Finance & Levies

The Hidden Fees in Your Strata Contract: Understanding Schedule B, C, D, E & F

Your strata management fee is just the beginning. Learn how Schedule B through F charges in Australian strata contracts can double your real costs, and what to do about it.

4 March 2026 · 8 min read

On this pageAcross Australia

Across Australia

Schedule names and standard contracts differ, but the fee pattern is national. NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA commonly use SCA-style management agreements. SA, Tasmania, ACT and NT buildings may see different document labels, but the same issues appear: extra service fees, insurance commissions, disbursements, escalation clauses and unclear service inclusions.

When comparing managers across states, compare total annual cost rather than the base fee. A cheaper headline fee in one state can be overtaken quickly by per-lot charges, meeting fees, certificate fees or insurance remuneration.

Start here

The headline management fee is only the cover price; the schedules show the real cost.
Read additional services, commissions, disbursements, escalation, and exclusions together.
Before renewal, convert every schedule into a dollar estimate for your actual building.

The danger with contract schedules is that each fee looks small in isolation. The pattern only becomes obvious when a committee totals a full year of charges.

When your owners corporation signs a strata management agreement, the headline management fee is usually the number everyone focuses on. But the real cost of strata management is buried deeper, spread across multiple schedules labelled B through F. These schedules contain additional charges, commissions, disbursements and fee escalation clauses that can collectively add thousands of dollars per year to what your building actually pays.

In Australia, many strata managers use a Strata Community Association (SCA) agreement template. The format varies by state, but the schedules cover similar fees.

This guide breaks down each schedule so a committee can calculate the total management cost within its wider strata finances.

What contract schedules cover

A strata management agreement is divided into multiple sections called "schedules." Schedule A typically covers the core agreed services and delegated functions: the duties your strata manager will perform for the base fee.

Schedules B through F cover the additional fees, commissions, disbursements, fee escalation rates and service definitions that determine the total cost.

Think of Schedule A as the menu. Schedules B–F are the fine print on surcharges, service fees, and tipping policies.

This is the quick overview:

Schedule	What It Covers
Schedule B	Additional service fees (hourly rates and fixed charges)
Schedule C	Commissions and financial benefits from third parties
Schedule D	Disbursements (admin expenses passed on to you)
Schedule E	Annual fee escalation percentage
Schedule F	Agreed services included in the base fee

Schedule B: additional service fees

Schedule B is where strata managers list hourly rates and fixed fees for services that fall outside the base management agreement. These are commonly referred to as "Schedule B charges" and they represent one of the biggest sources of unexpected costs in strata management.

What gets charged under Schedule B?

Typical Schedule B charges include:

Attending extra committee meetings beyond the number included in the base agreement
Preparing for and attending extraordinary general meetings (EGMs)
Managing building insurance claims
Handling by-law breach correspondence
Debt recovery for unpaid levies
Obtaining quotes and issuing work orders for repairs and maintenance
Preparing applications to NCAT or the equivalent state tribunal
After-hours emergency attendance
Strata Hub annual reporting (NSW)

In NSW, hourly rates for a senior strata manager commonly range from $180 to $280 per hour, while administrative staff rates sit between $60 and $100 per hour.

The real danger

Schedule B charges are often billed without prior approval. Unless the contract requires committee sign-off before additional work, the committee may discover the cost only when the invoice arrives.

The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) recommends inserting a clause requiring written consent before any Schedule B work is undertaken.

Schedule C: commissions and financial benefits

Schedule C discloses any commissions, rebates, discounts, or other financial benefits your strata manager receives from third-party service providers. The most significant of these is typically the insurance commission.

How insurance commissions work

Insurance commissions in Australian strata typically range from 15% to 20% of the total premium. For a building paying $50,000 in annual insurance, that's $7,500 to $10,000 flowing to the strata manager, on top of their management fee.

Many managers use this commission to subsidise their headline fee, making their base price look competitive while the true cost is hidden in the insurance premium you're already paying.

Building Insurance Premium	Commission at 20%	Your Annual Hidden Cost
$20,000	$4,000	$4,000
$50,000	$10,000	$10,000
$100,000	$20,000	$20,000
$200,000	$40,000	$40,000

The three commission options

The standard SCA agreement provides three ways to handle commissions:

Option 1: Manager keeps 100% of all commissions from suppliers
Option 2: Manager retains some commissions, passes the remainder to the OC
Option 3: All commissions are passed through to the OC within 30 days

Most contracts default to Option 1. Even if you negotiate to remove the commission, some contracts state that the manager is still entitled to the amount they would have received when the owners corporation arranges its own insurance.

Commission reforms

Insurance commissions have come under intense scrutiny following the ABC's "Strata Trap" investigation. The SCA NSW board has resolved to phase out insurance commissions for its member agents, and the NSW Government passed the Strata Managing Agents Legislation Amendment Act 2024 strengthening disclosure obligations. However, commissions themselves remain legal: disclosure is required, but the practice is not yet banned.

Schedule D: disbursements

Schedule D covers disbursements: the out-of-pocket administrative expenses your strata manager passes on to your building. While individual charges look small, they compound quickly.

Common disbursement charges

Disbursement Type	Typical Cost Range
Postage per item	$1.50 – $3.00
Photocopying per page	$0.20 – $0.50
Fixed disbursement allowance	$3 – $10 per lot/month
Bank transaction fees	$0.50 – $2.00 per transaction
Strata Hub reporting (NSW)	$50 – $200+ per year
Archiving / storage	$200 – $500+ per year

Watch out for per-lot charges

The OCN specifically warns about "fixed disbursement allowances" charged per lot per month. A seemingly minor $5 per lot per month in a 150-lot building amounts to $9,000 per year, on top of every other fee.

Fixed vs variable disbursements

If your building has moved to digital communications (email notices, online portals, electronic document storage), a variable rate will almost certainly be cheaper. If your scheme still relies on printed notices and postal mail, a fixed fee may offer more predictability.

Schedule E: annual fee escalation

Schedule E (or its equivalent clause) sets the percentage by which your management fees automatically increase each year. This is often overlooked during contract negotiations, but it determines how much more you'll pay over the life of a multi-year agreement.

Most strata management contracts include an annual escalation of 3% to 5%. On a $15,000 base fee, a 5% annual escalation means you'll be paying over $17,300 by year three: an increase of more than $2,300 without any change in service level.

Some contracts peg the increase to CPI, which may be more reasonable. Others give the manager discretion to set the increase.

Schedule F: agreed services

Schedule F defines the services the manager will deliver for the base fee. It sets the boundary between included and additional work, and therefore what triggers Schedule B charges.

Services commonly included

Convening and attending the AGM
Preparing budgets and financial statements
Issuing levy notices and collecting levies
Maintaining the strata roll and records
Paying accounts
Organising insurance renewals
Attending a set number of committee meetings

Check the limits

How many committee meetings are included? Are they during business hours only? Is travel to the building site covered? Are by-law copies included or charged separately?

A narrow Schedule F creates more opportunities for Schedule B charges. An all-inclusive contract may cost more upfront but removes many surprise fees.

How to protect your building

Read every schedule before signing. Do not rely on the headline fee.

Read every schedule end to end
Convert each charge to annual dollars
Add commissions and disbursements
Apply escalation across the term
Compare candidates on total cost

A schedule-by-schedule reading turns the headline fee into a real annual figure.

Use this checklist:

Convert all Schedule B rates to a per-hour equivalent so you can compare providers.
Check Schedule C for insurance commissions and ask for the estimated annual amount.
Check Schedule D for per-lot or per-month charges that grow with the building.
Negotiate the escalation rate in Schedule E or link it to CPI.
Make sure Schedule F includes every service the building needs.
Ask every candidate to provide a proposal using the same schedule format.
Request an all-inclusive quote with no Schedule B charges for comparison.

Keep a running fee register

UnitBuddy can track management fees, insurance costs and operating spending in one place. When a Schedule B charge appears, the committee can see whether it was approved, how often similar charges have appeared and whether the contract is still good value.