Nov 14
Body Corporate Tips – Emergency Expenditure

Emergencies happen. Even in bodies corporate.
A water pipe may burst. Decayed structural wooden beams may be uncovered.
Sometimes, the cost to deal with the emergency exceeds the committee spending limit and there is not enough time to hold a general meeting to approve the expenditure.
Helpfully, the legislation regulating most bodies corporate in Queensland provides a solution.
The committee can apply to the Commissioner's Office to obtain an order authorising the expenditure (or shortening the time period to hold a general meeting).
An Adjudicator from the Commissioner's Office will make an order authorising the expenditure where they are satisfied it is an emergency - defined by The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as, "A situation...that arises unexpectedly and requires urgent action...".
Events previously accepted by Adjudicators as an emergency include:3. a foreshadowed court application, to which the body corporate would be a respondent;