The First Meeting of a Strata Corporation

A strata corporation comes into existence the moment its strata plan is deposited. Getting it running properly starts with the first meeting of the owners, where the corporation elects its officers and takes charge of its own affairs. Please note that the following article relates to South Australia only. Local rules and regulations will change the details of this matter.

A note on new schemes

Since 1 June 2009 it has not been possible to deposit new strata plans in South Australia. New unit divisions now use the Community Titles Act 1996. Strata corporations that existed before then continue to operate under the Strata Titles Act 1988, so the rules below still govern their meetings. The general-meeting rules described here apply to every strata corporation's meetings, first or otherwise.

Who convenes the first meeting

For the first meeting of a strata corporation, the person who convenes it is the original registered proprietor, that is, the original owner (typically the developer) of the land the strata plan relates to. This is set out in Section 33(2)(d) of the Strata Titles Act 1988.

For every meeting after that, a general meeting can be convened by:

• the secretary of the corporation; or

• any two members of the management committee; or

• the unit holders of one-fifth or more of the total number of units.

How much notice

A meeting is convened by giving at least 14 days' written notice (two weeks) to all unit holders, stating the day, time and place (Section 33(3)). The person convening it should take reasonable steps to make sure the time and place are reasonably convenient to a majority of members, and the notice must set out the agenda for the meeting (Sections 33(3a) and 33(4a)).

What happens at it

The first meeting is where the corporation elects its office bearers: a presiding officer, a secretary and a treasurer, and a management committee if the group wants one. A few rules to know:

• These officers must be unit holders, unless all the units in the corporation are non-residential.

• One person may hold two or more of these offices (Section 23).

• A position cannot be left vacant for more than six months, or the corporation commits an offence.

From this point the corporation runs its own affairs through its officers, its meetings and its Articles. It may engage a body corporate manager to assist, but the corporation remains the decision-maker.

Handover from the original proprietor

The original registered proprietor has duties to hand over to the corporation the records and documents it needs to operate (Section 38), including plans, insurance details, warranties and similar material. Some of these documents must be kept by the corporation for 30 years (Strata Titles Regulations 2018, reg 30).

This is a practical reference, not legal advice.

Get in touch

If you're establishing a corporation's governance, or taking over a group whose early paperwork is patchy, get in touch. Acacia Collective manages strata and community title groups across South Australia. Call us on 1300 792 255 or email hello@acaciacollective.com.au.