How regularly does your committee need to meet to effectively govern the owners corporation?
We recommend 4 committee meetings a year, of one hour each duration, for an owners corporation with an annual turnover of between $200,000 and $2,000,000. Meetings are for discussing complex items and policy; simpler items may be passed via email ballot in the interim periods.
Sometimes a special maintenance project means that more meetings are required. If the committee is looking to upgrade the main lift lobby, for example, a one hour meeting once a month for a period of three months may be advisable.
If you are in a smaller owners corporation, you may only need one or two committee meetings a year in addition to the AGM.
Remember that your owners corporation manager should be your trusted professional adviser, allowing you to delegate a number of administrative tasks to them. This frees up time within the committee meetings to discuss what really matters to the community.
It is the role of the committee to determine owners corporation policy and direction.
There is a quorum for the meeting if at least 50% of the committee members are present, either in person, by proxy, or by teleconferencing. A quorum is required at a meeting for resolutions to be carried.
If there is no quorum for the meeting, the committee members present may make an interim resolution.
An interim resolution does not take effect unless it is confirmed either at the next meeting when a quorum is present, or by ballot
Legislative requirements
There are legal requirements around making a committee meeting an official owners corporation meeting. After all, the committee is responsible for the expenditure of other people's money, and these laws exist for everyone's protection. It's best to engage your manager to distribute the notice of meeting to all members, to ensure that the meeting is valid and legal. This ensures that a) all resolutions made at the meeting are enforceable, and b) the meeting minutes become part of the owners corporation register.