What Strata Committees Should Watch in the Next 12 Months: A State-by-State List for May 2026 to May 2027

What this list covers

This is the practical state-by-state checklist of compliance dates, regulatory changes and operational priorities that fall between May 2026 and May 2027.
NSW has the heaviest reform load: standard-form capital works plans are now in force, and mandatory committee training is the headline item for the second half of 2026.
Queensland's biggest single deadline is 1 January 2027, when interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms become mandatory in every dwelling.
Victoria, WA and SA are all in different phases of legislative review and ongoing implementation; ACT, TAS and NT are quieter but not silent.
Most "what to do" items are the same in every state: get records straight, know your by-laws, and use the next AGM to ratify the things the next 12 months will demand.

The next 12 months is a distinctive period for strata committees in Australia. NSW is mid-rollout of the largest reform package since 2015. Queensland is approaching the end of its long-running smoke alarm transition. Victoria has a freshly delivered Owners Corporations Act review with legislative changes expected. Western Australia is settling into its 10-year reserve fund regime. Other states are quieter on legislation but have operational obligations that come due regardless.

This guide is the practical "watch list" for committees. It is organised state by state, with the live dates first, then the items that committees should put on agendas now even where the precise commencement is still being prescribed. Each section ends with a "what to do" block written for committee secretaries and chairs, not lawyers.

New South Wales

NSW committees have the most to track and the most documented timeline. The major rollout dates are already known and most are already in force.

Already commenced and operational:

Auto-approval of unrefused minor renovations (1 July 2025). If your committee has a by-law to decide minor renovation requests and does not refuse one with written reasons within three months, the renovation is approved by default. Track every request.
Sustainability infrastructure protections (1 July 2025). Aesthetic-only refusals of solar, heat pumps and similar items are no longer enforceable.
Fair Trading enforcement powers (27 October 2025). The regulator can investigate, require documents, enter premises, issue compliance notices, and seek enforceable undertakings. Compliance actions are publishable and feed into Section 184 certificates from April 2026.
Hardship process (27 October 2025). Levy notices must be accompanied by a Financial Hardship Information Statement; reminders must be sent 7–10 days after a missed payment before any recovery action.
Officer removal threshold (27 October 2025). Reduced from special resolution (75%) to ordinary resolution (simple majority).
Capital works standard form (1 April 2026). New, revised or replaced 10-year plans must use the prescribed standard form.
Section 184 certificate disclosure (1 April 2026). Certificates now disclose embedded networks, Fair Trading orders and compliance actions, and meetings in the past 12 months.
Developer handover certification (1 April 2026). First AGMs from this date require independent surveyor certification of initial levies and a standard-form initial maintenance schedule, both delivered at least 14 days before the meeting.
Move-in bond reasonableness (1 April 2026). Bonds must be proportionate to risk and supported by written terms.
Two-lot scheme simplification (1 April 2026). Written resolutions can replace formal meetings for most decisions.

Coming in the next 12 months:

Mandatory committee training (second half of 2026, exact date TBA). Section 37(2) of the amended SSMA requires every committee member to complete prescribed training. A member who does not complete it ceases to be a committee member. Statutory duties of honesty, diligence and best-interests action attach at the same time. NSW Fair Trading is expected to publish the curriculum, providers and any grandfathering before commencement.
Battery product stewardship (1 October 2026). Adjacent reform under the Product Lifecycle Responsibility Regulation 2026. Mainly affects suppliers, but flow-on effects on bin room and recycling infrastructure are likely.
Outstanding Stage 5 items (date TBA). Standardised forms for additional payment plan scenarios; building manager definition clarifications; further NCAT powers around manager–service-provider conflicts; off-the-plan disclosure expansions.

What NSW committees should do this year:

Schedule the next 10-year capital works plan review and budget for the standard-form transition.
Confirm whether your scheme has an embedded network and prepare disclosure language for Section 184 certificates.
Ask your strata manager (or self-managed records platform) to confirm Section 184 templates have been updated.
Identify which current officers are likely to need training and budget time for completion in the second half of 2026.
Build a hardship workflow that uses the mandatory form and timing.
If your scheme is currently in dispute over common-property maintenance, expect Fair Trading to be a live channel rather than a theoretical one.

UnitBuddy's full NSW reform timeline is the deeper reference. The mandatory training guide and capital works red flags guide cover the two highest-effort items.

Victoria

Victorian owners corporations have been operating under the tier system since the 2021 amendments to the Owners Corporations Act 2006 took effect. The next 12 months are dominated by the Owners Corporations Act statutory review, which delivered its panel report at the end of 2025. Recommendations are expected to translate into a legislative amendment package during 2026, with commencement likely staged into 2027.

Live obligations to maintain:

Tier 1 (over 100 lots). Audited financial statements every year. Maintenance plan and maintenance fund. Mandatory professional manager.
Tier 2 (51–100 lots). Financial statements reviewed by a certified public accountant. Maintenance plan and maintenance fund.
Tier 3 (10–50 lots). Reduced obligations, but still subject to general OC duties.
Tier 4 (3–9 lots). Lighter compliance load.
Tier 5 (2 lots). Largely exempt, including from the requirement to have a chairperson or secretary.
Committee composition. Maximum seven members unless an ordinary resolution increases it (capped at 12).

Coming in the next 12 months:

Legislative response to the Owners Corporations Act review. The independent review panel delivered its report in late 2025. The government has signalled that legislative reform will follow during 2026. Committees should treat the second half of 2026 as the likely window for an amendment bill, with commencement in 2027.
Manager professional development. Mandatory professional development training for owners corporation managers is being phased in across 2026–2027 as part of the broader real estate licensing framework. Buildings using a professional manager should expect this to surface in fee structures or service offerings.
Class 2 building reforms continuing. Victoria's response to combustible cladding and broader Class 2 building quality concerns is ongoing through Cladding Safety Victoria and the Building Reform Implementation Program. Committees in affected buildings should monitor program updates and rectification timelines.

What Victorian committees should do this year:

Confirm your scheme's tier and check that the obligations attaching to it are actually being met (audits, maintenance plans, financial statements).
If your tier requires a maintenance plan, confirm it is current and the fund is being maintained against it.
Subscribe to Consumer Affairs Victoria updates on the Owners Corporations Act review response so you see draft legislation as soon as it is exposed.
If your scheme uses a professional manager, ask them what their plan is for the new mandatory professional development requirement.
Review committee composition rules in your registered model rules; if you need more than seven members, the ordinary resolution to increase should be on the next AGM agenda.

Queensland

Queensland's biggest single date in the next 12 months is the smoke alarm deadline.

The headline date — 1 January 2027:

From 1 January 2027, every dwelling in Queensland — including every individual strata lot — must have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms installed in accordance with the Queensland legislation. The obligation sits on the lot owner, not the body corporate. But bodies corporate have practical exposure here for several reasons:

The body corporate is responsible for fire safety installations on common property (hydrants, panels, exit lighting, evacuation plans).
Insurance premiums and claim outcomes are influenced by building-wide compliance, not just individual lots.
Bulk procurement and coordinated installation usually delivers a better price and tighter compliance than 60 lot owners each engaging their own installer in December 2026.
Body corporates that proactively coordinate the upgrade — without taking on the legal obligation — typically see faster compliance across all lots and avoid the levy crisis that follows a wave of late penalties.

Other live items for Queensland:

Body Corporate and Community Management Act module review. The four module regulations (Standard, Accommodation, Commercial, Small Schemes) have been under periodic review. Specific module changes are typically gazetted with short notice; the Body Corporate Commissioner's office is the canonical source.
Pet by-law clarification. Queensland's pet by-law framework (post the Body Corporate for Viridian decision and subsequent reforms) means most blanket pet bans are unenforceable. Committees still relying on old by-laws should bring them current.
Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 obligations. Annual occupier statement obligations for Class 2 buildings continue to apply; these are separate from the smoke alarm rules but feed into the same compliance picture.

What Queensland committees should do this year:

Smoke alarm coordination is the top action. Send a notice to all owners now (not December 2026) explaining the 1 January 2027 obligation, the technical requirements, and offering a coordinated procurement option.
Audit your common property fire safety installations against the Building Fire Safety Regulation and current AS standards.
Review by-laws for outdated pet bans, smoking provisions and renovation rules; flag amendments for the next AGM.
If your scheme has a building manager or caretaking agreement up for review, treat the Building Manager Caretaker audit framework as the structured starting point.

Western Australia

WA strata committees are now five years into the Strata Titles Act 1985 reforms (which commenced in May 2020). Most of the heavy structural change is in place, and the next 12 months are about steady-state compliance.

Live obligations to maintain:

10-year maintenance plan and reserve fund for schemes with more than 10 lots or replacement value over $5 million. The plan must be current and reviewed periodically; the reserve fund must be maintained against it.
Annual general meetings with the prescribed agenda items, including the maintenance plan review where applicable.
Levy and trust accounting standards under the Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019.
Disclosure obligations at sale, including the Form 28 (lot owner disclosure) and Form 29 (seller's information statement) where applicable.

Watch in the next 12 months:

Landgate and DEMIRS guidance updates. Western Australia continues to publish operational guidance on scheme operation, particularly around dispute resolution through the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). Expect refinements rather than new structural reform.
Cladding and fire safety alignment with national programs. WA's Building Commission has been progressively aligning Class 2 building rectification with the National Construction Code updates.

What WA committees should do this year:

Confirm whether your scheme triggers the 10-year plan and reserve fund obligation. If yes, the plan should be current and the fund should be tracking.
If your scheme is under 10 lots and under the value threshold, the obligation does not attach — but a voluntary plan is still good governance.
Review by-laws for inconsistencies with the 2019 regulations; the standard schedule by-laws are the baseline.
Watch for any Landgate or DEMIRS updates before each AGM.

South Australia

South Australia is in a different phase — the Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) Bill consultation has progressed and a legislative package is anticipated. The Environment, Resources and Development Committee inquiry into strata regulation has been the lever for ongoing reform discussion.

Live obligations:

Standard governance under the Strata Titles Act 1988 (strata schemes) or the Community Titles Act 1996 (community schemes).
Insurance, levies, AGMs, by-laws — broadly similar in shape to other states but with SA-specific procedural quirks.
Cladding rectification provisions are now operational, making it easier to remove combustible cladding from apartment buildings.

Watch in the next 12 months:

Statutes Amendment (Community and Strata Titles) progress. Whether and when the amendment package is introduced, debated and assented to. The South Australian YourSAy consultation page is the public channel for tracking proposals; the Attorney-General's Department drives the policy work.
Cladding rectification windows. SA has set rectification expectations for affected buildings; committees in those buildings should be tracking trade availability and funding.
Insurance market pressure. SA strata schemes have not been immune to the national insurance premium escalation; expect renewals to require active broker engagement, not passive renewal.

What SA committees should do this year:

Subscribe to YourSAy and Consumer and Business Services SA updates on community and strata titles legislation.
Confirm by-laws are current and registered; older schemes often have by-laws that have not been refreshed since registration.
Review insurance with a broker rather than accepting incumbent renewal; this is a national pressure point but SA has been particularly affected on certain risk profiles.
If your building has combustible cladding, treat the rectification timeline as a live capital works item, not a future problem.

Tasmania

Tasmania has the smallest body of strata reform activity nationally, but the ordinary obligations under the Strata Titles Act 1998 still apply and the everyday operational items remain.

Live obligations:

AGM and committee composition under the Strata Titles Act 1998.
By-laws and the standard schedule of rules.
Insurance and levy obligations.
Disputes resolved through the Recorder of Titles and, for tribunal matters, the Magistrates Court.

Watch in the next 12 months:

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) updates. CBOS is the operational regulator and publishes guidance on strata living. Updates tend to be incremental.
Class 2 building compliance generally tracking the broader Australian alignment with NCC updates.
Insurance market pressures identical to the rest of the country.

What Tasmanian committees should do this year:

Treat the next AGM as the moment to refresh by-laws if they have not been reviewed in the past five years.
Confirm the building's insurance is current and that any defect issues are being actively managed rather than carried as background notes.
Build the capital works budget on conservative inflation assumptions; 4–6% has been the realistic range nationally and Tasmania is not insulated from that.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has been steadily updating the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 framework. The 2023 amendment package addressed sustainability infrastructure, sinking fund obligations, and committee duties.

Live obligations:

Sinking fund (capital works fund equivalent) requirements under the Unit Titles (Management) Act.
AGM and committee structure with executive committee duties.
Sustainability infrastructure framework — owners corporations cannot unreasonably refuse sustainability infrastructure proposals.
Disputes resolved through the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT).

Watch in the next 12 months:

Continued operationalisation of the 2023 amendment package. Some of the changes have detailed regulations or practice notes that continue to be released by Access Canberra and the Justice and Community Safety Directorate.
Sinking fund and maintenance planning. ACT bodies corporate are subject to broadly similar pressures around capital works adequacy as NSW and Victoria; the operational expectation is rising even where the legislation is comparatively stable.
EV and sustainability infrastructure proposals. Expect more applications and more disputes; the framework supports approval but the by-law mechanics still need work building by building.

What ACT committees should do this year:

Review the sinking fund balance against the maintenance plan; under-funding is the most common risk indicator.
Refresh by-laws for sustainability infrastructure to set out the practical approval process before the next solar or EV charging application lands.
Confirm executive committee composition and that the duties under the 2023 amendments are being met.

Northern Territory

The NT operates under the Unit Titles Act and the Unit Title Schemes Act, with a smaller registered apartment market than the other jurisdictions. Reform activity is correspondingly lighter, but the operational obligations are the same in shape.

Live obligations:

Body corporate operation under the relevant Unit Titles Act, depending on whether the scheme is a unit title scheme or older unit titles scheme.
AGMs, by-laws, levies and insurance.
Disputes through the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT).

Watch in the next 12 months:

Insurance pressure is real in the NT given climate exposure; broker engagement at renewal is essential.
Cladding and fire safety alignment with national programs continues.
Cyclone and flood preparation is part of the operational calendar in a way it is not in some other jurisdictions; capital works plans should reflect repair-and-replace cycles for this exposure.

What NT committees should do this year:

Confirm insurance is in place with a current sum-insured assessment that reflects replacement cost.
Maintain the body corporate's records and contractor list; the cost of disorganisation is higher in a smaller market with fewer trades.
Treat any defect or compliance issue as live; informal handling is more common in smaller markets but does not protect the body corporate when a dispute escalates.

The pattern across every state

Strip out the state-specific dates and the same six themes are showing up everywhere:

Capital works adequacy. Whether the legislation calls it a sinking fund, capital works fund, reserve fund or maintenance fund, the regulatory direction is towards more rigorous planning, more standardised forms, and harder questions at sale.
Manager accountability. Commission disclosures, conflict-of-interest duties, professional development requirements, easier termination pathways. Every jurisdiction is moving toward more transparency in the manager–OC relationship.
Committee competence. NSW is leading with mandatory training. Other jurisdictions have not yet legislated training but the practical pressure on committees to understand their duties has increased everywhere.
Building safety. Cladding rectification, fire safety standards, smoke alarms (Queensland), AS 1851 maintenance (NSW). Building safety obligations are tightening nationally.
Sustainability infrastructure. Solar, EV charging, heat pumps, batteries. Aesthetic-only refusals are being progressively wound back.
Disclosure at sale. Section 184 (NSW), Form 28/29 (WA), seller's statement (other jurisdictions). The buyer's information set is improving. Buildings with poor records will look worse than buildings with good records.

A committee that has its records in order, its by-laws current, its capital works plan funded, and its compliance dates tracked will navigate the next 12 months without much pain regardless of which state it is in. A committee that has none of those things will discover the problem at the worst possible time — usually at sale, at AGM, or after a defect.

What UnitBuddy tracks

UnitBuddy is built around the simple idea that the building should keep its own records, accessible to both committee and owners, regardless of which state the building is in or which manager is currently engaged. The compliance tracker covers the obligations across every Australian jurisdiction. The capital works planning module supports the new NSW standard form and adapts to the equivalents in other states. The document vault holds the by-laws, certificates, plans and registration documents that the next AGM, the next Section 184 certificate, the next Tier 1 audit, or the next sale will rely on.

For committees who are tracking dates across multiple buildings — typical for committee members who own in more than one scheme — the cross-state view means one tool covers everything rather than a folder per building per state.

What Strata Committees Should Watch in the Next 12 Months: A State-by-State List for May 2026 to May 2027