North Management - Service continuity amid outbreak concerns

North Management is closely monitoring the impact and changes that are occurring due to the continued spread of COVID-19 within Australia and especially developments in the Northern Territory. In preparation for worst case scenario where a lockdown may be enacted, we are asking all our strata properties to nominate a committee member who lives at the property to obtain a set of keys for their property in cases where emergency maintenance may be required. To bypass the need for contractors to attend to North Management office to sign out keys in the event an emergency repairs is required, contractor is able to meet onsite with the nominated representative of the Body Corporate and provide access to the contractor to carry out any necessary work.

We are also distributing a COVID-19 lift notice to all our buildings with lifts to help circulate useful information and reminders of how everyone can contribute in slowing down the spread of the virus. We have also received instruction from a few of our body corporate committees in regards to closure to amenities such as gymnasium and entertainment rooms. We have also instructed our caretakers, where they are in place, to undertake additional cleaning for high traffic areas such as lift buttons, stair railings, and door handles.

North Management have also updated our procedures to ensure we are following the recommended guidelines from the Government by practicing social distancing when meeting contractors onsite and at our office. Hygiene practices at the office have also been ramped up by frequently wiping surfaces, door handles, chairs and table tops. In the event of a lockdown / quarantine we are ensuring our staff are able to operate from home, this is to ensure services to our members are maintained and any urgent repairs are still attended to in timely manner, where services are available.

While our office remains open for the time being, we are trialling online teleconferencing for our Body Corporate needs such as committee meeting and annual general meetings. None of these meetings will take place at our office, or other locations, until further notice and all discussions between our staff and our members will be done via other medium such as emails, phone or online platforms.

North Management have started to utilise Zoom platform to assist all of our committees in providing an alternative form of communication. Due to the ongoing risk of virus transmission by close proximity, shifting the venue from a physical meeting to a virtual one does provide some assurance for high-risk members that may have reservations in attending physical meetings. This is also critical to ensure that North Management staff stays safe while providing the necessary services to all of our members. Zoom is a platform that is available on a wide range of devices from mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computers.