It is with great pleasure and pride that Strata Community Australia (SCA) acknowledges the recent award of an Order of Australia Medal to Phillip Duggan for his services to the community and to the Strata industry in particular. Sadly, Phil passed away in 2022, so this award is made posthumously.
Phil and his friend and colleague, Ray Bright, were the founding principals of Bright & Duggan, which became one of Australia’s largest strata management companies. This company was established in 1977 and Phil, as Executive Chairman, devoted more than 44 years to growing this business. In addition, he was heavily involved in improving and developing the strata industry more widely. Phil and Ray were present at the meeting in November 1978 when the first professional association of strata managers was proposed and, consequently, Bright & Duggan became a foundation member of the Institute of Strata Title Management (ISTM) which was established in 1980, as a result of this meeting. ISTM became Strata Community Association (SCA) in 2011. Bright and Duggan won the SCA(NSW) Award as the Strata Management Company of the Year in 2016 and Phil, himself, was honoured with Life Membership of SCA in 2011 and the Max Dunn Award in 2019.
Phil’s latter years with Bright & Duggan were spent as a much loved mentor and father figure to his extensive staff. He was renowned for always having time to help his staff, irrespective of his own current workload. In the wider industry, he was always willing, when asked, to advise and share his vast knowledge of strata with other SCA members. Whilst they were all his competitors, Phil took the wider view that this policy developed the efficiency and effectiveness of all members, which was of ultimate benefit to the entire industry. It was fitting that Phil was awarded the prestigious Max Dunn Award by SCA in 2019 because it is given annually to the person, who has contributed most to fostering friendship and collegiality among members.
Phil’s community work was far-reaching and was partly an extension of his desire to do all that he could for his own family and partly a wish to give back to society, acknowledging that he had been fortunate in many ways. Phil was a longtime President of the Parents and Friends Association (P&F) at St Aloysius College where his three sons, Andrew, Tim and Chris, attended. He was also the Deputy Chairman of the board of Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College where daughter, Rachael, was a student as well as holding the position as President of that school’s P&F. In addition, he was, for more than a decade, a volunteer with the P&F at the children’s primary school, St Michael’s at Lane Cove. He was also a member of the Finance committee for the Parish of St Michaels.
In the wider community, Phil and his wife, Anna, were great supporters of Cystic Fibrosis Australia, holding many fundraisers, including golf days, and supporting this charity’s annual 65 Roses Walkathons over many years. Phil was a longtime volunteer at the Matthew Talbot Hostel as well as being a Red Jacket Volunteer Guide for the City of Sydney.
Phillip Duggan is indeed a very worthy recipient of the Order of Australia Medal in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.
