TrulEConcerned, is it too late to get your case back on track? Tribunal members are usually as helpful as they can possibly be to unrepresented parties. Just by hiring a lawyer a bad owners corporation does not magically become a winner.
The fees have been paid to NCAT to run the case, and you have done the work of putting your evidence together so may as well keep going. The tribunal member will grant adjournments if there is something in your paperwork which needs to be straightened out. The evidence of both parties will be given its due weight irrespective of who has presented it. Depending on the merits of your case the solicitor for the owners corporation may even decline to cross examine.
You cannot know what will happen unless you go. You can approach a solicitor for a fee proposal, it could be less than you think. It all depends on how much the matter in question impacts your life. You are very correct, one person cannot police the world of strata.