Annual general meetings, general meetings and committee meetings in Australian Capital Territory

In short

• Every scheme holds an annual general meeting (AGM), but the deadline differs. NSW: once in each financial year. QLD: within 3 months after the financial year ends. VIC, WA, TAS: no more than 15 months after the last one. ACT and NT: each financial or calendar year and within 15 months. SA strata corporations: every calendar year and within 15 months; SA community corporations: within 3 months after the financial year starts.
• Notice periods are minimums and are usually counted in clear days, so neither the day the notice goes out nor the meeting day counts. General meetings need at least 14 days in most places, 7 days in TAS (and 7 for NSW general meetings other than the AGM), 21 days in QLD, and 14 working days in the NT. Posted notices need extra time for delivery, and email works only where the owner has agreed to it or nominated an address for service.
• Owners can force a general meeting. The share needed ranges from one-fifth of the units (SA strata) to one-third of members by head count (TAS); most states use 25 per cent of lots or unit entitlement.
• Without a quorum the rules split: some states adjourn the meeting (NSW, QLD, SA), some let those present carry on (WA, ACT reduced quorum), and some allow only interim resolutions that owners can stop (VIC, NT). Tasmania has no fallback at all.
• Attending by phone or video is a right in WA and the NT, available if the owners corporation or body corporate authorises it in the ACT and QLD, provided for in VIC and NSW, arranged by the secretary or the articles in SA, and not mentioned in the Tasmanian Act.
• Minutes deadlines vary: 14 days in NSW for general meetings and 7 days for strata committee meetings, 14 days in the ACT, 21 days in QLD, none in VIC, WA, SA or TAS for ordinary minutes. A resolution passed at a meeting that broke the rules can often be set aside by the state's tribunal, commissioner or court.

How it works

A strata scheme makes its big decisions at general meetings of all the owners. The AGM is the one every scheme must hold each year: it receives the accounts, sets the budget and levies, checks the insurance and elects the committee. Any other general meeting is called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in QLD and WA, a special general meeting in VIC and TAS, and simply a general meeting elsewhere.

Between general meetings the committee runs the scheme. Each state gives it a different name: strata committee (NSW), committee (VIC, QLD, NT), council of owners or council (WA), management committee (SA), committee of management (TAS) and executive committee (ACT). The committee meets more often, on shorter notice, and can only make the decisions the law and the owners let it make.

Three things decide whether a meeting's decisions stand:

1. It was properly called. The right person or group called it, every owner got notice on time and in a way the law accepts, and the notice set out every motion to be decided (with the full text for special or unanimous resolutions in most states).
2. It was properly held. A quorum was present, the right person chaired, only eligible votes and valid proxies were counted, and only motions on the agenda were decided.
3. It was properly recorded. Minutes were taken and sent out on time.

When one of these goes wrong, an owner can usually ask the state's dispute body to declare the meeting or the resolution invalid. Most of these bodies can decline where the slip made no difference to the result, so not every error is fatal, but the risk is avoidable.

Voting thresholds and proxies are covered in Voting and proxies; budgets and levies set at the AGM are in Budgets and levies; the committee's own duties are in Self-managing committee duties; and the dispute process is in Disputes.

Common mistakes that leave a resolution open to challenge

These are the slips that most often end up before a tribunal. Whether a particular slip invalidates a particular resolution is for the state's dispute body to decide.

• Short notice. Counting the notice day or the meeting day, or posting without adding delivery time (in NSW and the ACT a posted notice is taken to arrive on the seventh working day after posting), or counting calendar days where the NT counts working days.
• Notice to the wrong place. Emailing owners who have not nominated or agreed to an email address for notices (NSW s 263, VIC, WA s 216, SA s 49).
• A motion not on the agenda. Deciding something raised on the day. Most states allow only motions set out in the notice, and special or unanimous resolutions need their full text in the notice.
• Missing statutory AGM items, such as the NSW Schedule 1 clause 6 matters, the QLD insurance review or the WA insurance certificates.
• Wrong or invalid proxies. Using a homemade form where the state prescribes one (NSW, VIC, QLD Form 6, ACT Form 2), counting a proxy past its expiry, or exceeding the cap one person may hold. See Voting and proxies.
• Counting votes that should not count, such as owners in arrears on ordinary motions, or proxies in a QLD committee election.
• No quorum, but business done anyway, or adjourned in a way the law does not allow (Tasmania has no fallback at all).
• The wrong person in the chair, such as a QLD manager chairing without being elected, or a chair using a casting vote where the law gives none (NSW).
• The committee deciding a general meeting matter, such as setting levies where the law reserves that to the owners. See Self-managing committee duties.
• Late or missing minutes, which in QLD and the NT also delays when owners can oppose a committee decision.

State by state

Australian Capital Territory

The Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 applies; general meetings are in Schedule 3 and executive committee procedure in Schedule 2.

When the AGM is due. In each financial year and, after the first, within 15 months of the last, whichever comes first; the first AGM is within 3 months after the units plan is registered (sch 3 ss 3.2 and 3.3).

What must be on the AGM agenda. The financial statements, with any audit; insurance details, including commissions and any recent valuation; the general fund budget and contributions; sinking fund contributions and the sinking fund plan when due; the maintenance plan; structural defects; fire safety; delegations; the number of executive members and their election; maintenance issues; insurance claims; motions on notice; and general business (sch 2 ss 2.2 and 2.3; s 75; Meeting Agenda Guidelines 2023, NI2023-528).

Calling a general meeting. The executive committee can call one at any time. It must hold one within 28 days of receiving a written request, stating the matters, from owners entitled to vote on all motions whose units hold at least one-quarter of the total unit entitlement (sch 3 s 3.5).

Notice. To every member and mortgagee's representative, so it would reasonably be received at least 14 days before the meeting, or 21 days if a motion needs an unopposed or unanimous resolution (sch 3 s 3.6). An emailed notice is presumed received when sent, a posted one on the seventh working day after posting (Legislation Act 2001 s 250; Evidence Act 2011 s 160). Each notice tells the owner whether each of their units can vote and why not, and carries the approved Form 2 proxy and an absentee voting paper (sch 3 s 3.7). If someone did not get proper notice, the meeting is not automatically invalid, but they can ask for an adjournment before it starts and the chair may grant one (sch 3 s 3.8).

Quorum. Worked out for each motion: people entitled to vote on it, present in person or by proxy, for at least half the units (one-third in a retirement village). Absentee votes do not count. If there is no quorum within 30 minutes, 2 or more voters present form a reduced quorum; its decisions take effect 28 days later once notified on the approved form within 14 days, unless a majority petition disallows them (sch 3 ss 3.9 to 3.12).

Who chairs. The executive committee's chairperson, unless absent or unwilling; then those present and entitled to vote elect someone present and entitled to vote (sch 3 s 3.13). The chair has a deliberative vote and, on an equality, a casting vote, unless there are only 2 members (sch 3 s 3.30).

Phone and video. The owners corporation may authorise a meeting to be held by phone, internet or any method that lets members hear each other, and those taking part are present for all purposes (sch 3 s 3.1(2) and (3)). Pre-meeting electronic voting needs a general meeting to adopt it first and never applies to elections (sch 3 s 3.31A).

Committee meetings. Any executive member can call a meeting by giving each other member at least 7 days' written notice of the business, time and place (sch 2 s 2.8(2)). The committee may authorise meetings by phone or internet (sch 2 s 2.8(3) and (4)). Quorum is more than half the members (sch 2 s 2.9). Owners are not given notice.

Minutes. The executive committee keeps minutes of its own and of general meetings, including who attended remotely and details of proxies and absentee votes, and gives every owner a copy within 14 days. Records are kept at least 7 years and copies made available on request (sch 2 s 2.1). Requests to inspect records are dealt with within 14 days (s 120A).

Challenging a resolution. ACAT can declare a general meeting or executive committee meeting, or a resolution of one, void for irregularity, and can also repeal or amend a resolution after a merits review (s 129(1)(e) and (f)).

Watch. A bill before the Assembly since 17 September 2026 would cut the quorum to one-quarter of units and count absentee votes towards it. It is not law.

If it goes wrong: where to get help

State	Contact first	Who decides disputes
NSW	NSW Fair Trading, strata (mediation)	NCAT, strata schemes
VIC	Consumer Affairs Victoria, owners corporations and the owners corporation's internal dispute process	VCAT, owners corporations
QLD	Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (conciliation)	Commissioner's adjudicator; appeals on a question of law to QCAT
WA	Landgate, strata and community titles	State Administrative Tribunal, strata titles
SA	Law Handbook, strata titles and Consumer and Business Services	Magistrates Court (CourtSA)
TAS	Recorder of Titles, strata title FAQs	Recorder of Titles; appeals to TASCAT
ACT	Access Canberra	ACAT, unit titles disputes
NT	NT Government, dealing with a body corporate	NTCAT

The steps, time limits and evidence for each are in Disputes.

How FairLot helps

• Meetings and notices drafts AGM, general and committee meeting notices with the notice period for your state and scheme type already worked out in calendar days, a statutory AGM agenda you can edit, and minutes, with each held meeting given its minutes deadline.
• Voting and resolutions records ordinary and special resolutions, proxies and timed polls, with an automatic result record.
• Statutory forms fills in proxies and voting papers for your state from your records, and links the official form where the law requires it.
• Compliance calendar shows when the next AGM is due under your state's rule, before it bites.
• Documents, the Owner portal and the Audit trail keep notices and minutes where owners can see them, with who sent what and when.

FairLot is software. The committee calls and runs its own meetings, and the chair and the owners make every decision.

Common questions

How long after the end of the financial year do we have to hold the AGM?

Only QLD (3 months after the year ends) and SA community corporations (3 months after the new year starts) tie it directly to the year end. NSW requires one in each financial year. VIC, WA, TAS, the ACT, the NT and SA strata corporations limit the gap to 15 months since the last AGM, with the ACT and NT also requiring one each financial or calendar year.

Can owners call a meeting if the committee won't?

Yes, in every state. The trigger is 25 per cent of unit entitlement in NSW, the ACT and WA; 25 per cent of lots in QLD; 25 per cent of lot entitlements in VIC; 25 per cent of interest entitlements in the NT; one-fifth of the units in SA strata schemes (20 per cent of lots or entitlements in community schemes); and one-third of members by head in TAS. In VIC, SA and the NT the owners' nominee can send the notice themselves.

Does email count as giving notice?

Only where the owner has agreed to it or nominated an email address for notices, in most states (NSW, VIC, WA, SA). In the ACT an emailed notice is presumed received when sent. Check your state's section above, and keep a record of each owner's consent.

Can I attend the AGM by Zoom?

In WA and the NT you have a right to, subject to WA by-laws and reasonable cost. In VIC owners may join by teleconference under the regulations. In NSW the notice can specify electronic participation. In QLD and the ACT the owners must first authorise it by resolution. In SA it depends on the articles or the secretary's arrangement. The Tasmanian Act does not deal with it.

What happens if not enough owners turn up?

It depends on the state. NSW and QLD adjourn (NSW also lets the chair declare those present a quorum), and SA adjourns 7 to 14 days. WA and the ACT let those present continue (the ACT's reduced quorum decisions take effect only after 28 days). VIC and the NT allow interim resolutions that owners can stop by calling another meeting. Tasmania has no fallback, so the meeting has to be called again.

Can owners sit in on committee meetings?

In NSW owners can attend but need permission to speak. In QLD an owner can observe after giving the secretary 24 hours' written notice and may speak only if invited. The other states give owners no right to notice of committee meetings, though owners receive or can inspect the minutes.

Who chairs if the chairperson is away?

In every state the meeting chooses someone. VIC and QLD let the meeting elect the manager in some cases, WA can authorise a non-owner by resolution, SA allows the manager only with majority agreement, and the NT lets the meeting elect the body corporate manager.

When do we have to send out the minutes?

NSW: general meetings 14 days, committee 7 days. QLD: 21 days for both. ACT: 14 days for both. NT: committee minutes 21 working days. VIC, WA, SA and TAS set no general deadline, though VIC sends the last AGM minutes with the next AGM notice.

A resolution was passed at a meeting with short notice. Is it automatically invalid?

Not automatically. An owner has to apply to the state's dispute body (NCAT, VCAT, an adjudicator in QLD, SAT, the SA Magistrates Court, the Recorder of Titles in TAS, ACAT or NTCAT), and several of them can decline where the error made no difference to the result. In Tasmania the application must be made within 30 days after the meeting. See Disputes.

Sources

• Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), current version from 26 August 2026 : ss 6, 18, 19, 24, 42, 43, 92, 180, 182 and 263, Schedule 1 clauses 4 to 28 and Schedule 2 clauses 4 to 17 (read on the register in the in-app browser, 2 October 2026).
• Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (NSW), current version from 26 June 2026 and the Strata Schemes Management Amendment Regulation 2026 : cll 14 to 15 electronic voting, cl 69 committee training from 1 October 2026.
• NSW Government, strata meetings : chair role, notice methods (its single 7-day minutes figure is narrower than the Act for general meetings).
• NSW Government, guide to strata law changes : chairperson duties from 1 July 2025.
• Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic), version 024 from 9 September 2026 : ss 69 to 81 and 89A, committee ss 108 to 114, records ss 144 to 146, VCAT orders s 165.
• Owners Corporations Regulations 2018 (Vic) : regs 7A and 9A videoconferencing.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria, running meetings : interim resolutions and minutes in practice.
• Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld), current as at 1 August 2025 : records access s 205, adjudicator orders Schedule 5.
• Standard Module Regulation 2020 (Qld), current as at 1 August 2025 : committee ss 55 to 72, general meetings ss 83 to 117.
• qld.gov.au, running a committee meeting and running an AGM : regulator guidance.
• Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), consolidation from 26 June 2025 : ss 104 to 109, 127 to 132, 199 and 200, Schedule 1 by-laws 6 to 9.
• Landgate, meetings, voting and decision-making fact sheet : owners' agenda items, remote attendance, minutes.
• Strata Titles Act 1988 (SA) and Community Titles Act 1996 (SA), both current from 9 December 2021 : Strata ss 23, 33 to 35, 40, 41, 41A and 49; Community ss 81 to 84, 93, 94, 139 and 142 (read on the register in the in-app browser, 2 October 2026).
• Strata Titles Regulations 2018 (SA), version of 1 September 2026 and Community Titles Regulations 2026 (SA) : Strata rr 10, 15, 16, 30 and 31; Community r 29.
• Law Handbook SA, strata general meetings : convening, presiding officer, remote attendance, quorum.
• Strata Titles Act 1998 (Tas) : ss 71, 75, 79, 118, 123 and 128, Schedule 1 model by-laws (by-law 10 quorum).
• Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (ACT), republication 25 effective 26 June 2026 : s 129, Schedule 2 ss 2.1 and 2.8, Schedule 3 ss 3.1 to 3.13 and 3.30.
• Unit Titles (Management) (Meeting Agenda) Guidelines 2023 : ACT AGM agenda items.
• Unit Title Schemes (Management Modules) Regulations 2009 (NT), as in force at 12 May 2023 : Module 2 cls 13 to 22 and 29 to 38.
• Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 (NT) : disputes and NTCAT orders ss 84 to 86.