Most of the changes to the Unit Titles Amendment Act take place next month on May 9, 2023.

The first thing that owners will see is some small changes to the Notice of Intention to Hold an AGM notification that apm sends approximately one month out from the AGM itself.

• New regulations 10(2)(a)(b) and 24(3)(b) require a nominee to be fully paid up at the time nominations are due – not by the commencement of the meeting.
• Employees can be nominated as a Committee nominee only, not as a chairperson.
• Meetings must be offered both “in person” and “electronically”. (You could only hold a meeting solely electronically during the pandemic).

When it comes to the AGM itself the following should be noted:

• The appointed chairperson elected at the AGM will automatically be given a position on the Committee – Unit Titles Act (UTA) 112A(1)
• All elected Committee Members must comply with the Committee Code of Conduct in Schedule 1A of the Unit Titles Regulations 2011. As per UTA Section 114C, a Committee member who has a financial interest in a matter, must also disclose details of the nature and extent of the interest to the Committee and this must be recorded in a register held by the Committee. (What constitutes a “financial interest” that must be disclosed is set out in Sections 114C to 114E of the UTA)
• When a Body Corporate raises its administration budget or its Long-Term Maintenance budget, the new Act has taken Court commentary as a guide which said that a resolution should be clear as to where the funds raised will be held. E.g., “That the Administration Fund budget be determined and approved, and any levies raised are held in the Operating Fund”.

A new Disclosure regime will also come into effect from 9^th May 2023 (this is the one signed by the vendor or person authorised by the vendor). The Section 146 or Pre-Contract Disclosure has a great deal of new requirements. The information required under regulation 33(1) that will be contained in this Disclosure Statement is to the extent that it is capable of being provided in relation to the unit and the development concerned. Here are some examples:

• Three years of Notices and Minutes for Body Corporate and Committee meetings
• Three years of financial reports
• Long Term Maintenance Plan and what’s planned over the next three years with estimated costs.
• Building reports/Consultants reports in relation to building issues/defects plus remediation reports dating back three years.
• Any audit reports that have been undertaken in the last three years

The Pre-Settlement Disclosure Statement (signed on behalf of the Body Corporate, usually by the Manager) largely stays the same although there are two broader definitions to consider as follows at (j) and (k):

• (j) previously the question was: “Are there any proceedings pending against the Body Corporate in any court or tribunal”. Now the wording around this asks: “Are there any proceedings intended, initiated and/or pending by the Body Corporate or initiated and/or pending against the Body Corporate in any court or tribunal”.
• (k) is new altogether and asks, “Are there any written claims by the Body Corporate against a third party that are yet to be resolved”.

A new definition of what is a Body Corporate Manager also will apply.  A Body Corporate Manager is now defined as a person who is employed or engaged by a body corporate to provide one or more specific services. See 114G. These services are as follows:

• Record keeping and other administrative services:
• Financial services, including the handling of money belonging to the body corporate or members of the body corporate:
• Regulatory compliance services, including –
• The making or preparing of statutory disclosures; and
• Regulatory compliance services performed on behalf of the body corporate (including the body corporate committee and the body corporate chairperson)

If you have any questions in relation to the Amendment Act, please contact apm.