What Actually Happens at a Sectional Title AGM (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

The Meeting Most Owners Skip

An email lands in your inbox, buried between a grocery promotion and a notification from your bank. It says something like: "Notice of Annual General Meeting." You skim it, see the date, check whether you have plans, and then, more often than not, you close it and forget about it.

A few weeks later, you hear from a neighbour that the levies are going up. Or that the trustees have changed. Or that the scheme is going to spend a significant sum on a project you know nothing about. You are surprised, perhaps frustrated, and you wonder why you weren't consulted.

But you were consulted. The meeting is where that happens, and you chose not to go.

I say this without judgement, because I understand exactly how it happens. The AGM notice can feel like administrative noise in a busy life, and if you have never attended one, it is easy to assume they are dry, procedural affairs that have nothing to do with you. They are not.

The sectional title AGM is the single most important event in your scheme's calendar. It is where the budget for the coming year is approved, where levies are set, where trustees are elected, and where owners exercise the legal rights they hold as members of the body corporate. Everything discussed at trustee meetings throughout the year ultimately flows back to the AGM for owner oversight and approval.

If you are a trustee, understanding exactly what the AGM requires of you is non-negotiable. If you are an owner, understanding what happens at the AGM is how you protect your investment and your voice in how your community is run.

What the Law Actually Requires

The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, 2011 (STSMA) does not include a formal dictionary definition of the annual general meeting. Instead, it defines the AGM functionally: by prescribing when it must happen and what business must be conducted at it.

That might sound like a technicality, but it is practically significant. The AGM is not simply a tradition or best practice. It is a legal obligation. The body corporate must hold one every financial year, within four months of the financial year end. For a scheme with a 30 September financial year end, that means the AGM must be held by no later than 31 January.

Missing that deadline is not an administrative oversight. It is a failure to comply with the Act.

Legislative Reference: PMR 17(1) (AGM must be held within four months of the end of each financial year); STSMA Section 6, read with PMR 17 and 18, Annexure 1 (general meetings of the body corporate).

The Notice: Your First Opportunity to Prepare

The body corporate must give all owners at least 14 days' written notice of the AGM. This notice is not simply a calendar invitation. The legislation is specific about what must accompany it.

In terms of PMR 15(3), the notice of a general meeting must be accompanied by at least the following:

• An agenda, as required in terms of the rules
• A copy or comprehensive summary of any document that is to be considered or approved by members at the meeting
• A proxy appointment form in the prescribed format

The 14-day notice period exists so that owners can read the financials, review the proposed budget, consider who they want to stand as trustees, and arrive prepared to participate meaningfully. It is not a formality. It is an opportunity.

Use that window. If you receive documents with the notice that you do not understand, or have questions about the proposed budget or any other agenda item, submit your questions in writing to the managing agent or trustees before the meeting. Arriving with your questions already answered means you can participate in the debate rather than spending the meeting trying to make sense of the numbers. It is also worth noting that whilst the legislation gives trustees the authority to determine the agenda, good governance practice is to allow members to request items be included before the notice is finalised and sent. If there is a matter you would like addressed at the AGM, raise it with the trustees or managing agent well before the notice goes out.

If you receive an AGM notice and the accompanying documents are incomplete, or if you receive less than 14 days' notice without all owners having agreed to short notice in writing, that is worth raising. Failure to give proper notice does not automatically invalidate resolutions passed at the meeting, but it is a governance concern that should be documented and addressed.

Legislative Reference: PMR 15(1) (Notice requirements); PMR 15(3) (Documents accompanying notice); PMR 15(7) (Short notice).

How a Sectional Title AGM Actually Runs, Step by Step

The Prescribed Management Rules (PMRs) set out a specific order of business for annual general meetings. This is not a guideline. It is the prescribed sequence that every sectional title AGM must follow. Understanding it means you can follow the proceedings in real time and know exactly where you are in the process.

Step 1: Proxies, nominees, and voting cards. Before anything else, the chairperson confirms proxy appointments and issues voting cards to those present. If you sent a proxy, this is when it is recorded.

Step 2: Quorum check. The chairperson determines whether enough owners are present to proceed. More on what happens if they are not in the next section.

Step 3: Chairperson election (if needed). The chairperson of the trustees normally presides over the AGM. If they are absent, unwilling, or unable to chair, the members present elect a chairperson for the meeting.

Step 4: Proof of notice. The meeting formally confirms that proper notice was given, or that waivers of notice were received.

Step 5: Agenda approval. The agenda is presented and approved by the members. This step confirms that the agenda in front of the meeting matches what was sent in the notice. If the two differ, that is the appropriate point to raise it.

Step 6: Previous minutes. The minutes of the last general meeting are presented for approval. This is where members confirm that the written record accurately reflects what took place at the prior meeting. Corrections to the wording of the record may be raised, but decisions already made at that meeting cannot be re-opened or reversed at this point.

Step 7: Unfinished business. Any matters carried over from the previous meeting are addressed.

Step 8: Trustee reports. The trustees present a report on their activities and decisions since the previous general meeting. This is owner oversight in action. Read these reports. Ask questions about them.

Step 9: Insurance values. The schedules of insurance replacement values are presented for approval. Every sectional title scheme must insure the buildings to full replacement value. Owners approve whether the current values are adequate.

Step 10: Budget approval. The proposed budget for the administrative fund and the reserve fund for the coming financial year is presented. This is the single most consequential vote at any AGM, because it directly determines what owners will pay in levies.

Step 11: Annual financial statements. The audited financial statements for the past financial year are tabled. These tell you how the money was spent, whether the scheme is financially healthy, and whether the trustees have managed funds responsibly.

Step 12: Auditor appointment. The meeting appoints an auditor to audit the annual financial statements for the coming year.

Step 13: Trustee number and election. The meeting determines how many trustees will serve during the coming year, and then elects them. This step applies to schemes with more than four members who are owners of primary sections. The only exception is schemes managed by an executive managing agent appointed under PMR 28, who assumes the full powers and duties of trustees. An ordinary managing agent does not affect this requirement.

Step 14: Rule amendments. Any amendments to the scheme's rules that have been lodged are reported, and a consolidated set of rules is tabled if applicable.

Step 15: New business and directions to trustees. Any new matters may be raised and discussed, but cannot be put to a formal vote at this point, as items requiring a resolution must have been included in the notified agenda. Members may also give the trustees directions or impose restrictions on their powers.

Step 16: The meeting is dissolved.

That is a lot of ground to cover. A well-run AGM moves through this sequence efficiently, with the chairperson keeping proceedings orderly and on track. A poorly run AGM gets stuck, derailed, or skips items entirely, which creates problems down the line.

Legislative Reference: PMR 17(6) (Prescribed order of business at general meetings); PMR 18(1) (Chairperson at general meetings).

Quorum: What Happens If Not Enough People Show Up

The meeting cannot transact any business until a quorum is present. For most schemes, a quorum requires members holding at least one third of the total votes in value to be present or represented by proxy. For very small schemes with fewer than four primary sections, the threshold is two thirds.

The chairperson waits 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. If a quorum is still not present, the meeting is automatically adjourned to the same day the following week, at the same time and place.

Here is the critical part: at that adjourned meeting, whatever owners are present and entitled to vote constitute the quorum. There is no minimum. In theory, a single owner could attend the adjourned meeting and lawfully transact all the business of the AGM, including approving the budget and electing trustees, provided they hold votes in their own right.

This is precisely why attending your AGM matters. Low attendance does not mean the meeting does not proceed. It means the decisions are made by whoever bothered to show up.

Legislative Reference: PMR 19(1) (No business without quorum); PMR 19(2) (Quorum: one third of total votes in value); PMR 19(4) (Adjourned meeting procedure).

Voting: Not All Decisions Are Equal

One of the most important things to understand about the sectional title AGM is that different decisions require different levels of agreement. Getting this wrong invalidates resolutions, which creates legal risk for the scheme.

Ordinary resolutions are passed by a simple majority of votes in value, calculated only on the votes of those present and voting. This covers most routine AGM business: approving minutes, adopting the budget, electing trustees, and appointing an auditor.

Special resolutions require at least 75% agreement, calculated both in value (participation quotas) and in number of members present and voting. Both thresholds must be met simultaneously. Special resolutions are required for significant decisions such as changing the scheme's conduct rules, appointing an executive managing agent, or holding a general meeting outside the scheme's local municipal area.

Unanimous resolutions are the highest threshold, reserved for fundamental decisions such as changing the management rules or selling common property. They can be passed in one of two ways: at a meeting where at least 80% of all members (both in value and number) are present or represented and every member who votes does so in favour, with absent members deemed to consent; or by written agreement signed by all members of the body corporate.

A common source of confusion at AGMs is the difference between "majority of those present" and "majority of all members." For ordinary resolutions, only the votes of those present count. Absent owners are simply not in the calculation. This means a small group of engaged owners can have an outsized influence on decisions at a poorly attended AGM.

It also means that if you disagree with a proposed budget or trustee candidate, the most effective thing you can do is attend and vote. Staying home and complaining afterwards is not a governance strategy.

Legislative Reference: PMR 20(1) (Ordinary resolution voting); STSMA Section 1(1) (Definition of special resolution); PMR 20(8) (Outcome of votes to be announced and minuted).

Proxies: Your Vote Does Not Disappear If You Cannot Attend

If you genuinely cannot attend your sectional title AGM, you are not simply absent from the process. You can appoint a proxy to attend and vote on your behalf.

Your proxy appointment must be in the prescribed format, which is why the proxy form must accompany the AGM notice. The proxy must be delivered to the body corporate at least 48 hours before the meeting, or handed to the chairperson before or at the start of the meeting.

If you already know how you want to vote on specific agenda items, stipulate those voting instructions on the proxy form. This ensures your proxy votes in accordance with your wishes rather than exercising their own discretion on matters that directly affect you.

Two important limitations apply. First, your proxy does not have to be a fellow owner. They can be any person you choose, including a family member, friend, or attorney. Second, your proxy cannot be the managing agent or an employee of the managing agent or the body corporate. This prevents the managing agent from accumulating votes in matters where they have a conflict of interest.

If your AGM notice did not include a proxy form, request one. You are legally entitled to it.

Legislative Reference: PMR 20(5) (Proxy requirements and delivery); PMR 20(6) (Proxy eligibility restrictions).

The Moment Trustees Are Elected

The trustee election is often the most consequential item on the AGM agenda, and the one most likely to be rushed through at the end of a long meeting when energy is low and people want to go home.

Whoever is elected at this meeting will govern your scheme for the next financial year. They will make decisions about maintenance, enforce the conduct rules, manage relationships with the managing agent, and hold financial authority over the scheme's funds. Their quality, competence, and commitment shapes the community you live in every single day. It also directly impacts the value of your property investment. A well-governed scheme maintains its buildings, avoids financial crises, and commands stronger market prices. A poorly governed one does the opposite.

The legislation is specific about how nominations work. In terms of PMR 7:

• Any member may nominate any eligible person for the office of trustee. The nominee does not have to be an owner themselves, though they must meet the eligibility requirements under PMR 6.
• Nominations must be submitted in writing, accompanied by the written consent of the person nominated.
• The nomination must be delivered to the body corporate's service address at least 48 hours before the AGM is due to start.
• If insufficient nominations are received before the meeting, further nominations may be called for at the AGM itself, provided the nominee consents at that point.

Before your AGM, find out who has submitted nominations. Think about whether the current trustees have performed well and whether you want to see them continue. If you have someone in mind who would serve the scheme effectively, you can nominate them. If you are considering standing yourself, submit your nomination in writing with your signed consent at least 48 hours before the meeting starts.

Most schemes do not have a surplus of willing candidates. People who would make excellent trustees often do not step forward because nobody encouraged them to, or because they did not know what the role entails. The AGM is your opportunity to change that.

Legislative Reference: PMR 17(6)(j)(vii) and (viii) (Determining trustee numbers and electing trustees at the AGM).

What to Do Before Your Next AGM

Knowing that the AGM exists is not enough. Here is how to make your attendance count.

Read the documents before the meeting. The notice must include the proposed budget, financial statements, and any other documents to be considered. Read them. Mark the sections you have questions about. Arrive with specific questions, not vague unease.

Understand the budget. The proposed budget drives your levies. Look at how contributions are split between the administrative fund and the reserve fund. Check whether the reserve fund is being funded adequately. If the trustees are proposing a levy increase, understand why before you vote.

Know who is standing for election. If the AGM notice does not include this information, ask the managing agent before the meeting. Consider whether the current trustee team has served the scheme well and whether the right people are putting themselves forward.

Use your proxy if you cannot attend. Complete the proxy form and get it to the body corporate in time. Choose someone you trust to represent your interests and give them clear instructions on how to vote.

Ask questions on the day. The AGM is not a passive event. Owners have the right to speak on any agenda item. If something in the financial statements concerns you, raise it. If you disagree with a proposed budget, make your case and vote against it. The meeting is the mechanism for owner accountability, and your voice is only heard if you use it.

Remember what is at stake. Every decision made at the AGM, from the levy amount to the reserve fund contribution to who sits as trustee, has a direct bearing on your property investment. A well-governed, financially sound scheme maintains its buildings and protects its market value. The AGM is where that governance is shaped.

This is not a legal advisory blog post. Always check the relevant legislation or consult a sectional title legal specialist.