WA: Q&A Do AGM minutes record the name of the members who will serve on the council of owners?

This article discusses whether AGM minutes must list the individuals by name who will name council of owners members, rather than only recording lot or company details.

Question: Should the AGM only list lot numbers and company names for council of owners nominations, without identifying the actual person who will serve?

At our AGM, the strata manager reads out council of owners (CoO) nominations by lot number, with no information about the nominees and no mention of the name of the person who will serve. The AGM minutes record the elected council using lot numbers and the names of the proprietary companies that own the lots. There is no reference to the individuals who will sit on the council or represent owners.

Is this the correct procedure in WA? How can owners know who’s on the council of owners so that we can contact them?

Answer: The minutes should outline the natural persons or corporations elected to council by name and lot number.

It is important to consult your by-laws on the CoO election process. If the Standard schedule 1 Governance by-laws apply, then the process set out is as follows:

Election of council at general meeting

The procedure for nomination and election of members of a council must be in accordance with the following rules —

1. The meeting must determine, in accordance with the requirements of by-law 4(3) the number of persons of whom the council is to consist.
2. The chairperson must call on those persons who are present at the meeting in person or by proxy and entitled to nominate candidates to nominate candidates for election to the council.
3. A nomination is ineffective unless supported by the consent of the nominee to the nomination, given —
• in writing, and furnished to the chairperson at the meeting; or
• orally by a nominee who is present at the meeting in person or by proxy.
4. When no further nominations are forthcoming, the chairperson —
• if the number of candidates equals the number of members of the council determined in accordance with the requirements of by-law 4(3), must declare those candidates to be elected as members of the council;
• if the number of candidates exceeds the number of members of the council as so determined, must direct that a ballot be held.
5. If a ballot is to be held, the chairperson must —
• announce the names of the candidates; and
• cause to be furnished to each person entitled to vote and present in person or by proxy, a blank form in respect of each lot in respect of which the person is entitled to vote for use as a ballot form.
6. A person who is entitled to vote must complete a valid ballot form by —

• writing on the form the names of candidates, equal in number to the number of members of the council so that no name is repeated; and
• indicating on the form the number of each lot in respect of which the person’s vote is cast and whether the person so votes as owner or first mortgagee of each such lot or as proxy of the owner or first mortgagee; and
• signing the ballot form; and
• returning it to the chairperson.
7. The chairperson, or a person appointed by the chairperson, must count the votes recorded on valid ballot forms in favour of each candidate.
8. Subject to sub-bylaw (9), candidates, being equal in number to the number of members of the council determined in accordance with by-law 4(3), who receive the highest numbers (in terms of lots or unit entitlements as required under the Strata Titles Act 1985 section 122) of votes are to be declared elected to the council.
9. If the number (in terms of lots or unit entitlements as required under the Strata Titles Act 1985 section 122) of votes recorded in favour of any candidate is the lowest of the numbers of votes referred to in sub-bylaw (8) and —
• that number equals the number of votes recorded in favour of any other candidate; and
• if each of those candidates were to be declared elected the number of persons elected would exceed the number of persons required to be elected,

as between those candidates, the election must be decided by a show of hands of those entitled to vote and present in person or by proxy.

In considering how this by-law is written, I believe the name of the candidate is required, noting that the by-law consistently refers to the name of the candidate and not the lot number. Given that lots are often in joint ownership, this also removes uncertainty about which lot owner is the nominated and elected member. Good practice would be to record the candidate’s name along with the respective lot number.

In your question, you mention that the unit number is being listed along with the proprietary company that is the owner. Section 136 sets out that a corporate body may be an officer or council member. In this case, the corporation would be named as the member, not an individual, as it is the corporation that holds position.

Section 136 allows the elected corporation to authorise an individual to act for the corporation as member of council. Where an authorised individual performs a function as authorised by the corporation, it is taken that the corporation performed the function.

In conclusion, I am of the opinion that the minutes should outline the natural persons or corporations elected to council by name and lot number.

Luke Downie
Realmark
E: [email protected]
P: 08 9328 0999

This post appears in Strata News #770.

Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.

Read next:

• WA: Q&A What can strata owners do if they are concerned about AGM voting and minutes?
• WA: Q&A Can you lodge a proxy before the AGM date is confirmed?
• WA: Q&A Owners have a legal right to access strata records

Visit our Strata Committee Concerns OR Strata Information WA.

Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.

After a free PDF of this article? Log into your existing LookUpStrata Account to download the printable file. Not a member? Simple – join for free on our Registration page.