Self-Managing a Strata Plan in Australia: What's Actually Involved?

Self-managing a strata plan means the owners — usually through an elected committee — perform every duty a professional strata manager would otherwise be paid to do: running meetings, keeping records, collecting levies, managing money and insurance, maintaining common property, and complying with the strata legislation in their state or territory. It's legal in every Australian jurisdiction, it can save a scheme real money each year, and it works best in small schemes with engaged owners. The catch: the legal obligations don't shrink because you've skipped the manager. They land on you.

What does "self-managed" actually mean?

Every strata scheme in Australia has a legal entity made up of all the lot owners. Depending on where you live it's called an owners corporation, a body corporate, or a strata company — different names, same concept: a legal body that owns and manages the common property and is bound by state or territory legislation.

That entity exists whether or not you hire help. Appointing a professional strata manager delegates functions — it never transfers responsibility. A self-managed scheme simply keeps those functions in-house, with the committee doing the administrative work and the full ownership group making the bigger decisions at general meetings. The owners corporation is the legally responsible party either way.

What are the core responsibilities you take on?

1. Meetings and decision-making

Every jurisdiction requires an annual general meeting (AGM), where owners approve budgets, set levies, confirm insurance and elect the committee. Between AGMs, the committee makes day-to-day decisions. Some matters — typically by-law changes, major spending, or alterations to common property — must go back to a general meeting, often at a higher voting threshold such as a special resolution.

Running meetings properly means:

• issuing notices and agendas within the required notice periods
• checking quorum before the meeting proceeds
• recording and distributing minutes
• handling proxies and, where permitted, electronic voting correctly.

A practical habit that prevents most problems: keep a standing agenda template, and set calendar reminders working backwards from your AGM date and insurance renewal so notice periods never sneak up on you.

2. Money: levies, budgets and funds

A self-managed scheme must prepare budgets, strike levies, issue notices, chase arrears and keep proper accounts. Most jurisdictions require money to be split between day-to-day running costs (often called an administrative fund) and long-term capital works (a capital works fund in NSW, a sinking fund in Queensland, a maintenance or reserve fund elsewhere). Several states also require a long-term maintenance or capital works plan to guide that saving.

Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (opens in a new tab), for example, NSW owners corporations must maintain both funds and prepare a 10-year capital works fund plan. Other states impose comparable, though not identical, obligations under their own Acts.

One non-negotiable regardless of state: the scheme's money belongs in a bank account in the owners corporation's name — never in a committee member's personal account — ideally with two signatories on payments.

3. Records and registers

Strata legislation everywhere requires the scheme to keep records: financial accounts, minutes, correspondence, the strata roll (the register of owners and their contact details), insurance details and notices served on the scheme. Owners and prospective buyers generally have a legal right to inspect these records, so "the treasurer keeps it all in a shoebox" is not a compliant system.

The fix is cheap: a shared cloud drive and email address that belong to the scheme, not to any individual owner. When a committee member moves on, the records stay put.

4. Insurance

Building insurance for the required replacement value is compulsory in every jurisdiction (with limited exceptions for some small or freestanding schemes in certain states). Most jurisdictions also require public liability cover for common property, and some require periodic independent valuations to keep the sum insured accurate. Under-insurance is one of the most serious risks a self-managed scheme can carry — building costs rise faster than most committees realise, and the gap only becomes visible after a disaster.

5. Repairs and maintenance of common property

The owners corporation has a duty to maintain and repair common property — and in most jurisdictions this duty is strict, meaning "we didn't get around to it" is not a defence. You need a system, however simple: a shared inbox where owners report issues, a log recording the date, photos, quotes obtained and the trade engaged, and evidence of what was done and when. If a defect ever ends up before a tribunal, that log is your best friend.

6. Compliance and safety

Depending on your state and building type, this can include fire safety inspections and annual certifications, lift and pool compliance, work health and safety obligations to contractors, asbestos registers for older buildings, and by-law or rule enforcement.

7. Disputes

Disagreements over noise, parking, pets, levies or repairs are normal, and every jurisdiction has a low-cost pathway. In NSW, NSW Fair Trading (opens in a new tab) offers mediation and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) hears strata disputes. Elsewhere, the equivalents are QCAT in Queensland, VCAT in Victoria (with Consumer Affairs Victoria handling conciliation), the State Administrative Tribunal in Western Australia, SACAT in South Australia, ACAT in the ACT, TASCAT in Tasmania and NTCAT in the Northern Territory. Know your pathway before you need it.

How do the rules differ across Australia?

The principles above apply nationally, but each state and territory has its own Act, its own terminology, and its own thresholds for things like committee composition and special resolutions. A Queensland "body corporate" and a Victorian "owners corporation" are the same idea wearing different names. Here's how the core terminology and rules compare in your state:

A few nuances the table can't capture. Queensland schemes are also governed by regulation modules that vary with the scheme's format, so two Queensland bodies corporate can operate under noticeably different procedural rules. Victoria tiers its obligations by scheme size, so very small owners corporations carry lighter duties. And Western Australia's reforms in recent years significantly modernised meeting and voting procedures, so older WA guidance found online may be out of date. Always work from your own state's current Act — your consumer regulator (such as NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, or Queensland's Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management) publishes plain-English guidance for free.

What does a typical year look like for a self-managed scheme?

1. Before the AGM: prepare financial statements, draft next year's budgets, review insurance and get a renewal quote, and issue the agenda and notices on time.
2. At the AGM: adopt the budget, set levies, confirm insurance, elect the committee, and deal with any motions from owners.
3. Each levy cycle: issue levy notices, reconcile the bank account, follow up arrears promptly and consistently.
4. Ongoing: log and action maintenance requests, minute committee decisions, update the strata roll when lots change hands, and respond to records-inspection and certificate requests from conveyancers.
5. Annually or as scheduled: fire safety and other compliance certifications, insurance valuation reviews, and a check of the capital works or sinking fund plan against reality.

Spread across a functioning committee, this is manageable — often a few hours a month for a small scheme. Concentrated on one exhausted volunteer, it's a recipe for burnout and missed obligations.

What are the most common pitfalls?

• Informal decision-making. Decisions made over the fence, without notice or minutes, can be challenged and unwound. If it matters, put it on an agenda and minute it.
• Under-insurance. Skipping valuations is false economy. Diarise a valuation review alongside every renewal.
• Deferred maintenance. The duty to maintain common property doesn't wait for a convenient budget year — and small defects become expensive ones.
• Poor records handover. If the records live in a departing member's personal email, the scheme starts from scratch. Keep everything in accounts the scheme owns.
• Levy arrears drift. Inconsistent enforcement breeds resentment and cash-flow problems. Adopt a written arrears process at a general meeting and apply it to everyone, committee members included.
• Conflicts of interest. Committee members awarding work to themselves or relatives without disclosure is a fast track to a tribunal dispute. Disclose, abstain, minute it.

Is self-management right for your scheme?

Self-management tends to suit schemes that are small — as a rule of thumb, around ten lots or fewer — with at least two or three genuinely willing owners, no complex facilities like lifts or pools, and reasonably harmonious relationships. Larger or more complex schemes, or those with an active dispute, often find a professional manager money well spent.

There's also a sensible middle path: many schemes self-manage day-to-day but pay professionals for specific tasks — an accountant for the financials, a valuer for insurance, a strata lawyer when a by-law needs drafting. Owner advocacy groups such as the Owners Corporation Network also publish practical resources for owner-run schemes.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to self-manage a strata scheme in Australia?

Yes, in every state and territory. No jurisdiction requires a professional strata manager to be appointed. The owners corporation (or body corporate/strata company) simply performs its statutory functions itself, usually through its elected committee.

Do we still need a committee if we self-manage?

Generally yes — the committee is the scheme's decision-making engine between general meetings, and most Acts assume one exists. In some very small schemes, all owners effectively are the committee. Check your own state's rules on committee formation and size.

Can we self-manage a two-lot scheme?

Usually, and several jurisdictions apply simplified rules to very small schemes — for instance, some exempt certain two-lot schemes from specific insurance or fund requirements. The details vary, so confirm with your state's consumer regulator before assuming an exemption applies.

What happens if a self-managed scheme breaches its obligations?

The same as for professionally managed schemes: owners can seek mediation through the state regulator and orders from the relevant tribunal. In serious cases a tribunal can order the compulsory appointment of a professional manager.

Can we switch back to a professional manager later?

Yes. Appointing a strata manager is an ordinary decision of the scheme, usually made at a general meeting, and many schemes move between self-management and professional management as their needs change. Keep your records in good order — a clean handover makes the transition far cheaper.