This article discusses whether a last-minute body corporate meeting venue change is legally valid under Queensland legislation, and how reasonableness, owner disadvantage, and proper record-keeping affect the legitimacy of such a decision.
Question: At a recent budget meeting, the committee was unprepared and unprofessional. The meeting was moved at the last minute, and they seemed to throw numbers around. Is this usual?
On arrival at a recent budget meeting, the venue was closed, and at the scheduled time for the meeting, they decided to reconvene at another nearby location. Is this legal? The 1997 BCCM Act & 2020 Accommodation Module do not mention moving meetings.
The budget was not preprepared and the committee seemed to throw numbers around on the night. I’ve not seen this at any previous budget meeting. The committee seemed unprepared and unprofessional. Is this allowed?
Answer: Perhaps you could write to the committee with your concerns or table a motion to have an issue voted on. It’s your scheme.
Ideally, you would never change the venue of a meeting, but sometimes needs must, and if you want to assess the validity of that choice, you probably need to ask whether the body corporate made a reasonable decision in moving the venue or whether anyone was unreasonably disadvantaged from their doing so.
We don’t have all the information here, but it seems there was no attempt to mislead owners and that a practical decision was made on the spot in response to unforeseen circumstances. If so, it doesn’t sound unreasonable. Was anyone disadvantaged? Again, we don’t know, but it sounds as though the meeting went ahead, and committee members and owners were able to attend, so maybe not. From a body corporate perspective, notes on the need to change venue should be included in the minutes.
Regarding the budget meeting, there isn’t a set format for how these should be run. Well organised budget meetings usually involve presenting a draft budget, details of the financials for the previous year and a structure around how items are reviewed. I agree that the better the structure, the better the outcome, but different people have different approaches, and a structured meeting is not required.
Still, if you are unhappy with how the current committee does things, you can always look to take some action. Most likely, you could volunteer to join the committee and try to provide some of the structure you want to see. Maybe encourage other owners to join as well. When the proposed budget is presented to the AGM, you could vote against it if necessary.
Perhaps you could write to the committee with your concerns or table a motion to have an issue voted on. It’s your scheme. If you are unhappy with how it is operating, you need to participate in actioning the changes you want to see.
This post appears in Strata News #654.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924