Question: Can a motion be added to an AGM agenda after the notice has already been issued to owners?
Our strata manager added a new motion to the AGM agenda after the notice had already been sent to owners, claiming the agenda had to be revised anyway to include updated financials. They argued this allowed the addition of the late motion. Is the secretary permitted to add late motions in this way?
Answer: Once the notice is sent, the agenda is fixed.
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 is very clear on this point.
Schedule 1, clause 4(4) states:
“However, if the requirement is made after notice has been given of the meeting, the secretary must include the motion in the agenda of the next subsequent meeting.”
The use of the word “must” makes this mandatory. Once the notice of meeting has been issued, no further motions can be added to that agenda. Any motions requested after that point are to be carried forward to the next meeting.
There is sometimes a misconception that the agenda can simply be withdrawn, revised, and re-issued with additional motions, provided the statutory notice period (generally at least 7 clear days for general meetings, or 14 for annual general meetings under current legislation) is maintained. While this may appear practical, it does not align with the strict wording of the Act. The secretary appears to have no discretion to insert additional motions once notice has been given — they are obliged to defer them.
If supplementary material, such as updated financial statements, becomes available after the notice is issued, this can be circulated as an addendum or tabled at the meeting. But the agenda itself cannot be expanded to include new motions.
In short: once the notice is sent, the agenda is fixed. Any new motions “must” be held over until the next meeting.
This post appears in Strata News #762.
Tim Sara Strata Choice E: tsara@stratachoice.com.au P: 1300 322 213