This article discusses whether a strata committee can approve a retiring building manager bonus, explaining when such a payment may be allowed without owner approval.
Question: Can an owners corporation committee grant a bonus payment to a retiring building manager without approval from lot owners?
Answer: Unless restricted from doing so, I believe the strata committee are within their right to grant such a payment.
Under SSMA 2015 section 73, the Act gives what monies can be paid from the admin fund.
I believe that such a payment is in accordance with section 73 4 (a) or (d).
Unless restricted from doing so, I believe the strata committee are within their right to grant such a payment (depending on reasonableness of the amount, of course).
73 Administrative fund
- Amounts payable from fund An owners corporation may pay money from its administrative fund only for the following purposes—
- payments of the kind for which estimates have been made under section 79 (1),
- payments made in accordance with this Division on a distribution of a surplus in the fund,
- payments to a member of the strata committee of the owners corporation in accordance with this Act,
- other payments in connection with exercising its functions under this Act or the by-laws, or the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, except payments that are permitted to be made from the capital works fund,
- any monetary penalty payable by the owners corporation under this Act,
- the transfer of money to the capital works fund or to pay expenditure that should have been paid from the capital works fund.
This post appears in Strata News #632.
Andrew Terrell Bright & Duggan E: Andrew.Terrell@bright-duggan.com.au P: 02 9902 7100