Strata Committee Handover Checklist

Why handovers are worth doing properly

Committees change every year, and sometimes mid-year through resignations or casual vacancies. When a handover is rushed or informal, the incoming secretary or committee often starts without knowing what's overdue, what was promised to an owner, or where a document even lives. A deliberate handover — treated as a checklist, not a chat — protects the scheme's continuity regardless of who's currently on the committee.

1. Meeting history and minutes

The incoming committee needs to see not just the most recent minutes but the pattern of past decisions:

• All AGM and committee meeting minutes, in order, easy to search by date or topic
• Any unresolved or deferred items carried from meeting to meeting
• Context on any decision that's likely to be revisited or questioned by owners

2. The compliance register

Handing over the compliance register is one of the most important — and most often skipped — steps:

• Current status of insurance, safety checks, and any other scheduled compliance items
• Upcoming due dates, not just what's already been done
• Any items that are overdue or were flagged as at risk

An incoming committee that inherits a compliance register with clear due dates can pick up straight away. One that inherits a folder of certificates with no dates attached is starting blind.

3. Contractors and current work

• A list of contractors currently engaged, what for, and the status of any active work orders
• Copies of relevant quotes, approvals and correspondence for work in progress
• Any contractor issues, ongoing disputes or performance concerns worth flagging honestly

4. Documents and access

• Access to the scheme's document store — by-laws, insurance policies, past correspondence, contracts
• Login access to any portals, registers or software used to run the scheme, transferred to the new role holder rather than staying with the departing person
• Physical items if relevant — keys, fobs, or anything else tied to the role

5. Open action items and outstanding requests

• Every action item that was assigned but not yet completed, with its original owner and due date
• Outstanding owner requests or complaints that haven't been resolved
• Anything currently in dispute or heading toward a formal process

6. A plain-language summary

Beyond the documents themselves, a short written summary helps enormously: what's currently in progress, what's coming up in the next few months (renewals, planned works, upcoming meetings), and anything unusual about the scheme that isn't obvious from the records alone. This doesn't replace the formal records — it just makes them faster to use.

When to do a handover

• At every AGM where committee positions change, even if some members continue
• Whenever the secretary role changes hands specifically, since that role usually holds the most records and correspondence
• When a casual vacancy is filled mid-year
• When switching between a self-managed committee and a strata manager, or back again

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating handover as a verbal briefing with no documents changing hands
• Leaving compliance register access or document access with someone who's no longer on the committee
• Not carrying forward open action items, so they're quietly dropped
• Assuming the next committee will "figure it out" from old emails rather than a proper record

How Flex Strata helps

Because Flex Strata keeps meeting history, the compliance register, documents, action items and contractor records in one ongoing system rather than scattered across individual inboxes, a handover becomes a matter of updating who has access rather than reconstructing years of history. A new secretary can see every past decision, every upcoming due date, and every open action item from day one — without relying on the outgoing committee's memory or goodwill.

A short handover checklist to work through

• [ ] All meeting minutes accessible and searchable by the incoming committee
• [ ] Compliance register reviewed together, with due dates confirmed
• [ ] Current contractors and active work orders listed with status
• [ ] Document store access transferred, not just referenced
• [ ] Portal or software logins transferred to the new role holder
• [ ] Open action items and outstanding owner requests listed with owners and due dates
• [ ] A short written summary of anything in progress or unusual