There is more to being a strata chairperson than our strata laws would have us believe. Read the legislation in most Australian states and you would think the role barely exists. The chairperson convenes and runs meetings. That is the full statutory job description.

No power to engage a contractor. No authority to issue a by-law breach notice to the owner who treats visitor parking as a personal driveway. No capacity to agree to a levy repayment plan or instruct lawyers to chase the chronic non-payer. On paper, the chairperson of an owners corporation or body corporate is a procedural officer at best, and a volunteer scapegoat at worst. And yet when the roof leaks, when the noise complaint escalates, when levies rise for the third consecutive year, the chairperson is the one who cops it. This is hardly anyone's dream job. So, who takes it on?

Who actually becomes a strata chairperson?

The person who becomes a strata chairperson is almost always the person who has always put up their hand. The good community servant. The one who coached the junior footy team when no one else would. Who chaired the parents and friends committee at the school. Who turned up to Rotary and the golf club committee not because anyone asked, but because that is who they are.

Strata volunteerism is, in every meaningful sense, a form of community service. Without these people, the buildings that house more than three million Australians would simply not function.

Read: Service Providers Impact on Strata Governance: HaveCommittees' Decisions Become a Rubber Stamp?

Does the Federal Government recognise strata volunteers?

The Federal Government does not recognise strata volunteers, and that omission is telling. The National Volunteer Action Program acknowledges volunteers across sport, aged care, emergency services, and dozens of other sectors. Strata does not rate a mention, despite the sector managing a combined asset base worth hundreds of billions of dollars on behalf of ordinary Australians.

This is a gap that needs to be closed. At The Strata Professionals, we intend to make the case for strata's formal inclusion in the program. We hope that peak bodies, advocacy groups, and others who care about this sector will join us. The volunteers who give their time to run these buildings have earned that recognition many times over.

Read: Why Compulsory Training Won't Fix Your Committee — AndWhat Actually Will

Why do we need to cast the net more widely for volunteers?

We need to cast the net more widely for strata volunteers because the skills the role demands change significantly as a building ages. A new scheme needs a pioneer: someone brave enough to navigate defects, wrangle builders, and mould a group of strangers into a functioning governance team. An older building needs a steward: someone with the patience to manage complex capital decisions, rising costs, and long-term owners with deeply held views. The spectrum of skills required across a building's life is broad, which means the pool of people we ask to serve must be equally broad.

Read: The First 100 Days: What's Your Plan?

The strata chair is one of the most consequential volunteer roles in Australian community life. It is time we said so out loud, and time the rest of the country caught up.

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