Comparing Strata Management Quotes in Batemans Bay: Inclusions, Extra Charges and Total Cost

Questions owners commonly ask about strata quotes

The most useful way to compare strata management quotes in Batemans Bay is to give each agency the same building brief, ask it to price the same services, then calculate an ordinary year and a busier year. The annual management fee is the starting point. Meeting limits, maintenance administration, recurring account charges and contract conditions can change the final amount your owners corporation pays.

For a committee reviewing proposals, the objective is a decision you can explain to owners: what work is included, what might cost extra, who will do it and how the appointment fits your building. A low price with a limited service scope may suit a committee that wants to do more itself. A broader scope may suit owners who need more practical support. Neither can be assessed properly from the first page alone.

This guide provides a building brief you can copy, a repeatable checklist and two worked examples. It focuses on comparing proposals for Batemans Bay and nearby Eurobodalla schemes, rather than estimating a supposedly standard local price.

For an overview of local support, visit our Batemans Bay strata management page. To discuss a proposal for your scheme, contact Essential Strata Management.

Start with your building and the work it needs

Lot numbers are useful, but they do not describe the whole job. Two twelve-lot buildings can create different workloads. One might have a straightforward shared driveway and an engaged committee. Another might have a lift, extensive common areas, unresolved repairs and owners who need help arranging access from interstate.

Describe your actual circumstances before asking for prices. A town-centre mixed-use building may need arrangements for commercial deliveries and access. A Batehaven villa scheme may need a clear division of responsibility for a shared drive and landscaping. A coastal apartment building may have a substantial maintenance program already approved. These are possible briefing considerations, not assumptions about every property in those locations.

List known problems honestly. A quotation based on routine administration is difficult to rely on if the committee already knows there is an insurance dispute or major repair project. Explain what has been decided, what remains unresolved and which specialists are involved. An agency should be able to identify the part it can manage and any work requiring a separate scope.

Local context matters when it changes the required service. Eurobodalla Council publishes coastal management information and mapping, including material about erosion and inundation. That does not establish a risk for an individual building. If your scheme has relevant reports or mapping, include them in the brief so candidates can understand the administrative work ahead.

Our separate guide to retaining walls, shared driveways and drainage in Batemans Bay and Batehaven explains those maintenance issues. Here, the question is narrower: how will the manager's part in that work be charged?

Use the same building brief for every agency

NSW Fair Trading's guidance on appointing a strata manager recommends defining the work required before seeking proposals. It also identifies the Strata managing agent engagement planner in Strata Hub's document library as a tool for requesting and comparing responses. The public guidance describes the planner; access to the document itself requires a Strata Hub login.

The following is our practical briefing checklist, not a reproduction of the government planner. Copy it into an email and send the same version to each shortlisted agency.

• Scheme identity: strata plan number, street address and authorised committee contact.
• Structure: number of lots, residential or commercial use, separate buildings and any associated community or shared-facility arrangements.
• Facilities: lifts, pools, gates, garages, landscaped areas and other common assets needing administration.
• Current position: agreement expiry date, proposed commencement date and known handover constraints.
• Records: latest AGM agenda and minutes, financial statements, budget, relevant plans and current management agreement where authorised to share it.
• Meetings: expected AGM format, committee meeting frequency, usual duration and whether evening attendance is needed.
• Maintenance: routine work orders, approved projects, outstanding defects, existing consultant appointments and expected reporting.
• Finance: levy frequency, arrears issues, invoice workload, reporting needs and payment approval arrangements.
• Access: resident contact arrangements, keys, caretaker or building manager involvement and absent-owner access issues.
• Service expectations: proposed site visits, communication channels, emergency process, manager cover and escalation contact.
• Response requested: proposed manager, service scope, complete fee schedule, exclusions, GST treatment and ordinary-year and busier-year estimates.

Ask each agency to state its assumptions. If it has not inspected the property, ask what might change after a visit. Where a site review would clarify the job, arrange it before accepting a final proposal. Share any material new information with every candidate so the comparison remains fair.

Avoid circulating unnecessary personal information. The purpose is to describe the scheme and its workload. Redact owner bank details, private contact lists and unrelated disputes unless they are needed and you have an appropriate basis to disclose them.

Separate included services from additional and unclear charges

For each proposal, mark every required task as included, additional or unclear. Then record the agreement clause or fee-schedule reference. A verbal reassurance is difficult to budget against if the written schedule says something different.

Included should mean the task falls within the base fee, subject to any clearly stated limits. Additional should identify a rate, trigger or calculation method. Unclear means you need a written answer before the committee recommends the proposal. Do not enter zero against an unclear item simply because the agency has not priced it.

Meetings and owner communication

Check whether the annual fee includes preparing the AGM agenda, attending the meeting, drafting minutes and following up resolutions. Record the meeting duration allowed, the permitted time of day and the cost if the meeting runs longer. Ask whether room hire, travel or online meeting arrangements create separate charges.

Price the committee meetings your building actually expects. A package including one AGM is different from one including an AGM and several committee meetings. An owners corporation that meets after work should obtain the relevant evening rate rather than use a weekday office-hours assumption.

Clarify ordinary correspondence and substantial dispute work separately. Ask how the agency records time, who approves chargeable work and whether minimum billing increments apply. A thirty-minute minimum can matter when several short tasks are billed individually.

Accounts and recurring administration

Check levy notices, budgets, invoice processing, financial statements and access to records. Ask about software, document storage, backup, banking, reporting and other recurring account charges. Confirm whether an item is annual, monthly, per lot, per transaction or triggered by a particular task.

Avoid labels that sound comprehensive without defining them. A proposal described as inclusive of disbursements still needs to explain whether separately scheduled services remain chargeable. Similarly, a reporting fee is not automatically a government charge merely because the report supports a statutory obligation.

Ask for a worked invoice using your proposed services. This often makes the fee schedule easier to understand than a general assurance about transparency. It also shows whether charges are payable monthly, annually or when a task occurs, which helps the treasurer plan cash flow.

Maintenance administration and site attendance

Identify the difference between issuing a routine work order and administering a substantial repair project. Request the trigger for any project fee, whether it is hourly or percentage based, what amount the percentage applies to and whether GST is included in that calculation.

Ask which stages are covered: obtaining quotations, circulating them for approval, instructing the selected contractor, arranging access, checking administrative completion documents and processing invoices. Ask whether follow-up and extra site attendance are included. An agency coordinating paperwork is not automatically providing engineering assessment, supervision or certification.

If your scheme has a building manager or caretaker, describe the interface. Who reports a fault, authorises the instruction, meets the contractor and updates residents? Clear responsibilities reduce the chance of two people assuming the other has arranged access, or both charging for overlapping administration.

Calculate the expected annual management cost

For each candidate, use the same calculation: annual base fee plus fixed recurring charges plus expected additional services plus applicable GST. Show one-off onboarding or outgoing handover costs separately, then add them when calculating the first-year cash requirement.

Use a consistent tax basis. If one quote is GST exclusive and another is GST inclusive, convert them before comparing. Ask your accountant about the owners corporation's particular GST position where relevant; a comparison should not assume all schemes recover GST.

Keep management costs separate from the building's other spending. A plumber's invoice, engineering report, insurance premium and capital works contribution are not the agency's base management fee. There may still be management administration associated with those activities, which belongs in the comparison if chargeable.

Avoid double counting. If a document-storage charge is already inside the base fee, do not add it again. If a commission is contained within the insurance amount being compared elsewhere, do not add that same amount a second time. Record what each total includes so owners can trace the calculation.

There is no reliable total without workload assumptions. Use your last twelve months of invoices, meeting records and approved forward program to estimate quantities. Where the coming year will differ, explain why. A major remediation project finishing this year should not automatically be treated as an annual recurring workload forever.

Example one comparing an ordinary year

This fictional example concerns a twelve-lot scheme. The rates are invented to demonstrate a method. They are not Essential prices, competitor quotations, local market averages or a recommended budget. Both proposals cover the same specified routine administration and one AGM. All amounts below include GST, and neither fictional proposal receives insurance or trades commissions.

Proposal A has a base annual fee of $3,300. It adds $330 in fixed annual administration charges. Two planned committee meetings cost $165 each. Four separately chargeable maintenance administration tasks cost $55 each. Its specified AGM is included, and no other management charges apply to this example's stated workload.

Proposal A calculation: $3,300 + $330 + (2 x $165) + (4 x $55) = $4,180.

Proposal B has a base annual fee of $4,400. For the same ordinary-year workload, its stated inclusions cover those recurring administration items, the two committee meetings and the four maintenance tasks. No other management charges apply to this example's stated workload.

Proposal B calculation: $4,400 + $0 additional charges = $4,400.

Proposal A is $220 lower for this ordinary year. That result matters: a lower base fee is not automatically poor value. If the services, responsiveness and manager suitability are comparable, the committee has a legitimate reason to consider it.

The building's insurance, trades invoices and other ownership costs are excluded from both management totals. This is a comparison of the defined management workload, not the entire strata budget. The annual estimate also does not promise that unexpected work will never arise.

Example two testing the same proposals in a busier year

Now keep the same twelve-lot scheme and the same proposals, but add a repair matter requiring more committee attention. On top of the ordinary-year workload, assume two further committee meetings and ten further chargeable maintenance administration tasks. This is a scenario test, not a forecast for Batemans Bay buildings.

Under Proposal A, those two extra meetings cost $330 and the ten extra tasks cost $550. Its busier-year total is $4,180 + $330 + $550 = $5,060.

For this fictional scenario, Proposal B expressly includes the additional meetings and tasks within its stated annual service allowance. Its busier-year total remains $4,400. This inclusion is an assumption of the example, not a claim that broader-fee packages are unlimited.

Proposal B is now $660 lower. The additional workload reverses the ordinary-year result because the two agreements allocate charges differently. If Proposal B excluded a major project or exceeded an allowance, its applicable charges would also need to be added.

The committee should ask both agencies to price the same scenario in writing. Do not invent a generous inclusion for one candidate or a heavy workload for another. Specify the number of meetings, their duration, attendance format and the exact administration tasks required.

The examples show a useful break-even test. Proposal A starts $220 below B in the ordinary year. More than $220 of further charges would erase that advantage if the same work remained included under B. Your scheme can use the same logic with its actual quotations and a realistic workload range.

Check insurance remuneration without assuming cheaper cover

A management proposal should explain insurance-related remuneration separately from the premium and any broker charges. Ask who receives each amount, what services it pays for and whether insurance administration or claims assistance has a separate fee.

NSW Fair Trading publishes disclosure requirements for strata managing agents, including insurance quote information and relevant supplier relationships. Use that guidance to frame your questions rather than assume a marketing statement describes every party's remuneration.

Essential Strata Management does not accept insurance or trades commissions. Applicable management fees and additional services still need to be read in the proposed agency agreement and fee schedule. No commission does not mean no additional charges, no broker remuneration or a guaranteed reduction in the building's premium.

Compare insurance on coverage as well as cost, using appropriately qualified advice. Sums insured, exclusions, excesses and the property's circumstances matter. Our guide to strata insurance commissions and transparency explains the remuneration questions in more detail.

Interview the manager who would handle your building

A polished proposal cannot tell you how well the working relationship will function. Ask to meet the proposed manager, discuss your building brief and test the practical detail. An agency's office location is useful, but it does not establish how often your particular manager will attend the property.

Who is the proposed manager, and what experience do they have with similar buildings and workloads?

Who covers leave or an unexpected absence, and how are current matters recorded for that person?

What site attendance is included, what triggers an extra fee and how is travel charged?

What response standard is proposed, and how are urgent matters distinguished from routine correspondence?

Who can approve contractor instructions and payments within the agreed authority?

How are unresolved matters escalated, and who reviews progress with the committee?

For holiday-owned apartments, ask how access is arranged when owners are away and how decisions are communicated between meetings. A strata manager, letting agent and caretaker can have different roles. Make sure the proposal does not quietly assume another person will do work your scheme has no one available to undertake.

Our guide for Canberra owners of South Coast strata covers remote participation in more detail. For this comparison, translate those needs into actual services and attendance assumptions each agency can price.

Read the contract term and handover conditions

Compare commencement dates, agreement length, review arrangements and annual fee increases. If the base fee rises annually, calculate the relevant later-year amounts separately. Ask whether hourly rates and fixed charges can also change, and what notice or agreement is required.

Record onboarding, record conversion, outgoing transfer and other handover charges where applicable. Separate the outgoing agency's contractual charges from the incoming agency's charges. Avoid counting a one-off transition expense as though it recurs every year, but include it in the first-year cash requirement.

A new proposal does not itself end the existing agreement. Before choosing a start date, check the current contract and the proper appointment and termination process. If the position is disputed or an early exit is proposed, obtain advice appropriate to the circumstances rather than relying on a sales assurance.

The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 is the legislative starting point. The government appointment guidance linked earlier provides a more accessible explanation. This article is general information about comparing services and costs, not advice on the enforceability of a particular contract.

Copy this proposal comparison checklist

Complete the following for each agency. Use the same quantities and time period, and attach written clarifications to the proposal so owners can check the recommendation.

Annual base fee including GST: ______. Agreement reference: ______.

Fixed recurring charges including GST: ______. Frequency and calculation: ______.

Included meetings and time limits: ______. Additional attendance rates: ______.

Routine maintenance administration: included / additional / unclear. Trigger and rate: ______.

Major project administration: included / additional / unclear. Scope and calculation: ______.

Site visits and travel: included allowance ______. Additional cost ______.

Insurance and claims administration: scope ______. Fee ______. Remuneration disclosures ______.

Software, records, storage and reporting: included / additional / unclear. Annual total ______.

Ordinary-year assumptions and estimated total: ______.

Busier-year assumptions and estimated total: ______.

First-year onboarding and outgoing charges: ______. Source of each charge ______.

Proposed manager and backup: ______. Escalation and response arrangements ______.

Term, annual increases and end-of-agreement conditions: ______.

Outstanding questions before a recommendation: ______.

For every additional item, record the quantity, rate, minimum billing increment and approval process. If the agency cannot estimate a task, ask for a clear scope and charging method. Mark the estimate incomplete until material unknowns have been resolved.

Present a recommendation owners can check

Before the appointment meeting, prepare a short decision record. State which agencies responded, the version of the building brief they received and any material differences in their proposed scope. Include the ordinary-year and busier-year totals, the assumptions behind them and the remaining uncertainties. This lets owners distinguish a calculated estimate from a quoted fixed amount.

Explain why the preferred agency suits the building. If the recommendation costs more, identify the service difference that justifies it. That might be additional agreed meetings, a relevant manager's experience or a clearer process for progressing approved work. If the recommendation costs less, explain whether that saving relies on the committee retaining particular tasks. Owners should understand what their volunteers will still need to do.

Give unresolved items an owner and a deadline. For example, the secretary might obtain written confirmation of evening meeting charges before the agenda is settled. The treasurer might check whether the proposed recurring account fees are already included in the annual total. A committee member might arrange a discussion with the proposed manager about a current project.

Keep the final proposal, draft agreement and clarifications together. If a candidate revises its fee or scope during discussions, update the comparison rather than circulate an earlier total. Make sure any negotiated inclusion appears in the agreement or an appropriately incorporated schedule, not only in the committee's own notes.

After appointment, use the same scope as a practical review tool. Check whether invoices match the agreed rates and whether the expected services are being delivered. Where the workload changes, discuss the scope early. A comparison exercise is most valuable when it becomes a shared understanding of the job, rather than paperwork that is forgotten once the contract is signed.

Questions owners commonly ask about strata quotes

Is the annual management fee the same as strata levies

No. Levies fund the owners corporation's budget, which can include management, insurance, maintenance and future works. The management fee pays for the services defined in the agency agreement. Comparing that fee does not compare the entire cost of owning in the building.

Can we compare proposals using a fee per lot

Use it as a secondary check after aligning the services. Dividing each annual management total by the number of lots can show scale, but it does not explain facilities, disputes, projects or meeting requirements. It is not a substitute for the scheme's actual levy allocation.

Does an inclusive management fee cover every repair

Not necessarily. It may cover specified administration while the owners corporation still pays contractors and consultants separately. Ask about thresholds, attendance limits and project exclusions. Have any clarification reflected in the written scope before signing.

Should we choose the lowest estimated annual total

Price matters, but so do the named manager, relevant experience, communication and clear accountability. Choose using the same workload and a documented service assessment. An estimate based on unresolved exclusions is not a dependable bargain.

Is a site visit automatically included because the manager is local

No. Ask what attendance the agreement includes and what additional visits cost. An office nearby can help with access and meetings, but the proposal must explain the actual service commitment and any travel or attendance charges.

Request a tailored Batemans Bay strata proposal

Essential Strata Management's Batemans Bay office is at Shop 4, 5 Orient Street, Batemans Bay NSW 2536. Visit our Batemans Bay office page for local contact information and appointment enquiries.

Send your strata plan number, lot count, latest AGM material and a short description of your priorities. Include the services your committee wants priced, proposed meeting arrangements and any known projects so we can discuss an appropriate scope.

We welcome questions about inclusions and additional services. Read the proposed agreement and supporting fee schedule alongside our proposal, and compare us against the same workload you give other candidates.

Request a free strata quote, call 02 4415 9447 or email reception@essentialstrata.com.au.

Prepared by Mark Truran for Essential Strata Management. Sources and links checked 16 October 2026. Recheck current guidance and agreement terms when making an appointment.