Updated 15 September to include the latest changes from NSW Fair Trading.
For owners on their strata committee, NSW Fair Trading has announced that mandatory training for members will begin on 1 October 2026. The strata training is part of the broader package of strata law reforms rolled out in NSW in recent years. If you want a full recap of those reforms, this webinar is a good place to start.
What does the training involve?
The course is free, online and self-paced. The training is hosted on the Strata Hub and takes about an hour to complete. The content covers core strata information:
- your legal obligations as a committee member,
- which records you need to keep,
- and what to do when an issue needs to go beyond the committee.
The first course is titled “Introduction to Strata Committee Rights and Responsibilities.”
Who needs to complete the committee training and when?
From 1 October 2026, anyone appointed to a NSW strata committee must complete the training within three months of their appointment. This applies whether you are new to a committee, a returning member, or appointed to fill a vacancy of more than three months.
To make this concrete, here are a couple of examples straight from NSW Fair Trading:
- A committee member appointed on 1 October 2026 must complete training by 1 January 2027.
- A committee member appointed on 1 June 2027 must complete training by 1 September 2027.
Who put it together?
NSW Fair Trading developed the course alongside the Owners Corporation Network (OCN). OCN brought real-world committee experience to the table, which should make the content very practical and less like a fact sheet.
Who is exempt?
The training requirement does not apply to committee members who are:
- in a two-lot strata scheme,
- members of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers,
- strata managing agents, or
- filling a casual vacancy for less than three months.
If you are exempt, you should provide evidence of your exemption to the committee secretary. It’s also worth noting that the training requirement only applies to strata committees in strata schemes. It does not apply to association committees in community land schemes.
What happens if a committee member doesn’t complete the training within the required time limit?
If a committee member does not complete the training within three months of their appointment, they automatically stop being a committee member. It’s not a fine or a warning. You lose your seat.
The committee secretary may send a notice advising the member they are no longer on the committee, but even if no notice is sent, the removal is still automatic.
One important point for committees: if a decision is made while a member has unknowingly failed to comply, that decision will generally remain valid, provided the committee acted in good faith and was not aware the person had ceased to be a member. However, once the committee becomes aware, they should take steps to prevent that person from participating in future decisions and check whether a new member needs to be appointed.
NSW Fair Trading has also confirmed it will not take direct action against a committee member who fails to complete their training.
What does the committee secretary need to do?
After the 1 October 2026, the secretary plays a key role in keeping things on track. NSW Fair Trading recommends the following:
- Ask each committee member to provide their Certificate of Completion once they have finished the training, and keep copies for at least one year.
- Send a reminder notice to each member no later than two months after their appointment, noting the deadline and asking them to provide their certificate.
- If a member misses the deadline, send a Failure to Complete Training Notice as soon as practicable and notify the remaining committee members that a vacancy has occurred.
NSW Fair Trading will publish templates for both notices closer to the 1 October launch date.
Is this a one-off?
No. NSW Fair Trading has been upfront that this is just the beginning. New training modules will be added each year, with topics chosen based on what committees are finding difficult. Repairs and maintenance is already confirmed for year two, a topic that generates more than its fair share of disputes in strata. If you’re dealing with a repairs issue right now, this webinar on water leaks, NCAT and common property is worth a watch.
Can anyone else access the training?
Yes. Once the training launches, it will be open to anyone who wants to learn more about strata, including people thinking about joining a committee, owners who simply want to understand how their scheme works, and members of two-lot schemes who want to do it voluntarily.
For the latest official information, visit the NSW Fair Trading strata committee training page. Lookupstrata will continue to keep you updated as guidance is released. Subscribe to Lookupstrata so you don’t miss it.
This post appears in Strata News #807 and #810.
My strata management & SC worked well until a sovereign citizen moved in. Lots of NCAT, legal fees and police attendance to protect contractors.
Hi Alex. I was 19 years responsible for managing our Strata of 15 lots. When Big Brother introduced a Strata Hub we’ve appointed a Strata Manager and suffering since then.
I appreciate your will and firmness to keep your building in the good shape for 20 years and would like to discuss with you some ideas about Independent Strata Union where we could support self-managed Strata Plans like yours and mine.
I understand that some of this training will be specific to NSW. But will this training be available to Committee members in other states? When might such training (and the requirement for Committee members to complete it) be available in the ACT?
Peter
Hello Peter, the ACT Government recently released its responses to the Parliamentary Enquiry into strata. You can search for that and see what, if anything, may happen in relation to committee training, and other significant strata issues, in the ACT
Big Brother interference again, we are a self managed strata of 12 units and we are very well organised. I understand some strata especially large ones have their problems but we act with integrity we have our own website where the owners can see expenditures and invoices nothing is hidden. We follow the rules and we don’t see the need for this bs, all it will do is drive decent people from holding positions on the committee. I have been Secretary for nearly 20 years, love the place and all the work we have all put in. I also do the legal; work when homes are sold , unpaid , fees go into our funds.
Hi Alex and Leonid, another self-manager here – and, through my role with OCN, the author of the training. While I’m the last person to think more regulations are a good thing, I do think this is a good one and a necessary one. The need for it, and the content, was based on what we heard from our members and broader research.
The training is designed to empower people who might otherwise be trampled by less-than-scrupulous fellow committee members and strata managing agents and, potentially, to bring some of those people in to line. It’s also designed to quickly bring people up to date with the current law.
While there might not be anything in it that experienced people like us don’t know, I think we need to approach it in the same spirit as other experienced volunteers – lifesavers, RFS firefighters, SES etc approach their mandatory training and assessment: as a way to confirm you’re up to date and still have the skills.
Davidf wrote:
>> While there might not be anything in it that experienced people like us don’t know, I think we need to approach it in the same spirit as other experienced volunteers – lifesavers, RFS firefighters, SES etc approach their mandatory training and assessment: as a way to confirm you’re up to date and still have the skills.
I TOTALLY agree… committees are responsible for managing a HUGE amount of money and assets … requiring them to do a small amount of online training is a good way to ensure at least some accountability. If someone is not prepared to do the training, the other owners probably should be worried about this person managing their biggest asset (IMHO).