Future-Proofing Your Scheme

2025 has seen one of the most significant waves of strata law reform in recent years in New South Wales. The NSW Government has progressively rolled out amendments under the Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NSW) across multiple tranches, delivering greater transparency, accountability, stronger governance, enhanced protections for owners, and clearer duties for strata professionals. 1. Early Changes: March & July 2025 — Governance, Accountability and Transparency From early 2025, several foundational reforms took effect, strengthening strata governance and operational transparency: Stricter reporting and disclosure requirements for strata managing agents — including enhanced transparency around commissions, related-party relationships, and reporting obligations. Governance and committee updates , notably easier removal of committee officers (chair, secretary, treasurer) by ordinary resolution rather than special resolution. ( Moirs Law ) Expanded rights around minor renovations and committee decisions , with clearer processes and automatic approvals where committees fail to decide within statutory timeframes. Tighter document access rules and timeframes for owners and committees, improving visibility of minutes, budgets and major documents. These early changes laid the groundwork for improved strata scheme rigour, boosting owner confidence and oversight. 2. October 2025 Reforms — Fairness, Compliance & Financial Hardship On 27 October 2025 , the next stage of reforms commenced, delivering some of the most impactful changes for strata schemes: Stronger Regulatory Powers NSW Fair Trading received enhanced investigation and enforcement powers — including the ability to demand documents, enter buildings to gather evidence, and issue compliance notices where owners corporations fail in their statutory duties. Financial Hardship Support Strata levy notices must now include a Financial Hardship Information Statement to assist owners experiencing financial difficulty. Owners can request standardised 12-month payment plans for overdue levies, with committees required to assess and respond within set timeframes. Restrictions on levy recovery actions apply while a compliant payment plan is in place. Building Manager Duties & Definitions Clearer definitions of who is — and is not — a building manager help reduce ambiguity in contractual roles. Building managers must act in the best interests of the owners corporation , promptly notify of maintenance and safety issues, and disclose any benefits or financial interests. Tribunal Powers Owners now have expanded grounds to apply to NCAT to change or end building manager agreements or strata management agreements in cases of poor performance or unlawful conduct. 3. Looking Ahead — April 2026 & Beyond The reform journey continues into 2026 with additional changes scheduled to commence on 1 April 2026 : Standardised 10-year capital works fund plans to improve long-term planning consistency across all schemes. Enhanced developer obligations at handover, including initial maintenance schedules and accurate levy estimates. Reforms to conveyancing disclosures, such as mandatory disclosure of exclusive supply networks in off-the-plan contracts. Mandatory strata committee training is planned for later in 2026 (commencement date to be advised). What This Means for Your Owners Corporation The theme of the 2025 reforms is clear: better governance, enhanced fairness, stronger compliance and more support for owners. Taken together, these reforms: ✔ Improve transparency and accountability of strata managers and building managers. ✔ Provide meaningful support for owners facing financial difficulty. ✔ Enhance the powers of regulatory bodies like NSW Fair Trading and NCAT. ( ✔ Strengthen long-term planning requirements and professional standards. NSW Strata Specialists continues to monitor these reforms closely and support owners corporations, strata committees and managing agents with practical compliance advice, documentation updates and educational resources. Stay tuned for further updates as more changes commence in 2026. And visit the NSW Government website for more information. https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/guide-to-strata-law-changes-for-strata-committees-and-owners

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