Question: I was excited to be voted in as our Body Corporate Committee secretary only to find I do nothing. I don’t get the correspondence, I don’t even get to read it, I don’t do minutes. Nothing. Is this right?
I was excited to be voted in as our Body Corporate Committee secretary only to find I do nothing. I don’t get the correspondence, I don’t even get to read it, I don’t do minutes. Nothing. Is this right?
If the Body Corporate Manager does it all then why is there a need for the committee to have a secretary position at all? If this is the case with all normal committees, why isn’t the Body Corporate Manager automatically the secretary instead of someone holding a title with no job?
Answer: The way in which committee members interact with their body corporate manager can vary considerably from building to building.
The way in which committee members interact with their body corporate manager can vary considerably from building to building depending on the needs of your scheme.
Most agency agreements delegate a number of secretarial duties to the body corporate manager (BCM). Typically these include providing assistance with routine correspondence, arranging meetings and issuing minutes. It depends on how your scheme is organised but if historically the committee has been happy for the BCM to do that work then your manager is probably continuing with that structure.
If you want to take on a more direct role, that is your right. The best next step would be to contact the manager and discuss what they are doing and what you would like them to do to establish a new equilibrium.
Generally, the key functions of the secretary are:
- Sending out notices for meetings.
- Asking for and receiving nominations for committee positions before an annual general meeting. If a notice inviting nominations is forwarded to lot owners, the secretary must also invite owners to submit motions for the meeting.
- Making the ballot papers for the committee election, and sending them and the other material with the meeting notices.
- Having the following available for viewing by voters at a general meeting:
- the roll
- a list of the persons who have the right to vote at the meeting
- all proxy forms and voting papers
- Receiving the completed voting papers for a general meeting.
- Receiving the completed proxy forms for general and committee meetings.
The secretary also often takes minutes of meetings, although the legislation does not require them to.
So there is a defined position and requirement for this role. It’s not a requirement to have a body corporate manager but the work of all committee members can be complex and time consuming leading to most schemes appointing a manager to assist.
This post appears in the February 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924