NCAT made clear that if she wins we may have to pay costs.
On what basis? The Tribunal has a limited number of reasons under which it can award costs, but legal representation is one of them. My advice would be to sit down with an experienced strata lawyer and ask them what the chances of success would be. Either of the entities that sponsor Flat Chat would be a good choice. If they are conflicted out, Amanda Farmer prefers not to represent owners corporations or committees and instead take cases for owners.
If they say you have a better than 75 per cent chance of success, I would go for it. Less than that, you have to weigh the risk against the potential reward. I would start by questioning the basis under which the strata committee is bankrolling the tiler, especially when you look at Section 37 of the Act
(1) Each member of a strata committee of an owners corporation has the following duties—
(a) to exercise the member’s functions—
(i) with honesty and fairness, and
(ii) with due care and diligence, and
(iii) for the benefit, as far as practicable, of the owners corporation,
(b) to comply with this Act and the regulations,
(c) to only use or disclose information obtained as a member, including information about an owner of a lot—
(i) as required to carry out strata committee functions, or
(ii) as authorised or required by law,
(d) to not behave in a way that unreasonably affects a person’s lawful use or enjoyment of a lot in the strata scheme or the common property.