In all three places an owner can ask to see records of the corporation and its insurance policies, and enough owners together can make it hold a general meeting. What differs is who answers, how fast, and at what cost: in South Australia the corporation, asked through its secretary or a committee member, has 5 business days, in the ACT the owners corporation has 14 days, and in Tasmania the body corporate must produce its insurance policies, and its committee its minutes, when a member asks.
General informationA comparison of the rules in South Australia (strata corporations), the ACT and Tasmania, not legal advice. Each row names its own source; the place guides for South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania link the official pages.
1Records, minutes and policies
| The request | South Australia (strata) | ACT | Tasmania |
|---|---|---|---|
| The records | Asked through the secretary or a committee member, the corporation must within 5 business days let an owner inspect its accounting records, minute books and register of unit holders, free to an owner, and supply copies of up to two years of minutes, the last statement of accounts and the articles, for a $10 fee to an owner. Where a strata manager holds the records, the manager has 10 business days to make them available and may charge no more than $1.75 a page for copies. (Fees as the Law Handbook gives them in October 2026.) | Within 14 days of the request, the owners corporation must let the person inspect the corporate register and its other records, and take copies. | The committee of management’s minutes must be available for any member to inspect on request. |
| The insurance policies | A unit holder, a mortgagee, or a prospective buyer or mortgagee can ask the secretary to see any or all of them, free of charge. | The executive committee must give details of every current policy to each annual general meeting. | The body corporate must produce its current policies for an owner to inspect, on request. |
| Minutes, accounts and rules | A management committee keeps minutes and proper accounting records; the corporation keeps each statement of accounts for 7 years. | Each member gets a copy of the minutes within 14 days of a meeting; records are kept at least 7 years and open to members on request. | An owner or occupier can ask for a copy of the by-laws in force. |
| Where to send the request | The secretary, who is also the officer to ask about the insurance policies. | The committee members’ full names and addresses must be given free of charge within 14 days of a request. | The strata plan states the body corporate’s address, which is its address for notices; a notice can also be given to the chairperson, the secretary or a committee member. |
A South Australian unit holder can also ask a strata manager for a quarterly statement of its dealings with the corporation’s money. The ACT puts a sharp edge on its rule: if an owners corporation fails to answer a request for information, a certificate or access to its records, each member of its executive committee at the time commits an offence.
2Asking for a general meeting
All three places share one number: the next annual general meeting must be held within 15 months of the last. Between those meetings, owners can force one:
| Place | Who can make it happen | Notice to owners | Quorum |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia (strata) | The secretary, any two committee members, a fifth of the unit holders, or a Magistrates Court order. | At least 14 days in writing, with the agenda, at a day, time and place reasonably convenient to most members. | At least half of all unit holders, in person, by proxy or remotely where allowed; without it, the meeting is adjourned for 7 to 14 days. |
| ACT | A written request from owners holding at least a quarter of the total unit entitlement; the committee must then hold the meeting within 28 days. | Timed to arrive at least 14 days ahead, or 21 days where a motion needs an unopposed or unanimous resolution. | In an owners corporation of 3 or more members, if the standard quorum is missing after half an hour, two or more people entitled to vote can form a reduced one. |
| Tasmania | The committee or the secretary at any time, and they must if at least a third of the members require it. | At least 7 days in writing from the secretary, with the date, time, place, business and any unanimous resolutions. | A majority of all members, under Model by-law 10, unless the scheme’s own by-laws say otherwise. |
In South Australia a strata manager can be asked to send out the notice of a meeting, but cannot call one. In Tasmania, an owner whose body corporate has not met as required can ask the Recorder of Titles to appoint someone to call the meeting.
3How a vote counts
- South Australia
Each owner has one vote, and co-owners of a unit share a single vote.
- ACT
One vote per unit, each of equal value unless a poll is taken; on a poll, a vote carries the unit’s entitlement. Where the owners corporation has 3 or more members, nobody can vote for a unit on an ordinary or special resolution while an amount owed to the owners corporation for that unit is unpaid.
A proxy lasts no more than a year and cannot be the manager or a service contractor, and in a plan of more than 20 units nobody but the chair may cast proxies for more than 5% of the units (one proxy in smaller plans). Absentee voting papers can be handed in before the meeting starts.
- Tasmania
Members vote in person or by proxy, usually by show of hands; if a poll is demanded, votes follow unit entitlements. On a motion needing a unanimous resolution, a member who missed the meeting can still vote by written notice within 28 days. A mortgagee in possession of a lot votes in place of the owner.
4Before buying in
A buyer can ask too, and each place gives that request its own form.
- South Australia. A prospective owner can write to the corporation asking to see its records, among them the minutes, assets and liabilities, contributions payable, expenses outstanding or planned, and its insurance policies. The Law Handbook says the information should come within 5 business days of applying, and that once a contract is signed, certain information must reach the buyer at least 10 clear days before settlement.
- ACT. The owners corporation issues unit title certificates. A person who acts honestly on a matter stated in one can hold the owners corporation to it, and a sale update certificate can be asked for within 4 months of the sale certificate.
- Tasmania. On application by an owner or anyone with an interest in a lot, the body corporate must certify the contributions payable, any unpaid amounts and other matters the Act lists, and that certificate is conclusive evidence for a person dealing with the owner.
An example, for illustration onlyPicture an owner in each place asking, on the same day, to inspect the records. The ACT owners corporation must allow it within 14 days. A South Australian corporation asked through its secretary has 5 business days, about a week; where a strata manager holds the records instead, the manager has 10 business days, which, with two weekends between, can run to a similar fortnight. A Tasmanian owner asks the body corporate to produce its policies and the committee to show its minutes; the Act frames both as duties owed on request.