Question: What happens if owners cannot agree on the number of strata committee members at an AGM? Does a tied vote mean the motion is defeated?
Our NSW strata complex has six owners. At our recent AGM, three owners voted for a committee of three members, while the other three owners voted for a committee of six. A poll vote produced the same tied result.
The strata manager advised that because of the tie, best practice meant the number set at last year’s AGM (three members) would continue. I understood that a tied vote means the motion is defeated.
If no agreement is reached on the number of committee members, does this make the subsequent vote to appoint office bearers invalid? In this case, does the owners corporation take over day-to-day management until the issue is resolved, and is it required to fill the office bearer positions?
Answer: Where the votes are tied, there is no majority, and the motion is defeated.
The process for electing a strata committee is set out in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (“SSMA”) and the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
At each AGM, the owners corporation must first determine how many members the committee will have (between 1 and 9) – see clause 9 of the Regulation. That decision is made by ordinary resolution. Under clause 14 of Schedule 1 to the SSMA, an ordinary resolution is carried if a majority of votes cast are in favour. Where the votes are tied, there is no majority, and the motion is defeated.
In the example you describe, because three owners voted for a three-member committee and three voted for a six-member committee, no resolution was passed. The effect is that the owners corporation has not set the size of the committee, so a new committee cannot be elected.
That does not mean there is “no committee” at all. Section 35(1)(d) of the SSMA provides that an elected member of a strata committee vacates office “at the end of the next annual general meeting at which a new strata committee is elected.” If a new committee is not successfully elected, the old committee remains in office until such time as one is elected. In other words, the outgoing committee continues by operation of law.
As to office bearers – chairperson, secretary and treasurer – these positions are appointed by the strata committee itself at its first meeting after election (see section 41 of the SSMA). If the committee has not been validly elected, then no new office bearers can be appointed. In that situation, the existing office bearers continue in their roles until a new committee is properly elected and convenes to appoint replacements.
If the impasse continues, the Tribunal (NCAT) has power under section 238 of the SSMA to make orders in relation to the constitution or function of the strata committee. In practice, it is preferable for the owners to reconvene and resolve the number of committee members so that a fresh election can be held.
In summary:
- A tied vote means the motion fails – the number of members has not been set.
- Without that decision, a new committee cannot be elected.
- The previous committee and office bearers remain in office until a new committee is validly elected (s 35(1)(d)).
- If the owners cannot resolve it themselves, an application can be made to NCAT for directions.
This post appears in the October 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Tim Sara Sara Strata E: tim@sarastrata.com.au P: 04 8500 7960