Recording a committee meeting can help with accurate minutes, but it can also raise questions about privacy, access and sensitive discussions. Before deciding whether to record, check what the meeting rules require.
Electronic attendance is now part of the meeting process for Queensland bodies corporate, so recording may be easier when meetings are held by teleconference or videoconference. Electronic participation must still comply with the applicable meeting requirements. You can read more about running committee meetings and body corporate communications.
Is recording a committee meeting required in Queensland?
The Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation 2020 sets out what full and accurate committee meeting minutes must contain. This includes the date, time and place of the meeting, the people present, the wording of motions, voting results, documents tabled and the time the meeting closed. The committee must also give copies of the minutes and records of motions to the relevant committee members and lot owners within 21 days.
The rules for general meetings also require full and accurate minutes. Those minutes must record the people present, the words of each motion voted on, the votes for and against, abstentions and other required meeting details. A copy must be given to each lot owner within 21 days after the meeting.
These requirements focus on minutes and records of motions. A recording should not replace properly prepared minutes.
A recording may help the secretary or body corporate manager check that the minutes are accurate. It may also make committee members more cautious about expressing their views. Some people may speak less freely when they know their comments will be retained and could later be requested by another person.
The committee should consider:
- whether the recording has a clear purpose
- whether it will improve the minutes or simply capture every part of the discussion
- whether sensitive issues are on the agenda
- how the recording will be stored and protected
- who may later request access to it
- when it will be deleted if it is no longer needed.
Electronic attendance and participation can be authorised for committee meetings. This can apply to a particular meeting, several meetings or all meetings, and to a particular electronic method or any electronic method. Queensland Government guidance also recognises attendance by email, teleconference and videoconference when authorised by the committee.
The temporary COVID arrangements that allowed meetings to be held wholly electronically should not be treated as the current position. A committee should follow the current meeting rules and make sure the meeting arrangements are authorised and workable for those attending.
Who can access a committee meeting recording?
The first question is whether the recording is being kept as a body corporate record. The records guidance confirms that bodies corporate must keep meeting minutes and meeting material from general and committee meetings. It also says a body corporate can choose to keep other records.
A committee should not assume that every recording is automatically a body corporate record. The circumstances in which it was made, why it was kept and how it is used may matter.
If a recording is held as a body corporate record, the usual records access process may apply. Owners, mortgagees, buyers, people who satisfy the body corporate that they have a proper interest in the records, and the agents of those people may be able to inspect or obtain copies.
An eligible person must make a written request and pay the applicable fee. The request can seek inspection of records or copies of specific documents. If a copy is requested, the documents should be identified clearly rather than leaving the body corporate to search for an unspecified collection of material.
Where the access rules apply, the body corporate must permit inspection or provide a copy within 7 days after receiving the written request and fee.
A person who was excluded from part of a committee meeting is not automatically entitled to hear that part of a recording. The available rules do not resolve every question about access to a recording that contains a discussion from which someone was excluded. The committee should take care before releasing a recording in that situation.
If there is uncertainty about whether a recording is a body corporate record, or whether a particular person should receive it, the committee should obtain appropriate advice and keep a clear record of its decision. Our article on accessing body corporate records provides further practical background.
What information can be withheld or redacted?
A body corporate does not have to make a document available if it reasonably believes the document contains defamatory material. Records may also be confidential because of legal professional privilege.
Legal professional privilege can apply to a communication between a lawyer and client, material created for legal advice or current or planned legal action, and material kept confidential by the client. The access position can also depend on the person making the request. For example, a committee member may not be entitled to privileged records where legal action between that person and the body corporate has started or is threatened.
Privacy legislation does not necessarily allow a body corporate to refuse access to information that must be provided by law. The access decision should therefore be based on the records access rules and the nature of the material, rather than a general statement that the recording is private.
A recording may contain ordinary meeting discussion alongside material that should not be disclosed. The body corporate may need to consider whether the sensitive part can be removed and a redacted copy provided. The records guidance supports withholding material in some circumstances, but access and redaction depend on what the record contains and the circumstances of the request.
Practical steps include:
- identify the sensitive part of the recording
- consider whether it contains privileged or defamatory material
- check whether the sensitive material can be removed without making the remaining recording misleading
- keep a written explanation for any refusal, partial release or redaction
- avoid promising anyone an unrestricted recording before the access position has been considered.
A recording can create more work than a set of minutes. It may preserve comments, interruptions and background discussions that would not normally appear in the formal record.
Can a committee restrict recording or exclude observers?
The committee meeting rules allow certain people to attend, but they also allow the committee to exclude them from particular agenda items.
A lot owner or the owner’s representative may attend a committee meeting if the required written notice is given at least 24 hours before the meeting. The person may observe the meeting and may speak only if invited. The committee can direct the person to leave if they do not comply with the meeting requirements.
A non-member may be excluded from an item concerning:
- a breach of the by-laws
- starting a proceeding, where the committee can decide to start it
- a proceeding against the body corporate
- a dispute involving the body corporate and an owner, occupier, body corporate manager or caretaking service contractor.
The committee may decide that the person must not be present for the discussion, the vote about whether they may attend, or the vote on the item itself.
Non-voting members, including a body corporate manager or caretaking service contractor, can also be excluded from certain agenda items involving their engagement or a dispute involving them.
These rules deal with attendance and exclusion. They do not provide a simple answer to every question about whether an attendee may make their own audio or video recording. A committee should avoid assuming that it has an unconditional power to prohibit recording, or that an attendee has an unconditional right to record.
The Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 deals with the use of listening devices to record private conversations. It makes it an offence to use a listening device to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a private conversation, subject to stated exceptions, including where the person using the device is a party to the conversation.
The Act also places limits on communicating or publishing a recording made by a party to a private conversation. Some exceptions apply, including where communication is made to another party, with the required consent, in legal proceedings, or where reasonably necessary in the public interest, for a duty or to protect lawful interests.
Whether a formal committee meeting is a private conversation, and how the Act applies in particular circumstances, should be considered carefully. The safest course is to be transparent and agree on a recording process before the meeting begins.
What is the safest way to record a meeting?
If the committee decides to record a meeting, use the recording for a defined purpose. Usually, that purpose will be checking the wording of motions and voting outcomes while the minutes are prepared.
Tell participants before recording starts. Explain:
- why the recording is being made
- who will hold it
- how it will be stored
- who may request access
- how long it will be kept
- whether recording will stop for sensitive agenda items.
Recording only the formal parts of the meeting can be a practical alternative to recording the entire discussion. For example, the committee could record the motion being considered, the resolution reached and the voting result, while relying on the minutes for the required meeting details. The minutes must still accurately record the required information.
Before the meeting:
- include a recording proposal in the meeting arrangements
- check that electronic attendance has been authorised
- tell owners and other attendees that recording is proposed
- identify any agenda items likely to involve sensitive information
- decide who will operate and store the recording
- confirm how access requests will be handled.
During the meeting:
- confirm that recording has started
- pause or stop the recording for sensitive discussions unless there is a clear reason to continue
- avoid recording private conversations before or after the formal meeting
- record the motion and voting result clearly
- make a note in the minutes of when the recording was paused or stopped.
After the meeting:
- prepare the minutes promptly
- check the minutes against the recording
- store the recording securely
- restrict access to people who need it for the agreed purpose
- consider whether the recording remains necessary once the minutes are finalised
- deal with any records access request under the proper process.
The records guidance allows some body corporate records to be disposed of after 2 or 6 years, unless they are still current. It lists committee and general meeting material among records that can generally be disposed of after 2 years, subject to the stated conditions and any longer retention requirement. A recording should not be deleted simply to avoid an access request or while a dispute, request or legal issue remains unresolved.
A short recording of motions and voting outcomes may support accurate minutes without unnecessarily capturing sensitive debate. Recording is a choice that should support accurate minutes, transparent processes and respectful handling of sensitive discussions.
If you are unsure how a proposed recording process should work for your scheme, contact our team at reception@stratacare.com.au.
