Have a look at this Qld Government fact sheet which covers the hiring and firing of body corproate managers.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with your committee having preliminary meetings with alternative managers, however, a general meeting will be required to vote on the appointment of a new one.
The committee does not have the power to engage a body corporate manager.
The body corporate must pass a motion at a general meeting by ordinary resolution to engage a body corporate manager under a contract. The terms of the contract must be included in the documents sent to members of the body corporate before the general meeting takes place.
The written engagement must list:
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all of the duties the manager is authorised to carry out
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the length of the engagement—between 1 and 3 years
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the payment arrangements.
Also, unless the current contracts have expired, sacking the current manager may be more of a problem:
How to terminate a body corporate manager
A manager’s engagement can be ended if they:
- agree
- are convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, fraud or assault
- fail to perform their duties, or comply with the Act or code of conduct.
Failing to perform or comply
To end a manager’s engagement for failing to perform duties, comply with the Act or code of conduct, the body corporate must issue a remedial action notice. This decision can be made by the committee of the body corporate.
The remedial action notice must state:
- the duties the manager has not performed or the details of claimed breach of the code of conduct
- a notice period (no less than 14 days) during which the manager must fix the issue
- that if the manager does not comply with the notice within the notice period the body corporate can end their engagement.
If the manager does not comply with the notice within the period, the body corporate can terminate the manager’s engagement by ordinary resolution at a general meeting.