NSW: Can a neighbourhood association committee exclude owners from committee meetings?

This article discusses whether owners can attend neighbourhood association committee meetings in NSW, noting they can attend but may not speak without permission.

Question: Does the committee of a neighbourhood association have the right to restrict attendance at a committee meeting to the members of the committee only?

Answer: The committee may control who addresses the meeting, but it cannot prevent eligible owners or members from being present.

No. In NSW, a neighbourhood association committee cannot limit attendance at a committee meeting to committee members only.

See the Community Land Management Act 2021, Schedule 2, Part 3, Section 11.

Non-member owner may attend

An owner or member or, if the owner of a relevant lot is a corporation, any company nominee of that corporation is entitled to attend a meeting but is not entitled to address the meeting unless authorised to do so by the resolution of the association committee.

In practical terms, this means the committee may control who addresses the meeting, but it cannot prevent eligible owners or members from being present. If the committee has adopted a practice of excluding non-committee attendees altogether, that practice would not be consistent with the Act.

If an owner wants to raise an issue, a sensible next step is to write to the secretary or strata manager before the meeting and ask that the matter be tabled, or request permission to address the committee on the item. If access has already been refused, the owner may wish to request a copy of the minutes and seek advice about enforcing their rights under the legislation.

Jana Antelmann
Strata Life
E: jana@thestratalife.com.au
P: 02 9456 9917

This post appears in the April 2026 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.

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