Strata Building Management
Lesson 2: The law in your state
Goal: name the strata Act, the regulator and the dispute forum for your state, and find the answer to a legal question in the right place.
The map
Every state and territory has its own strata law, and most also have regulation modules or regulations that hold the detail (meeting rules, spending limits, insurance minimums). Your scheme’s by-laws (called rules or articles in some states) sit underneath both.
| State | Main Act | Owners as a group | Committee | Dispute forum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qld | Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM Act) plus a regulation module | Body corporate | Committee | Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (conciliation, then adjudication); QCAT for appeals on a point of law |
| NSW | Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA) and Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 | Owners corporation | Strata committee | NSW Fair Trading mediation, then NCAT |
| Vic | Owners Corporations Act 2006 | Owners corporation | Committee | The owners corporation’s internal dispute process, then VCAT |
| WA | Strata Titles Act 1985 (heavily reformed from 1 May 2020) | Strata company | Council of owners | State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) |
| SA | Strata Titles Act 1988; Community Titles Act 1996 for newer schemes | Strata corporation (or community corporation) | Management committee | Magistrates Court (minor civil action); there is no strata regulator |
| Tas | Strata Titles Act 1998 | Body corporate | Committee | Recorder of Titles (an “application for relief”); TASCAT enforces compliance notices |
| ACT | Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 | Owners corporation | Executive committee | ACAT |
| NT | Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 (newer schemes) and Unit Titles Act 1975 (older ones) | Body corporate | Committee | NTCAT; adjudicators for some disputes under the newer Act |
The law: the names matter in documents. A notice addressed to “the body corporate” in NSW, or a quote made out to “the owners corporation” in Queensland, isn’t fatal, but it marks you as an outsider. Use your state’s terms, and use the scheme’s registered name (for example The Owners – Strata Plan No. 12345 in NSW, or Body Corporate for Banksia Court CTS 12345 in Queensland) on contracts and work orders.
Queensland’s regulation modules
Queensland is unusual: every scheme is governed by one of five regulation modules, chosen when the scheme was set up. The module decides meeting rules, spending limits and how long a caretaker’s agreement can run.
| Module | Typical scheme | Max term for a caretaking or letting agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Most residential schemes | 10 years |
| Accommodation | Schemes with holiday letting (most of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast) | 25 years |
| Commercial | Commercial schemes | 25 years |
| Small Schemes | Up to six lots (with conditions) | Service contractors only, one year; no caretaker or letting agent |
| Specified Two-Lot | Two-lot schemes that opt in | Service contractors only, one year |
Your scheme’s module is on its community management statement (CMS), the scheme’s founding document, which also holds the by-laws and lot entitlements.
The two funds
Almost every state requires two kinds of money:
- An administrative fund for running costs: cleaning, gardening, insurance, electricity for common areas, routine repairs and your fees.
- A long-term fund for big items: repainting, roof replacement, lift upgrades. Its name varies: sinking fund (Qld, SA, Tas, ACT, NT), capital works fund (NSW), maintenance fund (Vic, compulsory only for larger schemes), reserve fund (WA, compulsory for schemes of 10 or more lots).
Most states also require a forward plan for the long-term fund, typically ten years. You’ll use it constantly (Lesson 6). Knowing which fund pays for a job matters, because spending the wrong fund is a common audit finding.
Who regulates whom
| State | Strata regulator or information body | Licensing of strata managers |
|---|---|---|
| Qld | Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (information and disputes); Office of Fair Trading (letting agent licences) | Not licensed, but bound by a statutory code of conduct |
| NSW | NSW Fair Trading | Licensed strata managing agents |
| Vic | Consumer Affairs Victoria; Business Licensing Authority | Registered owners corporation managers (with $1.5 million professional indemnity cover) |
| WA | Landgate (and Consumer Protection) | Not licensed since the 2020 reforms, but must meet education, insurance and reporting duties |
| SA | None for strata | Not licensed |
| Tas | Recorder of Titles, Land Tasmania | Not licensed |
| ACT | Access Canberra | Licensed under the Agents Act 2003 (a full or conditional licence) |
| NT | NT Consumer Affairs; Land Titles Office | No strata-specific licence; check whether the Agents Licensing Act applies to what you do |
Building managers and caretakers themselves are mostly unlicensed. The exceptions are covered in Lesson 3 (NSW’s new building manager duties) and the Queensland management rights elective (letting agents). Each state elective goes into its own rules in detail.
Finding the answer to a legal question
Practitioner tip: work down this list and stop when you find the answer.
- Your agreement. What did you actually agree to do?
- The by-laws (and, in NSW, any common property memorandum: Lesson 5).
- Committee resolutions and the minutes.
- The regulator’s plain-English guide for your state (links below). They’re good and kept up to date.
- The Act or regulation itself, from the official legislation site, checking it’s the current version.
- The strata manager, who deals with these questions every day.
- A strata lawyer, through the body corporate, for anything that might end up at a tribunal.
Avoid answering legal questions from forums, from another state’s guide, or from what “we did at my last building”.
At Banksia Court
An owner tells you the committee “can’t stop” her installing an air-conditioner on the balcony because “it’s her lot”. You don’t argue. You check the by-laws (there’s one about external appearance), check whether the balcony is part of her lot or common property on the plan, and pass the question to the strata manager with the by-law reference. Your job is to know where the answer lives.
On the job 2
Fill in a one-page legal fact sheet for your building: the state, the Act, the scheme name and number, (in Queensland) the regulation module, the two fund names, the dispute forum, and links to the regulator’s guide and the current Act. Pin it inside your office door.
Sources
- Queensland Government, Body corporate and Engaging a service contractor (regulation module terms)
- NSW Government, Strata schemes
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, Owners corporations and Tiers of owners corporations
- Landgate, WA strata law and reform
- Legal Services Commission of South Australia, Strata titles: disputes
- Land Tasmania, Strata living in Tasmania
- Access Canberra, Owners corporation managing agent licensing
- NTCAT, Jurisdiction
- Strata Community Association Queensland, Strata terminology across Australia
General education, not legal advice. Strata law is different in every state and territory and it changes often (NSW and Victoria both changed theirs in 2025 and 2026), so check the current Act and your own agreement, and get advice before acting on anything here.