Effective Strata Meetings are essential to the successful running of your Owners Corporation and ensuring that your scheme is running in accordance with its legislative obligations.

Being prepared and efficient can make all the difference to your meetings and ensure your meeting is a successful one. In this article, our SSKB Owners Corporation Managers provide their tips on why you should attend meetings, the different types of meetings, conducting a successful meeting and how to vote.  

What is an Owners Corporation Meeting?

Owners Corporation (or Strata) Meetings are where Owners make decisions about the Owners Corporation complex. By getting involved in meetings, you have a say on issues that impact how you live. 

The Chairperson of the Committee is responsible for running meetings. They will first make sure that there are enough people for the meeting to commence. They will then go through the items on the meeting agenda. The agenda usually includes items such as the scheme’s finances, scheduled repairs and maintenance, levies, insurance and any other issues that Owners would like to discuss. Items covered during the meeting will often require Owners to vote. 

To ensure the Owners Corporation Meeting runs effectively, the Owners Corporation Manager, Lot Owners and the committee should identify topics for discussion. We’ve provided a meeting preparation checklist as a guide below:

DID YOU KNOW!? When you download the SSKB app, you gain exclusive access to view your meeting agenda via the ‘documents’ icon.

Why should I attend meetings? 

At SSKB, we encourage Committee Members to be actively involved in the Owners Corporation. If you own a Strata property, attending meetings will allow you to be involved in decisions and contribute to the success of your building. 

Meetings can cover topics like: 

• How your strata scheme is run 
• The Owners Corporation Rules  
• Future planning 
• How your strata levies are being spent 
• Repairs and maintenance. 

If you are unhappy with any part of the building, you can ask to get your issues on the meeting agenda. This is so they can be discussed and solved. 

Types of meetings 

There are different kinds of meetings that owners in an Owners Corporation can get involved in. 

Annual General Meeting 

Your Owners Corporation must hold a meeting of all Lot Owners (called the Annual General Meeting) if it receives or pays out money during the financial year. 

Special General Meetings 

Special General Meetings may be required for ad-hoc matters. The notice must include: 

• The date, time and place of the meeting 
• The agenda and the text of any special or unanimous resolutions, and 
• A statement that the Lot Owner has a right to appoint a proxy. 

Committee Meetings 

Committee Meetings are for Committee Members to discuss and vote on day-to-day matters. 

If you are not a Committee member and you want to speak or attend a Committee Meeting in the capacity as an Owner, you should ask the Owners Corporations Manager prior to the meeting.

Conducting a meeting 

Your Owners Corporation Secretary schedules the meeting and manages the relevant paperwork. The chairperson is responsible for running the meeting to enable decisions. 

For more information about the roles and responsibilities of the Secretary click here. 

Minutes of a meeting 

The Owners Corporation must keep minutes of all its meetings. The minutes, which are usually taken by the Secretary, must record: 

• The date, time and place of the meeting 
• The names of attendees 
• All resolutions made by the committee, and 
• Voting on all decisions. 
• Details of any correspondence, reports, notices or other documents tabled 

At SSKB, our Community Managers quite often undertake the role of Secretary and will record the minutes of the meetings. 

What is a quorum?

A ‘quorum’ is the minimum number of members needed to transact business at a meeting. The quorum for an Annual General Meeting is at least 50 per cent of the total votes or if 50 percent of total votes are not available then 50 percent of lot entitlements. 

The Annual General Meeting can still go ahead without a quorum, but it can only make ‘interim decisions’. 

The Owners Corporation can act on interim decisions after 29 days only if it has not received either a: 

• Petition of owners representing 25 per cent of the total lot entitlements to call another meeting 
• Notice of Special General Meeting. 

Voting 

Your Owners Corporation will make its decisions by voting at a meeting or via a ballot. Basic requirements for voting and ballots by an Owners Corporation and its Committee are set out in the Owners Corporation Act 2006. 

Using power of attorney 

A person acting under a power of attorney for a Lot Owner may vote on their behalf at a General Meeting or on a ballot. 

A power of attorney can only act for more than one Lot if they are a member of the Lot Owner’s family. 

SSKB’s Owners Corporation Managers support both you and your community to ensure that your Owners Corporation Committee Meetings are a success. For more information, click here to gain more insight into the purpose of the Owners Corporation.