When does a strata committee need a general meeting?
A quick authority check to distinguish day-to-day committee work from decisions reserved for the owners corporation.
The committee can make decisions within its statutory powers under section 36, subject to legal limits and owners corporation restrictions. A general meeting is required when the law reserves the decision to that meeting or a special or unanimous resolution, or owners have reserved the matter in general meeting. Some particular functions require a specific delegation; check those separately.
What you need to know
- Routine repairs and service decisions may sit within the committee’s statutory powers if no restriction applies. Minor-renovation approval has a separate by-law delegation pathway under section 110(6); do not assume these all have the same delegation requirement.
- Special levies, by-law changes, specified common-property dealings and decisions requiring a special or unanimous resolution remain with the owners corporation.
- Write the exact proposed resolution first; authority cannot be tested against a vague description of the issue.
Match the decision to the correct meeting.
1. State the proposed resolution
Write the exact decision rather than discussing only the background. Authority is tested against the resolution that will actually be made.
2. Search for a reserved decision
Check section 36(3): is the decision required by law to be made by special or unanimous resolution or in general meeting? Has the owners corporation reserved it in general meeting? If so, the committee cannot substitute its decision. Do not confuse the committee’s general statutory powers with functions requiring a specific delegation.
3. Check scheme restrictions
Review prior owners corporation resolutions and any limits placed on committee expenditure or authority.
4. Choose the meeting pathway
If owner approval is required, prepare the correct motion, explanation, notice and supporting documents for a general meeting.
5. Preserve the audit trail
Record why the matter was referred, what information owners need and who will implement the decision if approved.
Watch for
- Splitting a proposal to avoid approval
- Treating urgency as automatic authority
- Using an informal poll instead of the required resolution
- A vague motion that hides the real decision
Escalate when
- The required resolution type is uncertain
- Common property rights, a by-law or major alteration is involved
- Notice periods or meeting validity are in doubt
- The matter materially affects an owner's rights
Clear answers before you act
Can an urgent matter always be decided by the committee?
No. Urgency may require immediate risk mitigation, but it does not automatically transfer a legally reserved decision to the committee.
Can owners approve a reserved decision by email instead of holding a meeting?
An informal email poll does not replace the required general-meeting resolution. Permitted electronic meeting or pre-meeting voting can be used where their conditions are met. Keep that process separate from the committee’s written-voting pathway under Schedule 2, clause 9(2).
What if owners object to a proposed committee decision?
The Act contains a unit-entitlement objection mechanism that can prevent the committee deciding a matter. Check the timing, eligible interests and current statutory procedure before relying on it.
Source-controlled learning
Reviewed against the following current official material on 20 October 2026. Open the source to check the latest version before relying on it.
- Act section 36 — committee powers and limits ↗
- Act Schedule 2 — clauses 9–10 and 17: written votes, voting methods and records ↗
- Regulation clauses 14–17 — electronic voting ↗
- Act section 110(6) — minor-renovation delegation ↗
- NSW Government — How to run a strata meeting ↗
- NSW Government — Strata meetings ↗
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (current) ↗
Knowing the check is useful. Practising the judgement is better.
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