Hi Everyone,
As the year sneaks on, we wanted to give you an update on the progress of the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2022 (the Amendment Act).
As per our earlier updates, the changes come into force across three key dates:
- Provisions to support remote attendance at meetings – came into force on 9 December 2022, meaning all Body Corporates must offer hybrid General meetings.
- Most provisions – in force on 9 May 2023.
- Provisions that need more time before implementation – in force on 9 May 2024.
The changes that come into force on 9 May 2023 include:
- Requirements for pre-purchase disclosure to protect buyers of unit titles.
- Greater accountability and clarity for how bodies corporate are governed, including voting rules, requirements on committee members, and a code of conduct for committee members.
- The inclusion of body corporate managers in the Unit Titles Act, setting out their responsibilities, and including a code of conduct.
- Improving access to dispute resolution, for example, by reducing the application fees to the Tenancy Tribunal.
- Greater flexibility for bodies corporate in deciding utility interests, and the ability to charge for services supplied to accessory units.
The changes that come into force on 9 May 2024 are:
- All changes to requirements for long-term maintenance plans and funds.
- The requirement for a contract between a body corporate and a body corporate manager to contain specific terms.
- The enforcement provisions for the regulator.
- The provisions which require regulations to be made:
- the new costs regime for legal fees in the Tenancy Tribunal, the documents that the regulator can request from a body corporate or body corporate manager, and
- electronic voting.
There is some further information about the Amendment Act on our website here and on the Unit Titles website here. We are working closely with SCA, HUD and MBIE to progressively add to the information and guidance available, including templates and regulations.
As always, we value our client partnerships, and we have been working hard behind the scenes to develop procedures and processes to assist you through the requirements. Most of the requirements for the 9th May 2023 transition we will deal with internally to ensure compliance, and we are pleased to advise many of our committees are already operating in line with the ‘Better Body Corporates’ reforms. We will be in touch with all of our Committees shortly with additional best practice guidance and advice to assist.
Some of the key changes for Committees to be aware of include:
- Requirement for a Committee nominee to have no outstanding levies at the time Committee nominations close (this includes the Body Corporate Chair nominations);
- Requirement for a Committee member to have no outstanding levies when they vote as a Committee member otherwise they cannot be included in the Committee quorum and their vote will not be counted;
- Introduction of a conflict of interest disclosure regime. The Committee conflict of interest register must be issued to owners each year with the AGM agenda.
- Committee meetings must have an agenda and minutes. Minutes of a Committee meeting must be issued to all owners within 1 month of the Committee meeting, and can be done so via an online portal. Committee minutes may be redacted in certain prescribed circumstances.
- Introduction of Committee Code of Conduct as touched on above, including having a commitment to acquiring an understanding of the Act and Code, acting honestly and fairly, acting in the Body Corporate’s best interests, compliance with the Act and Code, and disclosing conflicts of interest
These changes will have flow on effects for all owners, including around selling your units and meeting procedures, and we will of course continue guide owners through these changes.
If you have any queries in the interim, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team.
Warm Regards
Jo & the Property 101 Group team
