Over the four decades I've been involved in strata, the industry's answer to dysfunctional committees has always been the same: education. Educate the owners. Teach them how strata works. If they only understood levies, by-laws, and building maintenance, everything would be easier.
It's an appealing idea. It's also largely wrong.
This October, New South Wales will mandate compulsory education for strata committee members. This will likely be three to four hours of online training before they can serve. Other states are thinking about doing the same.
The policy is well-intentioned. Many of my colleagues are cautiously supportive. However, after forty years of watching this industry turn to education as its go-to-fix, I think this intervention will backfire. A theory I came across reading Tony Frost’s book, The Professional (2025), explains precisely why.
The Science of Why People Disengage
Self-Determination Theory (SDT), developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, identifies three basic psychological needs that must be satisfied for people to engage meaningfully in any activity:
· Autonomy: feeling your choices are genuinely your own
· Competence: feeling capable and effective
· Relatedness: feeling valued and connected.
When these needs are met, people are intrinsically motivated. They participate because it matters to them. When they're frustrated, people disengage, experience burnout, or comply with the least effort. SDT doesn't just describe this pattern. It predicts it.
Here's the problem with compulsory education: it is, by definition, a controlled intervention. You are taking away their freedom before the person has even attended their first committee meeting. SDT's research is unambiguous; mandatory training shifts motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic. People complete it to comply, not to grow. For many, the experience will be forgettable at best and resentment-inducing at worst.
The Deterrence Risk Nobody Is Talking About
The danger is not poor knowledge; it's volunteer deterrence. Serving on a strata committee takes time, exposes you to neighbour conflict, and offers little reward. Add a compulsory online course to that equation and ask yourself: who opts out?
Not the difficult owner with time on their hands and an agenda. Not the self-appointed expert who has been trying to get onto the committee for years. The people most likely to be deterred are exactly those you want, capable, busy professionals who might genuinely contribute but who draw a line at mandatory bureaucratic hurdles.
SDT predicts this precisely. When the motivational environment becomes more controlling, those who are intrinsically motivated are the first to leave.
Education Fixes One Problem While Ignoring Two Others
Even if the training works perfectly, it addresses only the need for competence. It does nothing for autonomy. Committee members who feel like they're rubber-stamping the strata manager's decisions will stay disengaged, regardless of their qualifications. It does not help with relatedness. Owners who feel blamed, ignored, or unsupported by their community will still burn out.
Compulsory education treats committee disengagement as a knowledge deficit. SDT tells us it is primarily an environmental deficit.We are solving the wrong problem.
What Would Actually Work
If governments and industry bodies are serious about better committees, they must address all three psychological needs at the same time.
On autonomy: strata managers should genuinely involve committees in decision-making. They need to present real options, explain their reasons, and treat owners as governors, not just approvers. Committees that feel powerful stay engaged.
On competence: education should be practical and delivered in a way that connects to the owner's own scheme and situation. Short, relevant briefings tailored to a specific scheme will be more effective than four hours of generic online modules. Ideally, it becomes an ongoing process rather than a one-time compliance tick.
On relatedness: the social experience of committee service needs to improve. Strata managers must recognise the committee's contribution, shield members from unfair owner hostility, and build genuine working relationships rather than transactional ones.
The Uncomfortable Truth
The industry's decades-long faith in owner education reflects something positive about how we see ourselves. We believe that if people just understood strata the way we do, everything would run smoothly. But disengaged committees are not primarily a problem of ignorance. They are a product of environments where voluntary governance feels unrewarding, powerless, and socially punishing.
Compulsory online training won't change that environment. It will just add another reason for good people to walk away.
Michael Teys advises strata management businesses on improving profitability through professionalisation and streamlined operating systems.
He has more than 30 years’ experience as a strata lawyer and academic and has owned 11 strata management agencies throughout Australia. He has a Master of Philosophy (Built Environment) and Bachelor of Laws. He lectures and writes widely about strata management issues in Australia and internationally.
