Question: Our strata managing agent refuses to support a hybrid EGM. Can the strata committee insist?
Our strata managing agent said they cannot support our request to have a hybrid EGM onsite because they do not trust the wifi connection at our scheme.
Can the strata committee insist on having the hybrid EGM if a lot owner with reliable wifi agrees to host the meeting?
Fair Trading said this decision is not up to the strata managing agent, but our secretary, who sends out the notices.
Answer: The strata committee has every right to hold a hybrid general meeting at a lot owner’s home, and the strata managing agent cannot veto that decision.
There are two separate questions here, and it helps to untangle them.
Who can call the meeting?
Fair Trading is correct. The strata managing agent cannot veto this meeting (if that was the intention). Under section 19 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the Act), the secretary of the owners corporation (OC), or the strata committee, has the power to convene a general meeting, including determining the venue, date, time, and format. In practice, strata managing agents are commonly delegated the functions of the secretary, in which case they can convene and issue notices on the OC’s behalf. Either way, if the strata committee has agreed on the meeting details, including holding a hybrid meeting at a lot owner’s home, those details can be directed to the strata managing agent to issue as a notice. That is a lawful instruction. Refusing to issue a meeting notice because of concerns about the venue’s wifi connection conflates two separate issues, and one should not be used to block the other.
The strata managing agent’s wifi concern is a separate matter
Whatever the strata managing agent’s specific objection, the practical concern appears to be about operating a reliable internet connection at the venue. It is worth understanding why that concern is not unreasonable. Strata managing agents hold sensitive personal and financial information about owners, and data security is a genuine professional obligation. There have been serious data breaches involving strata management businesses that have compromised owners’ personal and financial information. A strata managing agent who is cautious about connecting their work devices to an unknown network is exercising reasonable professional judgement.
That said, the concern is eminently solvable. The most straightforward solution is mobile data tethering, which is inexpensive, widely available, and entirely independent of the venue’s wifi. In an era when strata managing agents, like most professionals, routinely attend meetings at locations other than their own office, having a secure and reliable way to connect independently is simply part of the job. A strata managing agent who does not currently have that capability would be wise to consider it.
And if the strata managing agent is still not comfortable, they are not the only option. A committee member, another owner, or any competent person present can take responsibility for operating the video link, provided the meeting is conducted in accordance with the legislative requirements for electronic participation. Under Regulation 14(1)(a) of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016, an OC can choose to conduct a meeting so that participants may participate and vote by electronic means, such as video conferencing. The legislation does not require the strata managing agent to be the person who facilitates that.
What if the strata managing agent declines to attend?
A strata managing agent’s service agreement does not obligate them to attend every meeting at any time and in any format. If they are unavailable, decline to attend in the circumstances, or choose not to facilitate the hybrid format, the meeting can still proceed. The strata committee would need to ensure someone can competently manage the meeting and the electronic connection, but the strata managing agent’s absence is not a legal impediment.
The bottom line
Your strata committee has every right to hold this general meeting as a hybrid meeting at a lot owner’s home. Issue the notice with the venue details and the joining instructions for remote participants, and ensure someone in the room has access to the video link and is ready to manage it, whether that is the strata managing agent, a committee member, or another owner. The wifi concern is real but solvable, and it should not be allowed to derail what is otherwise a straightforward meeting to organise.
This post appears in the June 2026 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Tim Sara
Sara Strata
E: tim@sarastrata.com.au
P: 04 8500 7960
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