Voting at General Meetings

Every unit owner has the right to attend general meetings of the body corporate. But, not every unit owner has the right to vote.

A unit owner is only eligible to vote at a general meeting of the body corporate if they are at least 16 years old and:

• their name is entered on the register of owners as the owner of a principal unit or the representative of the owner of a principal unit (representative as in legal guardian, trustee, receiver, etc.); or

• they are the nominee of a company which is the owner of a principal unit and whose name is entered on the register of owners as the representative of that owner; or

• they are a subsidiary body corporate representative.

A unit owner who is otherwise an eligible voter may not vote unless all body corporate levies and other amounts due to the body corporate have been paid, i.e., the owner is "financial". Where there is a dispute as to levies, an unit owner can pay the levies on a without prejudice basis to preserve their voting rights.

A unit owner can vote at a general meeting of the body corporate:

• in person (whether at the meeting or by audio link, audiovisual link, or other remote access facility); or

• by proxy (i.e., through another person appointed to vote on the owner's behalf); or

• by submitting a postal vote before the meeting; or

• by submitting an electronic vote before or at the meeting.

While voting is typically carried out by general acclaim or show of hands, other methods of vote counting such as written ballot papers including secret written ballot papers can be used. How a vote is conducted at a meeting can be decided in advance and included in the agenda or determined at the meeting at the chairperson's discretion.