Polly the miniature Schnauzer has won the right to live at the resort
A miniature Schnauzer named Polly has had a major win after a tribunal ruled that the body corporate that tried to prevent her from living in a resort-style apartment complex had been “unreasonable”.
In a decision with national relevance for apartment owners and investors, Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) adjudicator M. Kearney found the Portlinks body corporate in Craiglie, near Port Douglas, acted unreasonably when it repeatedly refused owner Tanya Melville permission to keep her seven-year-old dog Polly in her lot.
Portlinks is the body corporate for Plantation Resort.
The committee knocked back the request three times, despite Polly being a small indoor dog and despite proposed conditions aimed at stopping any impact on neighbours or wildlife.
Polly is a miniature Schnauzer like the one pictured here
But the adjudicator determined that Ms Melville was “deemed to have the written approval” to keep Polly, subject to a list of conditions including that the dog be leashed on common property, not roam, not access nearby council land and not cause a nuisance.
The judgment takes aim at one of the most common flashpoints in strata living: committees relying on an unofficial “no pets” culture even when the law says each application must be considered on its merits.
“The Act stipulates that it is unreasonable for a body corporate to refuse an application on the grounds that no pets are allowed,” the adjudicator said.
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An adjudicator found that the body corporate had acted unreasonably
The Portlinks committee argued the scheme had always had a “no pet” policy, that many owners bought there because of it, and that dogs could harm native wildlife and disrupt the ambience of the resort.
It also raised concerns about toileting, visibility, fencing, added work for managers and the possibility that approving one dog would open the floodgates to more pet applications.
But the adjudicator found much of that was speculative, irrelevant or legally flawed.
Among the sharpest findings was that the committee appeared more focused on preserving a no-pet position than assessing Polly herself.
“The committee appears to have opted for maintaining a ‘no pet’ policy,” the ruling said.
This was despite an email from the caretaking service contractors for the scheme supporting the applicant and Polly, saying they had not heard Polly bark or cry and “would not know Polly is living in the resort at all”.
Polly has been allowed to live at the resort, with a few conditions
They also said they are “thankful that Polly was given a trial period to live within the scheme” and that the “applicant has their full support for Polly to reside permanently in the scheme”.
The body corporate manager also said they were not aware of any complaints since the dog’s arrival.
The adjudicator found those real-world results undercut the committee’s arguments about nuisance and disruption.
“I also note the observations about Polly’s good behaviour made in the owner’s submission, in the email from the caretaking service contractors for the scheme, and in the behavioural reference from Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures (a wildlife facility where Polly lived onsite for approximately 7 years),” the decision said.
Polly had previously lived at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures
The adjudicator found: “For the reasons outlined above, I am satisfied that the committee failed to consider the applicant’s request on its merits and that withholding approval was unreasonable”.
For strata committees nationwide, the ruling is another warning that personal preferences, tradition and vague concerns are not enough to refuse pets.
For owners, it reinforces a growing legal reality: if the by-laws allow pets with approval, that approval can’t be withheld just because a committee doesn’t like dogs.
In Polly’s case, the small dog won.