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I am in NSW and have been on a strata committee as Chair since April. Are OC committees subject to statutory regulation, or must each Body Corporate formulate its own private set of committee rules? If there is a default set of rules for such committees, could you point me to its source? I couldn’t – so far – get a clear answer out of the offices of our strata managers and only just found out about this forum.
thanks
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Hello outsider
The starting point for rules about strata committees would be the Strata Schemes management Act 2015. The Act is on the NSW government’s legislation web site. Google it. It’s not hard to read.
From there you should scroll through the headings until you see ‘strata committee’ or do a search for ‘strata committee’. There will be a section explaining what the responsibilities of the strata committee are.
There is another section about the process for conducting strata committee meetings. That’s near the bottom under a heading with the word ‘Schedule’ in it.
I wish strata managers would point you to the Strata Schemes Management Act. Knowledge is power. They probably don’t want us to get too smart.
If you get stuck, let us know.
Committees can set their own rules for behaviour at their meetings, provided they don’t contravene strata (or any other law).
For instance, committees can’t decide that they want members who have declared a conflict of interest to sit in on discussions about the conflicting issues. The law says they must leave the meeting. The same goes for members who are unfinancial – the committee can’t decide it’s ok for them to vote, because the law says they can’t.
On the other hand, the committee can adopt a code of conduct and standing orders, or have one imposed on them by a general meeting, that moderate they way they behave during meetings. Have a look at this old post, for more on that.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
The NSW government used to publish a very useful guide to living in strata (called “Strata Living”), but they have discontinued that, for some bizarre reason – but it’s available on some other sites, although it is now a bit out of date, so google that document. Here is a source => https://nsw.strata.community/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Strata_Living_Guide-2018.pdf
That guide gives you a good introduction for how to live in a strata building, and how to be part of a strata committee.
That guide gives you a good introduction for how to live in a strata building, and how to be part of a strata committee.
But does it tell you how to behave at a strata meeting and how to conduct a meeting and moderate bad behaviour?
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
And does it allow an SC to hold a meeting without notifying all owners? Then act on a motion that hasn’t been presented to owners. Then decide that an owner who is in breach of a number of owners be allowed to ignore that breach. Then, elect this miscreant at an AGM to be on the Strata Committee? Even though they are not an owner?
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