WA: Does the chairperson have a casting vote in strata?

Question: Is the vote of a Chairperson worth more than other votes? Does the Chairperson have a casting vote?

Is the vote of a Chairperson (at either a General Meeting or a Council of Owners meeting) worth more than a non-Chairperson’s vote?

Does a Chairperson (at either a General Meeting or a Council of Owners meeting) have a casting vote, if there are equal votes on either side?

Answer: At a general meeting, all votes are equal regardless of the office any owner may have been be elected to

Under the Strata Titles Act (WA) 1985, I’m pleased to confirm that when it comes to voting at a general meeting, the chairpersons vote is not worth more than any other owner within the strata scheme – all votes are equal regardless of the office any owner may have been be elected to.

That said though, care needs to be taken in the following circumstances:

• For an Ordinary Resolution (a simple majority vote) – the meeting needs to know if the chairperson is only representing their own lot at a meeting, or if they happen to be holding a proxy/proxies of other owners (i.e. they may in fact be casting more than one vote as a representative of their own and of other lots, but a chairpersons vote itself is not a ‘weighted’ or ‘casting’ vote).
• For a Special Resolution, the voting will be according to Unit Entitlement, meaning some votes cast a general meeting are not simple equal votes like those cast for an Ordinary Resolution. A Special Resolution should be detailed as such in the meeting agenda for a general meeting.
• An Ordinary Resolution (a simple majority vote) applies at all Council Meetings (i.e. Unit Entitlement does not apply at Council meetings – it’s always one vote per Council member or proxy holder).

Under the Strata Titles Act (WA) 1985, I’m also pleased to confirm that the chairperson does not have a ‘casting vote’. In the event of a tied or equal vote the result is always in the negative (i.e. the motion fails – it is not passed) so it’s important to frame motions in the agenda accordingly (i.e. “To resolve to…” or “To resolve not to…”).

The relevant sections of the Strata Titles Act (WA) 1985 are Sections 120 to 138 (inclusive). The relevant regulation of the Strata Titles General Regulations 2019 (WA) is Regulation 89.

This post appears in Strata News #505.

Andrew Chambers
Chambers Franklyn Strata Management
E: andrew@chambersfranklyn.com.au
P: 08 9200 4200