VIC: Does the legislation require a three-box Yes, No, Abstain ballot for committee elections?

Question: Do ballots for committee elections need a Yes, No, and Abstain box against each nominee’s name?

I read a recent Q&A on the LookUpStrata site that says ballots need three boxes against each nominee’s name: Yes, No, and Abstain. I’ve never heard of this committee voting method before, and I can’t find it mandated anywhere in the Act.

Isn’t withholding your vote for a candidate another way to vote No? By adding a separate No column, members effectively get two chances to say No to the same nominee.

My understanding is that committee elections are treated like resolutions, but they’re not the same thing. A resolution decides whether the owners corporation will or won’t do something, which is why it needs Yes, No and Abstain columns. Electing a committee member isn’t a yes or no decision, you vote for the candidates you want. Company boards aren’t elected this way, and neither are MPs.

Answer: Electing a committee member is itself a resolution under the Act, so the Yes, No and Abstain structure applies in the same way it does to any other owners corporation decision.

At a high level, every decision of an owners corporation is made by a resolution, whether at the level of all owners or at committee level only. The resolutions must be passed by a vote of each owner, and a majority of owners or committee members determines whether it passed. If the owners corporation hasn’t resolved for something to happen, including electing committee members, then it hasn’t happened.

Voting for a committee member absolutely does take place via resolutions. This is reflected in minutes and is also how VCAT and the courts have always, at least to my knowledge, treated any appointment or disputed appointment of committee members. A resolution elects a committee member or a group of members, and voting determines the outcome.

Owners have a right to vote for or against a motion, but they also have a right to actively not vote. There is nothing in the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (the Act) that forces an owner to vote for or against a motion; hence the need to allow for and register any abstentions.

Is this different to a company board or political election? Yes. Owners corporations differ, with different legislation and particulars. There are many similarities, but it is not identical.

This post appears in the July 2026 edition of The VIC Strata Magazine.

Alex McCormick
SOCM
alex@socm.com.au
P: 03 9495 0005