About your body corporate

A body corporate is a little like a company; the owners of the lots in the scheme are its shareholders; the elected committee members its board of management; the committee can make decisions on certain matters within the limits of its authority but the major decisions are made by members voting at general meetings.

 

 

 

The operation of your scheme is principally determined by the BCCM Act, the associated regulations, and the by-laws.

 

There are four regulation modules: Standard, (relevant to the majority of schemes) Small Schemes (for schemes having six or fewer lots), Accommodation (for schemes providing holiday accommodation) and Commercial (for those schemes that are used for commercial purposes).

 

The CMS designates the regulation module that applies to your scheme.

 

The CMS also contains the by-laws, which are the “rules of the house” and the lot entitlements attributable to your lot. Lot entitlements determine a number of things but importantly they determine what your share of the costs of running the scheme are your responsibility and the value of your vote in the event a “poll” is called at a general meeting.

 

As a lot owner, you are a member of the Body Corporate. You are entitled to nominate for one of the seven positions on the Committee, you can propose motions for consideration at general meetings, you can vote at general meetings, and if you are a Committee member, at Committee meetings. Your ability to vote and nominate depends on you having your levies paid up to date.

 

You will be invited to nominate someone (it can be yourself) and propose motions for consideration at the AGM, by notice issued to you in the lead up to the end of the body corporate’s financial year.

 

Whilst the major decisions of the body corporate are decided at general meetings (usually the Annual General Meeting (AGM), or sometimes Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM), the day to day business is decided by the Committee.

 

The AGM is held in the three month period following the end of the body corporate’s financial year. (See table below). You can participate in the AGM or indeed any general meeting, by attending in person, by completing and submitting a voting paper, or by appointing a proxy.

 

 

 

A body corporate must have a committee. A committee is comprised of a minimum of three voting members and a maximum of seven voting members. The body corporate manager and the resident unit manager (if one exists in your scheme) are non-voting members of the committee.

 

A body corporate may choose not to have a committee (or it may just happen because an insufficient number of people nominate to serve on the Committee) and in that case they must appoint a body corporate manager to run the body corporate. An engagement of a body corporate manager under these circumstances is for a maximum of 12 months and the manager must report to owners every three months.

 

Committee meetings don’t always happen in person; they can be conducted by what is commonly called a “flying minute” and this is easily done by way of email, although not having access to a computer or knowing how to use one is not an obstacle to participation on the Committee.

 

 

 

Bodies corporate raise their funds by levying the owners at the rate and based on the budget approved at the AGM. Levies are normally issued quarterly.

 

Two levies are issued; the administration fund and the sinking fund. The administrative fund levy is used to meet expenses that recur regularly such as gardening and pool maintenance, other repair and maintenance expense, insurance, body corporate management expense, community power and audit costs.

 

The sinking fund is a fund into which funds are banked to meet the cost of long term maintenance expense such as machinery replacement, repainting, gutter replacement etc. Contributions to the sinking fund are generally made on the basis of a sinking fund report, prepared by a Quantity Surveyor.

 

Sometimes, if funds are required for a special purpose or if the actual expenses have exceeded the budgeted expenses a special levy will be issued to raise the necessary funds, but this only happens after a general meeting resolves to do so.

 

The amount of levies payable by an owner is determined by the contribution lot entitlement attributed to the lot in the CMS.

 

 

 

The body corporate manager is engaged by the body corporate to assist it to meet its obligations under the Act and regulations. The manager is authorised to do certain tasks for the body corporate. These usually relate to administrative matters such as issuing levies, receiving levy payments and banking them, paying bills, keeping the books of the body corporate, and convening meetings and minuting them. The actual decision making for the body corporate should be made by the Committee. The body corporate manager may, at the request of the Committee, assist the Committee to obtain information or to implement its decisions. It is not the body corporate manager’s job, nor indeed is he authorised to take on the role, of making decisions for the body corporate.

 

The body corporate is in fact your body corporate, to be run in the manner in which you with the support of the majority of owners want it run.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, disputes do occur from time to time in bodies corporate. Mostly the problems leading to disputes can be dealt with by timely and diplomatic approaches to the parties involved. If the problem proves difficult to solve then the processes set down in the Act must be followed, and this may involve making an application to the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (who is a government officer) or ultimately, in a very difficult situation, by making application to the Courts.

 

 

 

Set out below are some important dates for your body corporate.

If you have any queries about your body corporate or about bodies corporate generally, we are happy to help. Please feel free to call us on 07 4047 6415 or email us on info@strataworks.com.au  

 

 

 

Important Information for your Body Corporate

 

Regulation Module	Standard, Commercial, Accommodation, or Small Scheme
End of Financial Year	This is the body corporate end of financial year and not related to the fiscal year or calendar year
Invitation to submit nominations for Committee and motions for the AGM	This will be sent to you no more then 6 weeks and no fewer then 3 weeks before the end of the body corporate end of financial year
Closing Dates for the submission of Nominations for Committee and motions for the AGM	Your body corporate end of financial year
Period during which the AGM must be held	Within three months of the body corporate end of financial year
Levy Notices	Usually issued four times per year