How to Remove a Strata Committee Member: Your Rights as an Owner

Across Australia

Committee removal rules differ sharply. NSW distinguishes committee officers from committee members and has recent reforms. Victoria has owners corporation committee rules. Queensland uses body corporate committee and code-of-conduct processes. WA strata companies, SA strata or community corporations, Tasmanian bodies corporate, ACT owners corporations and NT bodies corporate each have their own meeting and voting requirements.

Do not copy a NSW motion into another state's meeting papers without checking the local threshold, notice wording and whether the person is being removed from an office, a committee role, or a delegated function.

Start here

• Removal is a governance remedy, not a pressure tactic.
• Separate poor performance, conflict of interest, misconduct, and personality clashes before choosing the process.
• Document the issue and use the correct meeting pathway.

Removal should be a last resort, but it should not be treated as impossible. The key is to focus on conduct, records and process rather than personality.

A committee member may block essential maintenance, make decisions without authority, fail to disclose conflicts of interest or refuse to engage. Owners need to know which conduct calls for removal and which can be handled another way.

Removing a committee member is the most direct intervention available to owners, but it's only one of the tools in the broader system of strata committee governance, and it's usually the last resort, not the first.

The 2025 NSW strata reforms made some removal processes easier. The options range from an ordinary resolution to an NCAT application.

The two types of removal

Start by separating removal of a committee officer, such as the chair, secretary or treasurer, from removal of the person from the committee entirely.

Removing an officer from their role

Prior to the 2025 reforms, removing the chair, secretary or treasurer from their officer role required a special resolution, meaning more than 75% of votes cast had to be in favour. This was a high bar that allowed entrenched officers to remain in power even when a majority of owners wanted change.

Under the 2025 reforms, officers can now be removed by ordinary resolution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast at a general meeting. Owners no longer need to meet the former special-resolution threshold.

Removing someone from the committee entirely

Removing a person from the strata committee itself, rather than only from their officer role, can happen in several ways:

Method	How It Works	When to Use
Ordinary resolution at a general meeting	Simple majority vote to remove the member	When there's clear majority support for removal
Failure to complete mandatory training	Once training requirements commence (2026), members who don't complete training can be removed by notice	When a member is not meeting their training obligations
NCAT order	The tribunal can order removal for misconduct, breach of duty, or failure to act in the owners corporation's interests	When the member is causing harm and won't leave voluntarily
Automatic vacancy	A position becomes vacant if the member ceases to be a lot owner, is absent from three consecutive meetings without leave, or is bankrupt	No action needed: the vacancy occurs automatically

Removing a committee member by resolution

1. 01
   Document conduct with dates and records
2. 02
   Canvass other owners for support
3. 03
   Request an EGM under section 20
4. 04
   Draft the removal motion
5. 05
   Ordinary resolution at the meeting

Step 1: document the issues

Before you call for a vote, document the specific problems. This might include minutes showing inappropriate decisions, financial records revealing unauthorised spending, correspondence demonstrating a failure to act, or evidence of conflicts of interest. Concrete evidence is far more persuasive than general complaints.

Step 2: talk to other owners

You'll need a majority to succeed. Speak privately with other lot owners to gauge support. Many owners don't attend meetings, so contact them directly and explain why removal is necessary. Provide the records you have gathered and stick to the conduct at issue.

Step 3: request an extraordinary general meeting

Under section 20 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, owners holding at least 25% of unit entitlements can request the secretary to convene an extraordinary general meeting. The notice must specify the motions to be considered. If the secretary refuses or fails to convene the meeting within 14 days, the owners who made the request can convene it themselves.

Step 4: prepare the motion

The motion should be clear and specific. For example: "That [Name] be removed from the strata committee effective immediately." If you're also seeking to remove them from an officer position, include a separate motion for that.

Step 5: vote at the meeting

An ordinary resolution passes with a simple majority of votes cast at the meeting (in person or by proxy). Make sure owners who support the motion either attend or provide a proxy.

24

Reported

14

Quoted

9

Approved

6

Done

When NCAT gets involved

If the committee member refuses to accept the outcome of a vote, or if the situation is so serious that it can't wait for a meeting, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order.

NCAT can make orders under several provisions:

• Section 232: Orders to settle disputes or complaints about the operation or management of a strata scheme
• Section 237: Orders relating to the conduct of a strata committee member who has failed to comply with their duties

Under the 2025 reforms, committee members have statutory duties to act honestly, fairly, with due care and diligence and in the best interests of the owners corporation. A breach of these duties provides grounds for an NCAT application.

Failure to complete mandatory training

All committee members are scheduled to be required to complete prescribed training later in 2026. If a member fails to complete it after receiving a formal notice, the owners corporation will have the power to remove them automatically.

Conduct that may justify removal

Not every disagreement warrants removal. Consider it when the records show patterns such as these:

• The member consistently votes against maintenance that the building clearly needs
• Financial decisions are being made without transparency or proper documentation
• The member has undisclosed business relationships with contractors used by the building
• Meeting minutes are being withheld or delayed
• The member is using their position to benefit their own lot at the expense of others
• Common property issues raised by owners are being ignored without explanation

What happens after removal

Once a member is removed, the vacancy can be filled by resolution at a general meeting. If the committee falls below the minimum number of members required to form a quorum, an EGM should be called promptly to elect replacement members.

The removed member retains all their rights as a lot owner; they simply no longer serve on the committee. They can still attend meetings, vote on resolutions and stand for election at the next AGM.

Keep the response proportionate

Removing a committee member is a serious step. These are volunteers who give up their time to manage complex assets. Before pursuing removal, consider whether the issue could be resolved through a direct conversation, mediation, or a request for the member to step down voluntarily.

When the records show that a committee member is failing in their duties or acting against the building's interests, owners can use the formal removal process.

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If a committee member is not doing the job, document the conduct, choose the correct process and put the decision to owners.

Further reading

• NSW: Why has strata law made it easier to remove a committee member?, via LookUpStrata
• VIC: Is it possible to remove a committee member, and what are the circumstances?, via LookUpStrata

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