Question: We have 20 units in our complex. One company owns three units, with one nominated person with voting rights. We have an EGM soon to decide on a same issue motion. Does that nominee have three votes at the EGM?
Answer: Being 100% black or white about a general meeting process is fraught.
As much as we’d love to give you a simple yes or no answer – that would mean less work for us! – we can’t do that here.
Why? Well, because queries about ‘voter’, ‘owner’, ‘representative’, ‘nominee’, counting of votes, establishing a quorum and indeed, same-issue motions, are not only commonplace: they are a frequent source of dispute, and there are also other variables, such as whether a body corporate debt is owed and indeed, whether the EGM has been properly called and convened and if the motions themselves are flawed.
Instead, we invite you to methodically step through the resources available to you, to draw the appropriate conclusion.
Look firstly at section 101 of the Accommodation Module in the first instance, as this section provides for ‘nominees’. In summary, someone acting as a representative (nominee) must fulfil the criteria set out in this section.
Then familiarise yourself with the excellent content the Commissioner’s Office provide about general meetings, particularly the section ‘Who Can Vote’. You’ll note when it comes to number of voters compared to number of lots, the distinction is relevant for the purposes of establishing a quorum.
Then, look at this content about EGMs in particular.
In other words, being 100% black or white about a general meeting process is fraught.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
This post appears in Strata News #742.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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