Committees are appointed to help manage the affairs of the body corporate without needing to refer every decision to the wider group of owners.
It’s within the Committee’s power to authorise improvements to the common property via a Committee resolution. The cost limit for these improvements is $200 times the number of lots per scheme. That limit can be extended to $300 if approved at a previously general meeting. So, if you have a 20 lot scheme with the standard cost limit, the Committee can approve costs of up to $4000 inc GST. The question doesn’t state the costs involved, but provided the works are within that limit it appears that the Committee has acted within the limits of its authority.
If there is a fault here, it seems that owners weren’t advised in advance that the improvement proposal was being considered. Ideally, you should have received notification that either a Committee Meeting or VOC was taking place. As you have received minutes, it seems there was such a meeting. You could reasonably contact the Committee or body corporate manager to ask whether such a notice was issued and if not why not. You might also ask what you would have done if you had received such a notice. You could have filed an objection to the works, but ultimately the vote would still have been in the hands of the Committee members.
Moving forward you seem to have a keen interest in the management of your building. If you want to play an active part in Committee decision making the best way to be part of this is to volunteer to be a committee member at the next opportunity.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924