Online voting at your owners corporation: who can run it and who can see the results
Online voting is not a grey area in Victoria. The Act allows a ballot to be conducted by post, by telephone, by facsimile, over the internet or by other electronic means — so an online voting link is a valid way to run a ballot, provided the ballot itself complies with the Act. There is no requirement that a ballot be on paper.
Who may organise the ballot
This is where owners corporations most often get it wrong. The Act sets out who can organise a ballot, and it is not automatically the manager. A manager may run an online ballot, but only when authorised by the committee or by the owners. The voting link can be issued by whoever is organising the ballot — the chairperson, the secretary, a nominated owner, or an authorised manager.
Practical consequence: if a vote is to be conducted online, the notice of the ballot has to include the link, or explain clearly how voting will work. Owners cannot be expected to vote through a process they were never told about.
Who can see the results
Nothing in the Act reserves ballot results to the manager. A manager cannot lawfully withhold results from owners who seek to inspect the ballot papers or the result, and inspection is a right rather than a favour — the Act allows a reasonable fee for copies, but not for the inspection itself.
Can the manager charge for online voting?
There is no provision in the Act that prescribes fees for running a ballot, or that entitles a manager to charge for arranging an online voting link. Whether an online vote attracts an extra charge is a contractual question between the owners corporation and its manager, not a statutory entitlement.
Where to go next
What a committee can decide on its own explains delegated authority; the glossary covers committees, resolutions and the AGM.
Source: VIC: Who can organise online voting in an owners corporations? by Ben Quirk, Senior Owners Corporation Manager at TOCS, published by LookUpStrata. This is a summary written by TOCS, not a reproduction of that article. Regulator guidance: Consumer Affairs Victoria — meetings and committees.