#14751
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    Everywhere has their own quirky differences.  In NSW, we do have the ability to specify on official proxy forms how proxy holders should vote at general meetings but that’s the exception, rather than the rule.

    There is away that the NSW applicant could have won approval without a physical meeting having taken place and that’s if the executive committee had decided to vote in writing.   But there would still have to have been an agenda sent out to owners or posted on the noticeboard 72 hours before the proposed meeting.

    “Where a meeting is to be done in writing a notice and agenda must also be given to each executive committee member,” according to Fair Trading’s Strata Living booklet.

    The committee can also vote on issues without formally holding a meeting in Queensland where a ‘flying minute’ is used, for instance, when urgent work needs to be approved in a hurry within the scheme.

    According to THIS document, “decisions may be made in this manner if all committee members are given written notice of the motion and a majority of the voting members of the committee gives written agreement to the motion.

    “The notice (or the ensuing committee member’s agreement) does not need to be in writing and can be given orally or by some other form of communication. Any motion voted on under these provisions must be confirmed at the next committee meeting.”

    In Victoria, the committee can still hold a meeting if there is not quorum but any decisions made don’t take effect until they are confirmed at a subsequent meeting or by a ballot of Executive Committee members.  

    The Victorian Owners Corporation Act says a ballot can be conducted by “post or by telephone, facsimile, the Internet or other electronic communication.” There’s more information about committees in Victoria in THIS factsheet.

    South Australian strata works under a whole different set of rules again, including that all committee members must be unit owners and that special resolutions at general meetings must be approved by two-thirds of all owners (rather than 75 percent of votes at the meeting, as in NSW).  You’ll find out more about strata in South Australia HERE.

     

    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.