Your committee deserves an independent expert on its side.
Body corporate managers answer to their own business. We answer only to you. Harding Strata Advisory gives committees and lot owners honest, conflict-free advice on governance, finances, contracts and by-laws — so you can decide with confidence.
We find what they don't tell you
Undisclosed management fees, inflated insurance commissions, Schedule B charges that shouldn't exist — we read the fine print so your committee doesn't have to guess.
No split loyalties
We don't manage buildings, take referral commissions, or hold relationships with contractors. We are engaged by you, paid by you, and our advice goes to you alone.
Practical, written deliverables
Every engagement produces a clear, written report — not verbal opinions, not vague summaries. Documents your committee can act on, share and rely upon.
Services for committees and lot owners
From a one-off review to an ongoing monthly retainer — every service is scoped upfront with a fixed fee and a named deliverable.
Management Contract Review & Tendering
We independently assess your current management agreement — fee structures, hidden charges, performance clauses, termination rights — then advise whether to renegotiate, re-tender, or walk away. For committees going to tender, we run the full process.
Levy & Financial Health Audit
Are your levies funding the right things? Is your sinking fund on track? We review your financial statements, sinking fund forecast, administrative fund performance and insurance arrangement — including any commissions your manager may not have disclosed.
By-Law Audit & Modernisation
Outdated by-laws create disputes. We review your scheme's by-laws against the current BCCM Act, flag anything unenforceable or in conflict with legislation, identify gaps, and draft replacement by-laws that are modern, compliant and practical for your scheme type.
Dispute Support & QCAT Preparation
When a dispute escalates, committees often face it alone while the other party has professional representation. We help you document your position, understand your rights under the BCCM Act, prepare your application or response, and build a clear, evidence-based case file.
Committee Advisory Retainer
For committees who want ongoing, independent oversight — not just a one-off review. Each month we review your manager's report, brief you ahead of committee meetings, and remain available for governance and compliance questions. An independent expert on call.
Pre-Purchase Strata Review
Buying into a body corporate scheme is a major financial decision. Before you sign, we review the body corporate records and advise on the scheme's financial health, management quality, known issues, and any red flags that could affect your investment or lifestyle.
The conflicts your manager won't tell you about.
Queensland's body corporate industry has a structural problem: the people paid to manage your building often hold financial interests that conflict directly with yours.
Body corporate managers are paid by the body corporate — but their real loyalty is to their own business. When a management contract comes up for renewal, who advises your committee? Usually no one. When your manager recommends a contractor, do they receive a referral fee? Often. When you review the financials, can you tell how much your manager actually earns from your scheme? Rarely.
The problem compounds in hotel-managed complexes, where an operator may hold management rights and significant lot ownership in the same scheme. That can create a voting bloc able to elect friendly committees, pass resolutions in the operator's commercial interest, and insulate poor management from accountability. This is not a theoretical risk — it is a structural reality.
Insurance commissions are another hidden layer. Multiple parties in the chain can each take a cut — a cost ultimately borne by owners through their levies, and frequently never disclosed at all.
Harding Strata Advisory holds no management contracts, receives no commissions from insurers or contractors, does not act for building managers or caretakers, and has no commercial relationship with any manager referenced in our engagements. We work exclusively for committees and lot owners. This independence is a continuing obligation — not a marketing line.
Built for committees who want real answers
We work with committees and lot owners across Queensland — particularly where the power imbalance between management and owners is most pronounced.
Hotel-brand & resort complexes
Schemes where a hotel operator holds management rights and significant lots — creating structural conflicts that need independent oversight to counterbalance.
High priorityFrustrated committees
Committees who aren't getting straight answers from management, can't get visibility over the finances, or suspect fees are higher than they should be.
Most commonCommittees facing renewal
Management agreements approaching expiry, committees considering a change, or schemes that have never independently reviewed what they're signed up to.
Time-sensitiveDisputes & enforcement
Committees navigating a by-law dispute, facing a caretaker performance issue, or preparing for QCAT proceedings without professional advisory support.
Dispute supportProspective buyers
Individuals considering a lot in a strata scheme who want an independent read on the body corporate's financial health and governance quality before they sign.
Pre-purchaseProactive committees
Well-run committees who want an independent set of eyes on retainer — an expert who flags issues before they become expensive problems.
Retainer clientsWhat to expect when you engage us
Every engagement starts with a no-obligation conversation. We scope the work, agree a fixed fee, and deliver a written report.
Free initial call
Tell us what's happening. We ask the right questions and recommend the most appropriate service — or tell you honestly if we're not the right fit.
Engagement letter
We send a clear engagement letter setting out scope, deliverable, fee and timeline. No work starts until you've signed it.
Independent review
We analyse the documents, financial records or agreements — with no access granted to, or pressure from, the manager or operator.
Written report
You receive a clear, written report your committee can act on — including specific recommendations and suggested next steps.
Built from committee experience, not management
Harding Strata Advisory was founded by someone who sat on the committee side of the table — not the management side.
Most body corporate consultants in Queensland come from backgrounds in management, legal practice or insurance. That brings expertise — but also professional networks, commercial relationships and sometimes financial interests that can shade the advice they give.
Oscar Harding founded Harding Strata Advisory with a different perspective. As a lot owner and committee member in a Queensland hotel-managed complex, he saw firsthand what it's like to sit across from a well-resourced operator with no access to independent advice — and how real, significant and rarely-discussed the information gap between managers and committees can be.
That experience drove a close study of the BCCM Act 1997, body corporate financial structures, management-contract law, and the patterns of failure that repeat across hotel-brand and investor-heavy schemes.
The result is a consultancy built around a single question: what does the committee actually need to know?
"I started this because committees deserve access to independent advice — not just the opinions of people paid by the system they're meant to keep honest."
Start with a free conversation
Not sure what you need? That's fine. Tell us what's happening with your scheme and we'll point you in the right direction — no fee, no obligation.
oscar@hardingstrata.com.au
We respond within one business day.
Phone / call back
Available for a call at short notice. Leave your name, scheme address and the nature of your query.