How can LIZ save your strata committee hours every month?

Time is the resource that volunteer strata committees have the least of. Committee members are real people with jobs, families, and lives outside the building — and yet the admin demands of running a scheme can feel relentless. Notices to draft, minutes to write, compliance to track, owners to reply to, quotes to compare, levies to explain.

LIZ doesn't eliminate all of that, but she dramatically reduces the time each task takes. Here are five concrete, real-world examples of where committees using LIZ are getting their time back — with example prompts you can use straight away.

Understanding what makes LIZ fast (and why it matters)

The time savings from LIZ come from two places: context and iteration. Because LIZ already knows your scheme — your building name, your current open items, your committee members, your compliance calendar — she doesn't need to be briefed from scratch each time. And because she produces a near-complete first draft, you're iterating on something concrete rather than staring at a blank page.

Most of the examples below involve a committee member spending 30 seconds writing a prompt and 3 minutes reviewing and adjusting the draft, rather than 20–30 minutes writing from scratch. Multiplied across all the regular tasks in a scheme, those savings compound quickly.

Example 1: drafting owner notices in minutes

Owner notices are one of the most common and time-consuming tasks for strata secretaries. Planned water shutoffs, lift maintenance, facade works, parking rule reminders, pest inspections, pool closures — there's always something that needs to be communicated.

Without LIZ, this usually means finding a previous notice, adapting it (and hoping the previous one was actually good), and spending 20 minutes getting the wording right.

With LIZ, you write: 'Draft a notice to all owners about scheduled water shutoff next Thursday 9am to 1pm for main valve replacement. Neutral professional tone. Mention to store water in advance, hot water may be off for an extra two hours, and contact the emergency plumber on [number] if urgent.'

LIZ produces a ready-to-review draft in seconds. You check the key facts, adjust anything that needs tweaking, and publish. What took 20 minutes now takes 4.

**Why it works:** The prompt contains all the essential information. LIZ formats it correctly, gets the tone right, and uses your scheme's language. Your job is to verify the facts are correct and approve.

Example 2: compliance preparation before key due dates

One of the most anxiety-producing parts of committee life is the feeling that something important is slipping through the cracks — an insurance renewal you haven't thought about, a fire safety statement due date that crept up quietly.

Ask LIZ: 'What compliance items are coming up in the next 60 days, and what do we need to prepare for each?' She'll reference your compliance register and produce a plain-language checklist of what needs to happen before each deadline.

Take it further: 'Draft a preparation checklist for our upcoming fire safety inspection.' LIZ will produce a step-by-step task list covering what to organise before the contractor arrives, what documentation to have ready, what to do after the inspection is complete, and how to record the outcome in the system.

This turns vague 'we should probably check on that' anxiety into a concrete, actionable to-do list that you can assign to committee members and tick off.

Example 3: first-pass meeting minutes

Writing minutes is one of the most time-consuming tasks for a strata secretary — especially if the meeting was long or complex. LIZ can dramatically reduce this burden.

After the meeting, share your notes with LIZ (attendees, motions, decisions, actions) and ask: 'Turn these meeting notes into a set of draft committee meeting minutes in formal Australian style.' LIZ will structure the content correctly, format the motions and resolutions properly, and produce something that looks like proper minutes rather than a rough transcript.

The secretary's job becomes reviewing and correcting rather than writing from scratch. This usually saves between 30 minutes and an hour per meeting — and the quality of the output is often higher because LIZ is consistent in how she formats decisions and action items.

**Important:** Always review the draft carefully. LIZ works from what you give her. If your notes missed something or got a number wrong, the draft will reflect that. The review step is non-negotiable.

Example 4: levy communication support

Levy notices can generate a surprising amount of owner anxiety, especially for first-time owners who don't understand how levies work. Plain, clear communication about what levies are, why they're going up, or what a special levy covers can prevent a flood of stressed phone calls and emails to the committee.

Ask LIZ: 'Draft an owner communication explaining that levies are increasing by 8% next quarter due to increased insurance premiums and the upcoming facade maintenance project. Friendly, clear tone. Keep it under 200 words.' LIZ will produce an honest, readable explanation that demystifies the increase without being defensive or overly technical.

You can also use LIZ to draft more targeted communications: 'Write a follow-up notice to owners with outstanding levy arrears. Polite but clear. Mention that interest may accrue if not resolved within 14 days. Include the payments email address.'

Example 5: translating contractor and compliance jargon into plain English

Committees regularly receive reports, certificates, and scope-of-work documents that are full of technical language that's hard to relay to owners without either dumbing it down too much or confusing everyone.

Ask LIZ: 'Summarise this fire safety report for owners in plain English. Focus on what the findings mean for residents and what action the committee is taking.' LIZ will produce a clear, jargon-free summary that keeps owners informed without creating unnecessary alarm.

This is genuinely valuable for major works projects where owners need to understand what's happening without needing to read 40-page engineering reports.

Building a prompt library for your committee

One of the most effective things a committee can do is build a small library of prompts that work well for your most common tasks. Write them down somewhere accessible — even a shared note in your committee's communication channel.

Good prompt categories to start with: water shutoffs, pest inspections, AGM notices, levy explanations, maintenance updates, compliance reminders, meeting minutes, and by-law reminders. Once you have a good prompt template for each of these, your committee can produce professional communications in minutes regardless of who's drafting them that week.