In my opinion your EC is overstepping their boundaries in a number of areas.
It is the OC and not the EC that should be making decisions about painting costs and paint colours. The EC cannot opt out of responsibility for the upkeep of the common property without being authorised to do so by the OC via a Special Resolution.
It is important to note that the opt out provision in [s106 (3)(a)] is only possible ‘if it does not detract from the appearance of any property in the strata scheme’. It is highly likely that the appearance of the building will be compromised if some people paint parts of the building themselves, or others cannot accomplish this task.
It is my understanding that the painting should not proceed in the manner in which you stated.
In addition, subsection (1) of SSMA 2105 [s106] uses the term “must” which means the duty to repair and maintain the common property is a strict duty.
Does the EC have a spending limit … if so what is it? Do you think that the EC are dividing the painting up into smaller phases to enable them to ‘massage’ these decisions about how to paint the building into their spending limit and thus avoid going to the OC for a decision? If so the EC are wrong.
From my experience in Qld, and from reading Qld Tribunal decisions, a painting job (or any job!) cannot be be divided into smaller phases merely to fit within an EC spending limit – with the intention of taking away control from the OC. The total cost of the job should be agreed to in the one Motion. This would generally be by way of a simple majority Motion at an OC meeting.
Similarly with the paint colours. The EC has no authority to change the paint colour. The EC can only agree to a paint scheme if it is very similar to the old paint scheme. Any new and ‘wild’ colour scheme must be approved by the OC by a Special Resolution as it is deemed to be an ‘improvement’ as it changes the appearance of the common property.
In summary:(1) your EC cannot make decisions it does not have the authority to make, and (2) the OC cannot opt out of their strict duty to repair and maintain the building if it impacts on the appearance of the building, and (3) any change to the appearance of the building (i.e. change of paint colour) is deemed to be an improvement and requires a Special Resolution at a General Meeting by the OC.