QLD: Is appointing an administrator the best answer to a rogue committee?

Question: We’ve tried twice to vote out rogue committee members, but the AGM minutes don’t reflect the votes called. What other options are there?

We have tried twice to vote out committee members who have been excluding owners from meetings, with a committee member being paid for work whilst on the committee. Somehow the voting figures do not add up for them to be dismissed. We have had vote numbers called out at the AGM, but the printed minutes do not reflect the numbers that were called.

We have what you would call a rogue body corporate, very competent at writing abusive and spiteful emails. What other options would you suggest?

Answer: A pattern of dysfunction, not just a disputed vote count, may be grounds to have an administrator appointed.

From your query, it seems as though you believed you had all the numbers necessary, and yet when it came to the formalities, those numbers were not accurately tallied, assuming that we’ve understood that right, then either there’s been an error (in your prediction, or in how the tally has been arrived at), or there’s been something more deliberate perhaps.

Either way, the first step is seeking clarity from the relevant parties, including the committee and body corporate manager. It’s entirely possible you will get another ‘spiteful’ response, although you do need to go through the motions of raising it. Once you do that, and you either get no response or an unhelpful response, you can potentially dispute the outcomes through the Commissioner’s Office.

That said, your query seems a bit broader than that, encompassing the idea of a rogue body corporate (and really, you probably mean ‘rogue committee’). If your body corporate is unable to take care of its own affairs, and that might mean maintenance not being carried out, insurance not in place, budgets not set and levies not being collected, or the committee not making decisions, then it might be what is termed ‘dysfunctional’. Dysfunctional bodies corporate generally require an administrator to be appointed to get them back on track. If what you describe with the vote tallies is indicative of a systemic pattern of behaviours, then that too might constitute dysfunctionality.

It’s really important to separate personalities from functionality. If your body corporate is complying with all its obligations, it may well be the issue is one of interpersonal conflict, and things such as mediation might assist. Unfortunately, strata legislation cannot compel anyone to be nicer to others.

A good place to start in thinking about all this is ‘why’: why are these things happening? What’s led us to this point, and what might be motivating it? Understanding those things might help you to understand what to do about them.

This is general information only and not legal advice.

This post appears in Strata News #805.

Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898