Question: Our chair passed away. How quickly must we hold a meeting to elect a new chair? Can our secretary informally take over the position until the next AGM?
The chair of our strata committee passed away a few months ago. No meeting has been held to replace him, but the secretary has taken over as chair, pending a meeting to elect a new chair. The intended timing of this meeting will be the AGM in May 2025. No strata meetings will be held prior to this.
What are the implications of this decision?
Answer: The informal appointment may suffice. However, we recommend that for proper bookkeeping, all decisions be made formally.
The death of your chairperson gives rise to a vacancy in an office-bearing role and your strata committee must appoint a replacement by appointing a person who is a member of the strata committee (such as your secretary), or who is eligible to be a member of the strata committee, and that person appointed holds office until the next AGM.
While the prudent manner in which to appoint a replacement chairperson would be at a duly convened strata committee meeting, arguably, because there is no reference made to the requirement to pass a resolution to so appoint, the informal appointment may suffice. Although we recommend for proper bookkeeping all decisions be made more formally.
This post appears in Strata News #723.
Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: info@premiumstrata.com.au
P: 02 9281 6440
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