Published 7 October 2026 · By the Zettle Editorial Team, reviewed by Cordell Smith, Solicitor and Founder, Zettle · General information only, not legal advice.
The short version. If you are buying an apartment in New South Wales, you can now find out more before you commit than you could a year ago. The strata information certificate has to disclose whether the building is locked into an exclusive utility supply arrangement, and whether the owners corporation is facing orders or compliance action. Both were easy to miss before. If you already own and sit on the strata committee, the newest change is that annual training became compulsory on 1 October 2026.
Key facts at a glance
- The reforms arrived in five stages: 3 February 2025, 1 July 2025, 27 October 2025, 1 April 2026 and 1 October 2026.
- Since 1 April 2026, a strata information certificate must disclose exclusive supply (embedded) network arrangements, orders and certain compliance action against the owners corporation, and meetings held in the past year and any upcoming meetings.
- Since 1 April 2026, multi-storey schemes need an independent surveyor to certify the initial maintenance schedule and the initial levy estimates.
- Since 1 October 2026, strata committee members must complete free online training each year, within three months of being appointed.
- Since 1 October 2026, two-lot schemes such as duplexes no longer complete annual strata reporting.
- Since 1 July 2025, inspecting a scheme's records costs $60 for the first hour and $30 for each half hour after that (the increase does not apply to existing owners in the scheme).
What does a strata information certificate have to tell you now?
This is the change that matters most if you are buying. The strata information certificate is the document the owners corporation has to produce about the scheme: its finances, its insurance, its meeting history. Since 1 April 2026 it has to cover three things it did not have to spell out before.
Exclusive supply arrangements. If the building's electricity, hot water, gas or internet comes through an embedded network, meaning one provider supplies the whole building and individual owners cannot shop around, the certificate has to say so. That matters because you inherit the arrangement. It is a contract you had no part in negotiating, it continues after you buy, and how easily you can leave it depends on its terms.
Orders and compliance action. If the owners corporation is the subject of orders or compliance action, that now has to appear as well. Previously the certificate did not have to show this, so a scheme could be subject to Tribunal orders or Fair Trading enforcement action without it appearing on the certificate.
Meetings. Meetings held in the past year and any upcoming meetings.
The certificate continues to show the scheme's financial position.
What changed if you are buying into a brand-new building?
Buying off the plan or into a recently completed scheme carries a particular risk, which is that the levies quoted to you turn out to be well below what the building actually costs to run. Several of the 1 April 2026 changes go at that directly.
A new, revised or replacement ten-year capital works fund plan now has to use a standard form (existing plans do not have to be redone), so you are comparing like with like rather than reading whatever the developer chose to produce. The initial maintenance schedule the developer prepares has to use a standard form too.
For multi-storey schemes there is a further step. An independent surveyor has to review and certify both the initial maintenance schedule and the initial levy estimates, and the developer has to provide that certification evidence at least fourteen days before the first annual general meeting. The point is that someone independent has signed off on whether the numbers are realistic before owners are left holding them.
What changed about strata managers?
Since 3 February 2025 a strata manager has to disclose, before being appointed, connections with suppliers they routinely use, including the nature of the relationship, and whether they have given the building's developer advice about strata plans in the previous two years.
They also have to provide itemised insurance quotations, which means commissions and broker fees are visible rather than buried in a single premium figure. If a new connection or interest arises during the appointment, it has to be reported as it happens.
For an owner, this is the difference between being told what the insurance costs and being told who is being paid what along the way.
What changed for owners who fall behind on levies?
From 27 October 2025, payment plans for overdue contributions use a standard form and can run for up to twelve months. Levy notices now have to carry information about financial hardship, so the option is in front of the person who needs it rather than something they have to know to ask for.
NSW Fair Trading also gained investigation and enforcement powers over common property repairs, which matters when an owners corporation will not act on something that needs fixing.
What changed about renovations, access and sustainability?
From 1 July 2025, where a by-law lets the strata committee decide minor renovation requests, a request is taken to be approved if the committee does not refuse it in writing, with reasons, within three months. By-laws banning sustainability infrastructure are now void, except for heritage-listed buildings or buildings in a heritage conservation area. Accessibility infrastructure needs only a majority vote rather than a higher threshold.
Utility agreements made from 1 July 2025 now expire at the first annual general meeting (if made before it) or three years after they start, which limits how long a scheme can be tied to an arrangement made before owners had any say. Unfair contract terms are prohibited in standard-form supply agreements.
What changed on 1 October 2026?
Two things, and both are aimed at people who already own rather than people buying in.
Strata committee members now have to complete free online training every year, within three months of being appointed to the role. There are exceptions for members of two-lot schemes, NSW strata managing agents, members of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers, and people filling a casual vacancy for less than three months.
And two-lot schemes, which in practice usually means a duplex, no longer have to complete annual strata reporting.
If you are the one buying, neither of these changes what you can find out about a building. The changes that do that came earlier.
Does any of this replace a strata inspection report?
No, and it is worth being clear about that.
The certificate tells you what the owners corporation is required to disclose. A strata inspection report is someone going through the scheme's actual records: the minutes, the correspondence, the quotes, the history of what has gone wrong and what it cost to fix. The reforms have made the first of those more useful. They have not made the second unnecessary.
A common pattern is a building where nothing in the certificate looks alarming, and the minutes from two years ago show a dispute about water ingress that was never properly resolved. That only shows up if someone reads them.
So the practical order is still the same. Get the certificate, get a search and inspection of the records, and read them against each other before the contract becomes binding rather than after.
If you are weighing up an apartment, what to check when buying into a NSW strata scheme goes through the practical checks in more detail.
Common questions
Do I still need a strata search now that the certificate discloses more?
Yes. The certificate is a disclosure document with a defined scope. A search and inspection of the scheme's records is how you find the things nobody is obliged to volunteer, particularly the history of defects and disputes.
What is an embedded network and why does it matter when buying?
It is an arrangement where one provider supplies utilities to the whole building and individual owners cannot switch to another retailer. It can mean paying more than you would on the open market, for a contract you did not negotiate. Since 1 April 2026 the strata information certificate has to disclose these arrangements, so you can find out before you commit.
Who has to do the strata committee training?
Committee members, each year, within three months of appointment. It is free and online. Members of two-lot schemes, NSW strata managing agents, members of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers and people filling a casual vacancy for less than three months are exempt.
What if something that should have been disclosed is missing from the certificate?
What you can do about it depends on when you find out and how far the transaction has gone, so it is a question for your conveyancer or solicitor rather than something to assume. Ask it before exchange rather than after settlement, when your options are widest.
Does the training requirement affect me if I am buying?
Not directly. It is an obligation on committee members. It is worth knowing about if you intend to join the committee after you move in.
Sources
- NSW Fair Trading: Changes to strata laws
- NSW Government: Guide to strata law changes for strata committees and owners
- NSW Government: Strata
This article is general information about New South Wales strata law and is not a substitute for legal advice on a particular property. Strata schemes differ, and the records of the individual scheme are what matter when you are deciding whether to buy.
