Corporations Act 2001

Members of a company with at least 5% of the votes that may be cast at a meeting of the company’s members may request the company to appoint an independent person to:

observe the conduct of a poll at the meeting; and

prepare a report on the conduct of the poll.

The request must:

be in writing; and

identify the poll to which it relates; and

be made no later than 5 business days before the day the meeting is held.

A company commits an offence if:

the company receives a request under subsection (1); and

the company fails to take reasonable steps to:

ensure that an independent person observes the conduct of the poll to which the request relates; and

ensure that the independent person prepares a report on the conduct of the poll; and

ensure that a copy of the report is made readily available to the members of the company within a reasonable time after the request is received.

An offence based on subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.

A company that appoints an independent person for the purposes of this section is liable to pay the independent person’s fees.

To avoid doubt, an independent person appointed for the purposes of this section may be an auditor or a registry service provider (including an auditor or a registry service provider of the company concerned), unless the relevant poll concerns an issue or a matter relating to the person.