@Miranda said:I thought the Management only took instruction from the committee as a whole
They really should, but they in fact don’t have to.
At each AGM, the powers of the OC (except for matters requiring special or unanimous resolutions) are usually invested in both the manager and the committee.
Many managers, if the manager thinks the issue is straight forward or fairly minor or appears to have majority committee agreement, will go ahead after a reasonable request from a committee chair. Technically they don’t need a committee decision as they have the authority to act themselves. But good managers should be satisfied that there is majority committee agreement after all committee members were consulted. Email evidence of that majority is enough for many managers in Victoria.
Why not tell the manager that your committee is sometimes not fully consulted or given a chance to vote if that’s the case? The manager should then in future pay more attention to the consultation and voting process.