Strata AGMs and owners corporation meetings in Australia

What is an owners corporation?

When you buy an apartment, townhouse, or unit in a strata development, you automatically become a member of the owners corporation (also called a body corporate in Queensland, ACT, and other states). The owners corporation is the legal entity responsible for managing the common property — lobbies, lifts, pools, gardens, and shared infrastructure — and for setting the levies that fund that management.

Every lot owner has voting rights proportional to their lot entitlement, a number assigned at the time the strata plan was registered and recorded on the title.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The AGM is the main meeting of the year and must be held within a set period after the end of the financial year (the exact timeframe varies by state — typically 15 months between AGMs). At an AGM, the owners corporation must:

Adopt the financial statements from the previous year
Approve the budget for the coming year, which determines levy amounts
Elect the strata committee (also called the executive committee or body corporate committee)
Consider motions submitted by lot owners in advance of the meeting

If you cannot attend in person, you can vote by proxy — a written authorisation for another person to vote on your behalf. Most states also permit postal voting or electronic voting for non-extraordinary motions.

Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

An EGM can be called at any time to deal with urgent matters that cannot wait until the next AGM — for example, approving a major repair contract, changing by-laws, or addressing a financial emergency. Any lot owner can request an EGM by submitting a written notice to the strata manager or committee.

Voting and motions

Resolutions require different thresholds depending on the significance of the decision:

Ordinary resolution: a simple majority of votes cast — used for routine decisions such as approving budgets or appointing a strata manager
Special resolution: typically 75% of the total lot entitlement, used for by-law changes
Unanimous resolution: all lot owners must agree — required for decisions that affect individual lot rights, such as changing lot boundaries

To propose a motion, submit it in writing to the strata manager before the notice period closes (usually 7–14 days before the meeting, depending on your state’s legislation).

The strata committee

The strata committee is elected at the AGM and handles day-to-day decisions between general meetings. Committee members are volunteer lot owners. The committee typically has a chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. Large schemes may appoint a professional strata manager to handle administration, but the manager acts on instruction from the committee — not the other way around.

Levies and the budget

The budget approved at the AGM sets:

Administrative fund levies — for routine maintenance, insurance, and management fees
Capital works fund levies (sinking fund) — for future major repairs and replacements such as roof replacement, lift upgrades, or painting

Lot owners who disagree with the approved levy amount can challenge it through the state tribunal — for example, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Practical tips

Register to attend at least a week before the meeting, especially if the scheme requires pre-registration.
Read the agenda and financial statements in advance — they must be distributed with the meeting notice.
If you own an investment property, monitor meeting notices sent to the scheme’s registered address and update your postal address with the strata manager.
Keep copies of all meeting minutes — they form part of the strata records and are relevant when you sell.