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General Meetings – A Forum for all Owners

General Meetings - A Forum for all Owners

A Well Oiled Machine

In our March issue we wrote about the dynamics of strata meetings. This month we take it up a notch by going somewhat academic. There are generally two types of meetings, the first we deal with is Strata Committee meetings.

This is a dry subject, I will do my level best to make less dry. I can’t promise more than that. I will provide plenty of links so if you need in future go straight to the authority on the subject….the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA).

The Fair Trading site is useful for an overview on meetings.

The first port of call about Strata Committees (SC) and SC meetings is the definition in section 4 of the SSMA. It reads a “strata committee” of an owners corporation means the strata committee of that owners corporation established under this Act.” Really?  Yes really.

The SC is the engine room of the Owners Corporation and is appointed in accordance with the section 29 of the SSMA.

Strata managers work closely with the SC and sometimes are delegated some or all of its powers, authority and duties. I will deal with the powers and duties of strata managers in a separate newsletter.

The SC consists of persons who are elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). See section 30 of the SSMA.

The SC may consist of up to 9 persons. For a large strata scheme there must be at least 3.

For Strata Schemes consisting of two lots the SC shall consist of 2 owners, one from each lot.

The AGM is a meeting of all lot owners held once a year and is one of several general meetings that may be held by the Owners Corporation.

When the members of the SC are elected they hold a meeting after the AGM and appoint specific office bearers namely the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary. These are important roles and often misunderstood, so we will discuss further in another newsletter.

The decision-making powers of the SC will depend on powers that have been delegated to it by the Owners Corporation. The SC has the power to make day to day decisions unless it has been delegated extra powers by the Owners Corporation at a general meeting.  Any extra powers cannot override legislative requirements.

Decisions of the strata committee are the decisions of the Owners Corporation.

Only members of the SC can vote at SC meetings. An Owner may attend a SC meeting but cannot speak unless the committee provides them leave to do so.

SC meetings are chaired by the Chairperson but if the Chairperson is not present another SC member may be chosen to chair the meeting. Quorum of the SC consists of half of its members who are financial as at the date the agenda was issued and each member has one vote.

Members of the Strata Committee must disclose if they have a conflict of interest and that conflict must be recorded in the records of the Owners Corporation.

 

A night out on the town

Want some light relief?  Let’s talk about a night out in our beloved Sydney.

Strata related of course.

Occasionally spend a little loose change and do something different.

I took my husband for his birthday to Bea at Barangaroo House at, of course, Barangaroo.

We live in the Eastern Suburbs…..don’t think of course she does….so as his scooter chick we road our scooter to Rose Bay and caught the ferry to Barangaroo via the Quay, Luna Park, Milsons Point, Balmain to Barangaroo.

A luxury was a trip as a tourist across our beautiful harbour.

When you pass under the harbour bridge look back over your shoulder…

Get off at Barangaroo and there you are at Bea, just beside the towers.

Who designed Barangaroo House?

Who runs and cooks at Bea – Matt Moran Cory Campbell.

See Time Out’s review of the restaurant from January 2018.

Hope I have given you something to think about besides the woes of the strata world.

 

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