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What are the roles & responsibilities of the Committee?


Committee roles

• Most schemes must have between 3 and 7 voting members

• Positions of Chairperson, Secretary & Treasurer must be filled

• One person may hold multiple positions (i.e. Secretary/Treasurer)

• Non-executive members are ‘ordinary committee members’

• Elected at each AGM

• Body corporate manager and caretaker are non-voting committee members


Chairperson

• Chairing meetings

• Declaring results

• Ruling motions out of order

• Dealing with procedural meeting issues

• May call committee meetings in the Secretary’s absence

• Signing body corporate documents


Secretary

• Meeting administration

• Calling meetings

• Issuing agenda, minutes

• Receiving motions, committee nominations, and voting papers

• Holder of the body corporate roll and records

• Signing body corporate documents

• Capitol carries out most of the functions of the Secretary under our agreement


Treasurer

• No statutory function in the legislation – title position only

• Capitol carries out most of the functions of the Treasurer under our agreement

• The treasurer may work with Capitol to

• Review financial records

• Approve invoice payments


Ordinary committee member

• Voter at committee meetings

• No special function attached to this position


Committee responsibilities generally

• Overseeing operation of body corporate

• Acting in the best interest of all owners

• Instruct and work with body corporate manager (Capitol)

• Carry out body corporate’s lawful instructions

• Arranging maintenance

Committee members are bound by a statutory code of conduct.

Visit our website www.capitolbca.com.au for a copy.

http://www.capitolbca.com.au/

How does the approval process work?


Common committee approvals

• Pets

• Minor improvements to the lot

• E.g. Security screens

• Air conditioning

• Solar panels

• Maintenance work on common property


Approval steps

1. Application submitted by owner or agent

2. Committee considers either

a) At next committee meeting

b) By vote outside of committee meeting

3. Minutes (decision) recorded and given to lot owners

4. Costs may be paid by applicant to get faster decision


Before applying

• Approvals may take 2 weeks+ depending on committee meeting

• Check the by-laws before applying• By-laws may allow without approval

• By-laws may prohibit and prevent approval


Committee decisions must follow the statutory framework

• Agenda/notice

• Minutes

Voting

• Each voting member has only 1 vote

• Holding 2+ positions (i.e. Chairperson/Secretary) does not give additional votes

• Committee members with a possible conflict of interest must not vote

• If votes are tied – the motion fails

• If not enough responses – the motion fails


Restrictions on committee decisions

• Spending limit

• Minor improvements

• Levies

• Changing rights, privileges or obligations of the owners of lots;

• Legal proceedings (except debt collection)

• Other (up to body corporate)

Disputes• Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management

• 1800 060 119

How are levies calculated?


The process

• Financial year for each body corporate is different

• Capitol prepares end of financial year figures

• Capitol prepares a draft budget• Administrative – set based on last year costs• Sinking – set based on sinking fund forecast

• Committee may review at committee meeting or by email

• The total budget is divided by the lot entitlements

How are levies calculated?Insert budget


Administration fund$10,000 ÷ (10 entitlements) = $1,000 per entitlement$1,000 per entitlement ÷ 4 = quarterly levy amount

The AGM agenda shows the rate per entitlement

Example: lot 5 (3 contribution entitlements)$1,000 x 3 = $3,000 per year or $750 per quarter

Administration fund levy table – AGM agenda

http://mybodycorpreport.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/BUDGET-Example-Schedule-Entitlements.pnghttp://mybodycorpreport.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/BUDGET-Example-Schedule-Entitlements.png

What maintenance is Body Corporate responsible for?

MaintenanceFormat plans

Building format plan(formerly building units plan)

Standard format plan(formerly group titles plan)

MaintenanceBuilding Format Plan/Building Units Plan

Overview

• Boundaries of a lot are defined by building elements (walls, balustrades, ceilings)

• This is the most common plan for units

• If the scheme contains stacked lots or lots over common areas it is probably a building format plan

• Many townhouse developments are building format plan

MaintenanceBuilding Format Plan/Building Units Plan

General rules

Within the lot boundary - Owner is usually responsible for maintenance, with very few exceptions (e.g. boundary fences)

Inside the boundary structure of a lot (e.g. wall between two units) - Body corporate is usually responsible, with some exceptions

Courtyard - Owner is usually responsible for maintenance (e.g. landscaping, hedges, water tanks and pumps etc.)

Common property area (hallway, parking area, roof) -Body corporate is responsible for structure (walls, handrails, flooring, light fittings)

Overview

• The owner owns the land within their boundary, like a normal house block

• Common for gated communities/townhouse developments

• Body corporate intervention is minimal, levies are generally lower as a result

General rules

• The owner must maintain all elements within the lot boundary (i.e. building, utility services)

• Body corporate is only responsible for shared services (e.g. shared gutters, shared sewer line)

MaintenanceStandard Format Plan/Group Title Plan

Maintenance – General rules

Is the breakdown impacting more than one lot?• If more than one lot is affected, the breakdown is usually in a communal system

(communal hot water system, communal electricity failure, communal sewerage blockage)

• Communal systems are normally a body corporate responsibility

Hot water systems & air conditioningRegardless of where the unit is physically located:• Systems servicing one lot – lot owner responsibility• Shared systems servicing multiple lots – generally a body corporate responsibility

Landscaping in courtyardsUsually all elements in a private courtyard are the responsibility of each owner – including plants, trees, garden structures etc.

How do I write an acceptable motion for an AGM?

How do I write an acceptable motion for an AGM?Rules Submit on time

Owner motions – submit by end of financial year Committee motions – can be included until AGM agenda is issued

Spending motions Include at least one quotation Include method of funding – administrative fund, sinking fund, special levy

Must be able to be answered with a YES or NO

The motion should be clear and concise – what must the body corporate do ifresolved?

The motion can include additional explanatory text up to 300 words.

How do I write an acceptable motion for an AGM?

Example motions:

1. The driveway needs to be fixed up.

2. Moved that the pool be repaired and upgraded.

3. Moved that the body corporate engage ABC CONTRACTORS to replace the front timber

fence at the complex with a new timber fence as per the attached quotation number 123,

dated 1 January 2018, at a cost of $3,000.00, with the expense for such work to be paid

from the sinking fund.

Invoice policy

How does the committee approve invoices

Invoices to be approved by the committee

• Capitol handles the payment processing work (data entry, payment processing, remittance)

• Committee is responsible for decision to pay – invoice approval

Invoice approval hub

• Feature of the OWNER LOGIN online system (where you can also access body corporate records)

• Capitol receives and processes invoices

• Before payment, an automatic notification is sent to the approver with a link

• Approver follows the link and views the invoice. The approver can:

• Send a query to the Community Relationship Manager• View the invoice image and details• Approve the payment

• Once the approver has approved the invoice, it will be paid in the next payment run

How does the committee approve invoices

Advantages

• Help reduce levies – the system is free and replaces charged approvals

• Committee controls payments, and can hold payment for incomplete work

• View 3 months of payment history online, similar to internet banking

• Your contractors/suppliers will be paid faster with fast online approvals

When will your committee use the invoice approval hub

• Capitol launched the system in 2017 and in 2018 it became compulsory

• At your AGM your committee will need to select an invoice approver

• Capitol will setup an account for the invoice approver and provide assistance

Why not join now?

• Around half of our clients are already using the invoice approval hub

• Your committee does not need to wait until the AGM, speak to us today

Invoice policy

Submitting invoices to Capitol – PREFERRED

• By mail to: PO Box 326, Alderley Qld 4051

• Delivered in person at any Capitol office (Brisbane, Redcliffe, Gold Coast)

• By email attachment to [email protected] in the following format:

• Attached PDF

• Attached Microsoft Word

mailto:[email protected]

Invoice policy

Submitting invoices to Capitol – DISCOURAGED

Invoices in these formats will be paid (if legible), but may experience delay in payment due to increased time taken to process

• Microsoft Excel files

• Photographs of invoices

Invoice policy

Submitting invoices to Capitol – REJECTED

The following invoices cannot be accepted, and therefore cannot be paid.

• Illegible – if we can’t read it, we can’t process it.

• Zip files (.zip)• due to email security parameters

• Web links to download/save an invoice• To protect your personal information stored on our servers, we follow

the Australian Government manual for information security.• Our team is trained to not click external links, as this is the most

common method of transmitting computer viruses.

Invoice policy

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requirements

• The invoice must be addressed to:

‘Body corporate for BUILDING NAME CTS NUMBER’

• The invoice must include:• The words ‘INVOICE’ or ‘TAX INVOICE’

• Supplier business name

• Supplier ABN

• The date the invoice was issued

• Description of the work or goods supplied

• Price (correctly totalled)

• GST amount, or that the amount is GST inclusive, or GST exempt

• For invoices over $1,000 – the body corporate’s street address.

• Creditor payment details (bank account details, BPAY etc.)

Invoice policy

What happens if an invoice is rejected?

• The invoice will not be paid

• We notify the supplier and tell them what the problem is (e.g. illegible, or ABN missing, or total does not add up)

• We advise the supplier to send a new invoice with the mistakes corrected

• We notify the committee at the same time, so that if the supplier contacts the committee, you know the reason for the rejection.

Example of REJECTED invoiceExample of REJECTED invoice

Reasons for rejection• Wrong body corporate name.

• ‘Cascades By The Bay’• CTS number is missing

• No description of work done• Not clear whether total is GST inclusive• No ABN• No business name (Jim’s Mowing is a

franchise – not the business name)• No contact information• No payment details

In this case, we notified the committee and they contacted the mowing man directly, as we could not contact him.

CHU Australia

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Aluminum Composite Panels

Kimberley Jonsson

• CHU first commenced operations 40 years ago.

• Regarded as the pre-eminent market leader forstrata insurance. That is what we specialise in, so we have considerable expertise that you canturn to for advice.

• CHU created the first true strata insurance policy that fully complied with the Act.

• Offices, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth. Each with dedicated underwriting and claims teams.

CHU OVERVIEW

• Renowned for product innovation and excellent personalised service. We aim to make every experience a good one.

• CHU is wholly owned by Steadfast – a company specializing in niche markets and underwriting agencies

• We are recognised as the market leader and estimate that one in every two strata blocks are currently insured with us.

• In QLD we have a team of 20. Australia has 146.

CHU OVERVIEW

Contents

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1. What is ACP?

2. Why is it such a hot topic?

3. What are regulators saying?

4. What is CHU’s Approach?

5. What does the future hold?

What is ACP?

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What is ACP?

7

What is ACP?

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Background on Aluminium Composite Panels

• Since the mid 1990’s, aluminium composite panel (ACP) has become a standard material for medium and high-rise buildings across Australia. All cladding products are to comply with AS1530.1-1994; the Australian Standard for flammability of external building product.

• Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There is now undeniable evidence ACP products containing a highly flammable Polyethylene core have been distributed and installed on Australian Buildings.

What is ACP?

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Background on Aluminium Composite Panels

• The Lacrosse building fire in Melbourne on the 25th November 2014 is the most prominent example of the issue in Australia. The findings of the inquest by the City of Melbourne in April 2015, confirmed the cause of the fire spreading on the exterior of the building was the non-conforming “Alcuobest” product.

• The statement “all cladding is dangerous” is misleading. There are a number of products safely used within the Australian construction industry. For example, “Alucobond Plus” is an accredited product and complies with AS1530.1-1994.

Why Have ACPs Proliferated

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• Aluminium Composite Panels (ACPs) are manufactured with various cores ranging from the flammable Polyethylene (PE) core up to the fully non-combustible Aluminium honeycomb or ceramic material core.

• It is important to note that there is a considerable price difference between the PE cored material and the fire retardant and fireproof-cored materials.

Why Have ACPs Proliferated

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So why do non-conforming building materials continue to be used and indeed, how many buildings are there in the market that contain the flammable PE core material?

• The simplest answer to this is the fact that PE core material is much cheaper than the Fire Retardant or non-combustible panelling systems.

• The certification system is confusing and misleading at times

• Complacency and lack of suitable data on products is also a cause.

What has been the response of regulators?

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Regulatory Responses

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Commonwealth Government

On 6 September 2017, the Australian Senate Economics References Committee recommended that the Federal Government implement a number of measures, which include:• A total ban (importation, sale and use) of ACP’s with Polyethylene

core.

• A national licencing scheme for all building professionals.

• A national approach to increase accountability across the supply chain.

• Introduction of a penalties regime for non-compliant work.

Regulatory Responses

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Queensland

• QLD Government's audit taskforce set up to investigate the issue said private buildings were the responsibility of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).

• "Where there is a concern with privately owned buildings, the QBCC contacts the owners in every case and requests documentation to clarify the type of material installed," the spokesman said.

• "Where there is confirmation of potentially combustible material, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service will be notified to assess the appropriate level of response

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-05/bodies-corporate-may-have-to-pay-for-cladding-inspections/8871094

What is CHU’s position?

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CHU’s Approach

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CHU will be looking to provide insurance in as many instances as possible. In some circumstances, we may require an increase premium and/or apply increased excesses.

We will rate buildings with sprinkler systems and external drenching systems more favourably.

We acknowledge we are currently insuring many buildings with ACP and take our responsibilities seriously to ensure all Strata buildings are fully protected for replacement of their property.

CHU’s Approach

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What are we asking our clients to do?

• We are asking clients/brokers conduct a review of their properties as soon as possible, with priority given to those policies now approaching renewal. We would suggest they commence this review early to allow a full assessment and allow time for further questions or in some cases, a site survey – at least 12 weeks prior to renewal.

• We suggest contact be made with the Building Designers, Certifiers, Fire Engineers, Builders, Suppliers, and other parties involved in the construction, certification and building approval process. This may include local authorities where relevant.

CHU’s Approach

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What are we asking our clients to do?

CHU’s Approach

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CHU will be asking specific questions on all renewals where the building meets the following criteria:

• Was built in 1995 or later and

• Is greater that 3 storeys in height and

• Has a Building Sum Insured greater than $10 Million

CHU’s Approach

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CHU will be separating ACP into two categories:

• FR - Fire Resistant

• PE - Polyethylene

Buildings which can demonstrate they have Fire Resistant ACP will have more favorable terms applied.

FR vs PE

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Other Insurers

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It is important that all strata insurers appear to be taking a different approach to this issue, varying from complete exclusions, to declining cover over buildings entirely. It is vital that you take time to understand the implications of each insurer’s position prior to placing cover on any building where ACP is or may be present.

Key Messages for Intermediaries

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• CHU has a solution in most instances for ACP. Speak to our underwriters to confirm what information we require.

• It is vital that bodies corporate attempt to identify the presence, percentage and product name of any ACP on their buildings. These are material facts to an insurers decision to provide cover and must be disclosed.

Questions?

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PHILLPS SAFETY SERVICE

Safety and Reporting Specialists

Fire

Compliance

Validation

Validation of Fire Compliance Inspections

FAQ’s

What we Reference?

Building Fire Safety Reg’s 2008

Australian Standard 3745 – 2010

Australian Standard 1851-2012

See Handout

Regulation: A.S. 2293.3 2005.

Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: 6 Monthly, Yearly.

Regulation: A.S. 1851-2012, Section 10 & 11.

Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: 6 Monthly, Yearly, 5

Yearly.

Regulation: A.S. 1851-2012, Section 9.

Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: 6

Monthly, Yearly.


Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: Monthly, 6

Monthly, Yearly, 5 Yearly.

Regulation: A.S. 1851-2012, Section 4

Servicing / Maintenance Frequency:

6 Monthly, Yearly, 5 Yearly


Servicing / Maintenance Frequency:

Monthly, 6 Monthly, Yearly, 5 Yearly.

Regulation: A.S. 1851-2012, Section 13

Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: Monthly, 3

Monthly, 6 Monthly, Yearly, 5 Yearly, 25 Yearly.


Servicing / Maintenance Frequency: Yearly.

Regulation: Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008,

Section 18, 29, & 30.

Frequency of Review: Annually

Your FSA will:

Audit your Fire Safety Equipment records annually;

Ensure that all defects and critical defects are addressed and the Occupiers Statement is completed annually;

Ensure that your Fire Equipment Maintenance records are kept on site, in a secure location with QFRS access;

Assist your Fire Safety Provider with maintenance to equipment standards;

Certificate of Classification:

Regulation: Building Act 1975, Section 108A

Only applies to buildings approved after 1 July 1997,

Building owners responsibility to obtain from the building

certifier,

Must be displayed conspicuously, as near as practical to

main entrance,

Occupiers Statement:

Regulation: BFSR 2008, Sections 55A & 55B, Fire &

Emergency Services Act, Section 104D, MP6-1

Queensland Development Code, Schedule 2, Occupiers

Statement

Frequency: Submitted Annually

The occupier statement must be kept and a copy

forwarded to the commissioner annually, Emailed to:

[email protected]

A copy retained with the fire & evacuation plan, can be

kept electronically,

Critical defects notices to be attached to the occupier

statement

mailto:[email protected]

Fire & Evacuation Plan:

Regulation: BFSR 2008 Division 2, Section 21.

Frequency: Reviewed Annually

Every building must have a written fire & evacuation plan

(except for Class 1a & 10 buildings),

Must be in hard copy or in electronic form,

Must be made available for inspection, upon request

during normal business hours.

Training & Evacuation Exercise:

Regulation: Building Fire Safety Regulations 2008

General Evacuation Instructions, Regulation: BFSR 2008

Section 35

Frequency: Annually

First Response Evacuation Instructions, Regulation:

BFSR 2008 Section 36, & 37

Frequency: Bi-Annually

Evacuation Coordination Instructions, Regulation: BFSR

2008 Section 38, 39, & 40

Frequency: Annually

Evacuation Exercise, Regulation: BFSR 2008 Section

43, 44

Frequency: Annually

FINAL - Capitol presentation.pdf (p.1-36)Capitol Owners Day - CHU Cladding.pdf (p.37-60)Fire Compliance Validation Presentation Capitol 2017.pdf (p.61-78)

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