Overview
This page covers everything happening in strata across New South Wales. It's worth bookmarking if you want to keep across NSW strata news as it happens.
Check the tabs below for the latest information on NSW Strata Legislation and NSW Strata By-laws. New information about the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016, plus articles and Q&As about NSW strata law, are added regularly.
Have a question about strata in NSW? Ask a NSW strata question and we'll do our best to answer or source a response from our network of strata guidance partners.
What's the difference between a strata scheme and a community scheme?
Most of this page is about strata schemes, covering a single building or block. A community scheme is different: it covers larger developments where multiple strata schemes, or standalone lots, share common property across a wider precinct, such as a private road, a park or shared recreational facilities. Community schemes run under their own legislation, the Community Land Management Act 2021 and Community Land Development Act 2021, with their own association structure and rules, separate from a strata scheme's owners corporation. If your development includes shared facilities across multiple buildings or lots, check your title documents to see whether you're part of a community scheme as well as, or instead of, a strata scheme.
NSW Strata Law Reform
NSW strata law has been reformed in stages since 2025. The fourth and final bill passed Parliament in October 2026. It removes committee, meeting and annual reporting requirements for two-lot schemes such as duplexes, lets Fair Trading publish compliance action against owners corporations, and lets NCAT terminate a building management agreement when a building manager breaches their duties. Check Fair Trading’s changes to strata laws page for start dates.
Two of the biggest topics in NSW strata right now:
- Mandatory committee training: From 1 October 2026, anyone appointed to a strata committee must complete a free online course within three months. It takes about an hour. Miss the deadline and you automatically stop being a committee member, though you can still attend meetings as an owner. Members appointed before 1 October 2026 don’t need to complete it until they’re next appointed, and two-lot schemes are exempt. Find out all the details here: Mandatory committee training is live.
- Insurance commissions: Strata managers must already disclose commissions and fees, but the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission has delivered a report to the Minister recommending stronger action, including options to ban commissions outright. The outcome will affect strata managers and owners across NSW, and the industry is watching closely for the government's next move.
Check back regularly, as this page is updated as new stages of reform take effect.
Strata Living in NSW: The Numbers
Strata living is a major part of life in NSW:
- Around 17% of NSW residents live in strata, based on the Australasian Strata Insights 2024 report, produced by UNSW's City Futures Research Centre
- More than 91,000 strata schemes across the state
- Over 1 million lots, with a combined insured value of $486 billion
- Just over half of these schemes were registered before 2000, meaning many NSW buildings are ageing and increasingly dealing with legacy issues like capital works and maintenance backlogs
Who Lives in NSW Strata
- Apartment residents in NSW skew young, with almost half aged between 20 and 39
- More households rent than own outright or with a mortgage
- Less than half of residents were born in Australia or speak English at home, reflecting the multicultural makeup of strata communities across the state
Recently Posted
Living Strata NSW
Explore our online magazine, Living Strata, tailored to NSW, including real Q&As and in-depth articles. Published monthly.
Webinars for NSW
Resources
Strata Legislation NSW
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Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 No 50
The main law governing strata schemes in NSW. It covers owners corporations, committees, meetings, levies, by-laws, insurance and disputes, and has been amended in stages since 2025.
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Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016
Made under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, this regulation sets out the model by-laws for NSW strata schemes and covers voting, financial management and building inspections in more detail than the Act itself.
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Strata Schemes Development Act 2015
Covers how strata schemes are created and subdivided, including strata certificates, and the process for varying, terminating or renewing a scheme.
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Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016
Sets out the practical details for strata certificates, lodging plans, and the handling of collective sale or redevelopment of a strata scheme.
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Community Land Management Act 2021
Applies to community, precinct and neighbourhood schemes rather than strata schemes. Covers how these schemes are managed, including committees, meetings and disputes.
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Community Land Development Act 2021
Governs how community, precinct and neighbourhood schemes are created and subdivided.
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Property and Stock Agents Act 2002
Regulates the licensing of strata managing agents, including the disclosure obligations they must meet before and during their appointment.
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Guide to strata law changes for strata committees and owners
NSW Fair Trading's rolling summary of every staged reform to strata law, with commencement dates, so you can check whether a change affects your scheme.
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Strata Hub
The NSW Government's digital platform for strata schemes. Owners corporations must register and report each year, except two-lot schemes, which are now exempt from annual reporting.
Useful links
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NSW Fair Trading
NSW’s strata regulator. It handles strata enquiries and complaints, runs free mediation and licenses strata managers.
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Strata Living Guide
NSW Government's general guide to living in a strata scheme, covering rights, responsibilities and day-to-day questions.
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Strata Committee Training
Since 1 October 2026, strata committee members in NSW must complete free online training within three months of appointment.
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Strata Search
Free public search for any NSW strata scheme, showing its plan number, address, registration date, lot information and when it last completed annual reporting.
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Strata Manager Finder
Search for licensed strata managers servicing your area, including their licence and compliance history.
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Common Property Memorandum
Sets out who is responsible, the owner or the owners corporation, for maintaining, repairing or replacing specific parts of a strata building.
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Who's Responsible: A Guide to Common Property
SCA NSW's guide to who is responsible for common items around a strata building, for use alongside your own strata plan and by-laws.
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Smoke-free Apartments: A Guide to Smoke-free Living
Cancer Council NSW's toolkit to help residents and owners corporations introduce a smoke-free by-law and manage smoke drift complaints.
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Owners Corporation Network (OCN)
An independent organisation of owners helping owners navigate strata living, with free fact sheets and state-based information.
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Strata Community Association (NSW)
The professional body for the strata and community title sector in NSW.
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Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association (ARAMA)
The industry body for people involved in management rights, relevant to buildings with an onsite letting business.
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City Futures Research Centre, UNSW
UNSW's research centre on housing and cities, including ongoing research specifically into strata living and governance in Australia.
Forms
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Request for a Payment Plan for Overdue Contributions
Use this standard form to ask your owners corporation for a payment plan for overdue levies. The owners corporation must reply in writing within 28 days and, if it refuses, give reasons.
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Section 184 Certificate (strata information certificate)
Shows financial and compliance information about a lot and its scheme, and is typically needed when a lot is sold. It must be requested in writing from the owners corporation, with the prescribed fee.
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Notice to Comply
The formal notice an owners corporation gives an owner or occupier who is breaching a by-law. It must be on the approved form, include a copy of the by-law, and is the first step before applying to NCAT for a penalty.
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Apply for Strata Mediation
Apply online for free mediation through NSW Fair Trading. Mediation is a required first step for most strata disputes before applying to NCAT.
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Strata and Community Scheme Application Form (NCAT)
Use this to formally apply to NCAT for an order in a strata or community scheme dispute.
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10-Year Capital Works Fund Plan (standard form)
Use this form when revising an existing 10-year plan, or preparing a new one to replace a plan that's reached 10 years old.
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Initial Maintenance Schedule (standard form)
The original owner or developer must complete this and give it to the owners corporation at least 14 days before the first AGM.
Dispute resolution
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Strata Disputes
NSW Fair Trading's plain-language guide to resolving a strata dispute, from talking it out through to mediation and NCAT.
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Community Scheme Disputes
NSW Fair Trading’s guide to resolving disputes in community, precinct and neighbourhood schemes. Free mediation comes first, and you can apply to NCAT if mediation doesn’t resolve it.
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Complaints about a Strata or Building Manager
How to complain about a strata manager, who must be licensed, and what to do if the problem is with a building manager who isn’t licensed.
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Complaints about Common Property Repairs
What to do if your owners corporation won’t repair common property, from mediation through to a complaint to NSW Fair Trading.
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Strata Schemes information (NCAT)
What orders NCAT can make, when mediation is required first, and how to apply.
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NSW Fair Trading Name and Shame Register
Check whether regulatory action has been taken against a strata managing agent or real estate agent involved in your dispute.
Lookupstrata Directory
Find NSW strata specialists in the Lookupstrata Directory and request quotes.
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