Calling an EGM in NSW
An extraordinary general meeting of an owners corporation in NSW is convened in one of two circumstances:
• if the executive committee resolves to convene the meeting; or
• if persons entitled to vote validly requisitions the meeting.
The process for requisitioning a meeting can be quite technical so the matters that I have set out below should be strictly followed if you have to do this.
A requisition must be signed by one or more persons entitled to vote in respect of one or more lots, the unit entitlements or the sum of the unit entitlements of which is at least one-quarter of the aggregate unit entitlements. In other words, owners of at least one quarter of the aggregate unit entitlement must requisition the EGM.
Because a notice of general meeting must include a form of motion for each motion to be considered at the meeting, the requisition would need to include the motion(s) proposed to be considered at the meeting. In the absence of a motion being included in the requisition, the meeting could be convened to consider any motions that may have been requisitioned by persons entitled to vote since the last general meeting. If no such requisitioned motions are outstanding, then, in a practical sense, it is not possible to convene the extraordinary meeting because there would be no business to be considered.
In those circumstances, the secretary, after fully explaining the difficulty to the persons calling the meeting, would be justified in refusing to comply with the requisition.
The obligation to convene the requisitioned meeting is on the secretary of the owners corporation. In the secretary’s absence, the obligation is on the members of the executive committee. The secretary will usually convene the meeting without reference to the executive committee but, if the secretary is absent, any member of the executive committee may convene the meeting.
If the secretary simply refuses to convene the meeting, then there would appear to be no power for a member of the executive committee to convene the meeting unless the member is served with the requisition. However, a meeting of the executive committee may convene the meeting. If nobody convenes the meeting, then any of the owners who requisitioned the meeting could apply to the adjudicator for an order. The order could seek to compel the secretary to act, or alternatively, to have a compulsory managing agent appointed for the sole purpose of convening the meeting.
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