Short answer
Yes. A strata managing agent acts on authority the owners corporation delegates, so the owners corporation and its committee direct the manager and can override or narrow what the manager does — within the management agreement and the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. The manager advises and executes; they don’t outrank the owners. And some decisions the Act reserves for the owners corporation (particularly those that must be made at a general meeting) can’t be handed to the manager at all.
The manager works on delegated authority
The relationship runs one way: the owners corporation is the principal, the agent is engaged to carry out functions on its behalf. The committee sets the direction within its powers; the owners corporation holds ultimate control. Where the committee makes a proper decision within its authority, that decision generally prevails over the manager’s preference.
Where the limits are
- The agreement’s scope — the manager only does what the management agreement and the delegated functions cover.
- Non-delegable decisions — matters the Act requires the owners corporation to decide (typically at a general meeting) stay with the owners; the manager can’t decide them.
- The committee’s own limits — some things need a general meeting, not just a committee vote, so “the committee overriding the manager” still has to respect what the committee itself is allowed to decide.
If the manager won’t comply
If a manager ignores proper directions, the committee can escalate: put it in writing, review the agreement, and if the pattern continues, consider changing managers. Or step out of that dependence entirely — you’re a self-managed strata, Straita does the work and the committee just approves the decisions.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — delegation of owners corporation functions to a managing agent and functions reserved to the owners.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — roles of the committee, owners corporation and managing agent.