This article discusses whether a committee chair not voting VOCs can be removed, and what options owners have to address non-participation in body corporate decision-making.
Question: Our Body Corporate Committee chairperson has failed to vote on all VOCM’s in the last 12 Months (i.e. at least 5). Can they be removed from the committee? What other action can Body Corporate members take?
Answer: Any Committee member can be voted off the committee at a general meeting of owners
Any Committee member can be voted off the committee via the way they came in – at a general meeting of owners. An EGM can be called and the motion for removal proposed. You don’t have to list reasons for the request, but citing a failure to participate in the body corporate process would seem reasonable. For their part, the Chair may want to provide reasons why they didn’t vote.
Generally, it is best practice for all committee members to vote on VOCs – they have volunteered to be part of the authority running the scheme and VOCs are a part of that. If a committee member disagrees with a proposal they can vote no or abstain.
It doesn’t say specifically, but I think this question is asking about the section of the legislation that allows for a committee member to be removed if they don’t vote in two consecutive meetings. Here, the stipulation is that a member’s position becomes vacant if they are not present personally or by proxy at 2 consecutive committee meetings without the committee’s leave. However, as per it’s title, a VOC is specifically a ‘vote outside a committee meeting’ so we do not believe that non-participation in this process activates this clause.
For further information Mahoney’s wrote a good blog on the issue of removing Committee members last year.
This post appears in the July 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924