On 1 April 2026 a new  tranche of Strata laws came into effect.

For more detailed information read The Guide to Strata law changes for strata committees and owners https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/guide-to-strata-law-changes-for-strata-committees-and-owners

And More Changes to Come

The 1 April 2026 changes are the latest tranche following the changes on 1 July 2025 and 27 October 2025.

There will be more to come. Before getting into these changes there is some important things to know.

Strata Law is Codified.

Strata is becoming more regulated not less. This means being at the coal face of management for committees and strata managers is demanding and becoming more so.

For example, the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 contains over 276 Sections 3 Schedules and growing.

The same applies to the Strata Schemes Management Regulations 2016 which contains over 68 clauses and 4 Schedules.

It is not uncommon with changes of any Act for the Regulations to also be amended.

The provisions of an Act is the law and Regulations contain the machinery provisions how the law is to be applied. Managers and committees need to be across these and many more pieces of legislation.

Lot Owners, Committees, Boards and Shareholders are Bound by Law

Like it or not, if you are a lot owner or committee in Strata building or shareholder or a director on the board of a company title building are legally obliged to know the law. If you own or sit on a committee or board, you are part of the governance of a legal entity. Understanding and abiding by law is not optional it is essential in the main to protect the, the finances and all owners and shareholders collectively.

You must keep up to speed with the law and any changes.

GUIDANCE NOTE

Understanding Your Legal Role – Strata & Company Title Buildings

Part of Governance of Legal Entities

Lot owners, shareholders or committee and board members, are part of the governance of a legal entity (either an Owners Corporation or a company title structure). Committee and board decisions affect:

  • All owners and shareholders
  • The building’s finances
  • Legal compliance and risk
The committee and board’s role is not informal

They are not making casual decisions—they are:

  • Entering contracts
  • Approving expenditure
  • Making legally binding decisions
  • Overseeing compliance obligations

Decisions must be made in accordance with the applicable law.

Financial responsibility

Poor understanding of legal requirements can result in:

  • Invalid or unenforceable contracts
  • Incorrect levies or budgeting
  • Insurance risks (including claim issues)
  • Unnecessary special levies
  • Sometimes person legal exposure

Ultimately, all owners bear the cost whether committee members or not.

 Maintenance and risk

The law sets clear obligations for:

  • Repair and maintenance
  • Safety and compliance
  • Proper use of common property

Failure to comply can lead to:

  • Escalating defects
  • Increased costs
  • Legal liability
Know your rights and limits

Committee members should understand:

  • What decisions they can and cannot make
  • When approval of owners is required
  • How meetings and voting must be conducted
  • When advice (legal, engineering, insurance) is necessary
Strata vs Company Title – not the same

Different legal frameworks apply:

  • Strata schemes operate under strata legislation
  • Company title buildings operate under corporate law

This affects:

  • Ownership and voting rights
  • Transfer/sale processes
  • Decision-making authority
  • Dispute resolution pathways

Do not assume the same rules apply.

 Common risks to avoid
  • Acting without proper authority
  • Relying on informal discussions instead of formal resolutions
  • Failing to follow meeting procedures
  • Making decisions without adequate information
Good governance in practice

Effective committees and boards:

  • Follow proper process
  • Base decisions on evidence and advice
  • Keep clear records
  • Respect roles (committee vs strata manager vs owners)

Committee and board members are responsible for overseeing a shared asset within a legal framework.

Understanding that framework is essential to protect the building and all owners. Failure to adhere to proper process and professional standards will limit the ability of the strata manager to act on instructions and may require matters to be referred to formal meetings for determination.

Armed with the above information let’s dig into the detail of the 1 April 2026 changes. It is useful to step through the key changes and what they mean in practice for owners corporations and committees.

The first significant reform is the introduction of a standardised Initial Maintenance Schedule (IMS). From 1 April 2026, developers are required to provide a mandatory, standard-form IMS before the first AGM. This must include detailed maintenance items, timing, and evidence-based cost estimates. In practical terms, committees will now receive more reliable and structured maintenance information at handover. While this is likely to result in higher initial budgets, those budgets should be more accurate and reduce reliance on optimistic or understated developer estimates. This reform addresses a long-standing issue where IMS documents were often generic or incomplete, leading to unrealistic budgets, early financial stress, special levies, and deferred maintenance.

The second key change relates to stronger developer disclosure at the first AGM. Developers must now provide clearer and more structured information, including maintenance assumptions, financial projections, and supporting evidence for proposed levies. This significantly improves transparency and allows committees to properly assess whether levies are adequate from the outset. It also strengthens the ability of committees to challenge underfunding or incomplete disclosures. Historically, this information was often unclear or overly optimistic, leaving committees to inherit financial and operational risks that were not properly identified at handover.

Another important reform is the introduction of a prescribed format for 10-year capital works fund plans. These plans must now follow a standardised structure with clear assumptions and more robust forecasting. This will provide committees with more reliable long-term planning tools, but it also means funding gaps will need to be identified and addressed earlier. In many cases, this is likely to result in increased levies where previous plans were understated. This change is particularly important given that, in the past, capital works fund plans varied widely in quality and often underestimated future costs—especially in the post-COVID environment where construction costs have escalated. Many plans also failed to properly account for the impact of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 on remedial works, particularly for waterproofing, which has introduced additional compliance and cost considerations. The result of these shortcomings was that many buildings became progressively underfunded over time.

Finally, there are expanded disclosure requirements for strata information certificates, including new obligations relating to utility arrangements such as embedded networks. From 1 April 2026, certificates must specify whether the scheme is subject to an embedded network and provide prescribed details about that network. Importantly, this extends beyond electricity to other utility services. This reform gives committees and prospective purchasers greater visibility of the true operating costs of a scheme and highlights any contractual constraints associated with utility supply. Previously, these arrangements were often not clearly disclosed, which created issues for both owners and purchasers who were unaware of underlying cost structures or limitations.

Overall, these changes are designed to improve transparency, accuracy, and long-term financial planning. However, they also reinforce a broader reality: compliance is becoming more complex, and schemes will need to adopt a more structured and informed approach to governance and budgeting.

Another flow on from the 1 April 2026 changes

It is my view that, while the new laws are well-intentioned, they will almost certainly require owners corporations and committees to engage strata managers and specialist experts more extensively, resulting in increased costs that will need to be factored into budgets.

Let’s end where we started, to be properly informed read the Guide to Strata law changes for strata committees and owners https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/guide-to-strata-law-changes-for-strata-committees-and-owners where you are provided with comprehensive details of all of the statutory changes including the 1 April 2026 ones.

If you have any questions, please email us and we will do our best to assist you.