This article is about ratifying unauthorised committee decisions and explains when a body corporate can retrospectively approve actions taken without proper authority.
Often residents in community titles schemes are unsure if a body corporate can ratify (approve after the fact) decisions that are made by a committee without proper authority.
In some circumstances, the body corporate can ratify those decisions at a general meeting and this article will explain the concept of ratification and some common misconceptions.
What is ratification?
Ratification is a legal term that allows a body corporate to approve an action carried out on their behalf by the committee, even if the committee did not originally have authority to act.
In a Queensland District Court case, it was confirmed that this principle applies to bodies corporate1.
Although the owners together make up the body corporate, most day-to-day decisions are typically made by the committee or a body corporate manager. In this context:
- the body corporate at a general meeting is the principal
- the committee is the agent.
When can a body corporate ratify a decision?
Case law confirms that the following conditions are essential for ratification:
- the body corporate (as principal) must have full knowledge of all the material facts and circumstances relating to the committee’s irregular decision
- ratification must occur within a reasonable time (though there is no fixed rule about what is a reasonable time)
- the committee must have claimed to act on behalf of the body corporate
- the body corporate must have the power to make the decision
- the body corporate must have existed when the committee acted2.
What effect does ratification have?
Situations sometimes arise where a committee votes on an issue that it doesn’t have the authority to decide (called ‘restricted issues’ under the regulations).
If the conditions for ratification are met, ratification can ‘cure’ or ‘fix’ the defect in the committee’s decision.
The District Court explained the effect of ratification as follows:
When an act has been done by one person assuming to act on behalf of another, though without authority, and the other subsequently ratifies what has been done on his behalf, this operates retrospectively to give the first person authority to do what has been done as agent3.
For example, in Kings Cove [2025] QBCCMCmr 90, the adjudicator observed that ratification “rectifies the defect” in the committee’s decision4.
A common example is the committee authorising spending which exceeds the legislated ‘committee spending limit’.
The regulations only allow the committee to approve spending above this limit in specific circumstances.
If the committee exceeds its limit without authority, the body corporate can later ratify the spending at a general meeting, provided they meet the conditions for ratification.
Why not challenge every irregular decision?
Calling a general meeting takes time and money, especially in larger schemes.
Committees, therefore, play a significant role in keeping the body corporate running smoothly.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)[DC1] recognised this when it said committees cannot realistically be expected to be “masters of community management5.”
The QCAT also observed that:
The direction that a ‘body corporate must act reasonably’ in the performance of its ‘general functions’ does not suggest that every minor irregularity should be pounced on to impede or paralyse the normal conduct of business6.
If you are considering challenging an irregular committee decision, first consider:
- Are you concerned about the substance of the decision itself?
- Or are you only concerned about the fact that the committee acted without authority?
For example, if the committee approves urgent repairs above its spending limit, and the body corporate later ratifies that decision at a general meeting, it may be difficult to dispute the matter if your only concern is the original defect in authority.
Key takeaways
- Ratification should not be viewed as a “green light” for committees to contravene the legislation at will – committees must act reasonably when making any decision on behalf of the body corporate.
- Ratification allows the body corporate to fix certain unauthorised committee decisions.
- The body corporate may choose not to ratify a decision
- Any matter being considered by an adjudicator will depend on its specific circumstances.
[1] Warren v Body Corporate for Buon Vista Community Titles Scheme 14325 (No 2) [2006] QDC 398 at 30
[2] Kings Cove [2025] QBCCMCmr 90 at 20; Warren v Body Corporate for Buon Vista Community Titles Scheme 14325 (No 2) [2006] QDC 398; Carroll and Ors v Body Corporate for Palm Springs Residences CTS 29467 [2013] QCATA 21
[3] Warren v Body Corporate for Buon Vista Community Titles Scheme 14325 (No 2) [2006] QDC 398 at 31
[4] Kings Cove [2025] QBCCMCmr 90 at 22
[5] Carroll and Ors v Body Corporate for Palm Springs Residences CTS 29467 [2013] QCATA 21 at 22
[6] Carroll and Ors v Body Corporate for Palm Springs Residences CTS 29467 [2013] QCATA 21 at 23
Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management
P: Information Service Freecall 1800 060 119
This post appears in Strata News #775.
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This article has been republished with permission from the author and first appeared on the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management website.
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