No intercom: no contact

With Star Track, anyway. They will not (are not allowed to) use their phones to advise me they’re there; so they end up taking my parcels back to the PO. Fine when parcels are manageable.
Currently I have one UNmanageable that’s somewhere in limbo, with another even less manageable due next week.
Question: why is a Body Corporate not legally obliged to provide intercoms where there are secuity doors ?

It’s a useful observation and question.

Body Corporates aka Owners Corporations are generally responsible for maintenance, repairs and services. Our experience is that sometimes building requirements EG fire safety, change and the BC/OC need to respond.

Would it fall back to the National Building Code and State Government Regulations for building and construction, and not a legislative change applied to a Body Corporate? In the fullness of time for any form of a response.

Applying changes retrospectively to older buildings can be very difficult or expensive. A BC/OC could decide to independently improve a building with a call system, parcel delivery boxes etc for the occupiers convenience. Personal experience suggests similar voluntary decisions are only likely where the greater majority of owners are also the occupiers.

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First thing to do is talk to the BC/OC Manager, and ask them what can be done as it is unacceptable to have no communications available for visitors who to the premises to get in contact with residents. What would happen if emergency services needed to get to an apartment? Talk to other residents, particularly owners, and see if you can get support for the retro-fitting of an intercom system (if it’s feasible).

If nothing is forthcoming, perhaps you could ask permission to install your own wireless intercom outside the security doors? I think you mentioned previously some difficulty getting out and about. You could say that due to this you require services to come to you, and you are currently unaware if people wish to come to your apartment.

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FWIW
Since Dec 2007, when the Owners Corporation Act came into force, Body Corporate has become ‘Owners Corporation’.

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From Victoria police an owners corporation security audit pro forma - nothing about legislation, just the bits to take note of and act on as the OC sees fit.

It might be insightful for @M-R and her fellow residents to understand how they are operating?

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As a Renter you can only let your problem be known to the owner of the flat you’re renting (through the property manager if there’s one).

Your problem is being caused by StarTrack not calling you when delivering your items. Maybe you could get your items delivered by some other delivery service?

Keep in mind that even if the OC would decide to retrofit intercoms the rentals would go up accordingly.

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Apologies, I was responding as if to a wider spectrum of readers by referencing both. Depending on which state or territory the terminology varies. NSW and Vic have Owners Corporations. Queensland remains wedded to Body Corporate. WA has it’s own flavour. :wink:

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