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As a NSW strata committee member, I attempted to move motions at a committee meeting that were notified to other members before the meeting but after the agenda was sent to owners. My motions were ruled out of order by the chairman at the meeting on the grounds they had to have been notified in the agenda (even though our agendas are just topic lines) to be considered. It was and is my understanding of the SSM Act that this agenda rule for motions applied only to general meetings, not SC meetings. Was the chairman right? Thanks.
- This topic was modified 2 years ago by .
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Section 7 of Schedule 2 of the Act says this:
Matters that must be included in notice of meetingsThe notice of a meeting must include a detailed agenda for the meeting.
It can hardly be detailed if there are matters not on it. The purpose is so that owners can see what is about to be discussed and either attend or send responses. If they can gather enough votes from owners, they can even prevent matters from being discussed.
Any matter that was discssed that wasn’t on the agenda could therefore be challenged at a later date. The chair was right, regardless of the content in your motion.
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.
On a related note, many strata committees include a portmanteau item on the agenda, such as “the condition of the building and grounds”, which will be used for any late items that miss the notice deadline. Is that legal?
I suppose it’s better than “any other competent business” – but only marginally. The problem might arise if, for instance, someone used it to belatedly propose that a resident receive a Notice To Comply for an alleged by-law breach. That would get tossed immediately if it went to NCAT.
I think the rule of thumb would have to be, are there likely to be actions or consequences to which someone might object. In other words, if it doesn’t really matter, then it doesn’t really matter.
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.
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