Question: The chairman controls the meetings the information provided and votes on all matters including his remuneration. Is this not a conflict of interest? Is there any way to challenge this?
We have a Strata of 21 units. 11 units are held by a group of original owners who are also friends.
They have appointed a chairman who is also paid “in lieu of a building manager”. This person refuses to be transparent around processes and does not share information with the committee. Therefore we do not have a democratic process and “do not know what we don’t know”. The chairman controls the meetings the information provided and votes on all matters including his remuneration.
Is this not a conflict of interest? Is there any way to challenge this? The AGM votes supported the role and function of this position.
Answer: There are legislative provisions that restrict how a committee member can be remunerated, as well as how someone can be appointed as a contractor.
There are legislative provisions that restrict how a committee member can be remunerated, as well as how someone can be appointed as a contractor. In either case, it would seem there is some issue in this particular instance.
Yes, there are conflict of interest provisions at play at committee level (not at general meeting level).
No one committee member holds particular powers to make decisions on behalf of the committee. Decisions made are group decisions by all committee members. There are also provisions about circumstances in which information must – not may – be provided to all owners.
It would seem that there are several problems at play here. The issue is, what to do about it? You could put up a motion to remove the chairperson but that seems pointless if he has the numbers. One of the issues which emerges from your query is a lack of information and thus a lack of knowledge. You need to get your hands on the relevant body corporate records and to do that you need to make a formal written request and undertake to pay the prescribed fee. If you don’t get the records you seek in 7 days you can make an application to my former Office about that and an adjudicator has the power to order the records be provided to you. I think that is the start point to addressing your concerns.
This post appears in Strata News #519.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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