AGM–Speaking to or against motions when most owners vote remotely
Look Up Strata
Amanda Hoy
20 September 2016

Question:
Is it possible to speak in relation to a strata AGM motion if you are not a committee member?

In that most owners don’t attend the AGM and have the opportunity to vote electronically or by post it would be necessary for my remarks to be distributed to all owners prior to their voting if I am endeavouring to put new material before them with the intent of persuading them to vote in a certain fashion.

Answer:
Generally it would be considered fair and reasonable for owners to be given the opportunity to comment on a motion at an AGM prior to voting. However, your question relating to circulating information prior to the AGM, so that owner voting electronically or by voting paper still receive the information, depends on the circumstances.

There are two scenarios where an owner may want to provide other owners with additional information in relation to a motion:

If the owner has submitted the motion themselves
If an owner has submitted a motion for inclusion on an AGM agenda, they may submit an explanatory note, up to 300 words. This explanatory note must be sent to owners with the voting paper for a general meeting. (See Section 73 of the Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module)). Your Strata Manager or an independent consultant will be able to help you with wording an explanatory note.

If the owner wishes to provide additional information on a motion submitted by someone else
If an agenda has already been distributed or the motion has been submitted by someone else then you will not be able to provide an explanatory note for the motion. If you have a good relationship with the party submitting the motion, you may be able to work with them and have them submit the explanatory note to the motion.

There is nothing in the legislation prohibiting an owner from independently sending correspondence direct to each owner, separate to the AGM Agenda.

This may be an option for you if you are not able to get an explanatory note on the Agenda. You should ensure that your correspondence does not contain any defamatory material and you may put your contact details on the correspondence so that owners who wish to seek further clarification can contact you directly.

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