Committees

Owners Corporation Committees:

The following information is provided by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Your owners corporation can elect a committee to take responsibility for day to day business, including:

• financial management (for example, preparing the budget)
• property management (for example, directing repairs and maintenance)
• monitoring of activities and issues
• enforcing rules
• convening meetings
• communication (for example, responding to correspondence), and
• complaint handling.

The owners corporation is required to consider whether it will elect a committee and the powers delegated to the committee at every annual general meeting. Most owners corporations will rely heavily on a voluntary committee between annual general meetings.

Is a committee mandatory?

Your owners corporation must elect a committee if it has more than 13 lots. A committee is optional for owners corporations with less than 13 lots.

Committee membership

A committee must have between three and 12 members. They must be lot owners or hold a proxy for a lot owner. Committee members are elected at the annual general meeting and hold office until a new committee is elected. There must be no more than one committee member from any one lot.

As a lot owner, you or your proxy can nominate for election before or at the annual general meeting.
Alternatively, you can nominate another lot owner or a lot owner’s proxy.

The owners corporation may, at an annual general meeting or a special general meeting, add or remove a committee member, or replace or remove the whole committee. The committee can invite owners corporation members to fill a vacancy on the committee.

Electing your committee

If there are less than 12 nominations, all people nominated can form the committee. If there are more than 12 nominations for the committee then a ballot should be held to elect the committee.

Sub-committees

Your committee may appoint sub-committees, or invite lot owners or their proxies to help carry out its functions.

A sub-committee should have a specific function or terms of reference, set out in the owners corporation rules. It must have a chairperson and secretary, keep minutes and make those minutes available for inspection. Sub-committees and invited members of the committee do not have voting rights.

Committee members’ duties

If you are a member of an owners corporation committee or sub-committee, you must:

• act on the committee’s directions
• act on the owners corporation’s directions
• act honestly and in good faith
• exercise due care and diligence
• not make improper use of your position as a member to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage for yourself or any other person.
• report to the owners corporation at each annual general meeting, and
• make sure your fees are not in arrears while you are a committee member.

Delegations

Although the owners corporation can delegate to the committee all the powers of the owners corporation other than powers requiring a unanimous and special resolution, your owners corporation should choose the powers it wants to delegate to the committee at every general meeting.

These powers can be delegated using an ‘instrument of delegation’.

Committee members must ensure that their election and delegations are set out in the minutes of an annual general meeting or special general meeting.

Immunity of committee members

If you serve on an owners corporation committee, the law gives you some protection from liability. This immunity will only apply if the person acted in good faith:

• in exercising a power or carrying out a function under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, regulations or rules, or
• in the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the course of exercising a power or carrying out a function under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, regulations or rules.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal can order that the owners corporation is liable for an act or omission by a committee member, sub-committee member or volunteer manager. For their own protection, committee members should:

• act in accordance with the Owners Corporations Act 2006, regulations or rules
• ensure that decisions and activities are always recorded in minutes of meeting
• submit minutes of all committee meetings to the owners corporation as part of the committee’s report at every annual general meeting, and
• ensure new committee members are given copies of the legislation and attend training or other information sessions.

Office bearers

Your owners corporation committee must elect a chairperson and a secretary. They are also the chairperson and secretary of the owners corporation. The chairperson’s role is to conduct meetings in a way that encourages decisions. The chairperson can:

• convene the annual general meeting
• convene a special general meeting
• arrange a ballot, and
• make the casting vote at a general or committee meeting when the count is equal.

If the chairperson is absent or unable to carry out the duties of the chairperson of the committee, another member of the committee can also be appointed to act as the chairperson. However the manager and other members of the committee can assist the chairperson. For more information about the chairperson’s role, see Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Chairperson fact sheet.

The secretary is responsible for all documents and records relating to meetings.

The secretary must:

• receive petitions against an interim special resolution
• receive ballot forms at general meetings or via post, telephone, internet or other electronic means in accordance with the rules
• receive proxies from lot owners
• prepare and give the notice and agenda for committee meetings
• keep minutes of committee meetings
• collect records and funds after a manager has been removed, and
• certify and record rules with Land Victoria.

If your owners corporation has a manager, the manager may assist the secretary of the committee. For more detail about the secretary’s role, see Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Secretary Fact Sheet.

Removing committee members

Lot owners at an annual general meeting and special general meeting can remove the committee or a committee member. A committee member can also be suspended from the committee if they have not paid their fees.

Committee vacancies

If there is a casual vacancy on your owners corporation committee, the remaining members can invite another lot owner or a lot owner’s proxy to fill this place. There is no need to fill the vacancy if three or more members remain on the committee.

Committee quorum

A ‘quorum’ is the minimum number of members needed to transact business at a meeting. A quorum for a committee meeting is at least 50% of the members. If there is no quorum at a committee meeting, the members present can make ‘interim resolutions’. These do not take effect unless:

• the resolution is confirmed at the next meeting with a quorum
• the resolution is confirmed by a ballot, or
• other procedures already set out in the rules about interim decisions are followed.

If the count is equal at a committee meeting, the chairperson has a casting vote.

Committee meetings

The Owners Corporations Act 2006 sets out processes and procedures for committee meetings.

A committee meeting may be called by:

• the owners corporation
• the committee
• the committee chairperson
• the committee secretary
• the manager of the owners corporation, or
• a delegate of the owners corporation.

The secretary must prepare the notice and send it at least three days before the meeting, or at the time determined by the owners corporation. The notice must state the time and place of the meeting, and include an agenda.

Committees can make decisions by a ballot or by a show of hands at a meeting. Committee members have one vote each. A ballot cannot close less than 14 days after the notice of the ballot. However, a resolution is passed if a majority of the committee supports the motion before the ballot’s closing date.

If your owners corporation has appointed a professional manager, the committee can meet with or without this person.

The committee must report to the lot owners at every annual general meeting.

Committee meeting minutes

Your committee is required to keep minutes of all its meetings. Accurate minutes are necessary for each committee member to confirm that they acted in good faith and in accordance with the Owners Corporation Act 2006, Owners Corporations Regulations 2007 and the rules. The minutes 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.

At every annual general meeting, the owners corporation should resolve that the committee:

• keep minutes of all meetings, and
• submit those minutes as part of the committee’s report at the annual general meeting.

Relevant forms and pro forma documents

The following forms and pro forma documents can be downloaded from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website and are also available in printed copies of the fact sheets. Approved and prescribed forms must be used for particular processes undertaken by or in an owners corporation and their text cannot be changed. Pro forma documents are provided for information and assistance, do not have to be used by your owners corporation, and you are free to amend them to make them more useful for your owners corporation.

Pro forma documents:

• Nomination form
• Ballot paper
• Owners corporation rule for a ballot
• Instrument of delegation.

Relevant legislation and documents

Copies of the following documents can help to ensure your owners corporation runs smoothly:

• Owners Corporations Act 2006
• Owners Corporations Regulations 2007
• Subdivision Act 1988
• Subdivision (Procedures) Regulations 2000
• Rules of the owners corporation
• Plan of Subdivision.

Hard copies of the legislation can be purchased from Information Victoria: 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, 1300 366 356, www.information.vic.gov.au

Online copies of the legislation can be downloaded from: www.legislation.vic.gov.au (Victorian Law Today).

Copies of a plan of subdivision and an owners corporation’s rules can be obtained from Land Victoria: 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000, 03 8636 2010, www.land.vic.gov.au

Further reading from Consumer Affairs Victoria

Owning, managing and living in a unit or apartment: Guide to owners corporations

Fact sheets:

• Activating your owners corporation
• Annual general meetings
• Chairperson
• Dealing with grievances
• Financial management
• Insurance
• Maintenance and maintenance plans
• Managers
• Meeting procedures
• Multiple owners corporations
• Owners corporation register
• Owners corporation certificate
• Prescribed owners corporations
• Purchasing an apartment checklist
• Records
• Rules
• Secretary
• Two-lot subdivisions
• Voting and ballot guidelines.

Ring Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 55 81 81 or download the publications from www.consumer.vic.gov.au/ownerscorp.

More information:

Victorian Consumer & Business Centre

113 Exhibition Street
Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 1300 55 81 81 Website www.consumer.vic.gov.au

Regional Offices

Consumer Affairs also has regional offices located in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Morwell, Mildura, Wangaratta and Warrnambool together with a mobile outreach service that regularly visits rural communities. To find details on the office or mobile service nearest you, ring 1300 55 81 81 or go to the Consumer Affairs website on www.consumer.vic.gov.au and click on the Contact Us link.

Because this publication avoids the use of legal language, information about the law may have been summarised or expressed in general statements. This information should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal advice or reference to the actual legislation.

Authorised by the Victorian Government 121 Exhibition Street Melbourne Victoria 3000.