The Body Corporate Manager is engaged by the Body Corporate to supply administrative services to the extent required by the building. 

Generally, this means that the Body Corporate Manager is authorised to exercise the duties of a Secretary and Treasurer, though the Body Corporate Manager does not fill these positions on the Committee and does not have a vote on Committee matters. 

For most Bodies Corporate, this means that the Body Corporate Manager will be responsible for duties such as:

• Dealing with incoming and outgoing correspondence in consultation with the Committee 
• Handling phone calls and questions from Lot Owners
• Liaising with and advising the Committee on matters of legislation and best practise
• Issuing notices for Committee Meetings on the instruction from the Committee
• Issuing notices for General Meetings when approved by the Committee
• Sending levies in accordance with General Meeting resolutions
• Drafting Contravention Notices on behalf of the Committee
• Drafting and distributing Minutes of Committee and General Meetings 
• Overseeing the Body Corporate bank account
• Making payment on accounts authorised by the Committee
• Monitoring and reviewing all Body Corporate accounts in accordance with required tax auditing standards 
• Renewing the building insurance as authorised by the Body Corporate 

The written engagement contract between the Body Corporate Manager and the Body Corporate should outline the extent of the duties the Manager is required to undertake. Like most contracts, however, occasionally issues will arise that were not included or anticipated in the scope of the contract. In these cases, some Bodies Corporate may request the Body Corporate Manager to carry out duties that are outside the fixed contract. These duties can incur an additional fee.

The body corporate is a legal entity and its operations are governed by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the Act). In layman terms, a body corporate is like a company and the owners of each lot are like the shareholders. Each body corporate has a community management statement (CMS), this is like the constitution of the body corporate. The CMS is registered with the QLD Government and contains the body corporate name and CTS number, a description of the lots and common property, the entitlements for each lot in the scheme, the by-laws, a list of any easements or exclusive use grants, and can contain other information relevant to the scheme. The body corporate operates on a financial year that is based around the time that the body corporate was first established. For example, if the body corporate was first registered in May, the body corporate’s financial year would typically be 1 May – 30 April each year. Much of the body corporate’s operations are based around these key financial year dates.

Lot entitlements are used to divide body corporate expenses and ownership of the common property amongst the lot owners, similar to the way a company is held by its shareholders. In many bodies corporate, these entitlements are equal, meaning each lot owner contributes the same amount in levies, and has an equal ownership share in the common property.

In other schemes, such as a high-rise apartment buildings for example, a four bedroom penthouse apartment may have more entitlements than a one bedroom apartment. The difference in entitlements means the owner of a penthouse contributes in greater proportion to the administrative and sinking funds, and also may own a larger share of the common property.

The Body Corporate must elect a Committee at each Annual General Meeting. The Committee consists of minimum of 3 Executive Members ( a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer)  and 4 Ordinary Members. If at least the 3  Executive Committee members are  not elected or one of the Executive position is vacant, regulations allow a Body Corporate to engage a Body Corporate Manager to carry out the functions of a Committee.

The Chairperson’s main responsibility is to chair and conduct meetings. The Chairperson’s role is not particularly outlined in the legislation, nor does it come with any authority to act on behalf of the Committee. However, the Chairperson, is normally appointed the liaison person between the Committee and the Body Corporate Manager. In matters of voting, the Chairperson does not have a casting vote.

At a meeting the Chairperson is responsible for:

• Calling a meeting in the absence of the Secretary
• Opening the meeting
• Declaring whether or not a quorum is present
• Ensuring the Agenda is followed and order is kept at all times
• Inviting discussion for and against each item of business
• Dealing and identifying any conflicts of interest between parties present on matters requiring discussion  or voting
• Ensuring that restricted matters are not decided by the Committee and that expenditure limits are not exceeded
• Closing the meeting

At a General Meeting, the Chairperson is also required to:

• Know who is eligible to vote
• Rule a motion out of order if required and give reason why
• Accept written voting papers at the meeting
• Conduct ballots if required
• Declare the results of voting

In most cases the Body Corporate will have a Body Corporate Manager who is authorised to carryout some of the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary, in accordance with their Agreement.

Some of the Secretary’s duties include:

• Keeping the roll of the Body Corporate and other statutory records
• Accepting notices on behalf of the Body Corporate
• Making arrangements fro inspections of Body Corporate records
• Issuing certificates on behalf of the Body Corporate 
• Calling all General and Committee meetings
• Preparing the meeting Agenda and Minutes and circulating to all owners
• Attending to incoming and outgoing correspondence
• Attending to the renewal of insurance policies

Like the role of the Secretary, the Body Corporate will normally have a Body Corporate Manager who is authorised to carry out some of the duties and responsibilities of the Treasurer.

The Treasurer is generally responsible for all the financial matters of the body corporate such as:

• Maintaining the Body Corporate bank account
• Preparing budgets and financial statements
• Authorising invoices for payment
• Calculating and collecting levies on behalf of lot owners

Ordinary Committee Members are appointed by lot owners to help the Executive Committee and are required to attend Committee Meetings.

An Ordinary Committee Member may become ineligible to hold their position under the following scenarios:

• Death of the Member
• Conviction of an indictable offence
• Non-attendance in person or by proxy at two (2) consecutive Committee meetings without the approval of the Committee
• Resignation via written notice to the Chairperson or the Secretary
• Removal from office by ordinary resolution of the Body Corporate

Decisions may be made using one of two methods:

• By committee meeting, or
• Voting outside a committee meeting (referred to as VOCMs, or flying minutes).

The regulation module sets provisions for how the meeting or voting process should occur to ensure that the committee decision process is transparent.

Using either method, committee decisions must be recorded in full and accurate minutes.

Some committees hold regular committee meetings to deal with ongoing matters. Others prefer to conduct voting outside of committee meetings when issues arise and do not meet at all through the year.

Nominations are called for each position between three to six weeks prior to the financial year end of the Body Corporate. If nominations are received after the financial year end of the scheme, they are invalid.

However, if a vacancy exists at the Annual General Meeting, nominations will be called for from the floor at the meeting. Each Committee position must be called and lot owners may choose to nominate one person – either themselves, another lot owner (with that owner accepting the nomination), or a family member as defined in the Act. The Regulation Modules stipulate that the person making a nomination must be financial or must not owe the Body Corporate a debt at the time of the nomination or it becomes invalid. Regulations state that the person and the nominated person must both be financial at the time of nomination and also at the time of election.

Regulations also state that if an owner owns more than two lots in the same name, they may only nominate a maximum of three people to the Committee if there are more than seven lots in a scheme, regardless of the number of lots they own, they may only nominate two people to the Committee. 

If during the AGM there is only one nomination received for the position of Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, the nominee will be automatically elected. If more than one  nomination is received, the Body Corporate is required to conduct either an open or secret ballot depending on the Module and on what motions ( if any) have previously been received by the Body Corporate. If nominations are not received for these positions will be called from the floor.