#77587
UberOwner
Flatchatter

    Good response.

    I used to work as a government auditor, and I have a lot of experience in auditing whether particular staff have a conflict of interest and whether it was handled correctly if they do.

    There is nothing inherently “bad” in a conflict of interest – no one should ever be afraid or declaring one. What is “bad” is if someone has a conflict and doesn’t declare it because that means others involved in voting don’t know the full situation so they are voting based on partial information.

    I’ve been reflecting on this and wondering when it’s sufficient to simply declare an interest and when it’s necessary to not participate in decision making. In government circles something like (iv) would require the individual to exclude themselves, despite their connection with the proposal being indirect, as scotlandx points out. Perhaps the private sector is different. To the extent that there’s nothing in the Act about this situation it clearly is.

    If someone declares a conflict of interest, it should really be up to the others in the meeting to determine whether the conflicted person leaves the discussion. The conflicted person may not want to, but if others feel that “something is wrong” then they should be able to ask the conflicted person to step outside.
    In the case of a renovation, I would want all owners to participate in the discussion so that everyone could ask questions and get answers. The plans put forward may impact other owners too. The timing of renovations might impact some else’s plans to sell their own apartment. Do all these people need to step outside? My view is that all those voices are needed in the room contributing to problem-solving in order to achieve the best possible outcome.
    I think the intent of the legislation was to prevent someone using their strata scheme to advance their own business interests (a painting business, a strata management business, an insurance brokerage business) but the wording in the legislation is too broad.