Strata Committee Meetings

A guide to Strata Committee Meetings in NSW

A decision at a strata committee meeting is considered a decision of the owners corporation. A fundamental change in the running of strata committee meetings is that a committee member must be financial to vote. This guide sets out the framework for strata committee meetings.

CONVENING A MEETING

Options to convene a strata committee meeting

• the standard last motion on our committee notice is to set a date and time for the next meeting
• the Secretary may convene a meeting
• 1/3 of committee members can request a meeting, and the meeting is to be held not later than 14 days after the request (28 days if it is a large scheme)

QUORUM

A motion on the notice of the strata committee meeting must not be considered unless there is a quorum present to consider and vote on the motion. A quorum is present at a meeting when:

(a) in the case of a strata committee which has only one member, if the member is present;

(b) in any other case, if not less than one-half of the persons entitled to vote on the motion are present.

A person who has voted, or intends to vote by a permitted means other than a vote in person is taken to be present for the purposes of determining whether there is a quorum.

A member with the consent of the strata committee may appoint an owner or eligible company nominee, to act in his or her role at any meeting of the strata committee. A person can be appointed even if they are already a member of the committee. If your scheme has tenancy notices for more than half the lots in the scheme, then there should be a tenant representative. This person cannot be counted in determining the quorum.

ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE

A committee member cannot vote if the contributions for their lot have not been paid, or if they were nominated for the strata committee by an owner who has not paid the contributions for their lot. The key is whether the owner of the lot was un-financial at the date notice of the meeting and did not pay before the meeting. Tenant representatives cannot vote.

DISCLOSURES OF PECUNIARY INTEREST

If you have any pecuniary interest in a motion, then the nature of the interest must be disclosed at a meeting AND the particulars are to be kept in a book for this purpose. A member with a pecuniary interest in a particular matter cannot vote on a motion relating to that matter.

MOTIONS DECIDED

Motions are decided by the majority and declared by the chairperson at the meeting. A motion is valid if proper notice is given and each committee member received the motion. If before the meeting, notice is given to the secretary by owners whose unit of entitlement is greater than one third, that the specified owners are opposed to the decision.

NON-MEMBER ATTENDANCE

Owners or company nominees of a lot in the scheme may attend a strata committee meeting however they are not entitled to address the meeting unless authorised by a resolution of the meeting. This means a motion to enable them to address the meeting should be on the notice of meetings.

MINUTES

Minutes, including all resolutions passed, must be kept and be distributed to:

• each committee member within 7 days
• each owner within 7 days (if not a large scheme)
• to each owner of a large scheme within 7 days of the request for a copy of the minutes.

If you have any questions, simply contact your Strata Plus strata manager. We have further information guides relating to the strata committee.

The above information is contained in Sections 33, 34 & 39 and Schedule 2 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).