South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts22—Meetings of residents
(1) The
administering authority of a retirement village—
(a) may
convene a meeting of the residents at any time; and
(b) must
convene such a meeting on an annual basis.
(2) The annual meeting
must be held not more than 4 months after the end of the financial year that
applies in relation to the retirement village.
(3) A meeting convened
under subsection (1)(b) must be chaired by a representative of the
administering authority who is authorised to speak on behalf of the
administering authority and to give responses to questions put at the meeting
in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(4) A meeting of
residents may also be convened by a residents' committee.
(5) A meeting will be
convened by sending to each resident, at least 14 days before the date of the
meeting, a written notice setting out—
(a) the
time and place of the meeting; and
(b) the
business to be transacted at the meeting.
(6) A notice for an
annual meeting under subsection (5) must be accompanied by—
(a) in
relation to the retirement village—
(i)
an audited statement of income received from residents,
and expenditure of that income, for the previous financial year; and
(ii)
a statement of estimates of income from residents, and
expenditure of that income, for the current financial year; and
(iii)
a statement of estimates of income (from any source), and
expenditure, for the current financial year in respect of any contingency,
sinking or other reserve fund or account established for the purposes of
capital replacement or improvements, irregular long-term maintenance, or other
similar items; and
(iv)
such other information as the regulations may require;
and
(b) an
invitation to residents to submit—
(i)
written questions to the administering authority at least
7 days before the date of the meeting; and
(ii)
other questions at the meeting.
(7) The
administering authority must ensure—
(a) that
information provided under subsection (6)(a) complies with any standard
or principle prescribed by the regulations; and
(b) that
any resident is afforded, on request, a reasonable opportunity to inspect,
depending on how the administering authority prepares its accounts—
(i)
an audited balance sheet (with appropriate notes) for the
retirement village; or
(ii)
an audited balance sheet (with appropriate notes) for the
administering authority,
as at the end of the previous financial year.
(8) The
administering authority must ensure—
(a) that
residents have a reasonable opportunity to put questions to the
administering authority or its representative at a meeting of residents
convened by the administering authority; and
(b) that
questions submitted in writing under subsection (6)(b), or asked at a
meeting, are answered—
(i)
if possible—in reasonable detail at the relevant
meeting; or
(ii)
to the extent that compliance with subparagraph (i)
is not possible—within 14 days after the meeting by the presentation of
detailed written answers.
(9) If a question
asked by a resident is answered at a meeting and the resident requests the
answer to be provided in writing, the administering authority must ensure that
a detailed written answer is provided to the resident within 14 days after the
meeting.
(10) Nothing in this
section requires an administering authority, or the representative of an
administering authority, to answer an unreasonable question.
(11) Recurrent charges
cannot be increased beyond a level shown to be reasonable in view of the
accounts for the previous year, and the estimates for the current financial
year, as explained at a meeting of residents under this section.
(12) A special levy
may not be imposed on residents of a retirement village unless authorised by
special resolution passed at a meeting of residents.
(13) In the case of a
community retirement village, a meeting under this section may be held in
conjunction with a meeting of the community corporation or the strata
corporation.
(14) The
administering authority of a retirement village must, for the purposes of this
section, establish a financial year that is to apply (on a yearly basis) in
relation to the retirement village.
(15) If a provision of
this section is not complied with, the administering authority is guilty of an
offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000.
(16) Subject to
subsection (17), each resident present at a meeting of residents has 1
vote on any question arising for decision at the meeting with the decision to
be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast by the residents present
and voting at the meeting.
(17) Where 2 or more
residents are in occupation of the same residence in a retirement village only
1 of them may exercise a vote at a meeting of the residents and if more than 1
purport to vote, the person presiding at the meeting may determine which vote
is to be recognised.
(18) An audit required
under this section must be conducted by a registered company auditor within
the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.