VIC: Can a former lot owner be reappointed as secretary by proxy

Question: Can someone who has sold their lot be reappointed as secretary of the owners corporation through a proxy?

Our secretary recently sold their apartment but has since been appointed secretary again by proxy from another related lot owner.

Is this legal?

Answer: A former lot owner can be co-opted back onto the committee as secretary if they hold a valid proxy from a current lot owner.

The secretary is a committee position, so before selling their lot, your secretary would have been elected to that role at an Annual General Meeting.

Any lot owner may appoint a proxy for a maximum of 12 months. Any lot owner, or their valid proxy, is eligible to serve on the committee.

When your secretary sold their lot, their committee position became vacant. If a vacancy occurs and at least three committee members remain, the committee may either leave the position vacant or co-opt a member of the owners corporation. This is a committee decision and does not require a vote of the owners corporation.

In your case, the committee has likely co-opted the former secretary back onto the committee using the proxy they now hold.

In many situations, this is a positive outcome. A knowledgeable, experienced, and engaged committee member can be of great value to the owners corporation.

This arrangement will continue only until the next AGM, when the committee must be re-elected. If the secretary wishes to renominate, they will need to be granted a new proxy to represent that lot owner.

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

The Knight
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