Committee Responsibilities

The committee may

• Organise the maintenance of the common property
• Convene the annual general meeting
• Ensure that notices, such as meeting notices and levy notices, are sent to owners
• Respond to inquiries from owners and other persons (including prospective purchasers).

The legislation restricts the issues that can be determined by the committee. For example, the committee cannot change the contributions to be levied on owners. Any extra levies or changes to contributions have to be decided by voting of lot owners through general meetings.

There is a prescribed monetary limit on expenditure that can be authorised by the committee. This can be increased at a general meeting of owners if owners want to increase the funds their particular committee can spend.

Further information on your complex’s committee spending limit can be worked out by going to the Regulation module book or by phoning the Qld government body corporate information office phone 1800 060 119 or by consulting The New Layperson’s Guide to body Corporate Laws in Qld

Under the 2007 amendments to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act, a Code of Conduct for committee members has been introduced.

This is not intended to frighten owners from joining committees. People who are community minded need not be fearful or worried about being on a committee.

Under the Code of Conduct, committee members are expected

• To have a commitment to acquiring an understanding of the Act including this code (reading and working with the rules contained on this website is evidence of such a commitment)
• To act honestly and fairly in performing the duties of a committee member. A committee member must not unfairly or unreasonably disclose information held by the body corporate, including information about an owner of a lot, unless authorised or required by law to do so
• A committee member must act in the best interests of the body corporate in performing the member’s duties unless it is unlawful to do so.
• A committee voting member must take reasonable steps to ensure they comply with the Act, including this Code, in performing the member’s duties as a committee voting member
• A committee voting member must not cause a nuisance on scheme land or otherwise behave in a way that unreasonably affects a person’s lawful use or enjoyment of a lot or common property (this would seem to be aimed at discouraging Little Hitler’s who parade around as if they are the only person with authority in the complex)
• A committee member must disclose to the committee any conflict of interest the member may have in a matter before the committee. It is fine to recommend a family member be the gardener or do the plumbing (provided they are licensed and properly insured) however committee members should disclose their personal interest in the matter and leave it to other committee members to decide whether to use that person’s services.

There is a complicated procedure that a body corporate can go through to be rid of a committee member who breaches the code of conduct.