The Body Corporate How-To Guide (Queensland)

How to change your body corporate manager in Queensland

Changing body corporate managers is one of the most common — and most mishandled — processes in Queensland strata. Here’s how to do it properly.

Step 1: Get the current administration agreement

Ask your body corporate manager or secretary for a copy of the current administration agreement. As a committee member you’re entitled to this without charge. Check three things:

1. The expiry date — agreements run for a maximum of three years (one year under the Small Schemes Module)
2. The non-renewal or termination notice clause — how much written notice is required, and to whom it must be given
3. Any automatic rollover clause — many agreements renew automatically unless notice is given before a deadline

Trap to avoid: if your agreement requires “three calendar months” notice, that is not the same as 90 days. Three calendar months before a 31 October expiry means notice must be received by 31 July — not 2 August. Count backwards from the expiry date by whole months, and build in delivery time.

Step 2: Decide the pathway — end of term or early termination

• At end of term (cleanest): the committee gives the contractual non-renewal notice, then the body corporate appoints a new manager by ordinary resolution at a general meeting (AGM or EGM).
• Mid-term termination: requires grounds under the agreement or the BCCM Act (e.g. breach), a resolution, and usually legal advice. Early exit fees may apply.

Step 3: Run a proper comparison

Get at least three written proposals. Compare on total remuneration, not headline fee: the base administration fee, schedule of additional charges (disbursements, meeting attendance, after-hours fees), and — critically — any insurance commissions the manager receives. Ask each candidate directly: “Do you or any related entity receive commissions, rebates or other benefits from insurance placed for schemes you manage?” A manager receiving 20% of your insurance premium as commission is not competing on their headline fee.

Never tell the quoting firms who your incumbent is or what they charge — it anchors their pricing.

Step 4: Put it to the owners

The appointment of a body corporate manager is decided by ordinary resolution of all owners at a general meeting — the committee cannot appoint a manager on its own. Include the preferred manager’s proposal (fees and term) in the meeting motion so owners are voting on concrete terms. If your AGM timing works, use the AGM; otherwise an EGM.

Step 5: Manage the handover

The outgoing manager must hand over all body corporate records, funds and the roll. Your incoming manager will usually drive this. Confirm bank account control, the common seal, insurance documents, and outstanding invoices transfer cleanly.

How to lodge a motion at a general meeting (AGM or EGM)

Any lot owner can put a motion on a general meeting agenda. This is the single most powerful tool an individual owner has.

1. Write the motion as a resolution, not a complaint. “That the body corporate engage [X] to repair the driveway at a cost of $Y” — not “the driveway needs fixing.”
2. State the resolution type. Most motions are ordinary resolutions. By-law changes need a special resolution; some matters need a resolution without dissent or a majority resolution. If the legislation doesn’t specify, ordinary resolution applies.
3. Submit it in writing to the secretary before the agenda closes. For an AGM, motions must be submitted by the deadline the body corporate sets after the end of the financial year. Submit early and keep proof of delivery.
4. Attach supporting material. Quotes, explanatory notes, and an explanatory schedule help owners vote informed — and motions with quotes attached avoid the need for a second meeting to approve spending.

Note: the committee cannot refuse to include a validly submitted owner motion on a general meeting agenda, though it can note its opposition.

How to raise an issue with the committee (between general meetings)

The committee makes most day-to-day decisions, but it can’t decide restricted issues — matters like changing levies, starting certain legal proceedings, or anything the legislation or owners have reserved for a general meeting.

• Write to the secretary (or the body corporate manager, if authorised) and ask for the item to be included on the next committee meeting agenda.
• Committee decisions can also be made by vote outside committee meeting (VOCM) — a written vote circulated to committee members — which is faster for routine approvals within the committee’s spending limit.
• The committee’s spending limit is $200 multiplied by the number of lots in the scheme, and it applies as a total cap across the financial year rather than per item. That default can be changed by ordinary resolution of the owners. A committee cannot split a project into smaller parts to bring each piece under the limit. The limit applies under the Standard, Accommodation and Small Schemes Modules. Above the limit, the decision goes to a general meeting — and quotes cannot be split to dodge the threshold.

How to access body corporate records

Under the BCCM Act, any interested person (owners, buyers, mortgagees and their agents) can inspect the body corporate’s records — minutes, financials, insurance policies, contracts, correspondence, and the roll.

1. Apply in writing to the body corporate (usually via the manager)
2. Pay the prescribed inspection fee
3. The body corporate must make records available within 7 days

You can inspect in person or request copies (per-page fees apply). A body corporate cannot lawfully refuse access to an interested person who follows the process.

How to dispute a body corporate decision in Queensland

Queensland has a dedicated, low-cost dispute pathway most owners don’t know exists.

1. Self-resolution first. Write to the committee stating the issue and the outcome you want. Keep records — the Commissioner’s office expects you to have attempted this.
2. Conciliation. Apply to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) for conciliation — a facilitated discussion, cheap and fast.
3. Adjudication. If conciliation fails, apply for adjudication. An adjudicator can make legally binding orders — including overturning unreasonable body corporate decisions.
4. QCAT. Complex disputes (e.g. about management rights contracts) and appeals from adjudicators’ orders go to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The reasonableness test is your friend: bodies corporate must act reasonably in decision-making, and adjudicators regularly overturn decisions that fail this test.

Quick reference: Queensland strata terminology

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by regulation module — check your community management statement, and get advice on your specific agreement before terminating a manager.