Sydney strata managers appeal decade-long ban on unauthorised use of funds

He has become well known in the industry for his involvement in controversial projects over the past few years, such as the Vicinity Tower in Canterbury, which was built by Toplace developer Jean Nassif, who has had his own building licence revoked and is currently in hiding in Lebanon with a warrant out for his arrest in matters unrelated to Wang.

Apartment owner Leith Dawes, who was chairman of Vicinity’s strata committee at the time, said the decision to ban Mr Wang was welcomed. “This has been a very, very long process,” he said. “What his company is alleged to have done has impacted thousands of lives and it’s very difficult to quantify.

“Strata managers play a very trusted role in the lives of apartment residents, but when they don’t follow the law, it feels like there’s someone legally occupying your property and it’s taking you a long time to get them out.”

At Wang’s other building, Gondon Macquarie in North Ryde, strata committee chairman Stuart McLean said he was pleased to learn he had been disqualified, despite Wang’s subsequent appeal.

“It’s taken an incredibly long time given the areas of strata law that we’re talking about that were breached,” he said. “And it’s very bizarre that he was removed from so many buildings but was still appointed by NCAT as the person in charge of two other buildings that were put into compulsory administration.

“The difficulty is when you need to check a plumber or electrician you can check to see if there have been complaints. But with property managers there is no such thing. Hopefully this decision (if it stands) means Fair Trading will be prepared to take tougher action in the future.”

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Another property manager, Nicholas Johnson of Direct Strata, said Mr Wang was well-known in the industry and when he was asked to take over management of a building in Burwood he claimed he was refused access to property records.

“We complained about him as early as 2022, but the Fair Trading Commission was like a toothless tiger and could do little. It took us several months to finally get the record.”

The regulator’s other 17 findings against Wang and PSMG included that they failed to act in accordance with client instructions, failed to safeguard joint property, handed over materials without threat of litigation, and failed to act with care, skill and diligence.

“This is great news for apartment owners in the state and for all the strata managers who are doing the right thing,” said Karen Stiles, executive officer of the Owners Corporation Network, the body representing apartment owners.

“People who don’t do the right thing damage the reputation of the entire industry. We’re glad to have a property commissioner to clean up the industry when necessary.”

The panel hearing the appeal is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks.