Sunaust Properties Pty Ltd t/as Central Sydney Realty v The Owners - Strata Plan No 64807

The applicant, Sunaust Properties Pty Ltd trading as Central Sydney Realty, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Appeal Panel of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). The dispute concerned the termination of a caretaker agreement entered into in 2001 between Sunaust Properties and the respondent, The Owners - Strata Plan No 64807. Sunaust Properties sought to set aside an order made by NCAT terminating the agreement.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether NCAT had the power to terminate the caretaker agreement under section 72 of the *Strata Schemes Management Act 2015* (NSW), given that the agreement predated the commencement of that Act, and whether the Appeal Panel had erred by remitting the matter back to a single NCAT member without addressing a fundamental jurisdictional issue. The Court also considered the interpretation of transitional provisions relating to caretaker agreements entered into before the commencement of the 2015 Act.

The Court of Appeal found that the Appeal Panel had erred in remitting the matter without considering the jurisdictional question of whether section 72 of the *Strata Schemes Management Act 2015* applied retrospectively to agreements entered into before its commencement. However, the Court ultimately dismissed the appeal, concluding that NCAT did possess the power to terminate the agreement under the relevant legislation. The Court granted leave to appeal but upheld the decision of the Appeal Panel, ordering Sunaust Properties to pay the respondent's costs.