists with, and looks to help his clients apply the law as a technique of behavioural management. This is particularly relevant to the strata industry, which is founded upon people living together in dense environments, and the challenges that arise from that.
 
Ross Anderson
Secretary/ Vice-President
Unit Owners Association of Queensland (UOAQ)​
Ross is currently Secretary/ Vice-President of the Unit Owners Association of Queensland (UOAQ).

He has been a member since 2002, becoming more actively involved when retirement allowed for closer attention to the issues being encountered by unit owners like himself.

Crucial to his understanding of these matters was the professional advice and guidance he received from the UOAQ.
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Ross has become increasingly involved with helping other members of the UOAQ achieve sound management of their unit complexes, within the ambit of the law.
James Nickless
​Vice President of SCA ​
GENERAL COUNSEL / MEMBER OF THE MAXSOFT TEAM
James Nickless specialises in all aspects of Strata Law and in his position as General Counsel is a valued member of the MaxSoft team. 

James, a previous Partner at ClarkeKann Lawyers and Grace Lawyers, has served on the Legislation and Policy Committee of SCA (Qld) since 2013.

James is passionate about advancing the Strata Industry and regularly presents seminars on various aspects of Strata Law and professional development to clients, industry groups and Universities, including the SCA A100 program.

As an experienced negotiator and litigator, James has provided advice and representation to clients on a range of strata management and corporate governance matters, including meeting procedures, by-law enforcement, defamation, contractual obligations, leasing, licencing, transfers of common property, as well as Management Rights transfers. In addition to his governance expertise and advice, James has been regularly called upon to resolve high-value building and construction disputes including negotiating the completion of defective building items, contractual disputes and payment claims.
Frank Higginson
Partner / Director
​Hynes Legal
Frank joined Hynes Legal in 2001. He became a partner/director in 2004 and since then has whittled his practice down to the two keys areas for strata law in Queensland ‐ body corporate law and management rights.

He and his team are the only experts in Queensland that truly specialise in both of these areas of law. 

Frank is a fellow of the Australian College of Community Lawyers, is admitted in Queensland, New South Wales, the High Court of Australia as well as England and Wales.

Frank is also one of the few panel lawyers to ARAMA, the peak management rights body.
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There are very few strata issues Frank has not seen in 25 years plus of practice.
Prof. Michael Weir
Faculty of Law
Bond University ​
Professor Weir entered academia with the faculty of law Bond University after broad experience as a solicitor in private legal practice in commercial and property law including strata title. In his academic career Professor Weir has published extensively on Land Law, Planning Law and Medicine and the law. Professor Weir is a co-author of the textbook Real Property Law in Queensland, LBC (4th edition, 2015).

Professor Weir has been teaching land law for 28 years which included lectures and negotiation skills modules in relation to Strata Title.

Professor Weir recently published an article “Strata title, dispute resolution and law reform in Queensland” (2018) 26 Australian Property Law Journal based upon a paper presented at the 14th Australasian Property Law Teachers Conference 2017, Curtin University, Perth, September 2017.
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Professor Weir has substantial experience as a company director and as a university manager including terms as Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Research) for the faculty of law Bond University.
John Mahoney
Founding partner 
Mahoneys Lawyers
​John is one of the founding partners of Mahoneys and is now the firm’s managing partner and head of the management rights and property law team. He was admitted as a lawyer in Queensland in 1978 and in New South Wales in 1990.

Since 1991 John has practiced extensively in body corporate law and predominantly in the area of management rights. John was heavily involved in the formulation of the 1997 legislation and subsequent reviews and amendments to the legislation.

Mahoneys has a significant litigation team with particular expertise in body corporate law. Significant disputes they have handled include the High Court Viridian Noosa Residences case.
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John has also lectured in body corporate law at UQ for approximately 4 years.
Chris Irons
The body corporate commissioner of QlD
With over a decade of experience in leadership roles with the Queensland Government, Chris has a wealth of experience in areas as diverse as real estate, liquor and gaming and tourism policy and legislation, as well as his ongoing role as Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, which is part of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
 
As Commissioner, Chris leads his team of 30 officers in providing information and dispute resolution services to Queensland’s community titles sector. The Commissioner’s Office has exclusive jurisdiction to resolve body corporate disputes, while its information service aims to prevent disputes from escalating. In particular, Chris plays an active role in engaging with the diverse stakeholders of this sector and is a regular presenter at body corporate seminars, forums and conferences. Chris sees this part of his role as vital in ensuring his Office remains responsive to demand, as well as ensuring his Office can be at the forefront of innovative service delivery.
 
One of the ways Chris is helping to achieve this is through his academic placement for six months in 2018. Chris undertook a research project in the School of Information Systems, part of the Queensland University of Technology at Gardens Point in Brisbane. Researching and analysing approaches to service delivery, with particular reference to the public sector, Chris is looking forward to rolling out some innovations from this work in the near future.
Recent episodes

ABOUT Marc Mercier

​​Marc is a body corporate lawyer and author of the legal practitioner textbook Body Corporate Law in Qld: Practice and Procedure (released in April 2018 by the eminent legal publisher Wolters Kluwer CCH).  

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