for everything you need to know about strata...

"Strata schemes legislation requires the Owners Corporation hold various meetings from time to time.  Listed below is a general explanation of the types of meetings you may come across in strata and what they're all about.  There's also some details on a few of the other things that go into a meeting along with some extra information links to help you.  However, make sure you refer to the relevant legislation on these topics to get the complete details."

IMPORTANT NOTE The STRATAMAN site will be getting a FACELIFT
All users will need to be set up as MEMBERS - so make sure you REGISTER your details by clicking the REGISTER NOW button below to ensure your continued access once the revamped site goes 'live'.

You'll only need to register once and I'll be adding some 'never seen before' areas
so keep an eye out for more details.

STRATA MEETINGS

• Some excellent information resources
• Basics You Should Know
• Clear Days Notice for Meetings
• Time for Postage
• All Types of General Meetings (GM)
• Quorums
• Adjournments
• Voting Rights
• Priority Votes
• Poll Voting
• Resolutions
• Motions
• Minutes
• Proxies
• Proxy validity
• Proxies and Building Managers, Strata Managers and Residential Property Managers
• First Annual General Meeting  (FAGM)
• Annual General Meeting  (AGM)
• [Extraordinary] General Meeting (EGM)
• Strata Committee Meeting  (SCM)

Some excellent information resources

If you're looking for complete 'legislative' details on ALL Strata meetings, including the special requirements for large & 2-lot Strata Schemes, then check out the following links.  These will give you EVERYTHING you must know about the different meetings with all the restrictions and conditions that apply.  I know it can be hard going sometimes reading through the 'legalese' but it IS all there and at your finger tips if you ever have to refer to it.

The TWO big ones (from the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015) to definitely 'digest' are :

• Schedule 1- Meeting procedures of Owners Corporation
• Schedule 2- Meeting procedures of Strata Committees

These two will give you: what's to be included in agendas, what motions must be included, the timing and how the notices must be given and to who, quorum rules, voting rights and procedures, tenant conditions, proxy rights and limits, large and 2-lot scheme conditions and even more.
They are THE manuals giving you the A-Z for strata meetings - so bookmark these 2 schedules...

NSW Fair Trading, as usual, has an excellent fact sheet on Meetings of the Owners Corporation and you should make sure you read it if you want the full story about general meetings (GM's) while the fact sheet titled Meetings of the Strata Committee will give you heaps of great information on everything to do with the Strata Committee Meetings (SCM).  In fact, you should bookmark these 2 as well.

They also has a well-written booklet called Strata Living which covers the A-Z of all things strata.  Information about the different meetings starts on page 29 (through to page 32) AND IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING.  I absolutely love this little booklet because it's to-the-point and very easy to read.

My DISCLAIMER - While I have made every effort to be as accurate as I can, the information below does not cover every little "twist and turn" associated with Strata Meetings and I may have missed an item or three due to the new legislation.  There are just too many contingencies to cover them all on this page so I strongly suggest you read through the various resources I have provided (via external links) to get the full and complete picture.  Some very sound advice is "when in doubt or unsure - refer to the legislation".

Strata Title Terms and Jargon

And lastly (for this section), if you need to know the meaning of one or more of the common terms mentioned on this page then have a look at the Strata Terms and Jargon Information page.

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Basics You Should Know

There are 2 main types of strata meetings - General Meetings and Strata Committee Meetings.
General Meetings have 3 different sub-types: First Annual General Meeting, Annual General Meeting and General Meetings (other than Annual GM's).
And all of these have varying conditions and rules that are spelt out in the legislation I pointed you to in the preceding section and I'll be going over each type of meeting in the sections below.

Now, there's been a bit of chatter about the whole EXTRAORDINARY General Meeting thing.  Officially, the term "EXTRAORDINARY" is not "officially" mentioned in the new legislation for the "other" general meetings - nor was it "officially" mentioned in the old legislation either BUT, the term "extraordinary general meeting" was unofficially adopted as the default for any NON-ANNUAL general meetings by many in the industry.  And this still persists today.  It's also interesting to note that many LEGAL COMMENTATORS also use the term "Extraordinary General Meeting".

So, officially, we have just General Meetings - but it'll be interesting to see if "extraordinary" is, once again, adopted as a term for the "other" general meetings. Confusing? Perhaps. Officially correct? Probably not.

I think a lot of strata people found this an easy way to differentiate between the different types - and it stuck.   I'll continue to subtly make mention of "extraordinary" for the other general meeting types.

Clear Days Notice for Meetings

One of the requirements for every meeting held is there must be a certain number of clear days notice given to those eligible to attend the meeting which includes owners AND 'registered' tenants. Who are registered tenants?  Glad you asked - a 'REGISTERED' tenant is a tenant who name has been put on a Tenancy Notice and then given to the OC to record on the strata roll - see NSW SSMA 2015: Section 258: Tenancy notice to be given to OC.

The actual number of days and type of notice will depend on the type of meeting being convened.  The specific details for the different meeting types, including what info has to be included, can be found in the sections below.

Time for Postage

The old 'snail mail'...it STILL exists for many and, in fact, a LOT of people prefer to receive a 'hard copy' of everything.  Even I have been known to insist on the "paper version" of some things BUT we all now live in the digital age and the latest legislation has come a long way regarding the embracing of this new technology and so, it's now legally acceptable to receive all 'correspondence' (including notices of meetings) via email - providing, of course, the lot owner has consented to this.

HOWEVER, normal postage is most definitely still with us (for now) so when meeting notices are actually SNAIL MAILED, the clear days notice will need to allow a reasonable amount of time for it to be delivered - which is 7 working (i.e. business) days for postage from the date of posting.

Now, I didn't see any specific reference to 'time for postage' in the SSMA 2015 or the SSMR 2016 but as I understand it, it's based on the Interpretation Act detailed in a circular issued by Australia Post in 2016 stating 7 business days for Standard Delivery.

So this is how you calculate the period where a minimum of 7 clear days notice is required:

• Date of posting
• 7 business days for delivery
• then 7 days notice

E-Mail for Notices and other 'items'

As I mentioned above, the latest round of legislation has just about fully embraced the various digital methods of distribution and Section 176 of the NSW SSMA 2015 discusses HOW "records required to be made or stored" can be done in a form "determined by the Owners Corporation".  Now THAT leaves options pretty wide-open and notices - which sort of qualify as a 'record' - fall under that umbrella - as do many other 'items' handled by the Owners Corporation like minutes, financial statements, budgets, levies, letters, etc.  Obviously the "Time for Postage" restriction does not apply if an item is sent by email but any "Clear Days Notice" conditions still do.

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All Types of General Meetings (GM)

Quorums

A motion submitted at a general meeting must not be considered, and an election must not be held unless there is a quorum present to consider and vote on the motion or on the election.  And achieving a Quorum is usually conditional on the minimum number of "eligible" members who can vote being present. However, the Chairperson has the final say as to whether or not the general meeting goes ahead (if a quorum is not achieved) based on an arbitrary decision made by the Chairperson. Now THAT might lead to a few interesting scenarios unless some strict rules are put in place ahead of time... (Read my section on Adjournments just below.)

A quorum for any General Meetings is when:

• at least 1/4 of the people eligible to vote attend in person or by proxy
  OR
• a sufficient number of owners eligible to vote and holding in total 1/4 or more of the scheme's total unit entitlement attend
  OR
• a minimum of at least 2 persons eligible to vote attend in person or by proxy

Please note that TENANTS who attend meetings do NOT count when determining a quorum.

Schedule 1- Meeting procedures of Owners Corporation: Part 3 Section 17 - Quorum provides the "official" status.
It's about half way through the document so look out for Section 17.

Adjournments

Meeting adjournments CAN occur when there is NOT a quorum present at a meeting after 30 minutes from the start of the meeting.

If a quorum is NOT present within 30 minutes of the scheduled time for commencement of the general meeting, the Chairperson MUST either adjourn the meeting for at least 7 days with notice of the rescheduled time and place being given by the Secretary to the owners (and any registered tenants) at least 1 day prior to the rescheduled meeting OR decide that those who ARE present constitute a Quorum which means the meeting can go ahead.

Now, if there is AGAIN no quorum within 30 minutes of the start time for those meetings that WERE adjourned, it can still go ahead with those in attendance who are eligible to vote.

Schedule 1- Meeting procedures of Owners Corporation: Part 3 Section 20 - Adjournments provides the "official" status. It's about half way through the document too.

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Voting Rights

Each owner has voting rights at a general meeting but only if the owner is shown on the strata roll AND they're eligible to vote.  If the owner is a corporation, then the company nominee is the person entitled to vote - as long as they were previously recorded on the Strata Roll.  If the person with the voting rights cannot attend the meeting then they have the option of appointing a proxy.  I go into more detail about proxies a bit further down the page as there are some restrictions with the new strata laws that came into force on 30th November, 2016.

However, if the person eligible to vote is behind in their levy payments or they owe any other money to the Owners Corporation then that person cannot vote until the outstanding debt is removed.  The only exception to this restriction is where the motion requires a Unanimous Resolution.

Tenants Right to Vote

Tenants, while able to attend general meetings, cannot vote (unless they hold a proxy vote) or put forward a motion or even nominate someone (a Tenant Representative) to be on the Strata Committee.  However they may actually speak at a meeting but only if permission has been granted by a simple resolution of the Owners Corporation.  They can also be asked to leave a meeting when certain 'sensitive' matters are discussed - mainly financial 'things'.

Oh, and as I mentioned earlier, they are NOT counted when determining quorums either.  Hhhmmm, what CAN they do?  Turn up and learn about stuff I guess. Sort of a case of FYI - that's "For Your Information" (for those of you out there who didn't know what I was eluding too).  HOWEVER, while a tenant representative CAN attend a Strata Committee meeting, he (or she) still cannot vote nor be counted in the determining of a quorum - so the end result is pretty much the same. But it's a lot better than what it previously was.

See Section 33 of the SSMA 2015 AND  Regulation 7 of the SSMR 2016 for the exact details regarding Tenant Representatives.

There's a lot more to this whole voting rights thing but you'll have to read NSW SSMA 2015: Schedule 1 - Part 4 for General Meetings AND SSMA 2015: Schedule 2 - Section 10 for Strata Committee Meetings if you want to the "official" wording.

So in summary, those eligible to vote are:

• the owner, first mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot as recorded on the strata roll
• those owners whose levy payments are NOT in arrears (except on motions requiring an unanimous resolution)
• a person who has been appointed, in writing, by a company as its company nominee and is on the strata roll
• via a properly appointed proxy (within the limits based on the scheme's size - see the section on proxies below for deatils)

Depending on the type of resolution required, the votes of eligible members can be based on a simple majority vote or the unit entitlement of each lot.  The unit entitlement voting essentially means that those lot owners with a higher unit entitlement have more voting "power" than those with a lower unit entitlement.  Any resolution requiring a Poll and all Special resolutions use this method of voting.

Tenants, if they have been registered with the Owners Corporation, can now attend meetings (with some conditions), BUT they cannot vote unless they have been given a proxy vote.

Priority Voting

There are certain votes that are deemed as Priority Votes and these can be cast by anybody based on any of the following motions:

• insurance
• budgetings
• fixing of a levy
• expenditure by the OC of an amount that exceeds the number of lots in a scheme X $1,000 (see NSW SSMR 2016: Regulation 12 - Priority Votes)

A Priority Vote can also be cast in relation to a specific lot and, in this case, a vote by the owner of the lot (on this motion) does NOT count.  Also, be aware that a priority vote has NO EFFECT unless at least 2 days notice of the intention to raise the priority vote at a meeting has been given to the owner of the affected lot - see NSW SSMA 2015: Schedule 1 Clause 24 - Priority Votes for the actual piece of legislation on all this.  NOTE: Clause 24 is towards the end of the Schedule document.

Poll Voting

Even when only a simple majority vote is needed, a poll can be called for any resolution by any owner present and eligible to vote.

When a poll is demanded, each vote can have a different value.  Those values are based on the lot's unit entitlement for each voting lot owner.  In this situation, an owner with the greater unit entitlement has more voting 'power' than an owner with a lower unit entitlement.

Each vote 'for' and each vote 'against' is then counted, using the calculated values, and the voting 'group' having the greatest value wins.

Special Note - When the original owner owns more than half of the total unit entitlements the original owner's vote is reduced by 2/3 of the original owner's total unit entitlement (ignoring any fraction) to ensure fairness during voting.  POLLS are not used in Strata Committee Meetings.

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Resolutions

Generally, resolutions for motions are usually decided (i.e. resolved) by a simple majority vote.  This is either by numbers or, in the event of a poll, by unit entitlement.  Such resolutions are known as SIMPLE resolutions or ORDINARY resolutions.

There are certain 'more urgent or more serious' matters that can only be decided by a:

• SPECIAL resolution - requiring a 75% majority vote based on unit entitlements (e.g. the changing of by-laws or the granting of exclusive use of common property - known as Common Property Rights)
• UNANIMOUS resolution requiring 100% majority vote (e.g. the sale of common property)
• POLL (which can 'requested' for all resolution types)

Motions requiring Special or Unanimous resolutions must be noted on the agenda prior to a meeting while Polls can be requested for any motion at any time.  See NSW SSMA 2015: Section 5: Resolutions of Owners Corporations.

Special Note - POLLS are not used in Strata Committee Meetings

Motions

A motion (or agenda item) at a general meeting is decided by the number of votes cast FOR or AGAINST the motion, with each owner having one vote for each lot they own.  Most decisions can be made by a simple majority vote (i.e. ordinary or simple resolution) but sometimes a special resolution or unanimous resolution or a poll is needed.

When can a motion be added to agenda
The current legislation states that the motion MUST be given to the OC BEFORE the Notice of the Meeting has been issued. And that notice is to be issued either 7 days PRIOR to the actual meeting (in the case of "non-mail" notices such as email) or 14 days PRIOR to the meeting if the notice is sent by 'snail mail' (i.e. an extra 7 working days allows the mail to arrive and be read). Otherwise it is added to the agenda for the NEXT general meeting (AGM or otherwise).

Here is the link to the current legislation on this topic: Schedule 1 – Meeting Procedures of Owners Corporation.
NOTE: Scroll down to Part 2 Section 4 (& then specifically 4.4) to read about the motion and then scroll down further to Section 7 to read more about Notice requirements for General Meetings

The chairperson can rule a motion as "out of order" if the motion conflicts with the Act, is unlawful or unenforceable.

A motion must:

• clearly state the proposal to be considered at the meeting
• clearly state if a special or unanimous resolution is required - AND all in the 300 word limit

Minutes

The Owners Corporation must keep full and accurate minutes of any Annual General or [Extraordinary] General Meetings and provide copies of the minutes of each meeting within 14 days to each member of the Strata Committee along with each owner of the strata scheme if the strata scheme is NOT a large scheme.

If the scheme IS a large scheme (i.e. a scheme with more than 100 lots excluding all utility and parking lots) then a copy of the minutes is only provided if the owner requests a copy and, if requested, must be provided within 14 days - see Schedule 1: Part 4 Sections 22 - Minutes for the full detail.  You'll find it towards the bottom of the document.

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Proxies

Proxies are voting rights of an eligible voter (who cannot attend the upcoming meeting) transferred to another person who CAN attend the meeting.  A proxy is invalid if the person appointing the proxy attends the meeting.

For a proxy to be valid it must be:

• in the format prescribed by the NSW Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 -Schedule 1: Form 1 - Proxy Appointment (but it's been repealed so I will look into this & get an update)
  so use the Proxy Appointment form from NSW Fair Trading - it's much more 'user-friendly' anyway
• given to the secretary of the Owners Corporation before or at the commencement of the meeting

NOTE - The previous legislation permitted the use of proxies in Strata Committee Meetings (allowing a Committee member - with the consent of the Committee - to appoint an owner to act in their place), however the new legislation is not 100% clear on this point so, for the time being, we'll say that 'officially' proxies can only be used at General Meetings.  If anyone can clear this up for me, please let me know.

Proxy special conditions for large schemes

In the case of large schemes (having more than 100 lots excluding parking and utility lots), a proxy must be in the hands of the secretary at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Limit on number of proxies held by one person

The total number of proxies that may be held by a person (other than proxies held by the person as the co-owner of a lot) voting on a resolution are as follows:

• ONE proxy if a strata scheme has 20 lots or less
• if the strata scheme has MORE THAN 20 lots, a number equal to NOT MORE THAN 5% of the total number of lots
  (IMPORTANT - Any fractions are IGNORED when calculating the 5% - so 2.5 becomes 2 for a 50 lot scheme)

This is the bottom-line: (as per the legislation calculations)

•     2 to 39 lots  - 1 proxy (remember to ignore any fractions)
•   40 to 59 lots -  2 proxies
•   60 to 79 lots -  3 proxies
•   80 to 99 lots -  4 proxies
• 100 to 119 lots - 5 proxies
• 120 to 139 lots - 6 proxies
• 140 to 159 lots - 7 proxies

I think you get the idea now and can do the calculations for other larger sized schemes if you need to but essentially it's ONE proxy for EVERY 20 lots OR PART THERE OF (as the saying goes).

NOTE - The latest legislation that came into force on November 30th 2016 put the limit on how many proxies could be held by one person to stop proxy farming that allowed a few resourceful power mongers (including developers) to control the outcome of many motions - sometimes to the detriment of the strata scheme.  Thankfully this practice has been all but stopped - well, at least I hope it has...but time will tell as people can be very resourceful.

Want the "official" details?
OK, then read Schedule 1- Meeting procedures of Owners Corporation: Part 4 Sections 25 & 26.  It starts close to the bottom of the document.

Proxy validity

A proxy has effect for the period specified in the proxy.  That period can be no more than 12 months or for two consecutive AGMs, whichever is later.  If a proxy form doesn't state the length of the proxy, it will be valid for one general meeting only.

The following conditions apply to a proxy:

• it must state whether the proxy can vote on all matters, or only certain matters
• it must state how the proxy should vote on a motion for the appointment or continuation in office of a Strata Manager
• it has no effect if the person who gave the proxy attends the meeting and votes in person
• the most recent proxy is valid

NOTE - It's very important to ensure the proxy has been completed correctly.  One of THE most important things is that it must be signed by ALL parties, be dated AND have the NAME of the person to be appointed written on the form.

Proxies and Building Managers, Strata Managers and On-site Residential Property Managers

A proxy cannot be used by Building Managers, Strata Managers or On-site Residential Property Managers if they would obtain a financial or material benefit.  2 simple examples of this would be if the term of the Building Management Agreement was extended or if the term of the Strata Management Agreement was extended.

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First Annual General Meetings (FAGM)

The First Annual General Meeting is a really important one for all strata schemes.  A lot of very important things are created and setup and decided upon at this meeting.  In fact the very foundations of the strata scheme are built at this meeting and we all know how important good foundations are to any structure.

The original owner is responsible for the convening and holding of the First Annual General Meeting (sometimes referred to as the FAGM) not later than 2 months after the expiration of the initial period (i.e. when 1/3 of the total unit entitlement have been sold and settled) irrespective of whether or not the original owner still owns any lots in the scheme.

You can read a little more on Strata scheme Initial Periods in the section called Miscellaneous Section - Initial Period on the NSW Registrar General's Guidelines website.

NOTE - If the original owner still owns more than 50% of the total unit entitlement and a vote by special resolution or poll is requested, the value of the original owner's vote can be reduced by 2/3 of original owner's unit entitlement to ensure fairness during voting.

Clear Days Notice

For the first annual general meeting a notice of meeting must be sent to each lot owner, company nominee, first mortgagee and covenant chargee, as shown on the strata roll and each registered tenant (if any) of a lot in the strata scheme who has been notified as a tenant of the lot to the Owners Corporation. There must be 14 clear days notice given plus time for postage (i.e. 7 business days) if the notice is being mailed.

The actual details on the notice (and the convening of the meeting) can be found in the NSW SSMA 2015: Section 14 - First AGM must be held within 2 months after initial period.

The Agenda for the FIRST Annual General Meeting

There is a statutory agenda contained in the NSW SSMA 2015 - Section 15: Agenda for First AGM AND NSW SSMR 2016 - Regulation 5: Agenda for First AGM for motions to be decided upon.
Topics MUST include (but not limited to):

• existing and new insurances
• levy contributions, variations and distribution
• 10-year Capital Works Fund Plan preparation
• consider the accounting records & last financial statements
• election of the Strata Committee
• restricted or special matters for consideration
• decision on altering or adding to the by-laws
• appointment of a Strata Manager and delegation of tasks
• appointment of a Building Manager and delegation of tasks
• consideration of building defects and rectification
• appointment of building inspector (if initial period ends within 12 months after construction)
• consideration of the Initial Maintenance Schedule
• appointment of an auditor
• receipt of documents from original owner
• receive nomination for tenant representative for the Strata Committee (if applicable)

Required Documents

According to the NSW SSMA 2015 - Section 16: Documents & Records to be provided... the original owner must give the following items to the Owners Corporation no later than 48 hours prior to the First Annual General Meeting:

• all plans, diagrams, schedules and specifications relating to the parcel or building
• all certificates (other than certificates of title for lots)
• any other documents (including insurance documents) obtained or received by the owner and relating to the parcel or any building or plant/equipment
• the certificate of title for the common property
• the strata roll
• the initial maintenance schedule
• any building inspection reports
• any other notices or records relating to the Strata Scheme
• all accounting records and the latest financial statements
• additional documents as outlined in Regulation 6 of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016

NOTE - The original owner is liable for a penalty if he (or she) fails to hold the FAGM within the proper time frame as set down by the legislation.  Effectively there's no excuse for not holding the meeting and an adjudicator can be appointed to ensure the meeting goes ahead.

A clause in the legislation can let the original owner off the hook a little as it states "an original owner is only required to deliver to the OC a thing if that thing is in possession or control of the original owner...".  Definite loop-hole there.

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Annual General Meetings (AGM)

The Annual General Meeting (sometimes referred to as the AGM) must be held at least ONCE in each financial year of the corporation. (See Section 18 of the NSW SSMA 2015.)

Clear Days Notice

For every Annual General Meeting (excluding the FAGM) a notice of meeting must be sent to each lot owner, company nominee, first mortgagee and covenant chargee, as shown on the strata roll and each registered tenant (if any) of a lot in the strata scheme who has been notified as a tenant of the lot to the Owners Corporation. There must be 7 clear days notice given plus time for postage (i.e. 7 business days) if the notice is being mailed.

NOTE: A copy of the minutes from the previous general meeting must accompany the notice unless a particular owner has already received a copy.

The items and motions that must be included in the notice (and agenda - if applicable) for an Annual General Meeting:

• decide if any matter is to be determined by the Owners Corporation
• prepare or review the 10-year plan for the Capital Works Fund
• consider the Annual Fire Safety Statement and the arrangements for getting the next one
• consider building defects and rectifications until the end of the warranty periods


• copy of the minutes of the last general meeting (as mentioned in the paragraph above)
• confirm the minutes of last general meeting
• elect Strata Committee members (if the meeting is for that purpose)
• motion for each motion to be considered
• whether a motion requires a special resolution or a unanimous resolution to be passed
• statement that a vote by an owner does not count if a priority vote is cast
• statement that an unfinancial owner cannot vote at a meeting unless payment has been made before the meeting
• statement that voting rights may be exercised in person or by proxy
• provisions for determining a quorum at meetings


• copy of the last Statements of Key Financial information plus any relevant auditor's report
• accept the last Statements of Key Financial Information
• consider appointing an auditor
• consider taking out other insurances as listed in Section 165 of the SSMA 2015
• information about each current insurance policy taken out
• number of Strata Committee members
• elect the Strata Committee
• consider the Strata Managing Agent's report (if one is appointed)
  re commissions and gifts paid or likely to be paid to the agent in the next 12mths
• how to deal with any overdue levies

The Owners Corporation MUST also, at the request of an owner of a lot, give a copy of the last financial statements prepared for the admin and capital works funds at least 2 days before the meeting.

Notice to Tenants

A copy of the agenda for a meeting must be given to each tenant (who has been notified as a tenant to the OC) either 7 days before the meeting OR be prominently displayed on any noticeboard maintained by the OC.  The copies of all the other documents (such as the previous minutes, financial statement, etc) may be give to the tenants if the OC decides to do so.

TIP - It's always advisable for all owners to attend at least the AGM for their scheme to stay in touch with what's happening regarding their investment.  Only with active owner participation can the scheme remain healthy and trouble-free.

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[Extraordinary] General Meetings (EGM)

All general meetings that are NOT Annual General Meetings are called [Extraordinary] General Meetings and CAN, unofficially, be referred to as an EGM.
The term "extraordinary" is not referred to in the legislation so, officially, these non-annual general meetings aren't really extraordinary general meetings but just General Meetings.  However, in the past, people in the industry (including legal commentators) have adopted the term "extraordinary" so I will run with this until something more concrete takes over.

[Extraordinary] General Meetings are held for any of the following reasons:

• when a special matter (that cannot wait until the next AGM) needs to be considered - such as to authorise major works, raise a special levy, change by-laws, appoint a Strata Manager, etc
• within 14 days of when a request for an [Extraordinary] General Meeting is received by the Strata Committee (SC) from one or more persons eligible to vote and having a unit entitlement value of at least 1/4 of the total unit entitlement for the scheme
• when there is a simple majority 'Yes' vote from the Strata Committee for the holding of an [Extraordinary] General Meeting

Convening an [Extraordinary] General Meeting

[Extraordinary] General Meeting's can be held at any time and are usually convened by the secretary of the Owners Corporation (OC) (or another Executive Committee member if the secretary is absent), or the Strata Manager (if one has been appointed).

Refer to the Part 2: Division 3 Section 19 - Other General Meetings for the actual wording and conditions.

Clear Days Notice

For every [Extraordinary] General Meeting, a notice of meeting must be sent to each lot owner, company nominee, first mortgagee and covenant chargee, as shown on the strata roll and each registered tenant (if any) of a lot in the strata scheme who has been notified as a tenant of the lot to the Owners Corporation. There must be 7 clear days notice given plus time for postage (i.e. 7 business days) if the notice is being mailed.

NOTE: A copy of the minutes for the previous general meeting must accompany the notice unless a particular owner has already received a copy.

The items and motions that must be included in the notice for an [Extraordinary] General Meeting:

• copy of the minutes of the last general meeting (as mentioned in the paragraph above)
• confirm the minutes of last general meeting
• elect Strata Committee members (if the meeting is for that purpose)
• motion for each motion to be considered
• whether a motion requires a special resolution or a unanimous resolution to be passed
• statement that a vote by an owner does not count if a priority vote is cast
• statement that an unfinancial owner cannot vote at a meeting unless payment has been made before the meeting
• statement that voting rights may be exercised in person or by proxy
• provisions for determining a quorum at meetings
• motions on any specific matters raised by the SC or the OC that require discussion or decisions

The main Agenda for the [Extraordinary] General Meeting

The agenda for the [Extraordinary] General Meeting will consist of some specific matters raised by the SC or the OC that require discussion or decisions and can't wait till the next AGM.

Adding an item to the agenda of an [Extraordinary] General Meeting

If you are entitled to vote at an [Extraordinary] General Meeting, you may give written notice of the 'matter' to be included to the secretary of the SC, keeping in mind the number of clear days notice required for this type of meeting - i.e. 7 days plus postage (7 business days).
Your request must also contain:

• the name of the person submitting the motion
• no more than a 300 word explanation of the motion

Something to keep in mind
It's interesting to note that even if you're unfinancial (and therefore not entitled to vote) you can still submit a motion for listing on the agenda.

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Strata Committee Meetings (SCM)

The NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 does not specify how often a Strata Committee must meet - similar to [Extraordinary] General Meeting's - but these meetings are the vitally important to the scheme...AND, in case you didn't know...Owners are allowed to attend these meetings but can't say anything unless given the OK by a simple resolution of the Strata Committee. Oh and being able to vote is off the table too.

Convening an SCM

SCM's are convened by the secretary of the Owners Corporation (OC) at any time or by any other member of the Strata Committee, if requested to do so by 1/3 of the members of the committee or by a previous resolution of the Strata Committee itself.

The meeting must be held:

• in the case of a LARGE scheme, not later than 28 days after the request is made
  OR
• in the case of any other strata scheme, not later than 14 days after the request is made

The details of this can be found in the NSW SSMA 2015: Section 39 - Convene meetings.

Clear Days Notice

The secretary must send a notice about the meeting (including the agenda) to each member of the Strata Committee (including any tenant representative nominated for the strata committee) and to each owner - as well as putting it on the scheme's noticeboard(s) at least 3 days before the meeting is scheduled to be held.  And the same "snail mail" rules apply here if the notice is to be mailed.

IMPORTANT: A Tenant Representative is only needed if a strata scheme has tenants for at least HALF of the number of lots AND the tenant details have been recorded on the Strata Roll.

The Agenda for the Strata Committee Meeting

The notice must state when and where the meeting is to be held and include an agenda detailed enough to inform everyone as to what's proposed to be discussed and resolved by the committee.

Minutes

Minutes of any SCM's held must be given to each member of the strata committee and each member of the owners corporation (if the scheme is NOT large) within 7 days after the meeting.

If the strata scheme is designated as 'large' (i.e. a strata scheme with more than 100 lots excluding any utility or parking lots) then the minutes will be provided to each member of the Strata Committee and any owner that REQUESTS a copy within the period of 7 days following the meeting - see Schedule 2: Part 3 Sections 17 - Minutes and Other Records for the full detail.  You'll find this section towards the bottom of the document.

Quorum for Strata Committee Meetings

A quorum for strata committee meetings is when:

• One member is present if the Strata Committee has only one member
• in any other case, there is at least HALF of the persons entitled to vote present

The quorum for Strata Committees is calculated on the base number of strata committee members.

Adjournments for Strata Committee Meetings

Strata Committee Meetings may be adjourned for any reason if a motion is passed at the meeting for the adjournment.  When an SC meeting is adjourned due to a lack of a quorum or any other reason, notice of the rescheduled time and place must be given by the Secretary to every owner at least 1 day prior to the rescheduled meeting by displaying the notice on the scheme's Notice Board unless there ISN'T one - in which case it can be distributed via email or some other electronic means.

Other things you should know concerning SCM's...

• All decisions on any motions are made by a simple majority vote
• Each committee member has ONE vote - however the chairperson does NOT have a deciding vote
• Committee members can't vote if they are unfinancial at the time of the meeting - i.e. they have an unpaid debt to the Owners Corporation
• Any resolution approved IN WRITING by a majority of members is valid even though the meeting was NOT held
• Owners may attend ECM's but they cannot speak at the meeting unless the Strata Committee agrees by a simple majority vote
• Owners holding at least 1/3 of the total unit entitlement may object to a motion on the agenda.  Written notice of this objection must be received by the secretary before the motion is voted upon by the committee

All the above information and more can be found on NSW Fair Trading's Meetings of the Strata Committee fact sheet.

And here's the link for Schedule 2 - Meeting procedures of Strata Committees in case you missed it at the top of the page.
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