Mediation may well seem fruitless but if you don’t do it you can’t proceed to NCAT – it’s as simple as that. There are a few exceptions but this isn’t one of them.
However, once the committee see you are coming after them and not the lot owner, it may sharpen their thinking.
This is especially so if they are aware that once they are no longer acting in good faith – i.e. they are ignoring their duties of which they have been informed – then the members who voted to do nothing become personally liable for that decision.