FAQ - Commitee

Who Are The Committee? What Do They Do?

The Committee is a group of owners (between 3 and 7) who are elected by the owners at the Annual General Meeting each year. They are responsible for the day-to-day management of the body corporate. They do things such as:

• Instruct the Body Corporate Manager and On-Site Manager (if engaged)

• Authorise spending within the budget

• Decide on ordinary management matters as authorised by the by-laws, such as whether an owner can have a pet or make a change to the external appearance of their lot

• Enforce the by-laws

• Ensure the Body Corporate complies with any legal requirements

• If you would like to know which owners in your scheme are members of the committee, you should contact your Body Corporate Manager to discuss.

When Are Committee Meetings Held?

This depends on each scheme. Some committees (usually in larger schemes) hold regular meetings, every month or every quarter. Others only hold meetings when they need them, for example when an owner has made a request to keep a pet, or a decision needs to be made which quote to accept for a particular job.

How And Where Are Committee Meetings Held?

Again, this depends on each scheme. Some body corporates have personal meetings, where all committee members are invited to a meeting set at a time and place. All other owners are also allowed to attend these meetings if they wish, however they do not get to vote.

Committee Meetings may be held at the office of the Body Corporate Manager, on the common property (such as the pool area) at an owner’s unit. Committee members can attend a committee meeting via phone if they wish.

Decisions can also be made by Voting Outside a Committee Meeting (also called a Flying Minute). This is usually where one, straightforward decision needs to be made and discussion is not really required. The motion is circulated to all committee members in writing, and they vote “yes” or “no”. This is the most common form of meeting, as most committee members have jobs so it can be difficult to arrange a quorum for a personal meeting.

How Do I Become A Committee Member?

Any owner who is paid up to date in their levies can nominate to be on the committee. The committee (via the Body Corporate Manager) will call for nomination to the committee 3 to 6 weeks before the end of your body corporate’s financial year.

Nominations will also be called from the floor of the meeting if:

• The positions of Chairperson, Secretary and/or Treasurer have not been filled (as these MUST be filled)

• The maximum number of permissible committee members (i.e 7) has not been reached. However, provided that there are 3 people on the committee, calling for additional nominations is a courtesy to allow anyone else who may be interested to nominate.

Detailed information on nominating to be on the committee will be forwarded to you when nominations are called. It is easiest to nominate yourself if you are interested, rather than getting someone else to nominate you. There is nothing wrong with nominating yourself. The Act encourages it, and usually the other owners to do not even know whether you have nominated yourself or whether someone else has done so.

Why Should I Become A Committee Member?

Committee Members are involved in every decision made by the Body Corporate. Every owner has a substantial investment in the Body Corporate. The only way to have a say in the day to day operation of your investment and your home (if you live on site) is to be on the Committee.

If you are not on the Committee, you are giving the power to other people to make decisions on your investment and your home. If you lived in a house rather than a unit, would you give someone this power?

I Dont Have Time To Be On The Committee - I Work - I Don't Live On Site

In most smaller complexes (under 10 lots) the Committee does not meet regularly. They may go all year without holding a meeting. If they do, they are usually paper meetings (flying minutes), where each committee member received a voting paper with a simple motion (eg “That the owner of lot 1 be permitted to keep a cat in the lot”) and you simply mark “yes” or “no” and return the paper. Who doesn’t have time for that?

You do not have to live locally to be on a Committee. You can attend meetings by phone, or if the committee votes by flying minute, you can even vote via email.