The Queensland Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) Act plays a crucial role in regulating the management and governance of community titles schemes in Queensland.

Within this framework, the Body Corporate Committee serves as a vital entity responsible for making important decisions and managing the affairs of a community titles scheme. In this article, we will explore who can be on a Queensland Body Corporate Committee and the eligibility requirements for each specific module of the BCCM Act.

Who can be on a Queensland Body Corporate Committee?

The Body Corporate Committee consists of a group of individuals elected or appointed by the owners within a community titles scheme. The eligibility criteria for committee members may vary depending on the specific scheme, but the general requirements are as follows:

Owners:

The primary requirement for committee membership is being an owner of a lot within the scheme. Each owner has the right to nominate themselves or another owner as a committee member. It is crucial for committee members to have a vested interest in the body corporate’s welfare and be committed to its effective management.

Voting Eligibility:

To be eligible for committee membership, an owner must also be eligible to vote. This means that the owner must be up to date with their financial contributions and not be in breach of any other requirements stated in the scheme’s by-laws or regulations.

Skills and Experience:

While the BCCM Act does not mandate specific skills or experience for committee members, it is beneficial to have individuals with diverse expertise. This can include individuals with financial, legal, administrative, or management backgrounds, who can contribute their knowledge to the effective governance of the scheme.

Standard and Accommodation Modules

To qualify under either the Standard or Accommodation Module, an individual must meet the following criteria:

They must be an individual owner in their own right.
They can be a family member of the individual owner, limited to a spouse, child over 18 years old, parent, brother, or sister.
They may be a person with a power of attorney from the individual owner.
They can be a director, secretary, or “other nominee” of the company owner.
They may be a representative of a subsidiary scheme for a subsidiary scheme owner.

Even if a person meets the eligibility criteria mentioned above, they must also not meet any of the following ineligibility criteria:

They cannot be a body corporate manager, service contractor (defined as having a contract with the body corporate for more than 1 year), or letting agent.
They cannot be an associate of a body corporate manager, service contractor, or letting agent. An associate refers to a relationship or series of relationships that can be traced through marriage, de facto, ascendant, descendant, partnership, employment, fiduciary, arrangement to act in accordance with instructions or wishes of another, corporation-executive officer, or corporation-substantial influencer.
They cannot conduct a letting business for the scheme, which means operating a rent roll. However, this restriction does not extend to associates of those conducting a letting business for the scheme.
They cannot owe a body corporate debt, or nominate a person who owes a body corporate debt.

As mentioned earlier, the term “associate” has a broad definition, encompassing various types of relationships. This includes a committee member engaged by the caretaker to perform tasks, even without a formal agreement or remuneration arrangement. It also includes co-directorships of unrelated companies, except when the caretaker acts as a letting agent for the lot owner.

Commercial Module

The Commercial Module, like other matters it regulates, provides more flexibility regarding the administrative requirements imposed on bodies corporate.

To be eligible for the committee under this module, a person must either be an owner or be nominated by an owner. This allows for a broader range of potential committee members.

There are fewer ineligibility considerations under the Commercial Module. A person is ineligible if they:

Are a body corporate manager (or associate).
Owe a body corporate debt (or nominate a person who owes a body corporate debt).

Small Schemes Module

For schemes regulated by the Small Schemes Module, the committee consists of either a single person or a second person acting as secretary and treasurer. It is not a full committee like the other regulation modules.

Similar to the Commercial Module, eligibility for the Small Schemes Module is determined by lot ownership or nomination by an owner.

A person is ineligible if they:

Are a body corporate manager or service contractor (or associate).
Owe a body corporate debt (or nominate a person who owes a body corporate debt).

The Queensland Body Corporate Committee serves as a vital component in the governance and management of community titles schemes. While the eligibility criteria require members to be owners within the scheme, their skills, experience, and commitment to the scheme’s welfare play a significant role in effective decision-making and management.