Walker Corporation Pty Ltd v The Owners Strata Plan No 61618

Walker Corporation Pty Ltd (Walker) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision concerning the appointment of strata managing agents for three owner corporations within the Finger Wharf development at Woolloomooloo. The owner corporations had passed resolutions to terminate the appointment of the existing strata managing agent and appoint a new one. This action was in contrast to the appointment of a managing agent for the Wharf as a whole by the building management committee.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether a specific clause within the strata management statement (SMS) was inconsistent with the *Strata Schemes Management Act 2015* (NSW), whether that clause was authorised by the *Strata Schemes Development Act 2015* (NSW), or if the clause was otherwise uncertain. The clause in question required the owner corporations to "appoint and retain" the same strata managing agent as the one appointed by the building management committee for the Wharf as a whole.

The Court of Appeal found that the clause in the SMS was not authorised by the *Strata Schemes Development Act 2015* (NSW) and was therefore invalid. The Court reasoned that the Act did not permit the imposition of such a restrictive requirement on owner corporations regarding the appointment of their strata managing agents, as it fettered their statutory power to appoint and remove such agents. The Court concluded that the clause sought to achieve an outcome that the legislation did not contemplate or permit.

The appeal was dismissed, with the Court of Appeal upholding the primary judge's decision. Walker Corporation was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.