Wednesday 26 October 2016

General Meetings within a Body Corporate

We get that this subject might be a bit bland…. However, it’s a topic that may need clarification. It could always be worse though… we could be discussing Workplace Health and Safety – Eek!

Introducing…. GENERAL MEETINGS. There are two kinds of meetings relevant to running a body corporate: committee meetings and general meetings. General meetings are open meetings for all lot-owners, or their representatives, and all lot-owners must be invited to attend a general meeting. There are detailed provisions in the Act and the Modules about how a general meeting must be called and held.

General meetings are the means by which the body corporate deals with matters of business that are beyond the powers of the committee to determine.

Once a year, the body corporate must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM).
All other general meetings are called Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs). The AGM must be called and held each year within 3 months after the end of the scheme's financial year, and must consider certain specific motions ('statutory motions'). An EGM may be held at any time in compliance with the time limits and procedures set out in the Act and the Modules, and a group of owners may request the committee to convene an EGM which will be a requested extraordinary general meeting.

At a general meeting (whether an AGM or EGM), motions proposed on an agenda are put to the vote. Only those motions on the agenda can be voted on, and therefore the business of managing the body corporate is by previously proposed motions, and not by discussion and proposals put from the floor.

One vote only may be exercised for each lot in the scheme.



However, we think you know all of this already. Despite this being so incredibly…. um, riveting (cough), why are we bringing this subject up?  All too many times we attend an AGM or EGM and the body corporate does not achieve a quorum.  A quorum is the minimum number of votes that a body corporate requires to hold a General Meeting.

So all the work that goes into putting a General Meeting together, has to be held over to a reconvened meeting 7 days post the date of the original meeting. How does this affect you? Well there is always a cost involved for holding another meeting. This, in turn, boosts up levies. Something that all committees try to keep at a manageable cost to all lot owners.

So next time when you see your AGM papers come through the mail, please make sure you complete them. If you can’t make the meeting, then send them through to your Body Corporate manager or even your Building Manager and they will lodge them on your behalf at the meeting.

Remember, every vote counts!