A bitter feud inside a gated ‘luxury’ townhouse complex in Brisbane has spilled into the Fair Work Commission and police investigations, pitting residents against their own caretaker amid explosive claims of bullying, intimidation and fraud.
Il Villaggio, a resort-style townhouse development in Brisbane’s Sunnybank, marketed as a slice of Italian village living, has been riven by conflict since caretaker Shirley Wang and her husband, Ho ‘Rocky’ Lau, took over management in 2021 through their company, ProAgent.
The couple also own property within the complex and lived on-site while holding the caretaking contract, which covered cleaning, maintenance, gardening and letting services.
The dispute culminated in a Fair Work Commission application, with Wang seeking stop‑bullying orders against members of the body corporate committee.
Wang alleged she was subjected to escalating bullying, harassment and unreasonable behaviour by the body corporate committee despite meeting her contractual obligations.
She claimed committee members bombarded her with late‑night emails, withheld payments, excluded her from meetings and allowed residents to threaten her with litigation designed to ‘financially ruin’ her.
She also alleged defamatory accusations were circulated about her on WeChat and WhatsApp, including claims she had stolen body corporate funds, and said she was called ‘shameless’, a ‘low life pig’ and an ‘idiot’.
But in a decision delivered in Brisbane this week, Commissioner Sharon Durham rejected Wang’s stop‑bullying application, finding the committee’s conduct amounted to ‘reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way’.
Shirley Wang (pictured) is facing fraud charges by Queensland Police over allged misconduct while doing her caretaking duties at Il Villaggio where she also lives
Il Villaggio (pictured) is a luxury enclave marketed as a slice of Italian village living and has been the centre of escalating tensions since Ms Wang took over as caretaker
Commissioner Durham found the long‑running dispute stemmed largely from Wang’s own actions, saying she had adopted an ‘unreasonably narrow interpretation’ of her duties and reacted defensively to any criticism of her performance.
‘I observed Mrs Wang to be unwilling to acknowledge the part she may have played in the breakdown of the relationship,’ the Commissioner wrote.
She said basic cleaning and maintenance had not been attended to, adding the complex ‘could not be said to meet the professional standard of luxury resort‑style living’.
Wang submitted more than 900 pages of screenshots, photographs, videos and emails in support of her bullying claim.
However, committee members told the Commission the complex had deteriorated sharply after ProAgent took over, prompting formal performance management from 2022.
They said independent assessments consistently found Wang’s work substandard and that she disputed every issue raised.
Members alleged Wang responded with hostility, aggressive communications, threats of legal action and, at times, intimidating behaviour.
The Commissioner said Wang is now facing separate fraud charges arising from a Queensland Police investigation into her conduct as caretaker.
Ms Wang has listed a property for sale in the gated community describing it as set in a ‘peaceful complex’ in a prized school catchment area
Commissioner Durham said this email exchange demonstrated Ms Wang possessed a ‘complete disregard’ for the role of the body corporate and their responsibilities to all owners
The body corporate alleges Wang was involved in the appointment of a self‑selected previous committee which approved reimbursements to her company, ProAgent, and authorised payments for services that were allegedly not provided.
Invoices were allegedly issued four to six weeks in advance, resulting in ProAgent being paid ahead of time.
Because of this, Committee chair Fiona Taylor told the Commission the body corporate was left in serious financial difficulty, including a period when there were insufficient funds to pay the complex’s insurance.
She said irregularities were uncovered after a new committee took office in 2022 and Wang was ultimately referred to police, leading to fraud charges being laid.
In November 2022, the body corporate engaged consultants David Leary and Partners, who found multiple areas where the complex failed to meet industry standards.
Rather than addressing the findings, Wang circulated a six‑page letter to all owners accusing the consultants of bias and claiming the assessments served the ‘personal agendas’ of certain committee members.
Commissioner Durham said this demonstrated Wang’s ‘complete disregard’ for the role of the body corporate and its responsibility to direct the caretaker on behalf of all owners.
‘Ms Wang appears to wholeheartedly believe that if something is not specified in the management agreement, it is not her role,’ she wrote.
One resident alleged Wang and her husband threw personal parcels in the bin, filled letterboxes with junk mail and slammed bin lids late at night.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Wang, who confirmed she has engaged a criminal lawyer but declined to comment further.
