Can an owner withdraw a motion submitted for a body corporate general meeting?

Yes. The legislation is silent as to whether an owner can withdraw a motion they have submitted for consideration at a general meeting. However, it has been consistently held by Adjudicators in the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management that the statutory right of a person to submit a motion inherently includes the right to withdraw the motion before it is voted on at the relevant general meeting.

In practice, this is a relatively common occurrence. It has been determined that, just as a motion must be submitted in writing, it should also be withdrawn in writing. If an owner withdraws a motion before the meeting notice is issued, the motion would be omitted from the relevant notice. Alternatively, if the motion is withdrawn after the meeting notice is issued, the chair should announce to the meeting that the motion has been withdrawn and move on to the next motion on the agenda.