Stratademocrat – Proxies are voting rights of an eligible voter (who cannot attend the upcoming meeting) transferred to another person who CAN attend the meeting. Proxy votes can be used at a committee meeting however the committee must decide this by resolution at a meeting prior to them being used. This is made clear in Schedule 2 Part 10(1).
As Jimmy T has already pointed out – a Strata Committee can decide by resolution how a vote can be be cast at a meeting. The SSMA states that a committee member does not need to be actually present to vote on a Motion (see the definition and relevant sections below) or to make up a Quorum.
Some alternative ways of voting when a person may be deemed to be ‘present’ even if they are not personally present are: (1) voting in writing, or (2) voting via social media, or (3) voting via teleconferencing, or (4) voting via video (e.g. Skype), or (5) proxy voting using the appropriate Form and process https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/mobile0c9a66/biz_res/ftweb/pdfs/About_us/Forms/Proxy_appointment.pdf.
The use of proxy votes as a means of voting at a committee meeting should have been decided at a meeting prior to March 8 meeting where proxy votes were used. If no resolution about the use of proxy votes had been made prior to the March 8 meeting then the use of proxy votes at the March 8 meeting would not have been valid, therefore the meeting would not have achieved a Quorum and the meeting would not have been valid.
The SSMA 2015 Definition: “person present” at a meeting includes a person who is not personally present but is able to vote at the meeting by another means specified under clause 28 of Schedule 1 or clause 10 of Schedule 2.
Schedule 2
9 Decisions at meetings
(1) Voting at meetings A motion put to a meeting is to be decided according to a majority of the number of the votes cast for and against the motion by the members present (other than any tenantmember) or in the manner set out in subclause (2). If there is only one member of the strata committee, the decision of the strata committee is the decision of that member.
10 Manner of voting
(1) A vote at a meeting by a person entitled to vote must be cast in person unless the strata committee, by resolution, determines that a vote may be cast by some other specified means.
Note : A person may be present at a meeting even if not actually at the meeting (see section 4 (1), definition of
“person present” ).
(2) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the following:
(a) the means of voting (other than in person) that may be adopted by a strata committee,
(b) without limiting paragraph (a), procedures for voting by such means,
(c) prohibiting the use of specified means of voting.
12 Quorum
(1) Quorum required for motion A motion submitted at a meeting of a strata committee must not be considered unless there is a quorum present to consider and vote on the motion.
(2) When quorum exists A quorum is present at a meeting only in the following circumstances:
(a) in the case of a strata committee which has only one member, if the member is present,
(b) in any other case, if not less than one-half of the persons entitled to vote on the motion are present.
(3) 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.
(4) The quorum for meetings of a strata committee is to be calculated on the basis of the number of members last determined by the owners corporation for the committee.