Committee Roles Explained
Ever thought about joining a Body Corporate Committee but not sure what’s involved? In this article we will explain in simple terms, the duties and functions of each positon. But first, we provide a brief background to the where the Committee starts. The Body Corporate is required to elect a Committee at each Annual General Meeting from the eligible Lot Owners and/or their nominated representatives. Once elected, the Committee are charged with the responsibility of the day-to-day running of the Body Corporate, by making decisions on behalf of the Body Corporate on matters that are not listed as Committee restricted matters that require general meeting approval.
Generally, a Committee consists of a minimum of three (3) members, and no more than seven (7) members however, there are a few variations to these requirements depending on the regulation module and particular circumstances within the scheme.
Within a Committee, there are Executive Member positions with varying duties each is responsible for. There are also Ordinary Member positions broken into voting and non-voting categories explained in each of the following headings:
Chairperson
The Chairperson’s role is to chair all meetings they attend. If the Chairperson is not present at a meeting, the voter members who are present can choose another member to chair the meeting. Outside of formal Committee meetings, it is usually the Chairperson who is the default voting member authorised to provide instructions to a Body Corporate Manager when engaged to carry out particular contracted duties. The Chairperson does not have any more authority or responsibility than any of the other voting Committee members and any instructions issued to a manager engaged to act on behalf of the Body Corporate are required to be in accordance with lawful Committee decisions.
Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for a list of duties such as sending out meeting notices, collecting voting papers and receiving proxy forms for meetings and includes taking minutes of meetings. If the Body Corporate has engaged a Body Corporate Manager, it may authorise the manager to carry out the secretary’s functions in addition to other services to be provided however, the responsibilities of the role may not be delegated so it is the member elected to the position who is ultimately responsible.
Treasurer
Similar to the Secretary’s position, the Treasurer has a list of duties which includes tasks such as preparing budgets, managing funds and preparing levy notices. If the Body Corporate has engaged a Body Corporate Manager, it may authorise the Body Corporate Manager to carry out the Treasurer’s duties required to fulfill the legislative obligations of the Body Corporate.
Ordinary Member
Unlike the Executive Member positions, Ordinary Members do not have specific duties. However, there are two categories of Ordinary Members, which are voting members and non-voting members. Voting Ordinary Members are eligible to vote on lawful Committee decisions. Non-voting Ordinary Members are Caretaking Service Contractors and Body Corporate Managers when appointed, who are not eligible to vote on lawful Committee decisions.
More information on each position can be found by review of Archers extensive FAQ’s library that can be accessed here: https://www.abcm.com.au/resources/faq/
This article has been contributed by Lauren Spackman from Archers the Strata Professionals.
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Hello Sandra
Thank you very much for reading with keen interest. I’m glad that you found the article of use and please rest assured that your comments are taken on board for any future articles written about the additional topics you have raised.
Hi Lauren,
I read your information on committees with interest. You did fail to emphasize that all committee members have a code of conduct that they should be aware of and that the code requires committee members to have a basic knowledge of the legislation, (the Act and relevant Regulations). This is not a big ask when so much information is readily available online. All that is required is the time, desire and interest to seek relevant independent information.
In practice, a caretaker may influence the election of a “suitable” committee via the rental pool vote and the resultant committee can be made up of persons who are far less likely to be aware of their responsibilities and have very limited knowledge of the building itself, the caretaking and letting agreements, budgets and sinking fund forecast. It is quite common for such committee members to be located interstate or even overseas. They are onsite on a very limited basis and while onsite generally enjoy social contact with the caretakers rather than addressing the concerns of more informed owners. They have rarely, if ever, attended previous committee meetings as observers, nor have they attended any general meetings. When they do attend committee meetings, as participants, they lack the background knowledge to challenge decisions in an informed manner and contribute very little to the meeting other than to nod “yes” when it is expected of them.
The election of such committee members is a sign that the average owner is too complacent with respect to protecting their own financial investment. A committee, as described above, may often be incapable of representing the interest of owners which is what they have been elected to do. All committee members need to understand they actually do have a responsibility to act in the best interests all owners and not just the person who promoted their election.
Sandra