Code Of Conduct by Committee Members

I agree that it’s not crystal clear but my understanding is that even though the appointment form can cover several meetings, it has to be confirmed at each meeting.  

Otherwise committee members would be subverting the right of the owners to elect their committee.

In this situation, where there was a extended nomination covering a number of meetings, unless there were extenuating circumstances, I would be arguing strongly at committee that the elected member has no interest in the proceedings and should be invited to resign, meanwhile their stand-in will not be allowed to participate.

Current form, please provide any thoughts:

The Owners – Strata Plan No. xyz – Motion for Adoption of Standing Orders and Code of Conduct for Strata Committee (Special Resolution)

Description: in the interests of creating a productive and positive environment for the operation of the Owners Corporation and its Strata Committee, the included Standing Orders and Code of Conduct are proposed to guide the Strata Committee in its day to day activities.

That The Owners – Strata Plan No. xyz SPECIALLY RESOLVE pursuant to Section 108 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) to make an additional by-law in the following terms:

Special By-Law No. x – Standing Orders and Code of Conduct for Strata Committee

1. Standing Orders for Strata Committee Meetings 

Strata Committee meetings of the owners corporation will be conducted under the terms of the Standing Orders affixed to this by-law as Annexure A.

2. Code of Conduct for Strata Committee Members 

Lot Owners nominated to be elected to the Strata Committee will be requested to indicate their agreement to be bound by the Code of Conduct affixed to this by-law as Annexure B by signing and dating a copy of the Code of Conduct when they are nominated for election to the Strata Committee.

If a nominated Lot Owner has previously signed a copy of the Code of Conduct, they are considered to have done so for subsequent nominations.

Annexure A

Standing Orders for Strata Committee Meetings of Strata Plan xyz

1. A committee meeting may not commence until the quorum of attendance (50 percent of the committee membership as decided at the previous AGM) has been reached. An Acting Member may not count towards a quorum.*
2. The meeting must be chaired by the elected Chairperson unless they are absent or unable to do so, in which case the committee must elect a Chair for the duration of that meeting.*
3. Voting on committee matters is by a show of hands with each member carrying only one vote (unless a member who cannot attend has appointed another member as an Acting Member).*
4. The committee must have agreed to allow the appointment of an Acting Member before their vote can be counted. A simple majority of the committee in attendance can choose not to allow the appointment of an Acting Member if they so wish.*
5. Members can be considered to be in attendance if they are present by telephone, video streaming or other electronic means.*
6. The committee must allow non-committee members to attend the meeting but they are only permitted to speak if a majority of the committee agrees.*
7. The committee may decide by a simple majority whether or not non-committee members should speak only on specific items on the agenda or on any or all agenda items.*
8. In a tied vote, the Chairperson does not have a casting vote and any motion will be considered not to have been carried if it remains tied after a re-vote.*
9. The Chair should make it clear to non-committee members that they are bound by the committee’s agreed Code of Conduct and Standing Orders.
10. The committee will consider the items on the agenda in the order in which they appear unless a majority of the committee agrees to change the order at the meeting.
11. The Chairperson will allow each participating member or attendee to speak only once on a topic until everyone who wants to speak has had a chance to do so. The same restriction will apply after each time an attendee speaks.
12. After discussions, and before a vote, the Chair will call for anyone who wishes to raise a point that has not already been discussed, to do so.
13. Attendees and members who interrupt, talk out of turn or talk over other members may be warned verbally that their behaviour is not acceptable.
14. If the behaviour is repeated despite a warning, the Chairperson can call for a vote of the committee to ‘name’ the miscreant in the minutes of the meeting. A motion to call for such a vote may be also moved by any committee member and the vote will be held if the motion is seconded.
15. The Chair can also propose a vote to ‘name’ any member or attendee who breaches the agreed Code of Conduct, specifying which item in the Code of Conduct has been breached. A motion to call for such a vote may be also moved by any committee member and the vote will be held if the motion is seconded.
16. The meeting will be called to a close after the final item has been discussed and voted upon.
17. Any items not on the agenda can only be discussed informally and no vote should be taken or recorded.* 

*Items 1 to 8 plus 17 are part of NSW strata laws or regulations.

Annexure B:

Code of Conduct for Strata Committee of Strata Plan xyz

I agree to serve on the strata committee for Strata Plan xyz and to be guided by the following principles:

1. To attend and participate in all meetings to the best of my ability to be present.
2. To respect the agreed Standing Orders at all meetings and to participate in a business-like manner.
3. To accept the committee’s majority decisions, even if I disagree.
4. To promote the goals and interests of the strata scheme in a constructive manner. To avoid creating unnecessary conflict among homeowners.
5. To disclose to the committee any financial conflicts of interests.
6. To conduct myself in a civilised and polite manner regardless of how heated discussions become.
7. To refrain from personal attacks on other committee members, owners or tenants and to avoid language that is racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory.
8. To do my best to ensure that the Owners Corporation’s finances are well managed.
9. To uniformly enforce, without fear or favour, the by-laws of the strata scheme and the laws and regulations enshrined in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Strata Schemes Regulations Act 2016.
10. To do my best to acquaint myself with the fundamental strata rules and regulations enshrined in the above by-laws and legislation.
11. To place the best interests of the strata scheme above my personal interests; the interests of a particular homeowner; or the interests of a faction of homeowners.
12. To resign from the strata committee if I find I can no longer maintain this agreement to serve.

Dated: __________

Name: __________________________

Signed: __________________________

You can’t include a penalty for a breach, the Committee doesn’t have any power to penalise its members, they’re not a tribunal or a Court.  To be honest if someone asked me to agree to that I would refuse.

The Qld extract above doesn’t include any penalties?

Hi Scot. The ‘penalty’ that I was referring to is not a financial penalty … the penalty is the potential to be removed from the committee for a code of conduct breach. The ultimate removal is done by the body corporate and not the committee, and only after a process that spans two general meetings. 

It’s a pity that NSW didn’t go down the same path as Qld by including a formalised Code of Conduct in the new(ish) NSW Act. From memory, it was mooted. It would certainly have gone some way to smartening up the behaviour of some of the NSW committees!

Ok – that’s not a penalty, that’s an outcome.

I can see why people are looking for more guidance and certainty on conduct of Committee members, but am not convinced that a legislated code of conduct achieves much. The ongoing issue is that people will go on a Committee for a range of reasons including self interest, and those reasons will drive their behaviour, whether or not there is a code of conduct.

One thing that does come out in the Qld legislation that is not so clear in the NSW legislation, is that Committee members must act in the interests of the owners as a whole, which is a primary issue.

@Mailbox said:
Code of conduct I think is something everyone will just agree to sign, and good luck with trying to achieve compliance. The majority of reasonable people already follow these – the troublemakers will never follow them and having them sign this won’t change that. They are bullies who ignore sanctions which have no teeth.   

The reason I suggested having a “naming” mechanism is so that, at the very least, at the next AGM you can show that certain members have been consistently disruptive and encourage owners not to re-elect them to allow for the smooth running of the committee.

The reason I suggested this be put to a vote at the committee was to show that the majority of the committee agreed they had been disruptive and to ensure there was no comeback with threats of defamation.  The committee has qualified privilege when it comes to identifying owners who have caused problems.  In other words, the “naming” is part of the process rather than a personal dispute between the disruptive owner and the chair.

Recording the meetings and posting them on social media would be a bridge too far for many committee members who want to be able to have an open and frank discussion about issues the details of which they don’t necessarily want to broadcast to the world. 

For what it’s worth, I think the Code of Conduct is a bit much to have as well as the standing orders, and you run the risk of losing everything because of perceived overkill.

I also share other Flatchatters concern about the legal standing of the code of conduct.  You can’t force people to sign it so, or prevent them being elected if they don’t, so why would they?

My advice would be to get your standing orders through and then have an extended discussion with all owners before the next AGM about what form a code of conduct might take before presenting it to next year’s AGM. 

I think the safest thing for an OC in a state or territory without a legislated code of conduct would be to adopt verbatim the code of conduct from one of the other state’s or territory’s Act. It could be adopted as a by-law (Aka article or rule depending on the jurisdiction) that directs the action of any future committee member. A committee is bound to act in accordance with the direction of a general meeting resolution (unless it would be illegal).

That would get around the discouraging business of asking/requiring individual committee members to sign a bit of paper.

It would also reduces the risk of a home-grown set of words that it might be drafted with some non-obvious flaw. A code of conduct included in another state’s legislation would have survived considerable scrutiny. It might also be more readily supported by conservative owners for that reason – less risk of some unintended effect.

If a committee member then failed to act in accordance with the code of conduct, you have the option to invoke the processes for a rules infringement/breach of by-laws. Following a process set out in legislation is more likely to be upheld if challenged than some home-brew concoction.