StraPlex | Australia
Strata in Australia: The Law for Small Schemes
Strata lets several people each own a lot in one building or on one site, and share the rest. Each state calls the owners' body by a different name and treats a small scheme of 2 to 6 lots under its own law. Below are New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria side by side. Every rule comes from the state's own law or its strata regulator, with the date we read it.
The short answer
- Strata lets several people each own a lot in one building or site. The owners of all the lots together form one body that looks after the shared parts, called common property.
- Each state names that body differently: an owners corporation in New South Wales and Victoria, and a body corporate in Queensland. NSW and Victoria both used the name "body corporate" in the past.
- Each state has its own law: the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 in NSW, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 in Queensland, and the Owners Corporations Act 2006 in Victoria.
- None of the three states requires a small scheme to hire a strata manager. The owners can run it themselves.
- All three states have lighter rules for a two-lot scheme, and Queensland has a separate module for schemes of up to 6 lots.
What strata is
A strata scheme splits one property into lots that people own on their own, and common property that all the owners share. A lot can be a unit in a block or a whole home in a duplex. The registered plan for each scheme shows what belongs to each lot and what is common property, so two duplexes can split the same driveway or roof in different ways.
The owners of all the lots form one legal body. That body owns or looks after the common property, collects levies to pay for it, insures the building, holds meetings and keeps records. Each state's law says how.
Queensland's law shows the pattern clearly: when a community titles scheme is established, a body corporate is created for it, and its members are the owners of all the lots (Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, s 30 and s 31). In Victoria, a plan of subdivision that has common property must create an owners corporation, and the lot owners become its members when the plan is registered (Subdivision Act 1988, s 27A and s 28).
Strata law by state, side by side
New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria all use strata, under different names and different laws. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
| New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name of the owners' body | Owners corporation (the scheme is a strata scheme) | Body corporate (the scheme is a community titles scheme) | Owners corporation |
| Main law | Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Regulation 2016 | Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, plus a regulation module | Owners Corporations Act 2006 and Regulations 2018; created under the Subdivision Act 1988 |
| Strata manager required? | No | No | Only a tier one owners corporation (more than 100 lots), and it can opt out by special resolution |
| Rules for small schemes | Two-lot schemes skip the audit, annual reporting and committee training, and in some cases the capital works fund and building insurance | Small Schemes Module for up to 6 lots; Specified Two-lot Schemes Module, where the two owners decide by written agreement | Tiers by size; a 2-lot owners corporation (tier five) is exempt from meetings, accounts, insurance and records rules |
| Public liability insurance minimum | $20 million | $10 million per event and per period | $20,000,000 per claim and in total per period |
| Document a buyer gets | Section 184 certificate (strata information certificate) | Body corporate certificate (BCCM Form 33, or Form 34 for a two-lot scheme), within 5 business days | Owners corporation certificate, within 10 business days |
| Where disputes go | Fair Trading mediation first for most disputes, then NCAT | Internal dispute resolution first, then the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management; levy debts go to QCAT or a court | Internal complaints process, then VCAT |
The names: strata, body corporate, owners corporation
New South Wales. The property is a strata scheme. All the owners together are the owners corporation, which Fair Trading says was "previously called a 'body corporate'". The owners elect a strata committee, previously called an executive committee.
Queensland. The property is a community titles scheme and the owners' body is the body corporate. Each scheme follows one regulation module, named in its community management statement. The Standard Module applies when no other module does.
Victoria. The owners' body is the owners corporation; Consumer Affairs Victoria writes "formerly body corporate". Two numbers matter for each lot. Lot liability sets the owner's share of costs, and must be equal unless lot size, use of shared services or the number of people living there justifies a difference. Lot entitlement sets the owner's share of the common property and follows market value (Subdivision Act 1988, s 27F).
How each state counts votes
The same word, "special resolution", means a different count in each state. In a small scheme the count decides whether one owner can stop a change.
| Vote | New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary or general vote | General resolution: one vote per lot, more than 50% in favour | Ordinary resolution: more votes for than against | Ordinary resolution: a simple majority of votes cast |
| Special vote | Special resolution: counted by unit entitlement, no more than 25% against | Special resolution: at least two-thirds of votes cast in favour, and the votes against no more than 25% of the lots and of the contribution lot entitlements | Special resolution: 75% of the total votes for all lots, or 75% of lot entitlements on a ballot or poll |
| Everyone must agree | Unanimous resolution: no vote against | Resolution without dissent: no vote counted against | Unanimous resolution: the total votes for all lots |
| Changing the by-laws or rules | Special resolution, then registration with NSW Land Registry Services within 6 months | Special resolution (exclusive use by-laws need a resolution without dissent), then lodgement within 3 months | Special resolution, then lodgement with the Registrar |
NSW figures are as NSW Fair Trading describes them. Queensland figures are from the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, s 105 to s 108. Victorian figures are from the Owners Corporations Act 2006, s 89, s 95 and s 96. In a Victorian 2-lot owners corporation, a special resolution means a unanimous one (s 7A(2)).
The rules for small schemes
Each state gives small schemes a lighter set of rules. These are the ones that matter most for a duplex, a triplex or a small block.
New South Wales
- A two-lot scheme needs no audit of its accounts.
- It can skip the capital works fund and the strata building insurance if the buildings on the two lots are physically separate, no building sits outside the two lots, and the owners agree by unanimous vote. The owners may then insure their own buildings.
- From 1 October 2026 it is exempt from annual reporting on the Strata Hub and from committee training.
- Its strata committee must have at least two members, one from each lot.
- Fair Trading lists further exemptions for two-lot schemes planned for 2027, "including meetings and having a strata committee", with no start date given.
Queensland
- The Small Schemes Module applies to a basic scheme with no letting agent and no more than 6 lots, when the scheme's community management statement names it.
- Its committee is only a secretary and a treasurer, and one person can hold both jobs. With 2 lots owned by different people, the committee is the two owners.
- An audit is optional: the body corporate "may decide" to have its accounts audited.
- A specified two-lot scheme (2 residential lots, no letting agent) makes decisions by a written lot owner agreement signed by both owners, with no committee and no meetings.
Victoria
- An owners corporation is placed in one of five tiers by its number of lots. Tier four is 3 to 9 lots; tier five is a 2-lot subdivision.
- A 2-lot owners corporation is exempt from the meeting and ballot rules, the accounts and audit rules, the maintenance plan and fund, the insurance and valuation rules, the records and register rules, and the internal complaints procedure (Owners Corporations Act s 7A).
- It must still issue owners corporation certificates, and Consumer Affairs Victoria says the owners still care for the common property.
- An owners corporation with fewer than 10 lots may elect a committee; it does not have to.
Do you need a strata manager?
No state requires a small scheme to hire one. NSW Fair Trading answers the question directly: "There is no legal requirement for you to employ a professional strata manager." The Queensland Government says: "A body corporate is not legally required to have a manager." In Victoria, only a tier one owners corporation, with more than 100 lots, must appoint a manager, and it can opt out by special resolution (Owners Corporations Act 2006, s 119).
Owners who run their own scheme take on the work a manager would do: levy notices, the budget, the meeting notices and minutes, the insurance renewal, the records and the certificate a buyer needs. The self-managed strata guide lists each duty by state.
The other states and territories
Each has its own law. Open a row for the full guide to that state or territory. South Australia is not covered yet.
| Place | Owners' body | Main law | Manager | Public liability minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | Strata company, run by a council | Strata Titles Act 1985 and Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019 | Optional; a volunteer strata manager is allowed | $10,000,000 |
| Tasmania | Body corporate ("Strata Corporation No.") | Strata Titles Act 1998 | Optional | $10,000,000 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Owners corporation, with an executive committee | Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 and Unit Titles Act 2001 | Optional; contracts up to 3 years | $10,000,000 |
| Northern Territory | Body corporate | Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 (older plans: Unit Titles Act 1975) | Optional | $10,000,000 |
Guides for running a small scheme
Common questions
What is strata in Australia? +
Strata is a way for several people to each own a lot in one building or site, with the shared parts held as common property. The owners of all the lots belong to one body that manages the common property: the owners corporation in NSW and Victoria, or the body corporate in Queensland.
What is a body corporate? +
In Queensland, a body corporate is created when a community titles scheme is established, and its members are the owners of all the lots (Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, s 30 and s 31). NSW and Victoria used the same name in the past; both now say owners corporation.
What is an owners corporation? +
It is the legal body made of all the lot owners in a scheme. In NSW, Fair Trading says all owners together form the owners corporation. In Victoria, a plan of subdivision with common property must create one, and the lot owners become its members when the plan is registered (Subdivision Act 1988, s 27A and s 28).
Is a body corporate the same as an owners corporation? +
They do the same job under different state laws. NSW Fair Trading says the owners corporation was "previously called a 'body corporate'", and Consumer Affairs Victoria uses "formerly body corporate". Queensland still uses body corporate.
What is the strata law in NSW? +
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 set how a scheme is run. NSW Fair Trading publishes guides and forms under them, such as the section 184 certificate and the standard form for the 10-year capital works fund plan.
What is the BCCM Act? +
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 is Queensland's strata law. The day-to-day rules come from a regulation module named in each scheme's community management statement: the Standard Module, the Small Schemes Module or the Specified Two-lot Schemes Module.
Which law covers owners corporations in Victoria? +
The Owners Corporations Act 2006 and the Owners Corporations Regulations 2018 set how an owners corporation is run. The Subdivision Act 1988 creates it, and sets lot liability (each owner's share of costs) and lot entitlement (each owner's share of the common property).
Does a small strata scheme need a strata manager? +
No, in all three states. NSW Fair Trading: "There is no legal requirement for you to employ a professional strata manager." Queensland: "A body corporate is not legally required to have a manager." In Victoria only an owners corporation of more than 100 lots must appoint one, and it can opt out.
What vote is needed to change the by-laws? +
A special resolution in all three states, but each state counts it differently. NSW: no more than 25% against, by unit entitlement. Queensland: at least two-thirds of votes cast in favour, with limits on the votes against. Victoria: 75% of the total votes. The change must then be registered or lodged before it takes effect.
What document does a buyer get about the scheme? +
In NSW, the section 184 certificate. In Queensland, the body corporate certificate, which the body corporate must give within 5 business days; the regulator lists the fee as $86.95 from 1 July 2026. In Victoria, the owners corporation certificate, which must be issued within 10 business days.
Where do strata disputes go? +
In NSW, mediation by Fair Trading is compulsory for most disputes before an application to NCAT. In Queensland, you must first try internal dispute resolution, then apply to the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management. In Victoria, the owners corporation's internal complaints process comes before VCAT.
What about the other states and territories? +
Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory each have their own guide, linked on this page. In the ACT and the NT strata is called unit titles. South Australia is not covered yet: we add a state only after reading its law, and the South Australian legislation site could not be opened when we checked on 31 October 2026.
Official Sources
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