As someone who has taken on a do-nothing (or do for themselves only) committee, I can tell you what I learned which should inform your next steps. Two things come to mind:
1. ACTION AGAINST THE OWNERS’ CORP
Say you or like minded people want to join the committee, in order to get things done, but don’t have support. If you take the Owners’ Corp to NCAT – as you do not take the committee per se – you’ll learn:
(a) That NCAT cannot put you on the committee in addition to the lazy so and sos on the current committee as it does not have that power;
(b) Asking NCAT to remove those doing nothing on the committee from the committee is something NCAT can do if you ask; and
(c) Making clear that the status quo (committee and agent) are not doing the owners any good, you could ask NCAT to – via s. 237 SSM Act – order a compulsory managing agent be appointed where he/she will attend to all issues he/she sees needs actioning e..g broken items, replacements needed etc. Note: when a compulsory agent is in place, nobody, not you or the current committee members can direct or instruct the agent as to what needs to be done. So it’s possible that not all of what you think needs doing will be done. And if it’s done, you’ll have no say in who does it. Appointing a compulsory agent means the existing committee is extinguished.
2. ACTION AGAINST THE STRATA AGENT
You could make a separate complaint against the agent alleging he/she is not performing his/her role
according to the Property & Stock Agents Act via filling a form on the following page
https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/help-centre/online-tools/make-a-complaint
go to
realestate, property management and strata
and click on it
This is separate from complaining about the Owners’ Corp, but it should help if your ducks are in a row,
I complained recently about the agent not doing as she should and in fact as she promised. NSW Fair Trading looked into it and indicated that they “took action”. Under the law, you and I are not told what action was taken. But we can be told if according to NSW FT our complaints had merit.
In any event, the agent – who always did the committee’s bidding – suddenly quit being our agent.
When you go to NCAT about the OC, it’ll help that you can show your complaint against the agent – which in your case you claim is “complicit” – was supported by NSW FT.