Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) 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:
(a) scrutinise the outcome of a poll at the meeting; and
(b) prepare a report on the outcome of the poll.
(2) The request must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) identify the poll to which it relates; and
(c) be made no later than 5 business days after the day the meeting is held.
(3) To avoid doubt, the request may be made before the meeting is held.
(4) A company commits an offence if:
(a) the company receives a request under subsection (1); and
(b) the company fails to take reasonable steps to:
(i) ensure that an independent person scrutinises the outcome of the poll to which the request relates; and
(ii) ensure that the independent person prepares a report on the outcome of the poll; and
(iii) 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.
(5) An offence based on subsection (4) is an offence of strict liability.
(6) A company that appoints an independent person for the purposes of this section is liable to pay the independent person's fees.
(7) 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.
(8) To avoid doubt, if the same independent person is appointed under section 253UB and this section in relation to a poll, the reports on the conduct and outcome of the poll may be included in a single report.