Short answer
Yes. Electronic voting, online meeting platforms, and pre-meeting email ballots are legally valid in NSW strata — but only once the scheme has formally adopted those methods. You can’t start collecting votes electronically on an ad-hoc basis and treat the result as binding.
The legal status
Electronic voting, online meetings (for example by video platform), and pre-meeting electronic ballots are recognised under NSW strata legislation. Owners can lawfully cast a vote without being physically present, and that vote counts in the tally the same as a vote in the room — provided the scheme has put the method in place properly first.
The setup that makes it binding
For electronic votes to hold up and resist a challenge, three things generally need to be in place:
- Adopt the method first. The owners corporation passes a resolution at a general meeting approving the use of electronic voting for the scheme.
- Spell it out in the notice. Each meeting notice must set out the exact platform being used and give clear, step-by-step instructions for submitting a pre-meeting vote or joining the live meeting.
- Verify who is voting. The platform or email process must confirm the identity of each voter, so only entitled owners are counted in the final tally.
What still applies
Going electronic changes the format, not the fundamentals. The meeting still needs proper notice, a quorum (a remote voter counts toward it), the correct voting thresholds, and minutes afterward.
Setting up electronic voting without a manager
Adopting the method, wording the notice with the platform and instructions, and verifying voters is more than emailing a link around — get it wrong and the votes can be thrown out. Straita builds the notice with the voting instructions, runs the electronic ballot with voter verification, and records the result, so a self-managed scheme’s electronic votes are binding and defensible.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — electronic voting and meetings held by technology (Schedule 1).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — online meetings and electronic voting.