Unpaid Owners Corporation Fees in Victoria: Fee Notice, Final Fee Notice and VCAT

The short answer

1. Fee notice. On the approved form, giving the owner 28 days to pay (s 31).
2. Final fee notice. If the fee is still unpaid 28 days after the fee notice, send a final fee notice on the approved form (s 32).
3. VCAT. If it's still unpaid 28 days after the final fee notice, the owners corporation can apply to VCAT (s 163(2)).

Interest can only be charged if a general meeting has authorised it (s 29). The owners corporation can't add its own late fees, and VCAT won't help with fees whose notices weren't given properly.

The timeline

Before you send anything

• The fee must be properly set. Annual fees are shared by lot liability (s 23). Special fees need the right resolution, and a special resolution if they're more than twice the annual fees (s 24).
• Use the approved forms. Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes both the fee notice and the final fee notice. VCAT says it can't help recover fees "if the fee notices weren't given following the law".
• Send to the right address. Use the address on the owners corporation register, and keep proof of when and how each notice went.

Interest and costs

• Interest. Penalty interest can only be charged if a general meeting resolution authorises it. The rate is capped at the Penalty Interest Rates Act rate (s 29). Any decision to waive interest is reported to the AGM.
• No made-up late fees. Consumer Affairs Victoria says an owners corporation "cannot add extra fees or charges" such as administration fees for late payment. It can pass on only the owner's lot-liability share of the actual cost of an overdue notice.
• Recovery costs. VCAT can order the owner to pay the owners corporation's reasonable costs of recovering the unpaid amount (s 165(1)). It can also order costs of the proceeding, including the application fee.

Who decides to go to VCAT?

Taking legal action needs a resolution (s 18). Since 9 September 2026:

• An ordinary resolution is enough if the amount is no more than twice the owners corporation's total current annual fees.
• A special resolution is needed for a larger amount.

Where the owners corporation hasn't reserved the decision for a general meeting, the committee can usually pass the ordinary resolution itself (ss 11, 113). A manager can prepare and run the application, but should act on a committee or general meeting resolution.

What VCAT needs

VCAT usually decides fee recovery "on the papers", without a hearing, unless the owner files a defence or objects. Apply, then send VCAT and the owner:

• Copies of every fee notice and the final fee notice
• The completed summary of proofs (a statutory declaration on VCAT's form)
• An up-to-date lot ledger, and an undertaking to report any payments made after the final fee notice
• Evidence of the general meeting resolution authorising interest, and the rate
• A title search showing the registered owner, and the address on the owners corporation register
• Evidence the annual fees were set by lot liability and approved
• For special fees, the s 24 resolution and its basis
• The dates and method of service for each notice
• An itemised list of recovery costs claimed

VCAT won't calculate the amount owing for you. Take out anything that isn't a fee or charge under the Act.

A VCAT order for money can be enforced in the Magistrates' Court or a higher court.

Hardship payment plans: passed but not yet in force

The Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 adds a payment plan system to the Owners Corporations Act. As at October 2026 it hasn't started. It begins on a date set by proclamation, or on 1 December 2027 at the latest.

Once it starts, it applies to every owners corporation except tier 5:

• The request. A lot owner who has received a fee notice or final fee notice can ask, in writing on an approved form, for a payment plan.
• The decision. The owners corporation must accept or refuse within 28 days. If it doesn't decide in time, it's generally taken to have accepted.
• Owner-occupiers. They can only be refused on limited grounds, for example a term over 12 months or a broken plan in the last 2 years, and they must be given written reasons.
• Interest and recovery pause. While a request is undecided, or while the owner keeps to a plan, interest stops and the owners corporation can't apply to VCAT.
• Voting. An owner in that position isn't treated as in arrears for voting or committee purposes.
• Privacy and reporting. Hardship information must be kept private, and requests and decisions are reported to the AGM without identifying the owner.

Until then, Consumer Affairs Victoria's guidance is voluntary: owners can ask the owners corporation for a payment plan, and agreeing one is often cheaper than VCAT.

What the owners corporation can't do

• Charge interest without a general meeting resolution (s 29).
• Add its own late or administration fees beyond the actual notice cost.
• Skip the final fee notice.
• Cut off services or access. The Act gives no power to restrict an owner's services or common property access for unpaid fees. A rule that tried to is likely to have no effect (s 140).

What arrears mean for the owner

• Voting. An owner in arrears can't vote on ordinary resolutions or act as a proxy, but can still vote on special and unanimous resolutions (ss 89B, 89C).
• Committee. They can't be elected to the committee while in arrears, and a sitting member is suspended until the amount is paid (s 103(7)).
• Selling. Unpaid fees appear on the owners corporation certificate a buyer receives (s 151), and the new owner is liable for them (s 28).

For owners who can't pay

• Talk to the owners corporation early, before the final fee notice, and ask for a payment plan in writing.
• Check the notices. Are they on the approved forms? Is the interest authorised? Are the amounts right?
• If you dispute the fee, say so in writing. You can respond to a VCAT application or object to it being decided on the papers.

Where UnitBuddy fits

UnitBuddy tracks levies, arrears and due dates for every lot, so the committee can see who is overdue and owners can see their own balance in My Lot.

Further reading

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