The word “must” doesn’t appear in strata law often enough for my tastes, but it does turn up in section 107 of the Victorian Owners Corporation Act (below) saying that the strata committee must appoint a secretary.
If I were you, I would nominate myself for the role secretary, assuming you are elected on to the committee at the AGM (and you might want to keep this plan under your hat until the first commitee meeting after the AGM). FYI: In Victoria and NSW, the office-bearers are elected by the committee, not the whole ownership at the AGM.
That will give you a level of oversight and control without having to challenge every decision just to find out what’s going on. Tread lightly, though. If the chair sees this as a challenge, she might wrangle the votes to elect herself in both roles.
The role of secretary in a strata committee is potentially the most powerful if the incumbent chooses it to be. He or she calls the meetings, sets the agendas and issues the minutes, as defined by the Act.
Regarding the strata manager charges, it depends very much of the kind of contract you have with the SM. If it’s a more expensive “all-in” contract, where you pay a fee for complete service, then the strata manager is not really being reasonable. If it’s a cheaper (up front, at least) “Schedule B” contract, where the strata manager can charge for every letter opened and phone call made or received, then you are stuck with that until the contract runs out.
107. Secretary of committee
The members of the committee must appoint a member of the committee to be the secretary of the committee.
NB: This post was originally answered under the mistaken assumption that “Getting There” was in NSW – now corrected.