Question: Can one owner hold all officer bearer roles and act as the sole management committee member with full authority?
At our last AGM, officer bearer and management committee member voting was combined into one agenda item. Only one unit owner was elected for the three officer bearer positions and is now also the sole management committee member with full authority. We are a six-lot residential scheme. Our Adelaide management company supported this arrangement, but it doesn’t sound right to me. Is it compliant with the Strata Titles Act 1988?
Answer: It is not against legislation for one person to hold all three positions.
Section 23 of the Strata Titles Act 1988 states that a strata corporation must have a presiding officer, a secretary and a treasurer. (2) states that any two or more of the positions may be held simultaneously by the same person. Therefore, it is not against legislation for one person to hold all three positions. It is important to note that under the Community Titles Act 1996, one person can hold all three positions if there are 10 lots or fewer, but there is no restriction in the Strata Titles Act.
In relation to the appointment of a management committee, there is no requirement for a corporation to establish a management committee (Section 90 (1)). However, the act does state that if a committee is established, the presiding officer, treasurer, and secretary of the corporation must be included. To ensure a fair representation of unit owners in the corporation, I encourage all owners to attend meetings and consider nominating for one of the office bearer positions or at least joining the committee. An ordinary resolution of the corporation appoints the committee, and therefore, it should have been discussed and voted on at the meeting.
This post appears in Strata News #761.
Carrie McInerney
Horner Management
E: carrie@hornermanagement.com.au
P: 08 8234 5777
I am the presiding officer of a complex with 83 units, only one resident is a concern. She has asked for my contact details as she has some ‘issues’. This owner has a history of belligerent behaviour. My approach is to invite her to a face to face meeting to discuss her ‘issues’. The complex is managed by a company, and has a manager. Am I going to achieve an amicable outcome. In the past, she has sent very derisive emails to previous presiding officers. She is also known for ignoring requests to modify her behaviour. After many years as a project manager I am well aware of how emails are either not read in full or misinterpreted and keyboard warriors and hence my reluctance to provide my email address.
Thanks for your input, Malcolm. We wish you all the best in resolving the situation amicably.