A Queensland scheme’s by-laws are the ones listed in the community management statement recorded for it, and the body corporate can adopt the standard set in Schedule 4 of the BCCM Act or write its own. The body corporate is responsible for enforcing them, and owners and occupiers can take steps of their own.
Explanatory noteGeneral information about schemes under the BCCM Act, not legal advice about any by-law. The official pages are making by-laws, what by-laws apply and enforcing by-laws. Titles Queensland can say which Act a scheme falls under.
1.Finding the by-laws that apply
The community management statement is registered with Titles Queensland, which supplies copies; they cannot be ordered online. Which by-laws apply depends on when the scheme began and what it has recorded since:
| The scheme | The by-laws that apply |
|---|---|
| Its statement lists by-laws | Those listed. For an older scheme that has recorded a new statement since 1997, the most recent one. |
| Created after July 1997, statement lists none | The standard by-laws in Schedule 4 of the BCCM Act. |
| Created before July 1997, with a one-page standard statement | The by-laws in force on 13 July 2000, which depend on when the scheme was created. |
| Registered from 3 November 1980 to 13 July 1997, no by-laws listed | Schedule 3 of the Building Units and Group Titles Act, plus every change registered with Titles Queensland, each recorded separately. |
| Created before 3 November 1980, no by-laws listed | A layered mix of the 1965 and 1973 Acts’ schedules and later Schedule 3 by-laws; the Queensland Government’s page sets out the order. |
Exclusive use, which gives one lot sole use of an area of common property, now takes effect only through a by-law recorded in the statement. Before 1980 that was not required, so some old exclusive use rights may never have been recorded. An older scheme can keep its existing by-laws if it is content with them.
2.Making or changing one
By-laws can be added or changed at any time, through a motion to record a new community management statement containing the change. That motion usually needs a special resolution at a general meeting, or a resolution without dissent where an exclusive use by-law is added or amended. The body corporate then has 3 months from the vote to register the new statement with Titles Queensland, and the by-law starts on the day it is recorded unless it names a later date. Recording a by-law does not, by itself, make it valid.
3.What a by-law cannot do
A by-law may only deal with matters the BCCM Act allows. The Queensland Government lists what by-laws cannot do:
- conflict with the Act or other legislation;
- stand in the way of selling, leasing, transferring or mortgaging a lot, or any other dealing with it;
- treat different kinds of occupier differently;
- be unreasonable, weighing the interests of all owners and occupiers and the use of the common property;
- limit the kind of residential use of a residential lot;
- make an owner or occupier pay money, except under an exclusive use by-law;
- stop solar hot water or solar power going on a lot because of how the building looks;
- stop a person with a disability having a guide, hearing or assistance dog;
- ban or restrict smoking in an enclosed part of a lot.
Its own example of the money rule is a by-law requiring a bond before moving in. Even so, a recorded by-law applies until an adjudicator decides it is invalid.
4.Animals
The legislation says a by-law banning animals outright, or by breed or weight, is invalid. Yet while such a by-law stands, the committee cannot approve an animal it prohibits; an owner can move to change it. A by-law permitting animals with the body corporate’s approval is allowed. The request is made in writing (BCCM form 31 can be used), and any conditions set must be reasonable. If the committee makes no decision within 21 days of receiving the request, the animal is treated as approved. Where a scheme has no animal by-law, keeping one inside a lot needs no permission, though the scheme’s other by-laws, such as on noise, still apply; and a person with a disability who relies on a guide, hearing or assistance dog need not ask before bringing it in.
5.When a by-law is broken
The steps depend on who is acting. An owner or occupier can act where they reasonably believe that another owner or occupier has broken a by-law and that the breach is likely to continue or be repeated. They start by giving the committee BCCM form 1, the approved notice that a by-law has been broken. From there:
Fourteen days for the committee
On receiving the form, the committee has 14 days to tell the person who complained that a contravention notice has been issued.
The body corporate’s notice
A continuing contravention notice (BCCM form 10) asks someone to fix an ongoing breach within a set time; a future contravention notice (form 11) asks them not to repeat one. The committee or a general meeting can decide to send it. If an occupier who is not the owner is in breach, the notice names the occupier, and the owner gets a copy as soon as possible.
If the notice is ignored
The body corporate can go to the Magistrates Court for the offence of not complying, or apply for conciliation. The court can fine more than $3,454, the figure current from 1 July 2026.
If the body corporate does nothing
After 14 days without action, or on a refusal, the owner or occupier can apply for conciliation against the body corporate, or against the person in breach after first writing to them. An owner or occupier cannot take the breach to the Magistrates Court without first winning an adjudicator’s order.
Conciliation and adjudication are explained in the guide to disputes, and the committee’s part in sending notices in the guide to the committee.