Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - Waratah Strata Management Coercing Fair Trading NSW and Police

Welcome to the blog of NSW strata investigative journalism

Primary audience on the website are SP52948 owners (current and previous), tenants, investors, and potential buyers in strata complex.

Number of SP52948 owners, tenants, and investors expressed gratitude towards this website as that was the only way to gain access to lot of critical information, which is not available in minutes and notices of meetings, or on Waratah Strata website.

Public is voicing strong concerns about problems with Tribunals. Issues with strata complexes and dubious quality of services provided by those who should enforce laws are common and frequent.

The rest of the audience is anyone who might be interested in problems with strata schemes in NSW...

Democracy should be the leading avenue for managing strata complexes. But, democracy requires high level of sense and ethics, and right for all owners to have full access to strata files in order to make informed decisions. And when that does not happen, how to proceed? One way is to educate public and rise awareness that license to be a strata manager is one of the easiest in any industry: Strata Community Australia (SCA) are offering a three-day course on qualifying to be a strata manager with no prior educational requirements (apparently educational requirements are fulfilled by completing the course).

Major news on 14 May 2025: strata manager Michael Lee, featured in the Strata Trap report on ABC TV’s Four Corners, was the first in NSW to be banned for life from operating as a strata manager. Lee was also been fined $11,000, his company, Result Strata Management, had its licence cancelled and it fined $22,000. Lee who was just three days from the end of a four-month suspension issued in January, was the first strata manager in NSW to be “struck off” purely for the way they conducted their business. Lee was featured in the ABC report using hired “security” to prevent owners from entering the AGM to vote against him and his committee. Lee, an owner in the building, was its strata committee chairperson as well as its strata manager. After a long-running investigation, Fair Trading found that, under Lee’s direction, the company had failed to disclose conflicts of interest, consistently breached rules of conduct, charged fees for services not rendered, and failed to ensure that owners’ properties complied with critical fire and safety obligations. In addition, it did not provide information to owners when required, acted contrary to instructions given at general meetings, and failed to make sure a building had adequate insurance cover. As a result, he became the first strata manager to be banned for life.

Examples of legal cases terminated contracts with strata and building managers in Australia

The owner of the website was exposed to multiple threats and indimidation tactics by BCS Strata Management (until 31 January 2017) and Waratah Strata Management (since 1 February 2017), which included unsuccessful defamation attempts, false statements to owners in notices of the meetings, prevention of access to SP52948 strata documents (and even Strata Rolls), preventing the owner from conducting duties of committee member whilst allowing unfinancial owners to do it, supported verbal threats, stalking, and intimidation of the owners, and refusal to attend free mediations at NSW Fair Trading, whilst providing false statements to CTTT and NCAT through the same Solicitor.

There is no website which covers more detailed events related to strata issues with direct evidence than this one in Australia (trust through verification).

This website does not have any desire or intent to add own comments and therefore it is up to anybody to make up their own conclusions based on evidence and statements by others who did it in public forums, in courts, or elsewhere. All files on this website were provided to Fair Trading NSW, Office of Legal Services Commissioner, CTTT (now NCAT), District Court, Supreme Court, and Police.

  1. In secret email to Fair Trading NSW on 17 May 2019, Waratah Strata Management confirmed that democracy applied to all and then continued to make false statements which Lot 158 never made:

    SP52948-Waratah-Strata-Management-email-to-Fair-Trading-NSW-with-their-definition-of-democracy-17May2019.webp

  2. Waratah Strata Management urging Police not to investigate whilst refusing access to files with evidence of fraud that Lot 158 alleged in April 2018:

    SP52948-Waratah-Strata-Management-urging-Police-not-to-investigate-whilst-refusing-access-to-files-with-evidence-of-fraud-that-Lot-owner-alleges-Apr2018.webp

  3. Waratah Strata Management bluntly confirming to Fair Trading NSW that they would not provide Strata Roll to Lot 158, in clear non-compliance with SSMA 2015 and SSMR 2016, on 20 May 2019:

    SP52948-Waratah-Strata-Management-preventing-owner-from-access-to-Strata-Roll-and-urging-Fair-Trading-NSW-to-do-the-same-20May2019.webp

  4. At Annual General Meeting in October 2020, Lot 158 gave opportunity to owners corporation to ratify many past events, including "Motion: Ratify emails sent to Fair Trading NSW and the Police by Waratah Strata Management urging them not to investigate":
    • Waratah Strata Management email to the Police in April 2018

    • Waratah Strata Management email to Fair Trading NSW urging them not to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement on 17 May 2019

  5. At Annual General Meeting on 22 October 2020, owners corporation allegedly did not approve ratification of past events, making all such events void and invalid:

    SP52948-AGM-2020-all-Lot-158-Motions-for-ratification-of-past-events-not-approved.webp

  6. Waratah Strata Management claims that they "provide personal, professional guidance and advice on all issues that strata owners may encounter and promptly attend to all maintenance issues and general enquiries".