SMS Coffs Harbour Pty Ltd is part of the SMS Strata group, which collectively manages 1,373 schemes (10,530 lots) across 2 entities in NSW. See also: SMS Byron Bay/Ballina Pty Limited.
Portfolio Profile
Lot Types
Residential 3,408 (93%)
Commercial 217 (6%)
Utility 20 (1%)
Scheme Size Distribution
Distribution of schemes by total lot count. Average scheme size: 6.0 lots. The portfolio is dominated by small schemes (10 lots or fewer), typical of townhouse and villa complexes.
Portfolio Age
Schemes by registration decade. Oldest scheme registered 1969, newest 2023.
Suburb Coverage
| Suburb | Schemes | Lots | % of Portfolio | Market Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffs Harbour 2450 | 253 | 1,847 | 42% | 28.6% | |
| Sawtell 2452 | 140 | 603 | 23% | 61.1% | |
| Toormina 2452 | 48 | 250 | 8% | 30.2% | |
| Woolgoolga 2456 | 36 | 204 | 6% | 27.7% | |
| Nambucca Heads 2448 | 22 | 182 | 4% | 21.2% | |
| North Boambee Valley 2450 | 20 | 118 | 3% | 48.8% | |
| Korora 2450 | 14 | 103 | 2% | 30.4% | |
| Urunga 2455 | 12 | 86 | 2% | 40.0% | |
| Grafton 2460 | 12 | 56 | 2% | 7.2% | |
| Armidale 2350 | 9 | 27 | 1% | 3.1% |
| Bellingen 2454 | 7 | 30 | 1% | 46.7% | |
| Scotts Head 2447 | 6 | 34 | 1% | 42.9% | |
| Boambee East 2452 | 5 | 20 | 1% | 7.9% | |
| Sapphire Beach 2450 | 5 | 12 | 1% | 15.2% | |
| Maclean 2463 | 4 | 17 | 1% | 14.8% | |
| South Kempsey 2440 | 2 | 8 | 0% | 20.0% | |
| Macksville 2447 | 2 | 6 | 0% | 11.1% | |
| Moonee Beach 2450 | 2 | 5 | 0% | 13.3% | |
| Dorrigo 2453 | 1 | 7 | 0% | 100.0% | |
| Emerald Beach 2456 | 1 | 6 | 0% | 5.6% | |
| Iluka 2466 | 1 | 5 | 0% | 1.7% | |
| South West Rocks 2431 | 1 | 5 | 0% | 0.5% | |
| Evans Head 2473 | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.5% | |
| South Grafton 2460 | 1 | 4 | 0% | 7.1% | |
| Yamba 2464 | 1 | 3 | 0% | 0.3% | |
| Wooli 2462 | 1 | 3 | 0% | 25.0% |
Tribunal & Court History
3
Total Cases
2
NCAT
0.2
Adverse per 100 Schemes
0.5
Total per 100 Schemes
3 cases since 2021. Of these, 1 resulted in substantive orders. The remaining 2 were dismissed, withdrawn, settled, or involved the OC as applicant.
An owners corporation applied to compel their neighbours to prune trees due to obstruction of sunlight and views. The tribunal found the obstruction was not severe enough to meet the legal requirements and refused the application. The neighbours were thus not ordered to prune the trees.
TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS) – high hedges –obstruction of views and sunlight – other causes of obstruction – balance between views and privacy
Before
Douglas AC
Hearing
5 December 2022
File Numbers
2022/217425
Matched Strata Plans
SP92669
Parties
Owners Corporation v Third Party
Representation
Counsel: B Rix (Agent) (Applicant) S Green (Solicitor) (Respondent) Solicitors: Green & McKay (Respondent)
Orders
The orders of the Court are: (1) The application is refused.
The applicant sought the removal of security cameras installed by the respondent. The Tribunal found the cameras were installed without proper consent and interfered with the applicant's use of common property. Consequently, the Tribunal ordered the removal of the cameras that filmed the common property.
LAND LAW — Strata title — Consent for installation of security cameras on common property— Interference in the reasonable use of a lot or common property
Before
K Ross, Senior Member
Hearing
28 July 2021
File Numbers
SC 21/08985
Matched Strata Plans
SP83029
Parties
Lot Owner v Lot Owner
Representation
Applicants (Self represented) Respondents (Self represented)
Orders
1 On or before 30 November 2021, the respondents are, in a proper and workmanlike manner, to remove the two CCTV cameras which film the common property driveway, and the CCTV camera installed to film the courtyard (the courtyard CCTV camera), and are to provide evidence of compliance to the strata managing agent by that date. 2 If The Owners – Strata Plan No. 83029 is satisfied that the courtyard CCTV camera films only the respondents’ lot, and on or before 16 November 2021 passes a special...
The Owners Corporation sought costs from the Lot Owners after successfully defending their application and winning their own application. The tribunal dismissed the costs application because it found no special circumstances. The tribunal decided that both parties should bear their own costs.
COSTS — Where Rule 38 does not apply — Special circumstances
Before
K Ross, Senior Member
Hearing
On the papers
File Numbers
SC20/29714, SC20/29716 and SC20/34752
Matched Strata Plans
SP16629
Parties
Owners Corporation v Lot Owner
Representation
Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (Respondent)
Orders
1 An order is made pursuant to s 50 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013, dispensing with a hearing. 2 The costs applications are dismissed.
Google Reviews
21 Jan 2026
“Total change of staff in the last few mths unknown to our strata. Our appointed strata manager won't answer straight out questions & is making it very difficult to work with. I am at the point of considering changing to another company”
08 Sep 2023
“Not happy with this strata firm.
if you want a happy owners who get along with each other that will never happen with SMS. They get involved in the politics and "anoint" their preferred group of owners. "oldest most respected" and "40 years of excellence" - no far from it. their contractors are...”
06 Feb 2023
“I've paid $4430 on levies between November 16 2022 and and 4 February 2023. SMS is trying to tell me I've paid nothing since September 2022! Even with receipt numbers and amounts supplied, they engaged Grace Lawyers which increased the amount I owe..go figure! They tack on the next levies to...”
16 Nov 2024
“Jan 2024, NCAT ORDERED SMS Coffs Harbour be REPLACED by a compulsory Strata Manager at a large scheme in Coffs Harbour Owners are facing levies in excess of $2 million to fix defective work and do maintenance which SMS had a big hand in organising. The Tribunal found SMS had provided incorrect...”
18 Sep 2019
“SMS knows the true meaning of customer service. They provide regular flyers about all aspects of strata which are extremely beneficial. We can now do our meetings with online voting and their client portal is a wealth of information!! Congratulations to SMS on their new website too.......it's...”