Help Centre
All information is general of nature and should not be taken as advice. Legislation varies by state and territory. If you are unsure, please contact us.
Meetings
Introduction
Meetings are super important and you should always go!
We know they can feel intimidating and uncomfortable, especially in the beginning when you don't really know what's going on. Remember that you are all part of one community and that together you are working towards the same goal. Improving the building together.
By going to meetings you can raise issues that matter to you and work together with your community on improving things.
Key Information
Strata meetings are where owners make decisions about their community. By being involved, you are actively involved in the wellbeing of your property.
Communities need to have at least an Annual General Meeting (AGM) every year. This is the most important meeting in the strata community, you will benefit a lot from going.
Strata Committee meetings can happen in between AGMs as matters arise. If you want to be involved in these meetings, learn more about committee here.
Tenants can attend some meetings, but there are conditions.
Annual General Meeting
In most cases, this is the most important meeting of the year. Owners benefit greatly by attending these meetings.
Every strata scheme must hold at least one meeting each year, known as the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Some of the agenda items at a typical AGM are:
- Review the insurance policy
- Discuss financial matters
- Vote on levies
- Allocate funds for upcoming repairs
- Address safety concerns
- Appoint members to the strata committee
- Decide on whether to self manage or appoint a strata manager
- Appoint a building manager if needed
- Raise other important issues in the community
- Resolve disputes among the community
General meetings (or EGM)
Sometimes decisions can’t wait until the next Annual General Meeting. In these cases, a general meeting can be called to deal with urgent or specific matters.
A general meeting must be held within 14 days of calling the meeting. The owners attending the meeting must hold at least 25% of the total voting power in the scheme. Known as liabilities or entitlements, depending on which state you live in. Learn more in Basic Strata Info.
To start the process, the owners need to send a written request to the secretary.
Types of Votes
Not all votes are a straightforward 'majority wins' vote. See below the different kind of ways a vote for a motion may pass.
General Resolution
Also known as a 'Simple Majority Vote,' a General Resolution is the easy one. Simply more than 50% of the vote must vote for the motion for it to pass.
Special Resolution
For a Special Resolution to pass, no more than 25% of the vote can be against the proposal.
Unanimous Resolution
As the name suggests, there must be unanimous approval for this motion for it to be approved. It fails to pass if a single owner votes against the item.
Voting Power
Voting power is based on the entitlement specified in your strata plan.
The names for this changes between states (Lot entitlement, unit entitlement, etc.) but they mean the same thing. That being, the higher the number, the higher the voting power, but also the higher the share of levies that this owner pays.
The entitlement is generally decided by the size of the footprint of the lot. So owners with a 3 bedroom townhouse would have a higher entitlement than owners with a 1 bedroom townhouse.
Getting Notified
Before an owners corporation meeting takes place, all owners and tenants must be informed in advance. The notice must include a clear and detailed agenda outlining what will be discussed.
The secretary or strata committee is responsible for sending out this notice. It can be delivered in writing by hand, email, post, or displayed on the scheme’s noticeboard—if there is one.
Legislation varies state to state, but generally speaking, notice times are as follows:
- Annual General Meetings require at least 14 days notice
- General Meetings require at least 7 days notice
If you’re not receiving meeting notices, it’s worth checking with the secretary or strata managing agent to make sure your details are up to date on the strata roll.
What if I can’t attend but still want to take part?
It is much more common these days for meetings to be run remotely using a video conference tool.
If that doesn’t work for you, you can write to the strata committee to ask about alternatives—such as voting before the meeting or appointing a proxy vote.
Pre-meeting vote
A pre-meeting vote lets you cast your vote ahead of time. However, if the motion is changed during the meeting, your pre-vote may be overridden.
Keep in mind, you can’t use a pre-meeting vote to elect strata committee members. That part of the vote must happen during the meeting.
Proxy voting
You can also nominate someone to attend and vote at the meeting for you. This is called a proxy vote.
To do this, fill out a proxy appointment form (here is an example for NSW) and give it to the secretary.
There are some other rules associated with Proxy Votes, check your local state legislation to find out what they are. For example, in NSW:
- In schemes with more than 100 lots, you must submit the form at least 24 hours before the meeting.
- In schemes smaller than 100 lots, you can hand it in just before the meeting begins.
There are also limits on who can hold proxy votes:
- In schemes with more than 20 lots, a person can’t hold proxies for more than 5% of total properties.
- In schemes with 20 lots or fewer, someone can only hold one proxy vote at a time.
If you own multiple properties, you can appoint a different proxy for each one—or just choose one person to represent all of them.
What happens at meetings
The chairperson on the strata committee is responsible for running meetings.
They will first make sure that there are enough people for the meeting to go ahead. They will then go through the items on the meeting agenda. Many of the items covered will need owners to vote.
Afterwards they will allow any attendees to raise issues they would like to discuss.
Adding Agenda Items to Meetings
To get your voice heard at meetings and discuss issues that matter to you, you need to raise a motion. This may sound like a fancy law term, but it really is quite straightforward. Here is how you do it:
- Write a 1-2 sentence summary of what you want done. Write it in a format that the community can vote 'for' or 'against' on.
- Include your name
- A supporting explanation of up to 300 words.
- In Loma Strata, this is all very easy to do when a meeting is created ;)
Some notes regarding adding agenda items to meetings.
Always Provide Enough Notice
The deadline for adding agenda items differs between states and even by-laws between schemes can be different. To be safe, get it in as early as possible, but always check when the official deadline is.
Tenancy issues
For issues with your tenancy, always contact your landlord or real estate agent first. In most cases the owners corporation won't be able to intervene
For tenancy issues, contact your landlord or real estate agent.
By-Law Breach
you have an issue you would like to raise for discussion at a meeting, like a by-law breach, you should first contact the strata committee secretary or the strata managing agent.
Committee Can Reject Motions
A motion can be rejected by the committee if it would conflict with an existing law.