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Some of our meetings are by paper. The agenda is mailed out and then people are supposed to email or mail their vote back by a certain date. In physical meetings confirming a quorum is easy by counting the number of people who turn up. But what happens in paper meetings when people don’t even bother replying let alone submitting a vote? Does a minimum number of votes need to be submitted by the due date (whether yes/no/abstain) before a quorum can be decided?
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Schedule 2 of the Act says this
“A person who has voted, or intends to vote, on a motion or at an election at a meeting by a permitted means other than a vote in person is taken to be present for the purposes of determining whether there is a quorum.”
So the law has made provision for a quorum in the case of people not being present, such as in electronic (Skype or Zoom) or paper meetings.
The Act also contains provisions for voting in writing:
Schedule 2 (9) (2) Voting in writing
A motion proposed to be put to a meeting is taken to have been validly passed even if the meeting was not held if–
(a) notice was given of the meeting in accordance with this Schedule, and
(b) a copy of the motion was given to each member of the strata committee, and
(c) the motion was approved in writing by a majority of the members of the committee (other than the tenant member).
Notice it says the “majority of members of the committee” therefore, for a motion to pass, you need a positive response from at least half of the committee members as defined by the number of people it was agreed should be on the committee at the last AGM (not just those in virtual attendance).
If people can’t be bothered to even vote in writing, there is a simple cure for this condition. Just write to them saying you appreciate their lives must be busy and inviting them to resign from the committee so that less pressured members of the community can be co-opted in their places.
That should stir things up.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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