Calling an AGM

JC – It’s the role of the Secretary (of the Executive Committee) to convene General Meetings including those of the “Annual” variety, and if you have a Strata Manager then that responsibility is typically delegated to them under the terms of their Strata Management Agency Agreement with the Owners Corporation.

In terms of the notice required for General Meetings, as Secretary of our self-managed Plan I check the availability of other Executive Committee Members and then send out a Preliminary Notice eight (8) weeks in advance to advise our Owners of the preferred date, and to seek feed-back on that together with any Motions for inclusion on the Agenda, but regrettably the current Legislation only prescribes that a Notice comprising that Final Agenda / Motions be provided 7 days in advance of the Meeting date.

I agree with your statement that whilst the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act (1996) allows for the convening of Extraordinary General Meetings by ≥25% of Owners by unit entitlement, and allows for Orders to be sought to vary the time at which an Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held, a strict interpretation doesn’t allow for an Order that requires an AGM (other than the first ever one) to be convened.

Perhaps that’s why the current NSW Bill for Legislation to be introduced in July 2016 provides that upon application to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal by an Owners Corporation or by an individual Owner, it may order the Secretary to convene a Meeting (read “any meeting”) if one hasn’t been convened in accordance with the Act (proposed as “during each financial year”).

So on my reading of the situation, part of your problem with regard to the convening of AGMs will be resolved from 1 July 2016, and the matter of notice could be resolved at any time by you seeking support to a Motion requiring the provision of Preliminary Notices of all such Meetings.