WA: How votes are counted at strata general meetings after the 2020 amendments

Question: How have voting procedures and vote counting at a general meeting changed with the amendments to the Act?

Is the following clause 8 in Schedule 1 by-law 12 still the case following the new strata title amendments?

Proceedings at general meetings

Unless a poll be so demanded a declaration by the chairman that a resolution has on the show of hands been carried is conclusive evidence of the fact without proof of the number or proportion of votes recorded in favour of or against such resolution.

In LookUpStrata’s recent article on Votes and Voting, you quote clause 11 from the old Strata Titles Act (STA). Schedule 1 Bylaw 12 Clause 11 states:

Proceedings at Special Meetings

“In the case of equality in the votes whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the question is determined in the negative.”

Is this still the case in the amended STA? And does this apply to Council of Owners meetings too?

Answer: The only times that a request for voting to be counted as per unit entitlements “may be requested” is for a Special Resolution or an Ordinary Resolution.

The amendments to the Strata Titles Act 1985 were approved on 20 May 2020.

Articles written prior to the amendments to the Act were correct when they were written.

A careful study of the amendments to the Act indicate that all Schedule 1 By-laws from By-law 11 to 15 were deleted and are now included into the Act itself.

“Poll” voting is now included in the Act and hidden away in section 122 where it is not referred to a POLL vote but expressed as vote that is demanded to be counted by the unit entitlements .

122. Counting of votes

1. Votes are to be counted (and recorded) as follows —
   
   1. for a unanimous resolution or a resolution without dissent, the votes must be counted by the number of votes cast;
   
   
   2. for a special resolution, the votes must be counted both by the number of votes cast and by the number of unit entitlements of the lots for which votes are cast;
   
   
   3. for an ordinary resolution, the votes must be counted by the number of votes cast unless any person entitled to cast a vote demands that they be counted by the number of unit entitlements of the lots for which votes are cast, in which case, they must be counted in that manner.


2. A demand that a vote be counted by the number of unit entitlements of the lots for which votes are cast can be made —
   
   1. if the vote is being taken at a general meeting, orally or in writing before the resolution is put to the vote; and
   
   
   2. if the vote is being taken outside of a general meeting, when the vote is cast.


3. Such a demand may only be withdrawn by the person who made the demand.

The only times that a request for voting to be counted as per unit entitlements “may be requested” is for a Special Resolution or an Ordinary Resolution.

Careful consideration must be given to the practicality of such a request as it may extend the meeting to several hours.

It is up to the Chairman to make the call that the vote is carried on the basis of the number of votes received. It would be good meeting practice to record the number of votes in favour.

There are more current articles available about this topic.

Voting on resolutions can now be found in sections 120 to 126 inclusive.

This post appears in Strata News #518.

Shane White Strata Title Consult E: shane.white@stratatitleconsult.com.au