This Q&A article is about body corporate communications and electronic voting during the Coronavirus crisis in QLD.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: We haven’t had an AGM in over two and a half years. How long can we go without a meeting? Can I call a meeting?
- QUESTION: Can Budget Meetings or AGM’s be delayed/postponed due to Covid Lockdowns in order to enable the meetings to be ‘in person’? Zoom meetings are not an option for us.
- QUESTION: Over 25% of owners have requested a meeting. If they issue the meeting notice themselves and provide less than the 21 day notice, is this meeting valid?
- QUESTION: Can an EGM meeting notice be served on a weekend in Queensland?
- QUESTION: Before proceeding to engage in electronic voting, does the body corporate need to call an EGM to approve electronic voting?
Question: We haven’t had an AGM in over two and a half years. How long can we go without a meeting? Can I call a meeting?
We haven’t had an AGM in over two and a half years. How long can we go without a meeting? There has been no communication with lot owners. I’m on the committee and the only update I have had was a request to approve an extension until August last year. I have emailed the body corporate manager twice this week asking when the AGM will be held with no response.
The committee don’t hold meetings, so to my knowledge, there has been no verification of our funds etc. Can I, as a lot owner/committee member, ask the committee/chairperson/secretary, to call the AGM or ask to see the Body Corporate financial records?
Answer: The body corporate is required to hold its AGM every year within 3 months of its end of the financial year.
The body corporate is required to hold its AGM every year within 3 months of its end of financial year as section 83 of the Standard Module relevantly provides:
An annual general meeting, other than the first annual general meeting, must be called and held within 3 months after the end of each of the community titles scheme’s financial years.
A lot owner and committee has various rights to ask for body corporate records which must be provided. If an AGM cannot be arranged through the committee/body corporate manager an application can be made to the Commissioner’s Office appointing an administrator to hold one on the body corporate’s behalf. I suspect that this should be able to be resolved at the committee level though by asking the body corporate manager to arrange an AGM to be called.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: [email protected]
P: 07 3007 3753
This post appears in the October 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Question: Can Budget Meetings or AGM’s be delayed/postponed due to Covid Lockdowns in order to enable the meetings to be ‘in person’? Zoom meetings are not an option for us.
Answer: The general response to the Covid crisis by the body corporate industry has been to try and relax the legislation so that it is possible to achieve meetings in the most practical way possible.
There is some provision within the Covid guidelines for body corporates to deferred meetings unless a matter is urgent, or for schemes to seek adjudicators orders permitting a meeting to be held outside the standard legislative time frames. If you really feel it is necessary, or feel it is unsafe to hold the AGM within your current capacity, then it may be possible to delay the meeting.
However, the general response to the Covid crisis by the body corporate industry has been to try and relax the legislation so that it is possible to achieve meetings in the most practical way possible. Typically, this has been through facilitating online meetings via apps such as Zoom.
We are over a year into the Covid crisis now with no immediate end in sight and it is incumbent on body corporates to facilitate the practical management of the scheme. When you say that Zoom meetings are not an option, you may be asked to explain why not, particularly by owners who feel this is a safe and convenient way to attend.
For more information check the government website: Queensland Government: COVID-19 in bodies corporate
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: [email protected]
P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in Strata News #502.
Question: Over 25% of owners have requested a meeting. If they issue the meeting notice themselves and provide less than the 21 day notice, is this meeting valid?
A group of owners in our body corporate wants to call a meeting using the part of the legislation that requires one to be called if 25 per cent of owners request one be held. They want to issue the notice for this meeting themselves and provide less than the 21 day notice period. Is this meeting valid? Can additional motions be added to the meeting notice?
Answer: A meeting is only valid if it is validly called.
A meeting is only valid if it is validly called.
In this case, if owners are requesting an extraordinary general meeting the notice requesting the meeting must be given to the body corporate secretary or, in the secretary’s absence, the chairperson. This can be done via the body corporate manager.
The request must include:
- signatures of at least 25 per cent of lot owners or their representatives.
motions the owners want to have decided at the meeting. - And, the person receiving the notice must call the meeting within 14 days of receiving the notice.
Then, each lot owner has to be given written notice of the meeting at least 21 days before the meeting. This must include:
- the agenda
- a proxy form
- a company nominee form, if the owner is a company
- a voting paper for all open motions
- for all motions decided by secret ballot
- a secret voting paper
- an envelope marked ‘secret voting paper’
- a separate particulars tab or envelope
- any explanatory schedule or material required.
The question seems to suggest that the owners who make up the 25 per cent or more group that have triggered the meeting have then arranged their own meeting outside of the criteria set out above. In that case the likelihood is that the meeting would not have been valid.
The second question is whether additional motions can be added to the meeting. There is no reason why not. If a body corporate manager/secretary received the notice they would ordinarily advise the committee of this and the requirement to call a meeting and it is an opportunity consider other motions relating to the issue or to deal with other plan matters.
For more info see the government website on calling meetings: Queensland Government: Calling an extraordinary general meeting.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: [email protected]
P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in Strata News #483.
Question: Can an EGM meeting notice be served on a weekend in Queensland?
Answer: The legislation requires that a general meeting must be held 21 days after the meeting notice is given to lot owners. There is no reference to this being working days so provided the notice was legally served, probably by email or hand delivery if on Saturday or Sunday, serving a notice on the weekend is feasible.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: [email protected]
P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in Strata News #475.
Question: Before proceeding to engage in electronic voting, does the body corporate need to call an EGM to approve electronic voting?
I understand that some bodies corporate have effectively dispensed with AGMs and are now simply advising owners to vote online or lodge voting papers by hand, mail or email.
Even in this COVID era, with social distancing etc., is it permissible to dispense with AGMs in this manner?
Also, The Body Corporate Commissioner (Qld) has recently reminded us (with COVID-19 in mind) that “You can encourage owners to submit voting papers instead of attending the meeting personally (or to vote electronically if your body corporate has approved electronic voting) if your body corporate has approved electronic voting”. This is, of course, a requirement under the BCCM Act BUT some bodies corporate may not have approved electronic voting.
Before proceeding to engage in electronic voting, should those who have not approved electronic voting now move to rectify that situation by way of an EGM?
Answer: It would seem unnecessary as such a motion could simply be included on the agenda of the next general meeting.
As is the case with a number of issues – whether a general meeting is valid or not depends on the specific circumstances. The primary theme adopted by adjudicators is whether an owner’s right to vote was prevented and if so, would it have affected the result of the meeting.
Owners have a statutory right to attend and participate in general meetings. During the peak of the COVID restrictions, there was more flexibility afforded to bodies corporate in interfering with these rights. As restrictions are being relaxed, so too would the flexibility of bodies corporate interfering with these participation rights.
A body corporate can certainly recommend that owners vote in advance of a meeting without any real risk of reprisal.
It is really a question for the committee to determine whether it is worth the costs of calling an EGM just to approve electronic voting for the next AGM. It would seem rather unnecessary though as such a motion could simply be included on the agenda of the next general meeting.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: [email protected]
P: 07 3007 3753
This post appears in Strata News #379.
Have a question about communications and electronic voting in a QLD body corporate or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Read next:
- NAT: Coronavirus & Strata – What Does the Legislation Say? Not Much
- NAT: Apartment Owners Ask: Do We Still Need To Hold Meetings In Person?
Visit COVID-19 and Strata, Strata Committee Concerns OR Strata Legislation QLD.
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Our strata has phone-in meetings. Zoom can be tricky for those not used to it, plus only one person may speak at a time. (Of late, however, Skype has lifted its game and my last conference went very well. ) But yes, phoning in works fine.
After reading about voting at a general meeting, I would like to ask, when the meeting is online meeting, can owners who attent that meeting vote verbaly saying yes or no on a specific motion? Or is it possible to show hands? After an experience in last year, the chair definitevely couldnt have casted votes, because owners pronounced yes or no “simultaneously”. How to deal with a situation like that? We do not have electronic votes yet. Thank you.
Hello. For a general meeting I see you notes that 2 people must be present. We just did a meeting electronic voting only. Does that remove the need for 2 to be present?
Hi Maria
The following response has been provided by Chris Irons, Hynes Legal:
Legislative amendments specifically addressing this issue are expected very shortly. It’s hoped they will clarify what you say, beyond any doubt. For now, the situation is this:
– A body corporate can resolve to have voting happen electronically
– If people can’t meet in person due to COVID, then that has to be taken into account and can’t be ignored
– If no one has suffered any great detriment and people’s ability to vote wasn’t severely disadvantaged, it’s highly unlikely an adjudicator would invalidate a meeting on a ‘technicality’
Hopefully there’ll be a much more definitive answer on this very soon.
Good Morning,
I have wanted to ask this question and hope I have found a suitable place. We live in a 9 apartment complex and I am on the Body Corporate. My son and I are the only 2 ppl that use our external pool area as we moved from SA and this March/ April weather is so great in QLD. I’ll repeat that we are the only people that use the pool area.
Another owner recently placed a closed sign on the pool and noted due to Covid 19 Health directive we can be fined for using it. They never used the pool previously and my son and I are the only ones that use it.
I understand that the Gov has mandated public pools be closed which I understand. But I also read that it is up to the Body Corporate (which I am on) to decide on closure of ‘common spaces’ and act reasonably in the interest of all residents and lastly to communicate and proposals through the body corporate.
Do we have to close the pool as apartments are classed as ‘Residential’ and residential buildings are to ‘operate as normal’ whilst maintaining social distancing??
Any input will be greatly appreciated as water play was a great way to burn 2hrs now my son is at home with us!! Cheers
Hi Ryan
We covered this question generally here: NAT: Q&A Closing Strata Pool & Gym Because of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and in more detail specifically for Queensland in this section of our recent live event: NAT: COVID-19 Q&A Session: Strata Living With the Coronavirus Crisis – The closure of swimming pools and gyms.
We hope this information is helpful.
All the best.
I am appalled at the BCCM Commissioner’s reply to my concern about social distancing and the casual dismissal of my recommendation that during the pandemic period, all General Meetings be conducted solely by voting paper. I thought they got paid big bikkies for having nouse – sadly I seem to have been dreaming.
Their office attitude was “suck it up” we are not relaxing the rules even though the rest of Australia is taking drastic measures. Their advice was just that if you can’t form a quorum, adjourn the meeting for 7 days as is what happens under Legislation.
I emailed the Premier’s office about the BCCM attitude and got the usual courteous reply, they will look into it.
With Chris Irons working with you, perhaps he could have a word with the Acting BCCM Commissioner and explain in plain English that they are not a dictatorship and must fall in line with the edicts of the Australian Gov’t, one of which is that gatherings will be restricted to 2 people. They are also thumbing their nose at the Qld. Senior Health Officer.
They should realise that Bodies Corporate want to get their AGMs over with ASAP and don’t want a 7 day adjournment, and with a stroke of the pen, the BCCM Acting Commissioner could allow voting paper only meetings for the duration of the pandemic.
Regards,
Bruce Veale
A Body Corporate Chairman & ex BCM.
If a Committee meeting is to be held by teleconference because of COVID-19, presumably any owner is entitled to listen in as if they were attending a face-to-face meeting.
This query has now been addressed on this post: QLD: Q&A Teleconference Committee Meetings. Can Lot Owners Listen?
I am logged in but cannot find out how to download a pdf of this article.
Hi TonyP
We are having issues with PDFs at the moment. We have a development team looking at a fix. I will email you through a PDF of this article as soon as it is available.
All the best!