A
Administrative fund: The account that pays for the day-to-day running of the scheme, like insurance, cleaning, gardening, common area utilities and the strata manager's fees. Also called the admin fund or general fund. Owners contribute to it through their levies.
Agenda: The list of matters to be discussed or voted on at a meeting. It's sent out with the meeting notice, so you know what's on the table before you arrive.
AGM: Annual general meeting. The yearly meeting of all owners, where the budget is approved, levies are set and the committee is elected.
B
Budget: The scheme's forecast of what it expects to spend over the coming year, split between the administrative fund and the capital works fund. Owners vote on it at the AGM, and it determines how much each lot pays in levies.
Building insurance: Insurance covering the building structure and common property. The scheme pays for it from its funds. It generally doesn't cover your belongings, so owners usually need their own contents insurance.
Building manager: A person engaged by the owners corporation, often living on site, to look after day-to-day jobs like cleaning, security and minor maintenance. Also called a caretaker. Not the same as a strata manager, who handles administration and finances.
By-laws: The rules for your scheme. They cover how owners, tenants and visitors can use lots and common property, including things like pets, noise, parking and renovations. In Victoria they're called owners corporation rules.
C
Capital works fund: The scheme's long-term savings account for major works like repainting, replacing lifts or resurfacing the driveway. It's called the capital works fund in NSW, the sinking fund in QLD, SA, ACT and NT, the reserve fund in WA, and the maintenance fund in VIC and TAS.
Chairperson: The person who runs committee meetings and general meetings. In some schemes the strata manager can chair general meetings instead.
Committee: See Strata committee.
Common property: Everything in the scheme that isn't part of an individual lot, such as driveways, gardens, lifts, stairwells, the roof and the external structure. All owners share it, and the owners corporation looks after it. Check your strata plan for the exact boundary.
E
Exclusive use by-law: A by-law that gives one owner special rights over part of the common property, like a courtyard, balcony or car space. The area stays common property, but only that lot gets to use it.
G
General meeting: Any meeting of all owners. The AGM is the one every scheme must hold each year. Other general meetings, sometimes called extraordinary or special general meetings, are held when something can't wait until the next AGM.
L
Levy: The regular payment each owner makes to fund the scheme. Also called strata fees, owners corporation fees or body corporate fees depending on your state. Levies are set at the AGM and divided between lots according to unit entitlement.
Levy arrears: Levies that haven't been paid by the due date. They attract interest, and the owners corporation can take recovery action. Some states also restrict the voting rights of owners who are behind on their levies.
Lot: The part of a strata scheme you own outright, such as your apartment, unit or townhouse, plus any car space or storage area titled to you. It doesn't include common property. Your strata plan shows where your lot ends and common property begins.
M
Minutes: The written record of what was discussed and decided at a meeting. Owners can generally ask to see them, and they're one of the best things to read before buying into a scheme.
Motion: A proposal put forward at a meeting to be voted on.
O
Ordinary resolution: A decision passed by a simple majority of the votes cast at a meeting. Most everyday decisions are made this way.
Owners corporation: The legal body made up of all the owners in a scheme. You become a member automatically when you buy a lot. It's called a body corporate in QLD, TAS and NT, and a strata company in WA. In SA it's a strata corporation. Throughout the Lookupstrata site, owners corporation means all of these.
P
Poll vote: A vote counted by unit entitlement rather than a show of hands. In most states, any owner can ask for one.
Proxy: A person you appoint to attend a meeting and vote on your behalf. How much power you give them is up to you.
Q
Quorum: The minimum number of owners, or votes, that must be present for a meeting to make valid decisions. How it's calculated varies by state and by type of meeting.
R
Resolution: A decision made by a vote at a meeting. The main types are ordinary, special and unanimous, and each requires a different level of support.
S
Secretary: The committee member responsible for issuing meeting notices and keeping the minutes. In many schemes the strata manager does this work on the secretary's behalf.
Sinking fund: See Capital works fund.
Special levy: An extra levy raised when the scheme needs money it doesn't have, usually for an unplanned or larger-than-expected expense. All owners must pay their share.
Special resolution: A decision that needs a higher level of support than an ordinary resolution. It's used for bigger decisions like changing by-laws. The threshold, and what requires one, varies by state.
Strata committee: The group of owners elected to make day-to-day decisions for the scheme. It's called a strata committee in NSW, a committee in QLD and VIC, a council of owners in WA, a management committee in SA and NT, a committee of management in TAS, and an executive committee in the ACT.
Strata inspection report: A review of a scheme's financial records, meeting minutes, insurance and maintenance issues, usually done before you buy. Also called a strata search, strata records search or body corporate search depending on your state.
Strata loan: A loan taken out by the owners corporation, not by individual owners, to pay for works or expenses. It's repaid through the scheme's levies.
Strata management agreement: The contract between an owners corporation and a strata manager. It sets out what the manager will do, what they'll charge and how long the engagement lasts. Limits on the term vary by state.
Strata manager: A professional engaged by the owners corporation to handle administration, finances, meetings, insurance and maintenance coordination. Also called an owners corporation manager or body corporate manager. They work for the owners corporation as a whole, not for individual owners.
Strata plan: The registered document that shows how a building or parcel of land is divided into lots and common property. Get a copy before you buy.
Strata scheme: All of the lots and common property covered by one strata plan, along with the rules and the owners corporation that manage them.
Strata title: The most common way of owning an apartment, townhouse or unit in Australia. You own your lot outright and share ownership of the common property with everyone else in the scheme.
T
Treasurer: The committee member who keeps an eye on the scheme's budget and financial health. In many schemes the strata manager handles the day-to-day accounts.
U
Unanimous resolution: The highest level of approval, used for the most significant decisions. The exact rules vary by state.
Unfinancial: A term used in some states for an owner who is behind on their levies. Unfinancial owners may lose some voting rights until the debt is paid.
Unit entitlement: A number assigned to each lot that determines its share of levies and, in most states, its voting weight. It's recorded in the strata plan. In QLD, lots have two entitlements, one for contributions and one for interests, which can differ.
