If you sit on a strata committee in NSW, you've probably noticed the emails about strata reforms haven't let up. That's because the changes haven't either. The rules have been rolling out in stages since early 2025, and the latest round started on 1 October 2026. It's a lot to keep track of when committee work is something you do on top of a job and a household.
This guide brings the 2026 changes together in one place. It covers what has changed, who it affects and the practical steps worth taking now, whether you're a long-serving committee member, a new owner, or an investor who mostly reads the AGM minutes. We've stuck to the parts that affect how a building actually runs day to day.
Why the Rules Are Changing in Stages
The NSW Government has been working through one of the larger overhauls of strata law in recent years. Rather than switch everything on at once, it has staggered the changes so owners corporations, strata managers and building managers have time to prepare for each group.
The common thread is fairly simple. Owners should get clearer information, buildings should be properly maintained, and the people running a scheme, whether volunteers or paid professionals, should be more accountable. Most of the changes make sense once you look at them that way, even the ones that add paperwork.
The 2026 Timeline at a Glance
Here's when the main changes took effect:
- 27 October 2025: NSW Fair Trading gained powers to enforce repairs to common property, and new rules started for levy payment plans and building managers.
- 1 April 2026: standard forms became mandatory for 10-year capital works fund plans and initial maintenance schedules, and strata information certificates now carry more detail.
- 1 October 2026: committee members must complete free online training, and two-lot schemes no longer have to complete strata annual reporting.
The 2025 changes, including the ban on unfair contract terms, still apply. We cover the ones that most often trip committees up further down.
Seven Changes Owners Corporations Should Understand
1. Mandatory training for committee members
This is the one most committees are talking about. From 1 October 2026, anyone newly appointed or reappointed to a strata committee must complete a free, one-hour online course through NSW Fair Trading's Strata Hub within three months of their appointment. It's an annual requirement, so it comes around again each time you're appointed.
The part people tend to miss is what happens if you don't. A member who misses the deadline automatically stops being on the committee. If you were appointed before 1 October 2026, you don't need to do the training until you're next appointed, although you can do it earlier. Members of two-lot schemes, licensed strata managing agents, members of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers and anyone filling a casual vacancy for less than three months are exempt.
Fair Trading recommends that committee secretaries send each member a reminder with their due date. It takes five minutes and is worth doing straight after every AGM. Two-lot schemes, such as duplexes, also get some relief from 1 October: they no longer have to complete strata annual reporting.
2. Fair Trading can now enforce repairs to common property
Owners corporations have always had a legal duty to repair and maintain common property. What changed in October 2025 is that NSW Fair Trading can now act on it directly. It can investigate, require documents, enter the premises and, if it finds a breach, seek an enforceable undertaking, issue a compliance notice, issue a fine or apply to the Tribunal. In serious cases, a Tribunal order can appoint a strata managing agent to take over management of the scheme.
For most well-run buildings, nothing much changes. But a repair that has sat on the agenda for three AGMs in a row is now a regulatory risk, not just an annoyance. Regular inspections and a clear record of what was found and fixed are the simplest protection. This is where good facilities management earns its keep.
3. A standard form for 10-year capital works fund plans
From 1 April 2026, 10-year plans must use the NSW Government's standard form when a scheme revises its existing plan or replaces one that has been in place for ten years. If your current plan isn't due for either, you don't have to switch yet.
The standard form makes plans easier to compare and harder to fill with vague line items. It's also a good prompt to check whether the plan still reflects the building as it is today. Plans prepared years ago often underestimate items that have aged faster than expected, like waterproofing, lifts or fire systems. Asset management that tracks the real condition of major items makes the next revision far less of a guessing game.
4. Fairer rules for overdue levies and payment plans
Levy notices must now include, or come with, a Financial Hardship Information Statement that points owners to the free National Debt Helpline. An owner who falls behind can request a payment plan using a standard form, and the owners corporation has to take that request seriously.
In practice, that means:
- Every request must be considered. A blanket resolution refusing all payment plans is not allowed.
- A written response is due within 28 days, with reasons if the request is refused.
- No fee can be charged for requesting, starting or continuing a plan.
- Plans can run for up to 12 months and cannot cover future levies.
- Recovery action can't be taken on levies covered by a plan that is being followed, and owners must get at least 30 days' notice before any action starts.
A request can still be refused if it would leave the administrative or capital works fund short. The point is that each decision has to be made case by case, and in writing.
5. Clearer duties for building managers
This one matters for any building with an on-site or contracted building manager. Since October 2025, building managers must act in the owners corporation's best interest, promptly flag any maintenance, repair or safety issue they know about or ought to know about, and propose how it should be fixed. They also have to disclose in writing any benefit they'll receive from a contract they recommend, and any connection with a supplier or with the original developer.
The law also makes it clear who isn't a building manager. A plumber, cleaner or gardener engaged only to do that work doesn't take on these duties. And if a building manager or strata managing agent acts unlawfully in their role, the owners corporation now has an extra ground to ask the Tribunal to change or end the agreement.
6. More detail on strata information certificates
Section 184 certificates, which buyers usually request before purchasing a lot, now have to include more information. That includes whether the scheme has an embedded network supplying utilities, any orders or compliance action against the owners corporation (including Fair Trading's repair enforcement), and meetings held in the past year along with any coming up.
This change is easy to overlook, but it links maintenance directly to resale. If Fair Trading has had to step in over a neglected repair, a prospective buyer will see it. Looking after common property is no longer just about the people who live there now.
7. Stronger protections for owners in new buildings
If your building is new or still being built, two changes from 1 April 2026 are worth knowing about. The developer's initial maintenance schedule must now use a standard form and be given to the owners corporation at least 14 days before the first AGM. For multi-storey schemes, an independent quantity surveyor must also certify that schedule and confirm that the first-year levy estimates match the building's expected costs.
Opening levies set too low have been a common complaint in new apartment buildings. Owners would discover two or three years in that the funds simply weren't enough. These rules are meant to stop that, and developers face penalties of up to $11,000 for individuals and $55,000 for corporations if they don't comply.
Earlier Changes That Still Catch Committees Out
Some of the July 2025 reforms are now part of everyday strata life, but they still come up regularly:
- Unfair contract terms are banned in standard form contracts with owners corporations, including strata management, building management, cleaning and gardening contracts. This covers new contracts and existing ones renewed or varied since 1 July 2025.
- Every AGM must include an agenda item on environmental sustainability, including the common property's energy and water use.
- Where a by-law lets the committee decide minor renovations, a request is automatically approved if it isn't refused in writing, with reasons, within three months.
- Owners now have six years, up from two, to bring a damages claim if the owners corporation fails to repair and maintain common property.
- Strata managing agents must report to the owners corporation every six months on the work they have done.
The unfair contract terms rule is worth a closer look at your next renewal. If an agreement lets the provider walk away whenever it likes but locks the owners corporation in, or caps the provider's liability while leaving yours open, ask about it. We cover this and other contract points in our guide to choosing a strata and facilities management company in Sydney.
What Your Committee Can Do Now
None of this needs to become a big project. A few practical steps will cover most buildings:
- Check each committee member's appointment date and training deadline, and record both in the minutes.
- Make sure every committee member is registered on Strata Hub so they get updates from NSW Fair Trading.
- Find out when your 10-year plan is due for revision and plan for the standard form.
- Review your payment plan process so every request gets a written answer within 28 days.
- Ask your building manager how they record and report maintenance, repair and safety issues.
- Go through outstanding repairs and agree a timeline for anything that has been deferred.
- Note the renewal dates of your service contracts so you can review the terms before they roll over.
If you only get to one thing this month, make it the first. Losing a committee member over a missed deadline is an avoidable headache.
Where PrimeShield Fits
PrimeShield Property Management is based in Parramatta and looks after the physical side of running a building for Sydney owners corporations, including facilities management, asset management, strata cleaning, strata gardening and concierge services. A lot of the 2026 changes come back to the same thing: keeping common property in good repair and having the records to show it. Regular inspections and clear, itemised reporting give committees a record they can rely on if questions are ever asked. If you'd like to talk through how the changes affect your building, a conversation with the PrimeShield team is a good place to start.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 strata reforms ask a bit more of committees, but most of it is common sense written into law: keep the building maintained, treat owners in hardship fairly, use clear forms, and understand what your role involves. Committees that already run things well will find little here that changes their week. For those still catching up, the steps above are a sensible place to begin.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Strata law has changed several times in a short period, so check the latest guidance from NSW Fair Trading or speak to a strata lawyer about your scheme's specific situation. And when you're ready to review how your building is maintained, the PrimeShield team is happy to help.