Calling an annual general meeting
Who can call an annual general meeting
The following people can call the annual general meeting:
- a voting member of the committee (usually the secretary) who has been authorised by the majority of the committee voting members
- a non-voting member of the committee (i.e. a body corporate manager) who has been authorised by the majority of the committee voting members
- someone who has been authorised by an adjudicator’s order.
Giving lot owners notice
Each lot owner must be given a written notice of the annual general meeting.
It can be given to the lot owner personally, at their address for service (which may include an email address) or in another way (if there is an agreement between the owner and the body corporate).
The notice must include:
- the time and place of the meeting
- an 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 explanatory material
- committee ballots—including secret voting documentation, if necessary
- instructions on how to vote electronically, if applicable
- copies of proposed budgets
- insurance details, including the
- name of the insurer
- name of the insurance broker or intermediary involved with taking out the policy, if applicable
- amount of cover
- type of cover (a summary)
- amount of the premium
- amount of any excess payable on events covered by insurance
- date the cover expires
- relevant details of any financial or other benefit from an insurer (or insurance broker or intermediary) for the insurance being taken out
- a statement of accounts
- a copy of the register of reserved issues
- a copy of an auditor’s certificate, if applicable.
Agenda
The agenda must include:
- any motions submitted by
- the committee
- lot owners—which the secretary must receive before the end of the body corporate’s financial year
- a motion to confirm the minutes of the previous general meeting
- any statutory motions, including
- presenting the body corporate’s financial accounts for the financial year
- appointing an auditor of the body corporate’s financial accounts for the next financial year, or deciding not to audit the accounts
- adopting administrative fund and sinking fund budgets for the financial year
- reviewing each insurance policy held by the body corporate
- for any group of same-issue motions
- the title of the group
- a list of the original motions in the group in order of their resolution type.
Find out how to submit motions to the annual general meeting.
Voting papers
The secretary must prepare a hard-copy voting paper for all open motions to be decided at the annual general meeting.
The secretary must also prepare a hard-copy secret voting paper for a motion to be decided by secret ballot.
If there are 2 or more motions requiring a secret ballot, they may appear on the same secret voting paper. However, if 2 or more secret ballot motions are part of a group of same-issue motions, they must appear on 1 secret voting paper.
If applicable, the secretary must also prepare an electronic form of the voting paper for all open motions and an electronic form of the secret voting paper for any motions to be decided by secret ballot.
A voting paper must:
- state each motion in the form it was submitted
- state either
- the name and lot number of the person who submitted the motion, if an owner’s motion
- ‘motion proposed by the committee’ and whether it is a statutory motion, if a committee motion
- state the type of resolution required for each motion
- allow voters to record a written vote on each motion
- say ‘secret voting paper’ if it is one
- state if there is an explanatory note for the motion included in the explanatory schedule
- give instructions on how to vote electronically for an open or secret ballot motion.
The voting paper for a group of same-issue motions must list the motions:
- under a group title (as on the agenda)
- in order of higher to lower threshold resolution motions, which is
- resolution without dissent motions
- special resolution motions
- majority resolution motions
- ordinary resolution motions.
Open motions and secret ballot motions cannot be included on the same voting paper for a group of same-issue motions.
Explanatory schedule
The explanatory schedule is part of the notice of an annual general meeting. It includes material about motions on the agenda, such as an explanatory note:
- about a motion given to the body corporate by an owner—no longer than 300 words
- that the administrative fund or sinking fund budget may be adjusted
- for a motion proposing a change to the regulation module using the approved form, explaining the effect of any proposed change.
The explanatory schedule for a group of same-issue motions must include:
- the group title (as on the agenda)
- a list of each original motion with the wording as was submitted
- an explanatory note that is not over 300 words from the submitter of each original motion
- an explanatory note about the process for voting on a group of same-issue motions.
The committee may include an explanatory note to the owners’ motions, as long as the committee’s explanatory note is included with the notice of meeting on a separate explanatory schedule.
The committee is not subject to a word limit when including an explanatory note.