Quorum and Voting Explained: Making AGM Decisions Count

What Is Quorum and Why Does It Matter

Quorum is the minimum representation required before a meeting may validly transact business. Under the Prescribed Management Rules, quorum for a general meeting is generally members representing one-third of the total votes of the owners, present in person or by proxy, provided the value must also be met where applicable. If quorum isn't reached within 30 minutes of the scheduled start, the rules set out how the meeting must be adjourned and reconvened – and what quorum applies at the reconvened meeting.

Getting this wrong isn't a technicality: resolutions passed without quorum can be challenged and set aside, undoing budget approvals, trustee elections, or rule amendments.

Who Is Entitled to Vote

• Owners in good standing: An owner who is in arrears with levies may have their voting rights suspended until the debt (or an acceptable arrangement) is resolved.
• One vote per unit, weighted by participation quota: Value decisions are calculated according to each owner's participation quota (PQ), not a simple headcount.
• Proxies: An owner unable to attend may appoint a proxy using a properly completed proxy form, subject to the scheme's rules on proxy limits.
• Joint owners: Where a unit has multiple owners, the rules determine who may exercise the vote unless they agree otherwise.

Number Votes vs Value Votes

Sectional title voting can require two different counts depending on the resolution: a "number vote" (one vote per unit) and a "value vote" (weighted by participation quota). Most ordinary resolutions only need a number vote, but where the rules or the Act specifically require value backing – such as certain financial resolutions – both counts must be satisfied for the resolution to pass.

How Ordinary Resolutions Are Passed

An ordinary resolution is passed by a simple majority of those present and entitled to vote, in person or by proxy, at a quorate meeting. Most day-to-day AGM business – approving the budget, electing trustees, adopting the previous minutes – is decided this way.