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, how to get involved and how to vote.
What is a Strata Meeting?
Strata meetings are where Owners make decisions about the Strata complex (scheme). 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 Strata 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 wish to discuss. Items covered during the meeting will often require Owners to vote.
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 by-laws
- Future planning
- How your Strata levies are being spent
- Repairs and maintenance.
If you would like to discuss any concerns with any part of the scheme, you can ask to have your issues added to the meeting agenda in order for them to be discussed and resolved.
Types of meetings
There are different kinds of meetings that Owners in a Strata scheme can get involved in.
Annual General Meetings
The Owners Corporation in every Owners Corporation must hold at least one meeting every year. This is called an Annual General Meeting (AGM).
At an AGM, Owners will discuss:
- Finances
- Levies
- Money needed for upcoming repairs or maintenance
- Insurance policies
- Safety concerns
The Owners Corporation committee will be elected at an AGM. The Strata managing agent or building manager can also be appointed at these meetings.
Other matters that affect the scheme can also be discussed. For example, changes to by-laws, disputes between residents.
General Meetings
General meetings are held as required. General meetings are often referred to as extraordinary general meetings (EGM) or special meetings.
These types of meetings discuss specific agenda items that need agreement from Owners and cannot wait until the next AGM. DID YOU KNOW!? When you download the SSKB app, you gain exclusive access to view your meeting agenda via the ‘documents’ icon.
Owners can contact the Owners Corporation to call a general meeting, but they must follow these steps:
- Ask in writing
- Hold at least a quarter of the scheme’s total unit entitlement (they can ask as an individual or a group of Owners).
The secretary or Committee can call a general meeting at any time.
Strata Committee Meetings
Strata Committee Meetings are for Strata Committee members to discuss and vote on day-to-day matters.
Owners can attend Strata Committee Meetings. However, they cannot speak unless they get permission from the Strata Committee.
If you’d like to speak at a Strata Committee Meeting, you should ask a member of the Strata Committee before the meeting.
How to get involved in meetings
Before a meeting of the Owners Corporation, the Secretary or Committee must inform every Owner and Tenant that a meeting will occur.
The notice must include a detailed agenda for the meeting. The Secretary or Strata Committee can tell Owners that a meeting will be held by giving them a written notice and agenda document.
The agenda document can be distributed by hand, email, post, or by putting the documents on the building’s noticeboard. If you have the SSKB app, make sure you turn your notifications on, and you will receive a notification to inform you of any upcoming meetings.
It is important to note, Owners must get notice at least seven days before the meeting is held.
What if I can’t attend but still want to participate?
First, check the notice of the meeting. Check to see if there is an option to participate electronically. At SSKB, we offer easily accessible virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
If these options don’t suit your needs, write to the Strata Committee. You can ask about other options available, like a ‘pre-meeting vote’ or a ‘proxy vote’.
How voting works
The Chairperson may ask you at the start of the meeting if you are entitled to vote.
You are not eligible to vote if you have not paid your levies. In some cases, your vote can be overruled by someone using a ‘priority vote’.
Voting power
In Strata schemes, Owners’ voting power is either based on one vote per Owner (for an ordinary resolution) or is based on ‘unit entitlement’ (for a special resolution).
Every property in a scheme has a ‘unit entitlement’ value. This value represents the share of the strata scheme that you get when you purchase your Lot.
For example, a small apartment might have a unit entitlement of 50. A larger apartment might have a unit entitlement of 75. An Owner with higher unit entitlements has more voting power but pays higher levies.
Types of votes
There are different types of proposals that can be voted on at a meeting.
Some common examples include approving the amount of levies you will be charged, approving plans for repairs, or approving a change to a by-law.
Different proposals will require a different number of Owners to vote in favour, based on their unit entitlement.
Types of votes include:
SSKB’s Owners Corporation Managers support both you and your community to ensure that your Strata meetings are a success. For more information, click here to gain more insight into the purpose of the Owners Corporation.
