What is the StrataBody Assistant—and how should committees use it safely?

Most generic tools don't understand your scheme. They don't know your building name, your committee members, your open requests, or your upcoming compliance deadlines. They give general answers that you then have to translate into something useful for your specific situation.

The built-in StrataBody Assistant is different. She works within the context of your scheme's actual data, your workflows, and Australian strata obligations. That means the answers and drafts she produces are grounded in what's actually happening in your scheme, not a generic template.

What is the StrataBody Assistant?

The StrataBody Assistant is built into StrataBody. She's not a separate product you have to subscribe to separately — she's woven into every part of the platform. You'll find her floating button on every app page, ready when you need her.

Think of the StrataBody Assistant as a knowledgeable colleague who has read every piece of Australian strata regulation she can find, knows your scheme data inside and out, and is available at any hour without needing to be briefed from scratch each time.

She can draft documents, answer compliance questions, suggest triage priorities for maintenance requests, help prepare meeting agendas, summarise your current compliance obligations, and much more. And critically, she operates within your scheme's normal permission and access controls — what committee members can see, The StrataBody Assistant can reference; what's restricted, The StrataBody Assistant respects.

What makes The StrataBody Assistant genuinely useful (not just a gimmick)

The difference between an assistant that's actually useful and one that's mostly frustrating comes down to context. Generic tools require you to explain your situation every single time. The StrataBody Assistant already has context.

When you ask the StrataBody Assistant 'What compliance items are coming up this month?' she can reference your actual compliance register. When you ask her to draft a notice about upcoming lift maintenance, she knows your building name and can produce something that looks ready to send — not a template full of [INSERT YOUR BUILDING NAME HERE] placeholders.

The StrataBody Assistant can also provide regulation-aware responses with citations. If you ask whether your scheme needs to hold a fire evacuation exercise this year, she can point to the relevant legislation for your state rather than giving a vague 'it depends' answer. This doesn't replace legal advice — and The StrataBody Assistant will always say so — but it helps committees ask better questions of their advisors and understand the regulatory landscape they're operating in.

The confirm-before-write model: staying in control

This is important enough to give its own section. The StrataBody Assistant does not make changes to your scheme data without your explicit confirmation. This is intentional and non-negotiable.

When The StrataBody Assistant proposes an action — creating a meeting, updating a request, logging a compliance item — she shows you exactly what she intends to do and waits for your confirmation before executing. You can review, adjust, or decline. The committee stays in control of every decision.

This model exists because governance matters. Your committee is legally responsible for the decisions made on behalf of the owners corporation. The StrataBody Assistant is there to reduce the time and effort required to make those decisions well — not to make them for you.

Treat Assistant outputs as an excellent first draft that you validate, refine, and then confirm. This is the right workflow: faster preparation without surrendering accountability.

The best first uses for the StrataBody Assistant on your scheme

If you're just getting started with the StrataBody Assistant, here are the highest-value places to begin:

**Drafting owner notices.** Instead of staring at a blank page, ask the StrataBody Assistant to draft a notice about a specific upcoming event — a planned water shutdown, facade works, a lift service, or a new parking rule. Give her the key details (timing, impact, what owners need to do) and she'll produce a professional, readable draft in seconds. You review, adjust the tone or specifics, and publish.

**Meeting agenda preparation.** Before a committee meeting, ask the StrataBody Assistant to help draft the agenda based on your current open items. She can pull from open requests, outstanding compliance items, and pending decisions to suggest what should be on the agenda. Much faster than assembling it manually.

**Triage support for maintenance requests.** When a new request comes in, ask the StrataBody Assistant to suggest a priority level, an assignee, and a due date based on the request description. She's particularly good at identifying urgency cues that a tired committee member might miss at 9pm on a Wednesday.

**Compliance questions.** Ask the StrataBody Assistant questions like 'When does our fire safety statement need to be lodged?' or 'What documentation do we need for our upcoming AGM?' She'll give you a substantive answer with relevant regulatory context for your state.

Getting better results: how to ask the StrataBody Assistant clear questions

The StrataBody Assistant works best when you give her clear context. Short, vague prompts can work, but specific prompts get better results.

Compare these two prompts: 'Write a notice' versus 'Draft a notice to all owners about scheduled water shutoff next Tuesday 8am to 12pm for plumbing maintenance. Neutral professional tone. Mention they should store water in advance and that hot water may be affected for up to two hours after restoration.'

The second prompt produces something close to ready-to-send. The first produces something generic that takes more editing time than writing from scratch.

A good prompt includes: the audience, the purpose, the key facts, the desired tone, and any specific instructions or constraints. Once you've found a prompt structure that works well for recurring tasks, save it as a template your whole committee can use.