straita

Disputes & NCAT

How do I complain about my strata committee?

Short answer

If you have an issue with your strata committee, raise it in writing first, and put matters that belong to the owners to a general meeting where the owners corporation can direct or replace committee members. If it stays unresolved, you can use NSW Fair Trading mediation or apply to NCAT.

The committee answers to the owners

A strata committee is elected by, and accountable to, the owners corporation. It manages day-to-day matters, but it doesn’t own the scheme — the owners do. That’s the key to complaining effectively: many committee problems are resolved not by fighting the committee directly, but by taking the matter to the body it answers to.

The steps in order

  1. Put it in writing. Set out your concern clearly to the committee or strata manager, with dates and specifics. A written record matters if the issue escalates.
  2. Take it to a general meeting. For decisions that belong to the owners — or where you want the committee directed or its members replaced — you can request a motion at a general meeting. The owners corporation can direct the committee and can vote members off it.
  3. Fair Trading mediation. If that doesn’t resolve it, Fair Trading mediation is a free, low-cost next step.
  4. NCAT. For serious cases — a committee exceeding its powers, or failing to do its job — you can apply to NCAT for binding orders.

When it’s more serious

If a committee is acting outside its authority or a scheme has become dysfunctional, the Tribunal has broad powers under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 — including, in serious cases, appointing a compulsory strata manager to take over the running of the scheme.

Complaints that never need to happen

A lot of committee complaints come down to poor records and decisions no one can trace — who approved what, when, and why. A committee running on Straita keeps decisions, meetings and money in one clear, dated record, so owners can see how things were handled and disputes have far less room to take hold.

Primary sources