In conciliation an independent person who understands body corporate law (a conciliator employed by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General) helps you and the other parties try to resolve your dispute.
The information on this page only applies if your body corporate has a community titles scheme (CTS) number and CMS registered with Titles Queensland. This means it falls under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act).
To find out which Act and regulation your body corporate is registered under, contact Titles Queensland. If you don’t have a CMS registered, the scanned survey plan may tell you which Act applies to your body corporate.
You must show that you have tried to solve the problem yourself (called self resolution) before you can apply for conciliation.
Understanding conciliation
Duration 3:45
Welcome to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management's guide to the conciliation process under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. Also known as the BCCM Act. If you have a dispute within a body corporate regulated under the BCCM Act, you might consider applying for conciliation with our office. This can be helpful when you can't resolve a dispute yourself.
The process can assist you to resolve disputes quicker than the more formal adjudication process. Before making an application, visit our website to review the conciliation guide and relevant practice directions. And to find and complete the application form. Our Office is neutral and won't provide legal advice or conduct investigations for you. For legal advice, you will need to talk to a solicitor. You may consider doing this prior to lodging your application. Once your application has been submitted, with the fee, it will undergo two steps—case management and conciliation.
First, you'll receive a formal acknowledgement of application with a reference number from us. Always use this number when communicating about your dispute with us. A case manager will ensure your application meets all the legislative requirements. They may contact you for clarification, or additional information. The case manager cannot complete your application for you. The onus is on you to provide information promptly, to avoid delays. Once all requirements are met, your application moves to the next step—conciliation.
A conciliator facilitates discussions between parties, whilst giving them information about the BCCM legislation and assisting them to negotiate a good will agreement which resolves their dispute. They won't make rulings, decisions or provide legal advice. A conciliation session will be scheduled. The respondent will be sent a copy of your application with their invitation to attend the session. You should set aside up to three hours of your time to participate. The conciliator will contact you and the other party before the session to discuss their role and the process. They will also contact any nominated approved support person or affected party.
If you come to an agreement in the session, your conciliator will produce it, in writing, for both parties to sign. Whether an agreement was reached or not, you will then receive a conciliation certificate, marking the end of the process. If you are not able to come to an agreement through conciliation or the agreement is not complied with, you may consider lodging an application for an adjudication to resolve the dispute.
If you have questions about the legislation, you can submit them online. Or contact our Information and Community Education Unit on 1800 060 119 for a call-back. Or just google BCCM conciliation. Our website has lots of information about conciliation, including guides and forms. Subscribe to our newsletter, Common Ground, for updates, topics and events.
Conciliation can often resolve issues more quickly than adjudication—a more formal dispute resolution process where parties provide written submissions and we make an order.
Conciliation can help those involved to:
have a say, listen to one another and suggest solutions
reach their own agreement and not have one decided for them (as happens with adjudication)
develop or maintain good relations—especially important if they live in the same building
gain useful information that might prevent further disputes.
remains impartial, meaning they do not act for either side in the dispute
helps parties talk to each other to see if they can reach an agreement to solve some or all of the issues in dispute
runs the conciliation process in a way the conciliator decides will be most helpful
gives parties information about the body corporate legislation and legal decisions related to their issues
invites up to 2 committee voting members to attend, when the body corporate is involved
makes sure everyone is treated fairly
accepts written information from any person and gives this material to any other person if it will be useful for the conciliation
gives copies of any signed agreement to everyone who participated in the conciliation
keeps what you say in the conciliation confidential.
A conciliator does not:
make a legal decision about who is right or wrong
give legal advice
change conciliation dates or times to fit in with somebody's work or personal commitments or a wish to have a specific committee member or support person come to conciliation
allow non-voting committee members, for example body corporate managers, to represent the body corporate
force the parties to carry out their agreement, or tell parties what to do
tell anyone what happened during the conciliation
give copies of any agreement to people who were not part of the conciliation.
Preparing for conciliation
To get the best from your conciliation, you should:
make a list and a clear summary of all the issues
come along with a range of options to resolve the dispute, realising that you may have to compromise to reach an agreement
provide to the conciliator any information they ask
discuss any special needs you have with the conciliator (e.g. an interpreter).
The conciliator will contact you before the conciliation to explain the process and answer any questions you have.
Attending a session
Only the people involved in the dispute can attend meetings with the conciliator. However, you may be able to have a support person with you, usually a friend, if the conciliator agrees. In some circumstances a conciliator may also allow an agent to represent you.
If you can't attend a scheduled conciliation session you must let the conciliator know as soon as possible. In exceptional circumstances, the conciliator may arrange another session.
If you are the applicant and don't attend the conciliation session (or make a reasonable attempt to be there) you may not be able to apply for adjudication on that dispute.
A respondent (i.e. the other person in the dispute) who does not make a reasonable attempt to attend may have to repay the applicant's conciliation and adjudication application fees, if the applicant asks the adjudicator for this outcome in an adjudication application.
If you agree
An agreement you and the other party reach will be written up by the conciliator. You and the other party will then sign that agreement.
If you reach an agreement in the conciliation session, and both parties want the agreement formalised as a consent order (meaning the agreement will be enforceable), the Commissioner must refer the agreement to an adjudicator for a consent order.
The adjudicator may, in his or her discretion, issue a consent order. Read more on consent orders.
If you don’t agree
You may choose to apply for adjudication if your dispute cannot be resolved by conciliation. You will be charged an adjudication fee.
If you apply for adjudication you will have to abide by the adjudicator’s decision.
Privacy
Please be aware that we will provide your application to the other party.
