If you are a lot owner or occupier experiencing persistent abusive or threatening behaviour from another resident, the most important thing you can do is document it. Keep a simple written log of incidents as they happen: the date, what was said or done, and who was present. If the body corporate manager or another resident witnessed an incident, make a note of that too. This kind of contemporaneous record is exactly what adjudicators rely on when assessing whether conduct by-laws have been breached.

It is also worth keeping perspective. Body corporate by-laws are not designed to resolve every interpersonal conflict or silence every rude comment. An isolated unpleasant exchange, even a heated one, is unlikely to reach the threshold needed for a formal order. What the law is looking for is a pattern of conduct that is objectively unreasonable and that interferes with others’ right to peaceful enjoyment.

For committee members, this decision is a reminder that the body corporate does have real tools to address persistent nuisance behaviour, including conduct orders that set clear rules for how a resident must communicate with the community, and structured communication protocols that channel future interactions through formal written channels. These are not punitive measures so much as practical ones that help everyone get on with their lives.

If a resident’s behaviour is escalating or causing distress to others in the scheme, the committee can consider making a formal application to the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management. The process exists precisely for situations like this one.