EC Definition

Isn’t the role of an Executive Committee the same as that of a Board of Directors?

I believe it is, so in that regard one cumbersome but nonetheless accurate definition by someone as anal as me could be….

An Executive Committee is a body whose members are nominated and elected by an Owners Corporation to jointly oversee its activities generally accordance with the provisions of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act (1996) and specifically in accordance with the Constitution provided in Schedule 3 of that Act.

The Office of Fair Trading has a less cumbersome definition that you could perhaps pick the eyes out of  here.

And in NSW the Act says pretty much the same thing but adds that in any conflict between decisions of the EC and those of the Owners Corporation, the Owners Corp prevails.

@JimmyT said:
And in NSW the Act says pretty much the same thing but adds that in any conflict between decisions of the EC and those of the Owners Corporation, the Owners Corp prevails.

Same in ACT. The EC acts as directed by resolutions of general meetings or, in the absence of direction, as it sees fit. Since the approved budget is a direction of a general meeting there is considerable restraint on the EC. However, the EC has some scope, indeed responsibility, to take action and spend money when urgent. 

I believe in the old Spanish Inquisition technique of showing the recalcitrant the instruments of torture and, if that doesn’t get them motivated, proceed with the torture as advertised.  I’m giving exactly the same advice to the person who reference Catch-22 HERE.

Write to your strata manager and EC secretary and tell them that the Owners Corporation (not the EC or the SM) is neglecting its legally binding duty to maintain and repair common property under the Strata Schemes Management Act and to observe its responsibilities under the Work Health Safety Act, detailing what you believe these lapses to be.

You should then tell them that you will give them 30 days to present a plan of action.  Failure to do so will lead you to take action at the CTTT to compel them to fulfill their legal responsibilities.

If they fail to accede to order issued by the CTTT, you will then take action to have  the Owners Corporation replaced by the statutory appointment of a strata manager until such times as all necessary work is done.

Tell them that they can do this the easy and cheap way – just make the required decisions – or the hard way, which is to waste time and money fighting it, and end up having to do it anyway (probably even more expensively, given that a Statutory Manager will err on the expensive side of caution when it comes to paying for the work).