[three-fifths-first]Welcome you are about to embark on the strata committee training that addresses the most commonly asked questions about being a committee member and also the rarely shared pieces of advice and guidance that can help committee member protect themselves and make their committee run smoother.
Basically, if you take on board the guidance below and implement our “Being the best Committee Member Checklist” you will find yourself making more decision, having quicker meetings and feel better about being on the committee.
If you are looking for a guide that arms you with all the section numbers from the strata act to throw around, this is not the post for you. I would suggest reading the legislation (cover to cover), they throw around your own quotes.
[/three-fifths-first]
[two-fifths]
Don’t let your Committee be like this
[/two-fifths]
Cheat Sheet for Those in a Rush
– Never make a decision at a committee meeting if you are not comfortable
– Always nominate yourself to the committee
– Make sure you have lots of Office Bearers Insurance (just in case)
What is the Owners Corporation:
The owners corporation often referred to as the “strata”, is a corporate legal entity that can be sued and can also sue other corporations and people. The owners corporation is made up of all the owners within their strata building similar to a public listed company being owned and made up that shareholders.
What is the Strata Committee
The strata committee is a small group of volunteers from the owners corporation who are elected to run the day-to-day operations of the owners corporation similar to the Board of Directors publicly listed company.
How are you elected
The strata committee is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting, appointments are only for 12 months. To be elected you must be nominated by an owner.
How many people can be on the Committee
+ Large building (over 100 lots) – between 3 & 9
+ 2 lot building – both lots must be on the committee
+ Other building – between 1 & 9
Who can’t be elected to the committee
There are some restrictions on who cannot be elected to the committee, the most common restriction to be aware of is the property manager/leasing agent restriction. If a property manager leases a property within a building they cannot be a committee member.
Other people to be aware of:
Building Manager cannot be on the committee
Unfinancial owners cannot be on the committee
Should you self-nominate
Yes, nominations for the strata committee can get complicated, a simple rule to remove the complication is to always ensure that you self-nominate.
This is important because the Lot that is the nominator holds control over the committee member they elected, well not in influence, but if the nominator doesn’t pay the levies, the committee member cannot vote, and if the nominator sells the committee member loses their position on the committee.
What is the process for electing a committee?
Without getting too far into the details the simplified process is:
+ 1. Nominations are received in writing and verbally from the floor of the meeting
+ 2. Nominations are closed. No more nominations can be received
+ 3. Meetings decisions on how many committee positions,
+ 4. People call out a number of committee positions, eg 4, 6, 7
+ 5. The meeting votes on the numbers proposed
+6. Number with the most votes is the winner
If the number is:
Less than the nomination, a ballot will be held, everyone votes on who they want to be on the committee
Equal to the nomination, everyone is elected
More than the nomination, everyone is elected and the Committee needs to fill the vacancies.
Committee Meeting Proxy Form
Committee meetings don’t have proxy forms, they actually have something better, acting member appointment.
Appointing an acting member is the same as appointing a proxy holder but an acting member has a standing authority to speak and vote on your behalf in a committee meeting that you are unable to attend, and it can stand for the whole year.
The difference with an acting member to a proxy holder is that the strata committee can choose to accept or declined the nomination of an acting member and it needs to be resolved at a meeting. Therefore to appoint an acting member you need to plan a little. At the first meeting of the year and with all members in attendance you can appoint your acting member.
How often do we need to meet?
There is no fixed or minimum number of committee meetings that need to be held, you must have an Annual General Meeting each year, but all other meetings are optional.
Here is a simple guide for working out how many meetings to have:
+ Less than 20 lots, every six month plus email/paper meetings
+ 20 to 50 lots, every 4 month plus email/paper meetings
+ 50 plus lots, every 3 months, plus the occasional email/paper meeting
What is the job of the:
Chairperson: The chairperson should do exactly that, chair the meeting and ensure the meeting moves forward, decisions are made and that everyone acts and behaves politely. This can be delegated, just keep reading to see how.
Secretary: The secretary should write and send the notice and minutes, correspondence incoming and outgoing, maintain the strata roll, convene meetings. This can be delegated, just keep reading to see how.
Treasurer: The treasurer should be calculating budgets, approving invoices and coordinating the sending of levy notices and collection of money. This can be delegated, just keep reading to see how.
Strata Manager: If you have a strata manager you can delegate all the functions above, and this includes the corresponding and coordinating the building repairs as instructed by the Committee.
Building Manager: If you have a building manager you can delegate all the functions of coordinating repairs for the building such as: inspections of equipment, coordinating contractors, obtaining quotations, approving works invoices.
How does the committee make a decision
The Committee makes a decision with a simple majority of people in agreement, more than 50%.
What are the types of meetings?
The Strata Committee can make a decision in two (2) types of meetings:
+ Physical meeting, where you all sit around a table, talk about the items and come to an agreement on what to do.
+ Electronic / Paper Meeting, where the motions are sent to all member usually over email for everyone to say Yes or No too.
Simple isn’t it, but there are a couple of basic rules everyone should keep in mind.
Agenda needs to be sent before the meeting with supporting information, the legislation sets the timeline, but I recommend giving more time than the minimum, best not to rush people so that decision is made once and moved forward.
Agenda needs to be accessible to everyone, this can be posted/emailed to everyone, and/or displayed on the notice board.
You need to have a quorum at the meeting, a quorum is 50% of members.
How does voting work?
Each committee member in attendance has one vote to cast at a meeting.
Can we make any decision as a Committee?
No. You are restricted, the strata committee’s job is to run the building during the year not change the building. What the Committee can’t do:-
+ Change common property, eg lease it to someone, paint the building a different color
+ Legal Action – you cannot sue someone, you can only obtain limited legal advice and spend limited money on advice $15,000 for urgent advice, $3,000 for non-urgent advice.
+ You cannot set the levies, but you do draft the budget
So how do these decisions get made?
These decisions get made at General Meetings, called either Annual General Meeting, or Extraordinary General Meeting.
What is a General Meeting?
A general meeting is a meeting of all owners within the owners corporation where everyone has the chance to vote.
THIS IS IMPORTANT
If you are a Strata Committee and you are a little uncomfortable making a decision, remember you always have the option to propose a resolution to a General Meeting and protect yourself and the Committee from making a decision that could be argued in the future.
What is Office Bearer’s insurance? Do I want it?
Office bearers insurance is like directors insurance within a company, it protects those making decisions for the strata/corporation.
Yes, you want it and you want lots. Not because you will regularly be sued, but so you can protect yourself. When considering how much every Committee should have, be greedy. Some are good more is better.
I also suggest that the Committee should contact your insurance broker and have them explain the Office Bearers insurance when it applies when it doesn’t and how much it is for.
Do I need a risk report (WHS Report)?
This is probably the question that divides a committee faster than everything else. On the topic of protecting the Strata Committee and Owners Corporation, it is good practice to have them conducted regularly and then action the items they raise.
You may not find the content or the items they raise much value, but if you have a liability (slip and fall claim) these reports will be very valuable in showing the Committee and Owners Corporation is monitoring the safety of common property and doing all they can to continue making it safe.
What else should a strata committee be aware of?
Adjourned Meeting – this can only happen if the committee passes a resolution at a meeting. If you do not have a quorum the meeting is canceled.
Conflicts of Interest – each member has the responsibility to disclose a conflict of interest. If you do not know if something is a conflict, best to disclose it and cover yourself. Be sure to disclose in writing or have it minuted at a meeting.
Compliance of Owners Corporations is growing – be aware of asbestos registers, child window safety, fire system certification, swimming pool compliance, insurance of the building
Committee Members can be paid – this is typically for services provided in the last 12 months and must be approved at a general meeting.
Now we think it is time to bring your strata committee training to an end before you experience an overload. But your follow Committee Members could probably learn from this also so.
