I have heard of strata schemes deliberately choosing to have more seats than candidates, so that the elected committee can then co-opt additional members at a later date,
But my eye has been drawn to the following section of Schedule 1 of the Act:
35 Vacation of office of elected member of strata committee
(2) A strata committee may appoint a person eligible for election as a member to fill a vacancy in the office of a member of the strata committee, other than a vacancy arising under subsection (1) (d) …
And 1(d) says this:
(1) An elected member of a strata committee vacates office as a member—
(d) at the end of the next meeting at which a new strata committee is elected by the owners corporation, or
It’s a bit murky but it seems to suggest that if the vacancy has arisen during the election of a new committee, then it can’t be filled by co-option. And, if that’s the case, that would mean that leaving seats vacant is not strictly legal. I’m sure others on this forum will have opinions that may not concur with mine.