How do spend approval thresholds work for maintenance?
Quick answer
Spend approvals are recorded against each job at the level the committee decides — some jobs may be approved by an individual up to a set amount, larger ones need full committee sign-off, and anything above the committee's authority needs an owners' resolution.
Key takeaways
- Spend thresholds are usually tiered: individual, committee, and owners' resolution
- A written, agreed threshold avoids disputes about whether a spend was authorised
- Recording approvals against each job creates an audit trail if a spend is later questioned
Every scheme has some limit on what a committee (or an individual on it) can spend without going back to owners, whether set out explicitly in a by-law or scheme rule, or simply agreed informally. Formalising it avoids arguments after the fact about whether a spend was authorised.
Typical structures
- A small, routine spend limit that an individual (often the chair or a nominated member) can approve alone, for minor and urgent items
- A middling range that needs full committee approval, generally recorded as a decision at a meeting or via a proper committee resolution
- Anything above the committee's own approval authority, which needs an owners' resolution at a general meeting, since committees typically can't bind owners to spending beyond their delegated authority
Why documenting the threshold matters
Without an agreed threshold, arguments tend to surface after the money's spent rather than before — someone assumed they had authority to approve a $15,000 job that really needed a full committee decision, or worse, an owners' resolution. Having a clear, written threshold removes the ambiguity before it becomes a dispute.
How this is recorded in Flex Strata
Spend approvals are attached to the specific job they relate to, recording who approved it and against what authority. This means the maintenance board doubles as an audit trail — if an owner questions a spend later, the committee can show exactly who approved it, when, and under what threshold, rather than relying on someone's recollection.
Setting your own threshold
Flex Strata doesn't set a threshold for you — that's a decision for the committee based on your scheme's by-laws or rules, and often confirmed at an AGM. Once agreed, record it clearly so every committee member and the treasurer are working from the same number.
Know your own threshold
Confirm your scheme's spend authority limits in your by-laws or rules before assuming what a committee or individual can approve alone.
Related questions
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