A Lot owner who is an investor in a Body Corporate can join the Body Corporate Committee the same way that an owner who lives onsite can join the Body Corporate Committee.
Nominations for Committee are called each year prior to the end of the Body Corporate’s Financial Year.
The Secretary or Body Corporate Manager in Gold Coast must call for nominations by sending out the notice to all Lot owners at least 3 weeks prior, but not more than 6 weeks prior to the end of the financial year.
The nominations must be received no later than the last day of the Body Corporate’s financial year. Any nominations received after that date will be invalid. A nomination will also be invalid if the owners are ‘unfinancial’ at the time of nomination – which means if they owe a debt to the Body Corporate (i.e. are overdue with their levies or any other payments that are due).
Note: an owner will also be ineligible to be elected to Committee if they owe a debt to the Body Corporate when the committee members are chosen (i.e. at the AGM/EGM).
To form a valid committee (in Queensland), there is a requirement of a minimum of 3 members and a maximum of 7 members, and the positions of Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer must be filled, with any remaining Ordinary Positions to be filled, if applicable.
If you receive more than the required number of nominations for any of the positions, then a ballot must be held at the general meeting. This is usually held by Secret Ballot, but not always – depends on what the building requires.
Ballot papers are then posted to all owners with at least 3 weeks notice of the General meeting, along with the agenda for the rest of the meeting, and voting papers for the motions.
In the case of a ballot, at the meeting, the Committee is elected in the following order – Chairperson, then Secretary, then Treasurer, then any remaining Ordinary Member positions.
If you receive less than or equal to the number of nominations required to fill the positions, then those owners who have nominated will automatically be elected to Committee without the need for a ballot.