Are strata committee decisions valid if no formal meetings or minutes exist?
In a newsletter to owners, our strata committee made the following comment:
On Communication, Transparency & Meeting Structure
There were some comments during the meet about visibility of committee activity and the sharing of documents and minutes. We want to clarify:
- All strata committee discussions to date have been informal and ad hoc — via WhatsApp, walk-throughs, building chats, meet-and-greets, and fact-finding sessions with the building manager, contractors or strata management.
- No formal committee meetings with quorum or decisions requiring distribution under the Strata Schemes Management Act have yet taken place.
- No formal minutes were required, and no information has been withheld."
Given there have been no formal meetings and no formal record of the committee decisions, but visible actions are being taken by the committee, such as by law enforcement, signing new contracts, and determining agendas of owners corporations meetings, are the actions they have taken consistent with the NSW Act and thus legal and enforceable?
Committee members expose themselves to personal liability for decisions not properly made if found not to be acting in good faith.
A strata committee (and owners corporation for that matter), can only make decisions in a validly convened meeting. Any informal decisions made other than by a properly convened meeting and/or not ratified at a subsequent meeting are contrary to the legislation and could be invalidated by application to NCAT.
Further, the strata committee members expose themselves to personal liability for decisions not properly made if found not to be acting in good faith.
Please note that the committee does not need to convene a meeting to set agendas for strata committee meetings or for meetings of the owners corporation.
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Matthew Jenkins is the General Manager and Partner at Bannermans Lawyers and a leading practitioner in strata and community title law. Before joining the firm in 2006, Matthew spent over ten years in the finance sector with major international companies. Admitted in 2008, he has developed extensive expertise across by‑law drafting, building compliance, management rights, dispute resolution, insurance, meeting procedures and complex title structuring. Matthew serves on the SCA (NSW) Board of Directors, is Chair of the Policy and Legislation Committee, and is a TAE40122 qualified trainer and assessor.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Aviation (UNSW)
- Juris Doctor (UTS)
- Member of the Law Society (NSW)
- TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training & Assessment
Years of experience
- Over 18 years in strata and community title law (since 2006)
- Over 10 years prior experience in the finance sector
Authoritative mentions
- Published author in the Real Estate Institute Journal
- Contributor to multiple industry articles and strata law commentary
Other relevant info
- Rapid career progression at Bannermans Lawyers from law clerk to Partner
- Extensive experience across NCAT and Supreme Court proceedings
- Specialist in by‑laws, building management, compliance, insurance, disputes and title structuring
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