Never been to an AGM? What to expect at your first meeting

If you’re ready to start taking a more active hand in strata community operations, here’s a guide on what to expect and what to prepare for ahead of your first AGM.

At Ace, we understand most property owners would rather do just about anything than attend the annual general meeting of their body corporate but there’s much to be gained by attending.

Your presence means you’ll gain insight into previous and current issues affecting the property and you will be given a say in the running of your apartment building.

What a meeting looks like (process)

1. Review last year - Go through minutes of previous general meeting

2. Financial statements - Adopt financial statements from last year

3. Insurances - Confirm insurance policies and assess its suitability for next year

4. Valuations - Assess current building valuation and seek update valuation

5. Auditing - Appoint auditor to review previous year’s financials

6. Elect committee - Elect the committee for next year & decide what committee’s powers

7. Budget & levies - Estimate the budget and levies needed for the year’s operations

8. Debt collection - Appoint agent to collect debts

9. Sinking fund - Make a plan for the sinking fund

10. Health & safety – assess health & safety compliance

How does voting work?

Each state and territory has different rules with respect to voting at an AGM, but here are the basics that form the foundation of strata community voting.

Each owner has one vote for each lot they own. The different types of votes are:

general resolution: a one lot/one vote format, which typically requires a majority passing vote

special resolution: a vote by unit entitlement, with typically a restriction on the portion of votes cast against it

unanimous resolution: where every vote has to be the same.

Each owner, and each person entitled to a priority vote, can vote at general meetings. However, if someone has outstanding strata fees still owing, they are considered unfinancial and therefore cannot vote unless a unanimous resolution is needed.

An owner can delegate their voting rights to another person, who becomes their ‘proxy’. A proxy has no effect if the person who gave the powers for someone to vote on their behalf attends the meeting and votes in person.

How can I attend?

AGMs have changed a great deal over recent years in the ways that owners can attend.

Thanks to advancements in technology, participating in an AGM has never been easier. Provided your community has embraced technology and fulfilled any state or territory legislative requirements, you may be able to participate in AGMs and community voting by;

teleconference, video-conferencing, email or other electronic devices

pre-meeting electronic voting. This is a vote by email or other electronic means before the meeting. Both the owners corporation and strata committee can use this method of voting.

Seeking further advice?

If you wish to discuss any strata community matters further with an Ace Body Corporate Manager, please do not hesitate to visit our contact page and locate your nearest Ace Manager for a chat.

Ace Body Corporate Management
www.acebodycorp.com.au

Disclaimer: This is not advice and should only be referred to for general information purposes. Strata management contracts often vary, so we recommend you contact your local Ace manager for more information, or seek expert legal advice. This article is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.Ace Body Corporate Management offers this newsletter to clients to assist in updating them on company and industry news. The content within this newsletter is of a generic nature and may not be applicable to all owners corporations. Ace Body Corporate Management attempts to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information for our clients, however we strongly recommend that individuals and committees seek further advice before acting on any information in this newsletter.