The short version
- A committee's real job is decisions and oversight: approving work, watching the money, enforcing by-laws, preparing for the AGM.
- Software should give the committee its own view of the building — not a copy of the strata manager's accounting screen.
- The gains are in meetings run online, approvals with a trail, and residents who can see what is happening.
- Committee members change; the record must stay with the building.
What committees are actually responsible for
Between general meetings, the strata committee (the committee of a body corporate in Queensland; the owners corporation committee in Victoria) makes most of the scheme's day-to-day decisions within the limits the owners set. In practice that means approving repairs and quotes, monitoring the budget and arrears, dealing with by-law breaches, considering works applications from owners, keeping the insurance current, receiving the building manager's reports and preparing the AGM. Committee sizes are capped by legislation — up to nine members in NSW, three to seven voting members under the Queensland Standard Module, and three to twelve in Victoria for larger owners corporations — and members are volunteers.
Most of that work still runs on email threads, forwarded PDFs and a shared drive somebody set up in 2018. The result is decisions nobody can find, approvals nobody remembers giving and a new committee that inherits nothing.
What committee software should include
Meetings and motions
Committee and general meeting notices, agendas, motions, attendance, minutes and a resolutions register — with electronic voting where your state's rules and your scheme's resolutions allow it.
Quotes and approvals
Contractor quotes attached to the job, approved by the committee in the portal with the vote recorded, and the invoice matched to the approval afterwards.
By-laws and breaches
The current by-laws, the breach process with notices and evidence, and the works-approval workflow for owners who want to renovate.
Oversight dashboards
Open jobs, spend by contractor, compliance status, arrears and the maintenance schedule, visible to the committee without asking the manager for a report.
Records that stay
Minutes, insurances, plans, warranties, certificates and correspondence held against the building with retention periods that match the Act.
Resident consultation
Indicative polls and surveys before a contentious motion, so the committee walks into the AGM knowing where owners stand.
Running a committee meeting online, step by step
Notice and agenda
Issue the notice with the agenda and motions from the portal, within the notice period your legislation requires. Owners can see committee meeting notices and minutes, as most Acts require.
Papers in one place
Attach the quotes, reports and correspondence to the motion they relate to. Nobody hunts through email the night before.
Decide and record
Hold the meeting in person, online or by written resolution where permitted, record the vote against each motion and publish the minutes within the required time.
Turn resolutions into work
An approved repair becomes a work order with a contractor and a due date. A by-law decision becomes a notice to residents. The decision and the action are linked.
Report back without a meeting
The dashboard shows what has been done, spent and completed since the last meeting. Half the "any update?" emails disappear.
Committee software versus the strata manager's system
If your scheme uses a managing agent, they run the trust account and levies in an accounting system built for agencies. Committees do not need a login to that system; they need their own view of the building — governance, maintenance, communication — with the financial position visible. TowerDesk gives each building a portal in which the committee sees exactly that, the building manager works on operations, and residents lodge requests and read notices. Financial management can be added to the same portal if the scheme wants it there.
For notice delivery specifically — proving owners received what you sent — see how committees manage notices with read receipts. For electronic voting rules and how to run an AGM vote online, see strata voting software.
Give your committee its own portal
TowerDesk is priced per lot, with every governance, maintenance and communication module included. See pricing for your building or book a walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions
Can a strata committee use software without the strata manager?
Yes. A committee can adopt a portal for governance, maintenance and communication while the managing agent continues to run the trust account and levies in their own system. The two are complementary. If the scheme later wants finance in the same portal, TowerDesk offers it as an add-on.
Can strata committees vote electronically in Australia?
In most states, yes, subject to conditions. NSW allows pre-meeting electronic voting and electronic attendance once the owners corporation has resolved to use them; Queensland bodies corporate can use electronic voting under their regulation module; Victoria permits owners corporations to hold meetings and vote electronically. Check your Act and your scheme's resolutions.
How many people can be on a strata committee?
It depends on the state. NSW caps the strata committee at nine members. Under the Queensland Standard Module the committee has between three and seven voting members. Victorian owners corporations with 13 or more lots must elect a committee of three to twelve. Smaller schemes have simpler rules.
How long must strata records be kept?
Retention periods vary by document type and state — commonly seven years for many records in NSW, with some documents kept permanently. Good committee software applies retention rules to the document register so the scheme is not relying on a volunteer's hard drive.
What does TowerDesk cost for a committee?
A $59 base fee per building per month plus $3.40 to $1.70 per lot per month depending on the size of the scheme, ex GST, billed annually, with every governance, maintenance and communication module included. Financial management is an optional $5 per lot per month.