Mandatory Strata Committee Training in NSW: What We Know So Far

The practical read

• Mandatory training is coming, but the operational details still need careful checking against NSW Fair Trading updates.
• Committees should budget, brief owners, and prepare new members before the commencement date arrives.
• Treat training as a governance baseline, not a substitute for professional advice on complex decisions.

Training will feel like red tape to some committees. In practice, it is also a useful way to stop new members inheriting responsibility without any map of the job.

For the first time in NSW strata history, sitting on a committee is moving toward a formal training requirement. The NSW Government has flagged mandatory training for strata committee members as part of the next reform wave, with detailed commencement information still to be communicated.

The reform is among the most significant governance changes in decades. It reflects an uncomfortable truth that has driven much of the 2025–2026 reform agenda: many committee members are making consequential decisions about multimillion-dollar buildings with no formal understanding of their legal duties, and the consequences (neglected maintenance, financial mismanagement, owner disputes) are now visible enough that the government has decided to act.

When does it start?

The mandatory training requirement sits within NSW's broader staged strata reform program. Major reform stages have already commenced on 1 July 2025, 27 October 2025, and 1 April 2026.

The NSW Government has said further reforms in 2026 will include mandatory training for strata committee members. As at 29 April 2026, committees should treat the exact start date, transition period, course format, and enforcement mechanics as details to confirm against NSW Fair Trading updates before relying on them.

What this means in practice is simple: any scheme with an AGM later in 2026 should assume training will become part of committee onboarding. Put it on the agenda now, even if the final form is not yet locked.

What will the training cover?

The full curriculum has not yet been released, so the safest approach is to plan around capability rather than course logistics.

At minimum, committee members should expect training to cover the role of the committee, the legal framework under the SSMA, the obligation to act with care and diligence, meeting procedure, records, financial oversight, common property repairs, conflicts of interest, and how to work with strata managers without surrendering committee responsibility.

The best committees will not wait for a mandated module to learn these basics. They will use the reform as a trigger to improve handover notes, budget literacy, maintenance tracking, and decision records.

Mandatory training fits into a wider picture of strata committee governance being formalised across Australia. NSW is leading; other states are watching closely and similar reforms are likely to follow.

Who has to complete it?

The Government's published reform material refers to strata committee members. Until the final rules are released, schemes should assume the requirement may apply broadly across committee roles, including office bearers and ordinary members.

Small and self-managed schemes should pay particular attention. They often carry the highest operational risk because the same people approve budgets, instruct contractors, manage disputes, and hold the records.

There has been significant debate during the consultation period about whether the requirement will deter people from nominating, particularly in smaller schemes where the same handful of owners have been carrying the load for years. The government's position is that the training is short enough (two hours total) that it should not represent a meaningful barrier, and that the long-term benefits of better-informed committees outweigh the short-term friction.

What happens if a member doesn't complete the training?

This is the detail committees need to watch most closely. Mandatory training only changes behaviour if there is a consequence for ignoring it, and the final NSW rules are expected to set out what happens when a member does not complete the requirement.

Do not build a governance plan around rumours of automatic removal, grace periods, or exemptions until the regulations are live. Instead, prepare for the practical risk: if members do not complete training, the committee may lose capacity, quorum, confidence, or authority at exactly the moment owners expect better governance.

What will it cost?

The cost has not been settled. Committees should still budget a modest allowance now rather than wait until the requirement lands. A nine-member committee does not need a large training line item to create a budget shock; even a low-cost course becomes a visible governance expense when it arrives unexpectedly.

The cleaner approach is to ask owners at the next AGM to approve a committee education allowance from the administrative fund, capped at a sensible amount and limited to training connected with committee duties. That keeps the cost transparent and avoids turning volunteer training into a private out-of-pocket argument.

What schemes should be doing now

The training requirement is several months away from commencing, but there are practical steps that responsible committees should be taking before then.

The first is updating succession planning. If your committee has members who are ageing, planning to sell, or have indicated they don't want to continue, now is the time to identify and recruit replacements who will be willing to complete the training. The worst outcome is reaching the commencement date with no one prepared to step up.

The second is budgeting. If your scheme intends to fund training for committee members, the cost needs to be reflected in the next administrative fund budget. A scheme with a nine-member committee that funds two rounds of training per member per year is looking at potentially $1,000 to $2,500 in additional annual cost.

The third is reviewing your existing committee composition for vulnerabilities. Members who are not engaged, who don't read minutes, who don't attend meetings, or who have been on the committee for years without contributing meaningfully are exactly the members most likely to skip or fail to complete training. The training requirement may quietly prune the committee of its most passive members, which is arguably part of the point.

The fourth is communicating with owners. Many lot owners are unaware of the upcoming change. AGMs in late 2025 and early 2026 are a good opportunity to put the requirement on the agenda, explain what's coming, and signal that committee membership will require more engagement going forward.

1. 01
   Mark commencement on AGM calendar
2. 02
   Review committee succession plan
3. 03
   Add training line to budget
4. 04
   Brief incoming members
5. 05
   Start completion register
6. 06
   Approve education allowance at AGM

How other states compare

NSW is the first Australian jurisdiction to mandate committee training, but it is unlikely to be the last.

Jurisdiction	Mandatory Committee Training?	Status
NSW	Announced	Further 2026 reform detail still to be released by NSW Fair Trading
VIC	Under review	Possible future reform; check current Victorian guidance before relying on any proposal
QLD	No	Not currently proposed; existing reforms focus on procedural rules
WA	No	Not proposed under current legislative agenda
SA	No	Not proposed; SCA delivers voluntary education
TAS	No	Not proposed
ACT	No	Not proposed; voluntary training available
NT	No	Not proposed

The pattern across jurisdictions is clear enough for planning but not for certainty: NSW is moving first, Victoria is watching the issue closely, and other states may wait to see whether training improves committee decisions without discouraging volunteers.

The underlying argument for the reform

The case for mandatory training rests on a single, awkward observation: strata committees in Australia are responsible for governing buildings that frequently exceed $50 million in replacement value, with budgets running into hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, while the people doing the governing have on average no formal training in property management, finance, contract law, or building maintenance.

Compare this to virtually any other context involving comparable assets. A board of directors of a $50 million company is required to comply with extensive corporate governance regulation. A trustee of a self-managed superannuation fund must meet specific competency standards. A real estate agent handling a single rental property must hold a licence. Yet a committee member overseeing a strata scheme worth tens of millions of dollars has, until now, required nothing.

The 2025-2026 reform program attempts to close part of that gap. Whatever the final course length, mandatory training should be treated as the floor, not the ceiling. A committee that is handling defects, litigation, embedded networks, major works, or a manager change will still need specialist advice.

What if your committee doesn't want to comply?

Some committees (particularly in smaller schemes that have operated informally for years) may reach the commencement date and simply not engage with the training requirement. That is the risk to plan around now.

If the final rules attach eligibility, voting, quorum, or office-holding consequences to training completion, a passive committee could find itself unable to function smoothly. Matters that would normally be handled by the committee may need to go to a general meeting, and the scheme may need to recruit replacement members quickly.

The better answer is not to gamble on the enforcement detail. Treat training as part of onboarding, keep a simple completion register, and make committee education a normal line item rather than a last-minute compliance scramble.

What UnitBuddy tracks

UnitBuddy's committee dashboard can track training completion status alongside other governance indicators, giving committees clear visibility over which members have completed required modules once the final NSW rules are live. The platform also surfaces upcoming compliance dates, training deadlines for new members, and historical records of completed training so schemes can demonstrate what they have done.

For owners, the platform makes it easier to see whether the committee governing their building is keeping up with the new governance baseline. That is a stronger signal than a promise at the AGM.

Sources and further reading

• NSW Government: changes to strata laws
• NSW Government: guide to strata law changes for committees and owners
• NSW: New training requirement for strata committees, via LookUpStrata
• NSW: Building better strata communities: what best practice really looks like in 2025, via LookUpStrata

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