Strata Volunteering & Insurance: What Owners Need to Know

Volunteering at your strata property and insurance: What you need to know

Being part of a strata community often means pitching in to help things run smoothly. While volunteering your time may feel like a tangible way to support and contribute to your strata community, it’s important to understand how this could affect both your safety and the Owners Corporation’s (OC) legal obligations. Here’s what every strata resident, committee member and manager needs to know.

What counts as volunteering in strata?

Volunteering refers to unpaid work undertaken by residents or committee members to maintain or improve common property. Common examples include:

• Taking out or bringing in rubbish bins
• Gardening or lawn mowing common areas
• Performing basic repairs or maintenance
• Cleaning stairwells, foyers or shared windows

While certainly helpful, these tasks, in some cases, may not be covered under your insurance.

Personal Accident cover: What’s included?

Most strata insurance policies include Personal Accident cover for voluntary workers, offering limited protection for injuries sustained while performing approved tasks on behalf of the OC. However, to be eligible:

• The OC must have given prior approval for the task in writing
• The volunteer must be named in the OC’s official records
• The work must be unpaid – accepting any form of reward may void your entitlement
• The injury must result directly from an external, visible, and accidental cause – and typically only for serious injuries (for example, loss of limbs, sight or death)

Minor injuries like cuts or sprains are often not covered.

What strata insurance does cover

It’s a common misconception that strata insurance covers everything and that is not the case. Below are areas of insurance that are not covered by strata insurance:

• Contents insurance: Residents must take out their own policy for personal belongings inside their lot
• Landlords insurance: Separate cover is required if you lease your property to tenants
• All injuries or events involving volunteers: Only eligible claims under specific policy conditions are covered

Association Liability Insurance: Broader protection

While personal accident cover can assist in the event of injury with a volunteer, it does not protect volunteers or committee members against legal action for alleged misconduct, bullying, discrimination or wrongful decisions.

For this, OCs should consider a separate Association Liability policy (sometimes called Management Liability). This protects the OC and its office bearers from legal costs and damages arising from wrongful acts, including claims made by volunteers.

Best practice: What your OC should do

To best protect your strata community and reduce any legal risk:

• Maintain a register of approved volunteers and tasks
• Ensure written approval is provided before any volunteer work begins
• Review your insurance policies regularly to ensure Personal Accident, Public Liability and Association Liability covers are all in place and up-to-date
• Engage professionals where jobs fall outside the reasonable skill level of residents eg. Plumbing and electrical repairs.

Summary: Key facts at a glance

Common pitfalls to avoid

Even with good intentions, volunteering in a strata setting requires careful attention to detail to avoid potential issues. Here are some key areas to consider ensuring a smooth process:

• Assuming tasks are automatically covered: Insurance coverage is contingent on the volunteer being properly documented and the task being pre-approved.
• Failing to maintain a current volunteer register: If a new person begins helping out and is not recorded, their work may not be covered.
• Not disclosing higher-risk tasks: Activities like electrical repairs, structural work, or using power tools may fall outside the scope of cover unless they are disclosed.
• Over-relying on volunteers: While a cost-effective approach, this can place unnecessary legal and safety risks on the Owners Corporation if proper procedures are not followed.

To protect your OC and community, treat volunteers like a valued workforce: Documented, supported and risk managed.

FAQs on Volunteering in Strata

Do I need approval to volunteer in my strata community?

Yes. Volunteers must be authorised by the Owners Corporation and recorded in official meeting minutes or the OC’s register to be covered under strata insurance.

What happens if a volunteer is injured but wasn’t officially recorded?

In most cases, insurance will not respond unless the volunteer was properly documented. This puts both the individual and the OC at risk.

Can volunteers perform maintenance or repairs?

Only basic tasks should be done by volunteers. High- risk or technical jobs (like electrical or structural work) should always be left to licensed professionals.

Are committee members automatically covered by insurance?

Not always. For broader protection – especially against legal claims – the OC should have Association Liability Insurance in place.

Does strata insurance cover my contents or tenant damage?

No. Strata insurance only covers the building and common property. You’ll need separate contents or landlord insurance for your lot.

Achieving the best Strata community volunteer approach

Volunteering in your strata community can be rewarding, but if you’re unsure whether a task is covered, take the time to check with your strata manager before proceeding. Owners Corporations also have a duty of care to volunteers – which includes ensuring the right insurance is in place. Please contact your Whitbread insurance broker for support in reviewing your strata insurance needs in greater detail.

Please note: This article is not intended to be personal advice, and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of personal advice. Please contact Whitbread Associates Pty Ltd | ABN 69 005 490 228 | License Number 229092, trading as Whitbread Insurance Brokers for further information or refer to their website.