Changes to Strata Legislation: Commencing 27th October 2025
Changes to the strata legislation impacting owners, strata managing agents, building managers and developer continue to be rolled out. The next staged roll out is to commence on 27th October 2025.
The previous legislative update was rolled out on 1 July 2025, which is detailed in our previous newletter and also located on our website.
Further changes to be rolled out on the 27th October 2025, covers:
- Stronger Powers for Fair Trading to Enforce Repairs
- Supporting Owners with Financial Hardship
- New Duties Clarified for Building Managers
Stronger Powers for Fair Trading to Enforce Repairs
The NSW Fair Trading is gaining new investigative and enforcement powers to ensure owners corporations meet their legal duty to maintain and repair common property.
- Expanded Powers: Fair Trading can now investigate potential breaches, demand documents, and issue compliance notices that require specific actions like fixing damage or using licensed professionals.
- Enforcement Actions: If a breach is found, Fair Trading has a range of options, including seeking a formal, voluntary written commitment (enforceable undertaking), issuing a monetary fine (penalty infringement notice), or applying to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order.
- What you need to do: As an Owners Corporation, any repairs or outstanding repairs to common areas should be proactively addressed. We always encourage Committee and Buildings to attend to repair items that are identified to ensure that the common areas are being maintained.
Supporting Owners with Financial Hardship
- Financial Hardship Statement: All levy notices sent from October 27, 2025 must include a Financial Hardship Information Statement, which provides contact details for the National Debt Helpline.
The 1888 Co. has already implemented this require for all levy notices in advance of the legislative changes.
- Standardised Payment Plans: Owners can now use a new standard form to request a payment plan for overdue contributions. Payment Plans were previously in place, however there is now a new Standardised Payment Plan Form.
As well as this, our office has removed the standard motion from the AGM Agenda, for the Owners Corporation to consider Payment Plan, in light of the new legislative requirements.
Once a Payment Plan is forthcoming from an Owners, our office will communicate with the Committee about the process of handling.
- Rules for Refusals: Owners corporations and Strata Committees are now required to consider all payment plan requests. They cannot have a blanket policy to refuse all plans and must provide a written response within 28 days. A request can only be reasonably refused if agreeing to it would leave the owners corporation with insufficient funds to meet its financial obligations.
- Protected Payments: Repayments made under a payment plan must be applied first to overdue levies, then to interest, and finally to any recovery costs. This ensures owners are not disadvantaged by unfair allocation practices.
New Duties and Clarified Roles for Building Managers
The reforms clarify the role of building managers and introduce new legal duties to increase transparency and accountability.
- Who is a Building Manager? The new laws provide a clearer definition of who is and isn’t a building manager, excluding other service providers like cleaners or gardeners who are only engaged for specific repair or maintenance services.
- New Statutory Duties: Appointed building managers must now act honestly and in the owners corporation’s best interest. They must promptly bring any maintenance or safety issues to the owners corporation’s attention and propose solutions.
- Disclosure of Benefits and Interests: Building managers are required to provide written notice of any benefits they will receive in relation to a contract they suggest, as well as disclose any financial interests or relationships with suppliers or the original owner of the scheme.
- Tribunal Powers: The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) now has an additional ground to terminate a building manager’s agreement if they are found to have acted unlawfully in their role, providing a clear path to address mismanagement or misconduct.
- Rules for Refusals: Owners corporations and Strata Committees are now required to consider all payment plan requests. They cannot have a blanket policy to refuse all plans and must provide a written response within 28 days. A request can only be reasonably refused if agreeing to it would leave the owners corporation with insufficient funds to meet its financial obligations.
- Protected Payments: Repayments made under a payment plan must be applied first to overdue levies, then to interest, and finally to any recovery costs. This ensures owners are not disadvantaged by unfair allocation practices.
These changes are a positive outcome to assist Strata Managers, Strata Committee and Owners in the management of Strata Schemes in NSW. There will be some adjustments to these new requirements.
The team at The 1888 Co. is here to assist the Strata Committee and Owners better understand these requirements.
Contact: service@the1888.au or 02 8379 6631
