Sovereign Islands coastal view

My Story

Who am I?

My name is Anna Zhang, but most people know me as Anna. I own a lot in Precinct 4 of the Sovereign Islands and am a member of both The Sovereign Islands Gateway Company Limited ACN 005 013 230 (the Gateway Company) and The Sovereign Islands (Precinct No.4) Company Limited ACN 096 267 042 (the Precinct 4 Company).

Double Charging of Levies

In June 2022, Capitol Strata Management Pty Ltd (Capitol), which managed levies for the Gateway Company at the time, issued a levy notice for $706.17, which was due on 1 July 2022. This was paid in full on 14 June 2022.

Despite payment being made well before the due date, in August 2022 a "final reminder" notice was issued claiming $886.48 was owed in unpaid levies, interest, and recovery costs. Fearing consequences, $886.48 was paid on 17 August 2022, assuming that if it was an error the extra payment would be credited later.

Two years later, in July 2024, Andy Kwok (Andy) discovered that my lot had been double charged for the July–December 2022 period. No refund or credit had ever been applied. Andy contacted Capitol with evidence of the double payment, and after some back-and-forth, Capitol acknowledged the error but only offered a credit on a future bill. Andy requested a direct refund, but Capitol directed him to Stratapay.

After weeks of follow-up, Stratapay confirmed there had indeed been a double payment but said it could not process the refund since the payment went through DEFT Payments.

Andy returned to Capitol, who advised that Andy would need to complete an online form and provide "evidence" of the overpayment. This was frustrating, as we had already provided evidence of the overpayment when we first contacted Capitol about the issue, and further we felt that the overpayment should have been obvious in Capitol's own records.

Andy advised Capitol it should not be necessary to complete the online form and requested for Capitol to make the refund immediately.

Capitol insisted that the form was required to enter the request into their system.

Andy demanded an immediate refund without further delay, and finally, after escalation (which we understand included a Gateway Company director Ms. Glenister speaking with Capital in relation to the matter), Capitol agreed to issue a refund in October 2024. In November, Capitol advised that the issue was due to a Stratapay software error, and Stratapay had been advised of the issue and would address it with a software update. It was unclear whether they audited their records to see if other owners had also been double charged.

Motion for an Operational Audit

The experience with Capitol raised major concerns for me. How could such an error go unnoticed for two years, despite annual audits? Were other owners also affected? Why was it so hard to get a straightforward refund?

Because of these concerns, in October 2024 my solicitor submitted a motion for an operational audit and requested it be added to the agenda the Gateway Company.

Annual General Meetings (AGMs)

On 25 October 2024, Capitol issued a notice of meeting for an AMG scheduled for 8 November 2024, with the notice being only 14 days in advance instead of the 21 days required by the constitutions. The motion for the operational audit was not included in the notice.

On 6 November 2024, Ms. Glenister emailed to say the motion had been added to the agenda.

I attended the AGM with Andy, who was acting as my proxy.

When a motion to approve financial statements came up, Andy attempted to ask questions before members voted. The chairperson, said questions could only be asked after the vote, or if Andy had put forward his own motion. We felt this was unreasonable and that members should be able to ask questions before voting, as the discussion may raise important issues which members may need to consider before voting on a motion.

Andy also raised whether the AGM was valid at all, since notice was not given within 21 days. He asked whether motions should be voted on or just discussed. The chairperson did not directly answer, which left us frustrated and unsure of the validity of any vote. We left the meeting.

Later, the minutes described Andy as "vocal, loud, aggressively finger-pointing," and "difficult to understand." I believe this was unfair, and Andy's main concern, the short notice period, was not mentioned. From my view, Andy was neither aggressive nor unreasonable. English is his second language, and like many Chinese speakers he sometimes uses hand gestures for clarity. I do not believe it was appropriate to criticize his accent or communication style in official company minutes.

Request for Information Following AGM

Through my solicitor, I requested transparency about the financials which Andy had wanted to question but was prevented from doing so at the AGM. These questions included:

The Gateway Company refused to provide this information.

While the Gateway Company may not be legally required to provide such information under the Corporations Act or constitution, I believe there is no good reason for secrecy. The Gateway Company is not a for-profit businesses guarding trade secrets. It is a not-for-profit public company funded by property owners like us, whose purposes include acting as a lessee of the night gate land under the night gate lease, and providing security services and other services to the residents of the Sovereign Islands.

As members funding these activities, we deserve to know how our money is used and that it is managed responsibly.

From speaking with other members about my experience, I understand that I am not the only one encountered such an unpleasant experience. Some neighbors and a few others in our Chat Group shared negative experiences and support me in sharing our voices here. This has made me concerned that my negative experience is not an isolated incident and we warmly invite your feedback as well.