Australia | Buying
What Is a Strata Report? The Buyer's Check in NSW, QLD and VIC
A strata report tells a buyer how a strata scheme is run before they buy into it: the money, the insurance, defects, disputes and meeting minutes. NSW Fair Trading tells buyers to get one along with a building inspection. Each state also requires a certificate from the owners corporation or body corporate with the levies and amounts owing.
The short answer
- NSW Fair Trading: a strata search report uses the strata roll and records to show the scheme's finances, insurance, defects, planned works, legal matters and meeting notes.
- A buyer can hire a strata searcher or conveyancer, or inspect the records themselves with the seller's permission and a fee.
- NSW: the section 184 strata information certificate. A levy owing before the certificate and left off it is not the buyer's debt.
- Queensland: the body corporate certificate, due within 5 business days, $86.95 from 1 July 2026.
- Victoria: the owners corporation certificate, due within 10 business days of a written application.
What a strata report covers
NSW Fair Trading lists what a strata search report gives: "the finances of the scheme", "whether the scheme has good insurance, and the date it was last checked", "building defects and planned works", "safety requirements", "existing or pending legal matters", and "meeting notes, showing how the scheme is run and evidence of disputes".
- Hire a professional: Fair Trading says most people hire a strata searcher or conveyancer, and suggests comparing cost, delivery time, what is included and whether they will go through it with you.
- Do it yourself: get the strata manager's or secretary's contact from the agent, get the seller's permission, and pay the owners corporation's inspection fee. In NSW that fee is $31 for the first hour and $16 for each extra half hour for an owner, and $60 and $30 for anyone else an owner authorises.
- Read the by-laws and get a building inspection report as well.
The certificate in each state
Victoria's fee unit is $17.27 for 2026-27 according to Consumer Affairs Victoria, so 9.64 fee units works out to $166.48 before GST on our arithmetic. CAV does not print that dollar figure.
| NSW | Queensland | Victoria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Section 184 certificate (strata information certificate) | Body corporate certificate (Form 33; Form 34 for two-lot schemes) | Owners corporation certificate (s 151) |
| Deadline | Not stated on the pages we read | 5 business days | 10 business days |
| Fee | Payable; amount not stated on the pages we read | $86.95, or $73.90 for a repeat within 3 months; $31 more for 24 hours | 9.64 fee units for 6 to 10 business days; more for faster delivery |
| Effect | Conclusive evidence as at its date (s 185); unlisted levies owed before it are not the buyer's | Conclusive except for an error that is reasonably apparent | Must include the rules, a buyer's statement and the last AGM's resolutions |
What the NSW certificate shows
- Levies and any levies owing.
- Plans for funding the 10-year capital works fund plan.
- Recent by-laws not yet registered, any strata renewal committee and any embedded network.
- From 1 April 2026: embedded network utilities, orders and compliance action against the owners corporation, and meetings held in the past year and coming up.
- It is given by a committee member or the strata managing agent under the owners corporation seal.
Queensland and Victoria in more detail
Queensland: anyone with an interest can ask for a body corporate certificate, and the body corporate must give it within 5 business days in the approved form (BCCM Act s 205). The seller's disclosure statement moved to the Property Law Act 2023 on 1 August 2025, and the Queensland Government says the body corporate does not prepare it.
Victoria: any person may apply in writing with the fee. The certificate's contents are set by regulation 16, and charging more than the prescribed fee carries a penalty of 60 penalty units. A 2-lot owners corporation must still issue one. Inspecting the records themselves is free (s 146).
NSW facts are from NSW Fair Trading's pages and the section 184 approved form. Queensland and Victoria facts are from their Acts and regulations and the regulators' fee pages, all read on 30 and 31 October 2026.
Common questions
What is a strata report? +
A report on a strata scheme's records before you buy: finances, insurance, defects, planned works, safety, legal matters and meeting minutes. NSW Fair Trading calls it a strata search report.
Do I need a strata report in NSW? +
NSW Fair Trading tells buyers to get a strata report and a building inspection report before buying.
Can I do a strata search myself? +
Yes. With the seller's permission you can inspect the records and pay the owners corporation's fee: in NSW, $31 for the first hour and $16 for each extra half hour if you are an owner, and $60 and $30 if an owner authorised you.
What is a section 184 certificate? +
The NSW strata information certificate. It shows levies, amounts owing and other scheme details, and a levy owing before it that it fails to show is not the buyer's debt.
How long does a body corporate certificate take in Queensland? +
5 business days. It costs $86.95 from 1 July 2026, with $31 more for delivery within 24 hours.
What is an owners corporation certificate? +
Victoria's buyer's document under section 151, issued within 10 business days with the rules, a buyer's statement and the last AGM's resolutions.
Is a strata report the same as a building inspection? +
They are separate checks. A strata report reads the scheme's records; a building inspection is a physical look at the property.
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