How Strata Committees Are Getting Burned on Lift Maintenance Contracts
A strata committee is a PCBU with a non-delegable duty for its lift. Paying the maintenance invoices does not meet it. Where committees get burned, and how to check the contract is working.
- Published
In this article 5 sections
In this article
Quick summary
A strata committee is a PCBU under WHS legislation. That classification places a non-delegable duty of care on the committee for the safety of the lift in their building. A committee that signs a maintenance contract, pays the invoices, and assumes the obligation is met is not meeting the obligation. Appointing the contractor is part of the duty. Verifying that the contractor is performing adequately is the rest of it. Most committees are doing the first and not the second. When an incident occurs, that distinction is what the investigation examines.
The legal position most strata committee members do not understand#
Strata committees do not employ lift engineers. They are not expected to. What they are expected to do under WHS legislation is exercise reasonable oversight of the people they appoint to maintain safety-critical infrastructure on behalf of the owners corporation.
That oversight obligation cannot be transferred to the maintenance contractor. Not to the contractor. Not to the strata manager. Not to the building manager. Appointing a contractor discharges part of the duty. Verifying the contractor’s performance is the rest.
The liability framework that applies when a lift incident occurs applies to owners corporations and strata committees as directly as it applies to a single building owner. The building owner being a committee of elected volunteers does not reduce the exposure. It distributes it across the committee members.
The three contract clauses that consistently cause problems#
Auto-renewal#
Most lift maintenance contracts auto-renew annually or biannually unless notice is given within a specified window, typically 60 to 90 days before expiry. Committees that do not calendar these dates find themselves locked into another term with a contractor they had been meaning to review.
Auto-renewal removes the natural review trigger. A committee that does not actively manage the renewal cycle never formally asks: is this contractor performing, is the price competitive, does this contract still reflect the building’s needs?
Contractor-defined performance benchmarks#
Many maintenance contracts define performance standards in terms the contractor controls. Response times measured from when the contractor receives notification, not from when the fault occurs. Attendance frequency defined by the contract, not by the building’s usage pattern or the lift’s age.
A contract where the contractor defines what adequate looks like is a contract written to protect the contractor.
Exclusions that appear when a major component fails#
Lift maintenance contracts commonly exclude major components from the base scope. Hydraulic seals, control systems, guide rails, and rope assemblies may fall under a higher-tier comprehensive contract that costs significantly more. Committees on the base contract find out what is excluded when a component fails and a separate repair invoice arrives.
What a maintenance contract should actually cover#
| Item | Should Be Included | Often Excluded on Base Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| Routine lubrication and adjustment | Yes | Included |
| Safety device testing | Yes | Included |
| Control system inspection | Yes | Often excluded |
| Guide rail inspection | Yes | Often excluded |
| Rope or chain inspection | Yes | Sometimes excluded |
| Hydraulic seal inspection | Yes | Often excluded |
| 24/7 emergency response | Yes | Premium tiers only |
| Written defect reports with recommendations | Yes | Rarely included |
| Performance reporting to the committee | Yes | Almost never included |
The last two items are the most commonly absent and the most important for a committee trying to exercise meaningful oversight.
The accessibility obligation strata committees consistently miss#
A strata building with a lift may carry DDA and Premises Standards accessibility obligations that the maintenance contract does not address at all. What the DDA requires from a lift in terms of car dimensions, door timing, landing accuracy, and emergency communication is a compliance question, not a maintenance question.
The maintenance contractor is not responsible for confirming accessibility compliance. That is a separate, independent assessment. A strata committee whose building has undergone a change of use, a significant refurbishment, or a new commercial tenancy in recent years needs to ask whether those events triggered an accessibility compliance obligation on the lift. In many cases, they did.
What to do before the next contract renewal#
- Calendar the notice period. Do not let the contract auto-renew without a conscious decision.
- Read the exclusion schedule before signing. Know what is not covered before needing it.
- Request the last 12 months of service records and check them for completeness.
- Confirm whether any identified defects were remediated and documented.
- Ask whether the lift has been independently assessed against current AS1735 and accessibility requirements, separate from routine maintenance.
- Consider an independent review of the contract terms and the contractor’s performance before committing to another term.
Why independent lift consultants save owners corporations money over the life of a maintenance arrangement is a conversation that tends to happen after the committee has discovered one of these gaps the hard way.
ILCPL advises strata committees and owners corporations on lift maintenance contracts, compliance obligations, and independent performance reviews across Australia. Call 0417 784 245.
