NSW's 1 April 2026 Strata Changes: New Standard Forms and Embedded-Network Rules Explained

If you own a unit, sit on a strata committee, or manage schemes in New South Wales, you have probably heard that "the strata laws changed in April." They did. On 1 April 2026, a major wave of reforms under the Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 took effect across all 87,000-plus strata schemes in NSW. These amendments change the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, and they touch the forms your scheme uses, the information buyers receive, and the records committees keep.

This is a plain-English guide to what actually changed, who is responsible, and what you should do now.

What strata laws changed in NSW on 1 April 2026?

In short: the paperwork that governs how a scheme plans and pays for its long-term maintenance became standardised, and buyers now get more of the information they need before they sign.

The reforms cluster around four themes.

1. 01
   Standard forms for long-term funding
2. 02
   Developer accountability on new builds
3. 03
   Fuller disclosure on the buyer's certificate
4. 04
   Stronger remedies against a manager

This is one stage of a larger program. The full set of commencement dates from July 2025 through late 2026 is mapped in our 2026 NSW strata reform timeline. Here we focus on the four changes that matter most to owners and committees right now.

What are the new standard forms for the 10-year capital works plan and the IMS?

Two documents now have a prescribed format that every NSW scheme must follow.

The 10-year capital works fund plan

Every owners corporation must maintain a 10-year capital works fund plan: a forward estimate of the major repairs and replacements the building will need (roofing, lifts, painting, waterproofing, common-property plant) and the money it needs to set aside for them.

From 1 April 2026, when a scheme reviews or replaces its plan, it must use the new prescribed standard form. The change is not retrospective: if your scheme has a current plan, you can keep it until it is next due for review. The point is consistency, so that every plan reports the same information in the same structure and owners can actually compare and understand it. Our guide to capital works plan red flags covers what a healthy plan looks like under the new standard.

The Initial Maintenance Schedule (IMS)

The IMS is the document a developer hands a new scheme that sets out what needs inspecting and maintaining, and how often, for the building's early life. It is meant to stop a brand-new building drifting into disrepair because nobody knew what the manufacturer's warranty required.

From 1 April 2026, the IMS must be prepared on a new standard form, and the developer must provide it at least 14 days before the first AGM. A standardised IMS gives the new committee a clear, comparable starting point for its maintenance planning rather than a free-form document that varies from one developer to the next.

What new accountability applies to developers of multi-storey buildings?

This is the change that most affects people buying into a new building.

For a multi-storey scheme (broadly, a building of three or more storeys with vertically stacked lots), the original owner must now engage an independent qualified surveyor to:

• certify that the IMS was prepared using the standard form, and
• review and certify the initial levy estimates, confirming that the administrative and capital works contributions are sufficient to meet the expected expenditure for the year following the first AGM.

The developer must provide evidence of the surveyor's independence and credentials at least 14 days before the first AGM. To count as an independent qualified surveyor, the person must hold the Certified Quantity Surveyor designation with the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, or be a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Why it matters: a long-running problem in new strata buildings has been the "honeymoon levy," where initial contributions are set artificially low to make a sale look attractive, then jump sharply once the owners corporation faces the real cost of running the building. Independent certification is designed to make the opening budget realistic from day one.

Our developer handover guide walks new owners through how to test these documents at the first AGM.

What must a strata information certificate now disclose?

When a lot is sold, the buyer (through their conveyancer or solicitor) typically requests a strata information certificate, also known as a section 184 certificate. It is the snapshot of the scheme's financial and administrative health that a buyer relies on before exchange.

From 1 April 2026, that certificate must disclose three things it previously could leave out.

New disclosure	What it tells a buyer
Embedded networks (exclusive-supply utilities)	Whether electricity, gas, water, hot water or internet is supplied through a privately owned network, and whether the buyer can choose their own provider
Recent and upcoming meetings	How active the scheme is, and any decisions about to land, such as a special levy
Compliance orders and enforcement action	Whether the owners corporation is on Fair Trading's radar, including repair-and-maintenance enforcement

Embedded networks (exclusive-supply utilities)

An embedded network is a privately owned network that supplies an essential service to multiple lots within a building, rather than each lot buying directly from a retailer on the open market. Embedded networks can be convenient, but they can also lock residents into a single supplier and pricing that is hard to leave. Certificates must now state whether the scheme has an exclusive-supply network and describe its nature, so a buyer knows before they commit whether they can choose their own energy or internet provider. Our embedded network explainer covers how these arrangements work and how to assess one.

Recent and upcoming meetings, and compliance action

The certificate must disclose meetings held in the past year and any upcoming meetings, and it must now reveal any orders or compliance action against the owners corporation. (From 27 October 2025, Fair Trading gained stronger powers to investigate and enforce common-property repair obligations.) The penalty for failing to comply with the section 184 requirements has also increased, from 5 penalty units to 20.

The practical message for buyers: read the certificate, and read these new sections in particular. They surface exactly the issues that tend to cost money after settlement. Our section 184 certificate guide goes through each disclosure line by line.

When can an owners corporation end a building manager's agreement now?

Building managers (sometimes called caretakers or facilities managers) handle the day-to-day operations of common property. Until now, ending an underperforming or problematic agreement could be difficult.

The reforms add a new ground for an owners corporation to apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to vary or terminate a building manager agreement: where the manager acts unlawfully in the role, including breaching duties under strata law. The same ground applies to strata managing agents.

This gives committees a clearer path to act when a manager's conduct, not just their performance, is the problem. Our guide on how to change your strata manager covers the mechanics.

What should committees and owners do now?

A short checklist to get your scheme aligned with the new rules.

• Use the new standard form the next time you review or replace your 10-year capital works fund plan. You do not need to redo a current plan early, but the next revision must be on the prescribed form.
• New schemes: make sure the developer delivers the IMS on the standard form at least 14 days before the first AGM, and, for multi-storey buildings, provides the independent surveyor's certification of both the IMS and the initial levies.
• Buying into a new building? Ask to see the surveyor certification before you rely on the advertised levies.
• Update your records so meetings, orders and any compliance action are captured accurately. This information now flows straight into section 184 certificates, so it needs to be current.
• Check your certificate output: confirm embedded-network details, recent and upcoming meetings, and any compliance action are all disclosed.
• Review building manager and strata management agreements against the new conduct-based termination ground, so you know your options if a problem arises.

What strata reforms are still coming later in 2026?

The 1 April 2026 changes are one phase of a larger program. Expect further changes in the second half of 2026, confirmed in the legislation but awaiting prescribed commencement dates:

• Mandatory training for strata committee members. Under the amended Act, committee members will need to complete prescribed training, and a member who does not comply will automatically cease to be a committee member. Our mandatory committee training guide covers what is known so far.
• Expanded conflict-of-interest disclosure for managers and committee members.
• Embedded-network disclosure in off-the-plan contracts, extending the new transparency from the certificate stage back to the point of sale.

NSW Fair Trading will release detail before each phase begins, so it is worth keeping an eye on official guidance through the year.

What the new capital-works form changes in practice

The standard 10-year capital works fund plan is not a new duty to have a plan. NSW schemes already needed one. What changed on 1 April 2026 is the shape of any new, revised or replacement plan.

The form forces the consultant to show items, years, current and future costs, and the inflation assumption. That last line is the one owners should read first. A plan that still assumes 2% construction inflation after several years of much higher cost growth will recommend a levy that is too low. The standard form makes that assumption visible. It does not make it correct. Ask when the unit rates were last updated and whether the walk-through was physical.

Existing plans prepared before 1 April 2026 remain usable until they are due for replacement. Do not throw out a 2024 plan on 2 April. Do use the standard form the next time you commission an update. A committee that "updates" a plan by changing the cover date without using the form is not complying.

Initial Maintenance Schedule and opening levies

For new multi-storey buildings, the developer must have an independent surveyor certify the Initial Maintenance Schedule and the opening levies. That is aimed at the classic sell-down trick: levies set too low to help sales, then a shock once the original owner exits.

Buyers should still read the schedule. Certification means a surveyor signed it. It does not mean the numbers will match your first two years of actual insurance and utilities. Compare the certified opening levy with two comparable buildings and with the first-year insurance quote if you can get it. If the schedule is thin on waterproofing, fire and lifts, treat the certification as a minimum, not a comfort blanket.

Section 184 certificates: what buyers now see

The strata information certificate must now disclose embedded networks, meeting history and compliance action. That is a gift to buyers and a discipline on committees.

If the building is on an embedded electricity or hot-water network, the certificate should say so. Buyers can then price the exit, the rates and the contract term. If the committee has been served with a fire order, a building order or a similar compliance action, hiding it in a side file is harder.

Committees should audit what the manager puts in the certificate before a busy sales season. Wrong or missing disclosure delays settlement and can become a complaint against the corporation. Keep the meeting history and orders in one place so the certificate is assembled from records, not from memory.

Building-manager agreements

Owners corporations gained a clearer path to end a building manager's agreement for unlawful conduct. That is not a free terminate-for-convenience clause. It is a conduct ground. Keep the contract, the complaints and the correspondence. If you want to use the new ground, you will need facts, not a vibe that the manager is "difficult".

Review the agreement anyway: term, roll-over, termination payment, related-party services. The April reforms did not rewrite every caretaker deal. They added a lever. You still have to pull it with evidence.

A 30-day committee list

• Confirm whether your capital-works plan is pre-April (still valid) or needs the standard form at the next update
• Confirm the AFSS, orders and embedded-network details that will flow into the next section 184
• Minute who is responsible for keeping those records current
• Read the building-manager agreement against the new termination ground
• Put committee-training commencement on the forward agenda so members are not surprised when that phase starts later in 2026
• Tell owners, in one page, what changed in April and what did not. Most of the Act they already live under is the same

What did not change in April: the duty to maintain common property, the two-fund structure, proxy caps, and the fact that unfinancial owners can lose a vote. Do not let a reform briefing become an excuse to reopen every old argument. Use the new forms and disclosures. Keep running the building.

Managers who tell a committee "we will wait for Fair Trading templates" on a plan that is already five years old are stalling. The standard form is the template. Commission the update. Buyers reading a 2019 forecast in late 2026 will price that delay whether or not anyone mentions April.

When you commission the new-form plan, give the consultant last year's actuals, not only the old forecast. A standard form filled with copied 2019 unit rates is compliant and still wrong. Ask them to walk the roof, the plant and the fire services. Pay for a site visit. A desktop refresh is how the lift modernisation stays in "year 8" forever.

Owners who bought in March 2026 on an old section 184 should not assume the April certificate looks the same. If you are selling after April, ask the manager for a draft certificate a week early and check the embedded-network and orders boxes yourself.

The April package does not let a committee skip an AGM, ignore proxy caps, or spend capital from the admin fund. If someone says "the reforms mean we can just…" stop and open the Act or Fair Trading note. Most shortcuts being sold in lift conversations are not in the April list.

Put a two-line note in the next owner newsletter: new capital-works form on the next update; section 184 now lists networks and orders. That is the whole April story for most residents. Everything else is committee homework.

How UnitBuddy helps your scheme stay current

UnitBuddy is software for the building itself, owned and run by the people who live in and own it. It keeps your scheme's records, plans and disclosures in one place and produces the documents these reforms now require.

That means UnitBuddy generates your 10-year capital works fund plan and Initial Maintenance Schedule on the current standard forms, keeps your meeting history and compliance records up to date so they flow correctly into section 184 certificates, and captures embedded-network details in the right place. When the rules change, the forms in UnitBuddy change with them, so your committee is always working from the right template.

Whether you are an owner, a committee member, or a manager looking after multiple schemes, UnitBuddy keeps the paperwork ready so you can focus on running the building well.

Keep the scheme file in one place the committee and the manager can both open. Features, pricing, or book a tour.