This article discusses strata committee majority vote, explaining how to correctly calculate a majority decision in a five-member management committee under South Australian strata law.
Question: We have a Management Committee with 5 members. How do I calculate a majority vote if all 5 members are in attendance?
We have 7 units in our Strata Corporation. We have a Management Committee with 5 members. How do I calculate a majority vote if all 5 members are in attendance (albeit 1 by Proxy)?
According to Strata Titles Act 1988 s35(4b), the management committee uses 50% plus 1. This equals 3.5. I have been using 3 as the majority vote. However, another point of view is that it is 4. Which is correct?
If it is 4, will that prevent progress on decision making? We have 2 members who always side with each other and are very obstructive. One of the members does not attend in person and so miss the discussion and the reasons behind a proposal/resolution. She has provided her proxy to an attending member. There would be no point in having a management committee in this scenario.
Answer: The prescribed number for the purposes of a quorum is a number ascertained by dividing the total number of members of the committee by two, ignoring any fraction resulting from the division, and adding one.
Section 35 (4a) of the Strata Title Act states that the prescribed number for the purposes of a quorum is a number ascertained by dividing the total number of members of the committee by two, ignoring any fraction resulting from the division, and adding one.
This means that with 5 on the Management Committee you are required to have 3 members present. The wording states you need to ignore the fraction and then add one, so you still have 50%. Part 7 of the same section states that a member of the management committee can appoint another person who must be a unit holder (if all units are residential) to act as their proxy if they cannot attend, so in the case you have stated the proxy is allowed.
There is no scope in the Act to remove a member from the committee because they do not attend, especially if they are still providing a proxy. As the owners are siding with each other, it is likely that, if they were physically attend the meeting, the result would be the same.
This post appears in Strata News #662.
Carrie McInerney Horner Management E: carrie@hornermanagement.com.au P: 08 8234 5777