By The Paddocks Club Team

Below are examples of two questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum. We want to show you what is available to our Community members!

Voting at HOA Company Meeting

Member’s question:

Section 63 of the Companies Act states the following:

63 (5) If voting is by show of hands, any person who is present at the meeting, whether as a shareholder or as proxy for a shareholder and entitled to exercise voting rights has one vote, irrespective of the number of voting rights that person would otherwise be entitled to exercise.
(6) If voting on a particular matter is by polling, any person who is present at the meeting, whether as a shareholder or as proxy for a shareholder, has the number of votes determined in accordance with the voting rights associated with the securities held by that shareholder.

Does this mean that – when voting by hand – the members each have only one vote – and it is irrelevant how many stands they own?

Anton’s answer:

That is correct. When the vote is by show of hands, each owner has one vote, irrespective of how many properties he or he might own in  the HOA. On a vote by poll they would have the number of votes accorded by the voting rights as provided for in the MOI.

It’s not too hard to get a vote by poll. Five owners or owners of 10% of the voting rights can demand a poll.

Parking Bay

Member’s question:

There is not enough parking in this particular scheme. There are garages which are owned by particular owners but many of them use their garages for storage.  This then means that often residents who don’t own garages don’t have anywhere secure to park. They then park illegally and often obstruct others parked in a bay. There are visitors bays but often the visitors park in the complex parking as well. This also compounds the situation.

We have tried all sorts. We have printed discs for cars so that all residents know if they are residents and can park inside the complex. These discs also identify a resident and their apartment, so if someone is parked in they know who to go to in order to ask them to move their car. We have made an extra two parking bays on a lawned area, but still this is not enough. We have suggested to the Trustees that they look into creating more bays and have had an architect out to look at the site. We have recently spoken to the body corporate and residents and they have decided to use a clamping company to clamp illegally parked cars. It would help if garage owners parked in their garages. What can we do besides appealing to their better judgement and unreasonable use of their garages. Can we enforce anything? What do you suggest?

Anton’s answer:

I think there are two issues here, 1. Owners using their garages for storage rather than parking and 2. Other general poor parking discipline.

Both issues need to be addressed, and the trustees are duty bound to do it.

Wheel clamping is risky. The prescribed rules allow the trustee to have illegally parked cars towed away at the owners’ risk and expense.

As it seems there is at least a fair amount of support by the owners to do something about the situation, a parking fine conduct rule could be made and strictly enforced. The scheme should get a specialist sectional title attorney to draft the rule to make sure it is workable.


Article reference: Paddocks Press: Volume 10, Issue 3, Page 5.

Professor Graham Paddock, Anton Kelly and Carryn Durham are available to answer questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum for Community members. Get all your questions answered by joining Paddocks Club

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Back to Paddocks Press – February 2015 Edition