[Jimmy-T]

Until the agenda for the EGM has been issued, you can add anything to it. After that, it would have to be an amendment to the motions that are on there.

For instance, if the motion on the agenda is to disband the committee (which would actually be an invalid motion unless it is signposted as a special resolution) you could at the meeting propose an amendment to the motion that the meeting elects new members to fill the vacancies created by the resignations of the “oligarchy” as you call them.

As long as the amendment is a variation of the original motion – and not some entirely different thing – then it should stand.

You might also do well to follow the format for strata committee elections as set out in Section 9 of the Regulations, which is to call for nominations, then decide on the number of members you want on the committee, then  conduct a poll by providing voting owners with blank sheets of paper on which they should write the names of the nominees they want to vote for.

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[Jimmy-T]

Just to clarify:

1. The member who has moved to Brisbane continues to be a member until such times as he has sold his apartment.  Even after that, he can be validly nominated for re-election to the committee by another owner (provided they are not nominating themselves) but they can’t simply roll on with their membership.  See Section 35 of the Act which says “An elected member of a strata committee vacates office as a member … if the person was eligible to be a member at the time of election and the person ceases to be so eligible …”
2. The secretary can call a general meeting at any time (Section 19)
3. In the past, the Tribunal has declined to overturn the decisions made at a technically invalid meeting where the technical error wouldn’t have made any difference to the outcome.  This is different from the majority making a decision that it’s not entitled to make.

Getting back to the committee members asking owners to dissolve the committee, this  would only happen if they could get enough votes to pass a special resolution to sack all the members of the committee and it sounds like they don’t have that.

If they resign, rendering the committee permanently inquorate, just be ready to apply to NCAT to become temporary secretary with a view to holding new elections ASAP.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Painting the block would only need a general resolution and could even be approved by the committee unless you were radically changing the look of the block.

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[Jimmy-T]

kaindub wrote:

The second hurdle is the tough one, because if one owner objects then the bylaw can’t be registered.

Correct.  So, in effect, a unanimous vote is required (even though you only need a special resolution to pass a by-law). I think this would fall under Section 143 and Section 144 of the Act.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

The first thing that occurs is whether or not both M4 and M5 should be on the committee since Section 31 (4) of the Act states: “Only one co-owner (including a company nominee of a co-owner) of the same lot may be a member of a strata committee at the same time, except as provided by subsection (5).” FYI, Subsection 5 allows two members of the same household both to be members if they own two separate lots in the scheme.

If both M4 and M5 are owners listed on the title of the apartment (but not on the strata roll) then they may have breached this rule.

But assuming they are both eligible, the EGM can’t kill off the committee unless it’s by a special resolution, as that would effectively mean removing committee members.

However, the simple resignation of the other three members would render the committee inoperable as it wouldn’t be able to achieve a quorum, which it would need to hold meetings and co-opt new members.

If the “oligarchy’ can muster the 75 per cent of votes at the EGM, you could be in trouble. Otherwise you could wait until the dust settled then apply to NCAT (under section 48 of the Act) as surviving members of the committee, to establish a new chair of the strata scheme with the authority to convene a new meeting, establish the numbers for a committee and elect new members.

Your comment about M4 and M5 saying “they will not nominate again” seems at odds with your question.  Is that what you meant to say?

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[Jimmy-T]

Having only recently emerged from our own bathroom nightmare (sorry, renovation) my thinking is that having the pipes external on the wall isn’t such a big deal as you can easily gyprock the walls and tile them.

However, the pipes on the floor are a different issue and that feels like a defect (and may have contributed to your initial problems).

Anyone else with any thoughts?

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[Jimmy-T]

Ethicsfirst wrote:

My original question was based on a scenario where an existing member seeks to appoint another member as an “acting member”. In other words, a quasi proxy arrangement. As far as I am aware there is no scope for proxy arrangements for SC’s.

You’re right that there is no mechanism for proxy memberships of committees.  What tends to happen is that the absent owner nominates someone and the committee decides whether or not to allow them.

in short, an existing member can’t “appoint” a proxy but they can nominate someone to represent them, subject to the committee’s approval.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

There will automatically be a motion at your next general meeting (probably your AGM) to approve the minutes of the last one.  That’s when you can check to make sure the amendments have been made, and propose amendments if they haven’t.

Meanwhile, if you think owners need to be made aware of the discrepancies, propose a motion for the next committee meeting that they be noted.

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[Jimmy-T]

scotlandx wrote:

Yes you can appoint acting members of a strata committee, and that would go to ensuring there is a quorum … you need to have it approved prior to any relevant meeting which the acting member may attend.

That had not occurred to me.  At a previous meeting you can say have someone say “Jeff won’t be here next month so can Jenny take his place?” And that way the committee has approved.

But you can’t just have Jeff not show up and Jenny turn up in his place and expect to count towards the quorum.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Ethicsfirst wrote:

can acting member appointments be used to establish a quorum at any SC meeting?

No

does the use of acting member appointments need to be approved by those present at each meeting?

Yes.  Section 34 says “with the consent of the committee …”

To reverse engineer this, if the committee is inquorate, then they can’t vote to allow the acting members to be part of the committee.  If the acting members haven’t been approved then they can’t be considered as part of the quorum.
A committee of nine will always need at least five members to turn up, regardless of how many putative “acting members” there might be awaiting approval.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

apercu wrote:

Are you able to share the protocols in place at the Elan & Altair to deal with visitors, deliveries and self-isolating close contacts?

Here are the Altair protocols (I don’t have the Elan’s).  Some aspects may be different for different buildings but you get the general thrust.  I’m reproducing this in the hope that it may be helpful to committees in other buildings. This publication has not been sanctioned by the Altair strata committee, but I think these protocols are pretty good so I’m sharing them in the public interest.

It’s also worth noting that the Altair management is now a bit more insistent on wearing masks on common property and has imposed passenger numbers and distancing requirement in our lifts – both of which are smart moves, in my book.

Self-Isolation

We wish to provide services for people who cannot leave their apartment due to self-isolation in a safe manner for all parties.

Food and General Delivery.

– Food (grocery and ready-to-eat) and General delivery will be collected from the delivery person by the concierge. This service is only for self-isolators.
– The concierge will alert the isolator by phone and make the delivery as soon as practical, bearing in mind their other duties.
– The concierge will knock on the door, leave the food and/or delivery outside the door, and depart.
– There will be no contact between the isolator and the concierge.

Rubbish

– Any isolating apartment will be given enough plastic bags to cover a daily collection for 14 days by the concierges on application.
– We would request that as much as possible the isolator consolidates rubbish to minimise collections, but once a day is OK.
– When the isolator has consolidated rubbish, they ring the concierge to arrange a pick-up.
– Please ensure that the concierge is available to pick up before putting rubbish outside the apartment door to minimise the time that rubbish is in the foyer.
– All rubbish must be in the plastic bag provided. Please double-bag rubbish.
– The concierge picks up the rubbish and puts it in a special rubbish container unique to ‘COVID’ rubbish.
– The concierge must wear gloves and a mask supplied by Altair Building Management and dispose of those gloves with the rubbish in the landfill disposal
– The concierge will be supplied disinfectant to spray the apartment door handle…and the inside of the ‘COVID’ bin when emptied.
– All ‘COVID’ rubbish must go into the landfill rubbish – it cannot be re-cycled.
– Please do NOT put ‘COVID’ rubbish down the chute. That would be a safety hazard to our cleaners.

Contact

– We appreciate that self-isolation can be a lonely business
– Please note that the concierges are often busy with their duties, particularly between 7am and 7pm
– If you want some-one to talk to please e-mail a request to concierge@altairapartments.com and we will try and arrange for some-one to call for a chat

Register

– The concierges maintain a register of anyone self-isolating.
– We will advise all apartments on the same floor as the isolating apartment that you are self-isolating.
– We appreciate that some people may think that this might trigger privacy issues, but we believe that privacy is secondary to the health of our residents. We are advised by our Strata Manager that this action is consistent with the WH&S act and in accord with NSW Health directions.

We will monitor these protocols for efficiency and effectiveness

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[Jimmy-T]

KenB wrote:

No strata committee is going to vary levies on individuals unless there is a tribunal ruling or legal advice that they should.

As I suggested in my reply, the owners corp couldn’t vary levies without Tribunal approval even if they wanted to.  And, of course, the committee can’t change levies at all (although they can recommend changes to the owners at a general meeting).

 

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[Jimmy-T]

My apologies for excessive grumpiness.  One week in self-isolation and I’m falling apart at the emotional seams.  Hopefully we can answer all your questions.

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[Jimmy-T]

calebcat wrote:

The chairperson is one of the owners …  I vaguely recall that she may receive what seemed to be a reasonable stipend for her work.

In addition, she is claiming 2 hours x $60 for attending this work (with the fee going to the Owners’ Corp), as well as 3 hours x $90 for attending the initial middle-of-the-night emergency.

Neither of these payments would be legal in NSW.  Does anyone know if they are kosher in Victoria?

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Section 87 of the act allows the Tribunal to order a variation of the amonts paid in levies:

1)  The Tribunal may, on application, make either or both of the following orders if the Tribunal considers that any amount levied or proposed to be levied by way of contributions is inadequate or excessive or that the manner of payment of contributions is unreasonable— (a)  an order for payment of contributions of a different amount, (b)  an order for payment of contributions in a different manner.

Okay. the issue is, is it unreasonable for you to pay more for the repair of a roof in a building in which you don’t even live?

I’m going to leave that to any strata lawyers who may be reading this as I can see an argument both ways.  For instance, why should the people on the ground floor pay a share of roof repairs too?  That’s what you sign up for when you buy into strata.

But at least there’s an avenue for you to explore and it doesn’t have to be in conflict with the unit block dwellers. Even if they wanted you to pay less, unlikely though that may seem, they would have to go through the same process.

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