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Australian Strata Terminology: A State-by-State Reference

Strata, body corporate, owners corporation, strata company: the same legal idea wears a different name in every Australian state. A complete reference for reading scheme documents, certificates, and legislation from any jurisdiction without getting lost in the language.

5 May 2026 · 14 min read

On this pageWhy the terminology varies

Australian apartment ownership is governed by eight separate state and territory regimes, and each one has built up its own vocabulary over forty-plus years of legislation. The result is that the same concept (the legal entity that owns common property, the body that runs the scheme, the document a buyer reads before settlement) wears a different name in NSW than it does in Queensland, Victoria, WA or anywhere else.

For owners, committee members, buyers and sellers, this is more than a curiosity. Reading a strata report from a building in another state, comparing schemes across borders, helping a relative buy interstate, or moving between scheme types within the same state: all of these require a working translation between vocabularies.

This guide is the reference. It maps every major term used in Australian strata across all eight jurisdictions, with the practical context you need to read documents written in any one of them.

Identify the state or territory
Translate the local legal entity and rules
Match fund, levy, and entitlement terms
Read sale certificates and disclosure documents
Apply the right pathway before acting

Read the jurisdiction first, then translate the term before comparing documents or making decisions.

Why the terminology varies

Each Australian state and territory legislates its own strata regime. NSW updated its strata laws in 2015 (with major reforms again in 2025–2026). Victoria operates under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (currently under review). Queensland uses the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. Western Australia's Strata Titles Act dates from 1985 with substantial 2018 amendments. South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory each have their own framework.

Because the legislation evolved separately, the terminology evolved separately. The underlying concepts are remarkably consistent: every regime has a legal entity for shared ownership, a smaller elected body for day-to-day decisions, a fund split between operating and long-term costs, by-laws or rules, and a tribunal for disputes. But the names are not.

The reform direction across Australia is also gradually pulling the regimes closer together. The 2026 NSW reforms borrow ideas Queensland and Victoria have used for years. Victoria's review may pick up NSW's standard-form capital works plan. The terminology will diverge for the foreseeable future, but the underlying mechanics are converging.

The legal entity that owns common property

Every strata scheme has a legal entity that holds common property and runs the scheme. The name varies sharply.

State	Legal entity name
New South Wales	Owners corporation
Victoria	Owners corporation
Queensland	Body corporate
Western Australia	Strata company
South Australia	Strata corporation (strata title) or community corporation (community title)
Tasmania	Body corporate
Australian Capital Territory	Owners corporation
Northern Territory	Body corporate

The entity is formed automatically when the strata plan or unit plan is registered. Every lot owner becomes a member by default; there is no opt-in. The entity holds insurance, owns the common property, sues and is sued, and is the party that contracts with strata managers, building managers and most service providers.

When a NSW document refers to "the owners corporation" and a Queensland document refers to "the body corporate", they are describing the same kind of legal entity in different states.

The elected committee that runs day-to-day decisions

Each scheme elects a smaller body to handle routine decisions between general meetings of all owners.

State	Committee name
New South Wales	Strata committee
Victoria	Committee (of the owners corporation)
Queensland	Committee (of the body corporate)
Western Australia	Council of owners
South Australia	Management committee (community titles); strata corporation may operate without a formal committee
Tasmania	Body corporate committee
Australian Capital Territory	Executive committee
Northern Territory	Body corporate committee

The maximum committee size, term length, and election process differ by state, but the core function is consistent everywhere: the committee makes operational decisions, but anything that materially affects owners' rights, finances, or property must go to a general meeting.

The owners themselves

The terminology for an individual owner also varies, particularly in older legislation.

NSW, VIC, QLD: lot owner (sometimes "the owner of a lot").
WA: lot owner or proprietor (older term still in use in some contexts).
SA, TAS, ACT, NT: unit owner or proprietor, depending on the legislation generation.

In practice, "lot owner" is the most common modern term across Australia. "Proprietor" persists in WA and some older documents elsewhere.

The two funds

Every Australian strata scheme operates with two funds: one for ordinary year-to-year operating costs, the other for long-term capital expenditure. The names diverge widely.

State	Operating fund	Long-term fund
NSW	Administrative fund	Capital works fund
VIC	Maintenance fund (operating)	Maintenance plan fund
QLD	Administrative fund	Sinking fund
WA	Administrative fund	Reserve fund
SA	Administrative fund	Sinking fund
TAS	Administrative fund	Sinking fund
ACT	Administrative fund	Sinking fund
NT	Administrative fund	Sinking fund

NSW changed the formal name from "sinking fund" to "capital works fund" in 2016, but most owners and many practitioners still use the older term. The mechanics are identical regardless of name.

Levies, contributions, and fees

The money owners pay to fund the scheme has its own vocabulary.

NSW, ACT: levies (administrative fund levy and capital works fund levy).
VIC: fees (annual fees) and special fees.
QLD: contributions (administrative and sinking fund contributions).
WA: contributions or levies, depending on the document.
SA, TAS, NT: contributions or levies.

The most universally understood term is "levy", and most schemes use it informally regardless of the formal legislative term.

A "special levy" (or "special contribution" in some states) is the same thing across all jurisdictions: an additional one-off contribution raised to cover an unbudgeted expense, typically a major capital item the long-term fund cannot cover.

Each lot is allocated a share of the scheme. That share determines voting rights, levy contribution, and distribution of insurance proceeds.

State	Share term
New South Wales	Unit entitlement
Victoria	Lot liability (for fees) and lot entitlement (for voting)
Queensland	Contribution schedule lot entitlement (for fees) and interest schedule lot entitlement (for voting and insurance)
Western Australia	Unit entitlement
South Australia	Unit entitlement (strata) or lot entitlement (community title)
Tasmania	Unit entitlement
Australian Capital Territory	Unit entitlement
Northern Territory	Unit entitlement

Victoria and Queensland are the outliers: both split the share into separate components for fees and for voting, which can produce different numbers for the same lot. NSW, WA and most other jurisdictions use a single unit entitlement for all purposes.

By-laws and rules

The internal rules of a scheme (covering pets, noise, parking, renovations, common-area conduct) are set by the scheme itself.

NSW, ACT: by-laws.
VIC: rules (formal owners corporation rules).
QLD: by-laws.
WA: by-laws (Schedule 1 standard by-laws plus any scheme-specific by-laws under Schedule 2).
SA: by-laws (or articles, in some older community title documents).
TAS: by-laws.
NT: by-laws.

The mechanics are similar in every state: the standard set provided by the legislation applies by default, and the scheme can adopt, amend or repeal scheme-specific by-laws by special resolution at a general meeting.

The disclosure document at sale

Every state requires a formal scheme document to be made available to a buyer. The names vary.

State	Disclosure document
New South Wales	Section 184 certificate (under SSMA)
Victoria	Owners corporation certificate (Section 151) plus Section 32 vendor statement
Queensland	Body corporate disclosure statement and body corporate information certificate
Western Australia	Form 28 certificate; Section 17 disclosure for off-the-plan
South Australia	Form 1 vendor disclosure; strata corporation certificate
Tasmania	Body corporate certificate
Australian Capital Territory	Section 119 certificate
Northern Territory	Body corporate certificate

The 1 April 2026 NSW reforms substantially expanded the Section 184 certificate to include embedded networks, compliance orders against the owners corporation, and meeting history for the previous 12 months. Other states are watching this expansion closely, and similar reforms are likely to follow over the next 18–36 months.

The tribunal that hears strata disputes

Each state has a civil and administrative tribunal (or equivalent) that handles strata matters.

State	Tribunal
New South Wales	NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
Victoria	Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Queensland	Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM), then QCAT
Western Australia	State Administrative Tribunal (SAT)
South Australia	South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT)
Tasmania	Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal, or the Magistrates Court for some matters
Australian Capital Territory	ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT)
Northern Territory	Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT)

Queensland is the structural outlier: most disputes are first heard by the Commissioner before progressing to QCAT. Other states route directly to their tribunal, often after a mediation step.

The governing legislation

For practitioners and owners doing legal research, knowing the right Act is essential.

State	Primary Act
New South Wales	Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (and Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 for plan creation)
Victoria	Owners Corporations Act 2006
Queensland	Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997
Western Australia	Strata Titles Act 1985 (substantially amended 2018)
South Australia	Strata Titles Act 1988 and Community Titles Act 1996
Tasmania	Strata Titles Act 1998
Australian Capital Territory	Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011
Northern Territory	Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 and Unit Titles Act 1975 (older schemes)

The strata report (or its equivalent)

The buyer's pre-purchase inspection of scheme records is also called different things.

NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT: strata report (commonly), or strata search.
WA: strata search or strata inspection report.
SA: strata or community corporation search.
TAS, NT: body corporate records inspection.

The substance is the same in every state: a third-party search company physically reviews the scheme's records (financial statements, minutes, by-laws, contracts, insurance, capital works plan) and produces a written summary for the buyer. Reports vary widely in quality, and a buyer should always commission their own rather than relying on the seller's.

A note on terminology that crosses jurisdictions

Three terms appear in almost every Australian strata document regardless of state.

Common property. The shared parts of a building (lobbies, lifts, stairwells, gardens, pools, façades, roofs) that are owned by the legal entity, not by individual owners. The definition is consistent across states, even though the surrounding terminology differs.

Lot. The privately owned portion of a strata scheme. Almost universally used; the only common alternative is "unit" (in some older WA and territory contexts).

Strata manager. The contracted professional who administers the scheme on the legal entity's behalf. Some Queensland documents use "body corporate manager"; the function is identical.

Why this matters when reading documents from another state

The most common practical situation where this terminology matters:

Buying interstate. A NSW resident buying an apartment in Brisbane will encounter "body corporate", "sinking fund", "contribution schedule lot entitlement" and "Commissioner for BCCM", none of which appear in NSW documents. Without translation, the disclosure documents are harder to read.
Helping family. Many committee members serve on schemes in their home state but help relatives navigate purchases in others. The terminology gap is real.
Comparing schemes for due diligence. Cross-border comparisons require translation between vocabularies before any meaningful comparison can be made.
Reading legal advice. Legal opinions cite sections of the relevant state Act. Knowing which Act applies is the first step to understanding the advice.

The good news is that once you have the cross-reference table, the underlying concepts are consistent enough that a reader fluent in one state's vocabulary can read documents from any other state without much friction.

How to read a section citation without mixing up states

A legal letter that says “the owners corporation is in breach of section 106” is only meaningful if you know which Act. Section numbers do not travel.

NSW. Section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 is the duty to maintain common property. Section 108 is improvements to common property. Section 109 is cosmetic work by an owner (carpet-for-carpet is typical). Section 110 is minor renovations, including hard floors. Section 142 is exclusive-use and special-privilege by-laws. Section 146 is a notice to comply with a by-law. Section 160 is the duty to insure the building. Section 184 is the information certificate on sale. The Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 is a different Act: it is about the plan, not day-to-day management.

Victoria. Section 46 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 is repair and maintenance. Section 52 is a significant alteration. Section 18 is when legal proceedings need a special resolution. “Section 106” in a Victorian letter is usually someone pasting NSW advice.

Queensland. The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 is the principal Act, but most day-to-day numbers live in the module that applies to the scheme (Standard, Accommodation, Commercial, Small Schemes, Specified Two-Lot). Always ask which module is registered. Section 158 of the Act is the service-arrangement power, not a module by-law number.

Western Australia. Cite the Strata Titles Act 1985 as amended, not the pre-2018 reprint someone photocopied in 2014. Governance by-laws and conduct by-laws are different schedules. SAT is the tribunal, not NCAT.

South Australia. Name the statute: Strata Titles Act 1988 or Community Titles Act 1996. Then name the forum: scheme disputes under those Acts go to the Magistrates Court. SACAT is a different tribunal for different legislation. “File in SACAT” is the most common interstate error on Adelaide buildings.

Tasmania, ACT, NT. Strata Titles Act 1998 and TASCAT; Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 and ACAT; Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 or Unit Titles Act 1975 and NTCAT. “Body corporate” in Darwin may still be an older Unit Titles Act scheme. Ask which Act is on the title, not which label the manager uses in an email.

A 10-minute translation drill

When a document from another state arrives:

Circle the legal entity name (owners corporation, body corporate, strata company, strata corporation, community corporation).
Circle the long-term fund name (capital works, maintenance plan fund, sinking fund, reserve fund).
Circle the levy word (levy, contribution, administrative fund levy, sinking fund levy).
Circle the share word (unit entitlement, lot entitlement, contribution schedule lot entitlement, interest schedule).
Circle the rules word (by-law, rule, article).
Circle the sale certificate (s 184, owners corporation certificate, body corporate certificate, Form 32 / equivalent).
Circle the tribunal or court. If it says SACAT on an SA strata dispute letter, stop and check the Act.
Open the official Act for that state from the table above. Do not Google a blog that mixes NSW section numbers into a Brisbane scheme.

The concepts line up. The vocabulary does not. Most expensive mistakes are translation mistakes: a buyer who thinks “no sinking fund” means “no long-term plan” in NSW, or a committee that serves an NCAT-style notice in a state that does not have NCAT.

Words that look shared and are not

“Special resolution.” The vote threshold and the notice period differ. NSW is not Victoria is not Queensland’s module. Never import a percentage from another state’s fact sheet.

“Committee.” NSW strata committee, Victorian committee, Queensland committee, WA council, ACT executive committee. Same job family, different statutory powers and size caps.

“Common property.” The idea is shared. The lot boundary on the registered plan is not. Waterproofing, windows and balcony slabs are the usual argument. The plan wins, not the dinner-party definition.

“Strata manager.” A licensed managing agent in one state may not be the same statutory creature as a body-corporate manager in another. Licensing, training and commission disclosure are state rules. NSW’s 2025–26 disclosure reforms do not automatically apply to a Gold Coast scheme.

“Tribunal.” NCAT, VCAT, QCAT (often after the Commissioner), SAT, TASCAT, ACAT, NTCAT. South Australian strata disputes: Magistrates Court. Using the wrong forum wastes the filing fee and the limitation clock.

If you only remember one row from this guide, remember this: name the jurisdiction, then name the Act, then name the section. “The strata Act” is not a citation.

How UnitBuddy handles state differences

UnitBuddy's compliance and reporting tools are state-aware. The platform knows that a NSW scheme reports through Strata Hub, a Queensland scheme operates under the BCCM Act with sinking fund forecasts of at least nine years, and a WA scheme uses a 10-year reserve fund plan under the 2018 amendments. State-specific reminders, terminology, and templates appear automatically based on the scheme's jurisdiction, so committee members don't need to translate every document themselves.

For schemes with members or owners in multiple states (common for committees serving owners who hold interstate apartments, or for portfolio investors), the cross-state view means one platform covers everything rather than one tool per state.

See how the platform handles state-specific scheme administration · Get started

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