‘Nothing I could do’: WA’s second-hand smoke concerns rise as strata law review stalls by eight months

Health campaigners are launching a fresh focus on the dangers of second-hand smoke drifting into homes, criticising the delay of a review into the issue which is at least eight months behind schedule. The State Government is reviewing the Strata Titles Act 1985, which includes two public consultation periods, to reform strata living, strata manager practice and standards, and improve cost controls in strata title schemes. About one-quarter of WA’s population live in strata properties with more than 340,000 strata lots in WA as of August, 2024. The first consultation for the review closed on October 31, 2024, but phase two, originally planned for the first half of 2025, is yet to be opened. Landgate, the State Government body administering the review on behalf of the Minister for Lands, instead now states on its website that phase two is “to be confirmed”. Cancer Council WA has launched a campaign to push the second phase of consultations to go ahead as cigarette and vape smoke drifting into people’s properties remains unaddressed by current laws. Tobacco smoke can drift from balconies, yards, stairwells, common areas, and even come through air cons, which raises serious concern when second-hand smoke is known to cause cancer as well as exacerbate other heart and respiratory conditions. Jennifer Turner was living in an older East Fremantle apartment for 11 years, constantly being exposed to thick cigarette smoke inside, which would waft in from a neighbour. She said she tried many avenues including the strata manager, local council, MPs, and not-for-profit organisations but had no help to resolve the issue. “There was a tenant in the apartment below me and he was a heavy smoker,” Ms Turner said. “I would come home from a day of work and literally turn on my lights to the kitchen and see cigarette smoke circulating around the light of my kitchen due to him sitting in his apartment smoking. “I was getting to a point where I was coughing but there was nothing I could do about escaping from people’s cigarette smoke in my own home.” She has since moved out of the apartment but is now concerned for the health of her tenants. Cancer Council WA cancer prevention and research director Melissa Ledger said the second consultation was crucial to developing solutions for smoke drift in strata properties. The phase one consultation focused on identifying issues in strata living, which included covering more contemporary issues like smoke drift. Phase two plans to share potential strata law reforms to address these issues for public comment. “It’s really important to get our strata laws up to speed and addressing something that is more than an annoyance it’s a serious health hazard for people living in strata,” Ms Ledger said. “Smoke drift is probably one of the most common issues that we get contacted on in our Make Smoking History team at Cancer Council and, at this point in time, there’s really nothing they can do under the current Act. “Our recommendations are to just incorporate a general provision that prohibits smoke drift that adversely affects others, which is often in common areas, and include an option that a strata could become entirely smoke free, if residents are in agreement.” There is already laws addressing these recommendations in Victoria, NSW, and Queensland. A Landgate spokesman said work to begin phase two was underway but would not be drawn on when public consultations would start. “There was considerable feedback received in phase one of the public consultation process, which is informing phase two of the review,” he said. “This work is underway and further announcements will be made in due course. “Building safety and strata disputes can be dealt with under the existing provisions of the Act and managed through the appropriate dispute pathways.”\