Firing Your Strata Manager to Self-Manage: What to Check First

Before you fire your strata manager and self-manage, check three things: the termination clause in your management agreement, whether you have the numbers to pass the decision at a properly convened meeting, and what records, funds and legal duties land back in the committee's lap the day the manager walks out. Get those right and the switch can be clean. Get them wrong and you can be stuck paying out a contract, locked out of your own bank account, or missing documents you are legally required to hold.

This article walks through what to review, in what order, and flags where the rules and language differ around the country.

Can we actually terminate the agreement, and how?

Start with the signed management agreement. It is a contract between the owners corporation (the scheme) and the managing agent, and it sets out how it ends. Read it closely before you do anything else.

Look for:

• The term and expiry date. Many agreements run for a fixed period. Terminating partway through can trigger a payout or break fee.
• Notice periods. You usually have to give written notice a set number of days or months in advance.
• Termination for convenience vs for cause. Some contracts let you end early only if the manager has breached their duties. Others allow termination without a reason, on notice.
• Automatic rollover clauses. If the agreement auto-renews, there is often a narrow window to give notice before it rolls into a new term. Diarise that window now.
• Fees payable on exit. Handover fees, document retrieval charges, and outstanding disbursements.

Across Australia the principle is the same: the agreement governs, and statute sits over the top of it. In New South Wales, the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 limits how long a strata managing agent agreement can run and sets out when it can be ended, and NCAT can order that an agreement be terminated in some cases. Other states have their own equivalents: Queensland bodies corporate operate under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 and its modules, Victorian owners corporations under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, Western Australia under the Strata Titles Act 1985, the ACT under the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011, and Tasmania under the Strata Titles Act 1998. The terminology for your scheme, your committee and your manager changes with the border, but the need to follow both contract and statute does not.

What if the manager is in breach?

If the manager has failed to perform - not banking levies properly, ignoring instructions, missing statutory deadlines - you may have grounds to terminate for cause, which can avoid a payout. Put the failures in writing before you act, with dates and specifics, and get advice on whether the breach is serious enough. A weak "for cause" termination that is later found invalid can expose the scheme to a damages claim.

Do we have the numbers to vote this through?

Self-management is a decision for the owners, not just the committee chair. In most schemes the appointment and removal of a strata manager, and the decision to self-manage, is made at a general meeting of all owners.

Two things matter here:

1. Quorum. You need enough owners present or represented for the meeting to be valid.
2. The type of resolution required. Some decisions pass by a simple majority (an ordinary resolution). Others need a higher threshold.

Whether firing the manager and resolving to self-manage needs an ordinary resolution or a higher bar depends on your scheme's rules and your state's legislation. The composition and powers of your committee also vary. Here is how the key settings differ:

A few points the table cannot capture:

• Convening the meeting correctly matters as much as the vote. If notice is not given properly, with the right agenda items and the correct lead time, the decision can be challenged and unwound. Follow your state's notice rules precisely.
• Who calls the meeting. If your current manager normally issues notices, you may need the committee to formally direct them to convene the meeting, or convene it yourselves if the rules allow. Do not assume a manager facing dismissal will move quickly.
• Proxies and owners in arrears. In several states an owner who owes levies cannot vote on ordinary business. Check who is eligible before you count heads.

If you are unsure whether you have the votes, do a quiet head count first. A failed motion wastes everyone's time and tips off the manager before you are ready.

What records and funds must the manager hand back?

Self-managers underestimate this step most often. The moment the agreement ends, the committee becomes responsible for everything the manager used to hold. Build a handover checklist and get it in writing before the termination takes effect.

At a minimum, recover:

• The strata roll / owners register with current contact details for every owner.
• Financial records: levy ledgers, bank statements, administrative fund and capital works (sinking) fund balances, unpaid levy records, and the most recent financial statements.
• Bank account access. Confirm whether the account is in the scheme's name or pooled in the manager's trust account. If funds sit in a trust account, you need them transferred to an account controlled by the owners corporation.
• Insurance policies and the current certificate of currency, plus any claims in progress.
• Meeting minutes and notices going back as far as your state requires you to keep them.
• By-laws / rules and any registered changes.
• Contracts and warranties: cleaning, gardening, lifts, fire safety, and any building warranties still running.
• Compliance and maintenance records, including fire safety certification where your state mandates it.
• Keys, fobs, and logins to any online portal the manager set up.

In New South Wales, the records an owners corporation must keep, and the duty on an outgoing agent to hand them over, sit under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016. NSW Fair Trading publishes guidance on strata records and self-management, and if an agent refuses to hand records over you can seek orders through NCAT. Every state has an equivalent record-keeping duty and an equivalent regulator - Consumer and Business Services in South Australia, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland, Access Canberra in the ACT - so name your own regulator and tribunal when you escalate.

Confirm who controls the money

Pay special attention to banking. If your levies have been sitting in the agent's pooled trust account, you cannot self-manage overnight; you need a new account in the scheme's name and a clean transfer with a reconciled closing balance. Ask for a reconciliation as at the handover date so you can prove every dollar is accounted for, and confirm no direct debits or auto-payments are still running through the old account.

What duties fall on us once we self-manage?

Self-management means the committee personally takes on the compliance work the manager used to do. Before you commit, make sure you have named people willing and able to:

• Issue and collect levies, chase arrears, and keep the funds reconciled.
• Keep the financial records and prepare statements for the annual general meeting.
• Arrange and renew building insurance at full replacement value, with a valuation at the interval your state requires.
• Convene meetings with correct notice, record minutes, and keep the registers current.
• Manage maintenance and statutory compliance, including fire safety and any safety reporting your state mandates.
• Respond to owners and handle disputes, including tribunal matters.

None of this is beyond a capable committee, especially in a smaller scheme, but it is real ongoing work that falls on volunteers. The Owners Corporation Network (ocn.org.au) is a useful starting point for owners weighing up the commitment.

A simple order of operations

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to pay out the contract if we terminate early?

Possibly. If your agreement has a fixed term and you end it for convenience before expiry, there may be a break fee or payout. If you terminate for a genuine, documented breach by the manager, a payout is usually not owed, but the breach needs to be real. Check the termination clause first.

Can the manager refuse to hand over our records?

No. Every Australian jurisdiction imposes a duty on an outgoing agent to return the scheme's records and funds. If they stall, contact your state regulator and, if needed, apply to your dispute tribunal. In NSW that regulator is NSW Fair Trading and the tribunal is NCAT.

Can a small scheme realistically self-manage?

Yes, and many do. The fewer the lots and the simpler the building, the lighter the workload. The key is committed owners willing to handle levies, insurance, meetings and maintenance consistently, not just in the first enthusiastic month.

What vote do we need to sack the manager?

It depends on your state and your scheme's rules. Some decisions pass by ordinary resolution and some need a higher threshold. Check the comparison table above and your own governing rules, and make sure the meeting is convened with correct notice.

What is the single most common mistake?

Terminating before the handover is secured. Owners vote, serve notice, and only then discover funds are tied up in a trust account or records are missing. Line up the handover details before the termination takes effect, not after.