Section 29(1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (‘Act’) requires an owners corporation to appoint a strata committee.
Pursuant to s 30(1) of the Act, a strata committee must comprise the number of members determined by the owners corporation, up to a maximum of nine. However, s 30(2) requires the strata committee of a large strata scheme to comprise at least three members.
Section 41(1) of the Act requires the members of a strata committee, at their first meeting following their assumption of office, to appoint a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. Pursuant to s 41(2), those officeholders also hold the corresponding positions within the owners corporation.
The respective functions of the committee are prescribed by the Act.
The Chairperson
Section 42(1) sets out the functions of the chairperson, which include presiding at meetings, determining quorums and procedural matters in accordance with the Act, ensuring adherence to meeting agendas, maintaining order, facilitating fair, constructive and open discussion, and encouraging participation by attendees.
Pursuant to s 42(2), these functions extend to meetings of both the owners corporation and its strata committee.
The Secretary
Section 43 of the Act sets out the functions of the secretary, which include preparing and distributing minutes of owners corporation meetings, submitting motions for their confirmation, issuing statutory notices on behalf of the owners corporation and strata committee, maintaining the strata roll, facilitating the inspection of documents, responding to communications addressed to the owners corporation, convening meetings, and attending to administrative and secretarial matters.
The Treasurer
Section 44(1) of the Act sets out the functions of the treasurer, which include notifying owners of contributions levied, receiving and accounting for monies paid to the owners corporation, preparing strata information certificates, maintaining accounting records and preparing financial statements.
Pursuant to s 44(2), the treasurer may delegate their functions, other than the power of delegation itself, to another strata committee member, subject to the committee’s specific approval of both the delegation and the proposed delegate, and any limitations imposed by the committee. Under s 44(3), a delegate acting within the scope of that delegation is taken to be the treasurer.
Further, s 44(4) empowers the strata committee, by written notice, to require the treasurer to exercise specified functions jointly with another designated person.
Delegation of Duties
Section 54(1) of the Act provides that the instrument appointing a strata managing agent may confer upon the agent all or specified functions of the chairperson, secretary, treasurer or strata committee of an owners corporation.
Notwithstanding such an appointment, s 54(2) preserves the authority of those officeholders and the strata committee to continue exercising any functions conferred upon the strata managing agent.
Pursuant to s 54(3), any act or omission of a strata managing agent in exercising a function conferred under this section has the same legal effect as, and is taken to be, an act or omission of the relevant officeholder or strata committee.