New South Wales Strata Hub: what schemes report, fees and penalties

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Kooky

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A strata scheme in New South Wales has a second life as a record in a state database. Once a year, somebody on the strata committee or at the managing agent's office logs in to the Strata Hub, confirms who runs the building, how many lots it has, what it is insured for and how much sits in its capital works fund, and pays a small fee per lot. The obligation is set out in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 of New South Wales, and it carries fines when it is missed.

This guide covers what the portal is and who runs it, which schemes must report and which are exempt, the deadline, the full list of items the Regulation asks for, how a report is lodged, the fee, the duty to keep the record current, who is allowed to see each piece of information, and the penalties. It also looks at the tools built on the data: bulk reporting through an API, a public search and a directory of strata managers. Everything here is drawn from the Regulation as published on the New South Wales legislation website and from NSW Fair Trading's own Strata Hub pages, read in October 2026. Where those sources do not line up, both versions are given.

Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (NSW), clauses 43 and 43B and Schedule 4, and NSW Fair Trading's strata annual reporting page, as read in October 2026.

What the Strata Hub is and who runs it

NSW Fair Trading describes the Strata Hub as a digital platform for people who live, own, build or work in strata schemes in New South Wales. Its page names four groups of users: residents, owners corporations, strata managers and developers. The same page says the platform is managed by the Department of Customer Service on behalf of the Commissioner for Fair Trading.

The Hub is more than a reporting form. Fair Trading lists five things a user can do in it: search and view information about a scheme, complete annual reporting or update a scheme's information, find a strata managing agent, build a capital works fund plan, and download prescribed forms and documents. The document library holds, among other items, the payment plan request form, the capital works fund form and a proxy appointment form. Developers use the Hub as well: Fair Trading says building bonds under the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme are lodged through it.

An account is needed for anything beyond the public search. Fair Trading sets out registration in six steps: register, accept the privacy notice, enter personal details, activate the account by email, set a password and a security method, then verify a code. A person who will lodge a report must also pass a proof of identity check through a MyServiceNSW account. A note on the Strata Hub page dated 29 September 2026 says multi-factor authentication has been introduced for signing in.

The legal basis sits in clauses 43 to 43C of the Regulation. Those clauses use the word "Secretary" for the government office that receives the information and collects the fee. That is not the secretary of the owners corporation, who appears in the same clauses as one of the people whose contact details are reported. In this guide "the Secretary" with a capital means the first, and "the scheme's secretary" the second.

Which schemes must report, and which are exempt

The starting point in clause 43 of the Regulation is broad: the owners corporation of a strata scheme must give the listed information to the Secretary, in the approved form, every year. Fair Trading's annual reporting page puts it as all strata schemes in New South Wales, and adds two exceptions.

The first is a new scheme that is still within its "initial period", a term Fair Trading uses on that page without defining it there. Such a scheme is exempt from reporting, according to the page.

The second is recent. Fair Trading's annual reporting page says that from 1 October 2026 two-lot schemes no longer need to report, and the Strata Hub page confirms that the reporting function for them has been removed, while basic information about those schemes stays searchable. The annual reporting page still carries its older sentence that all schemes report, "including duplexes and semi-detached dwellings", next to the new exemption; the exemption is the later statement and the one the Strata Hub page repeats.

The deadline: three months from the annual general meeting

The reporting clock is tied to the scheme's own calendar, not to a fixed date. Clause 43 of the Regulation requires the information to be given within 3 months after the annual general meeting in each calendar year. Fair Trading's page says the same: report within 3 months of the AGM, every year.

The rule for a scheme's very first report has a historical layer. Under clause 43, a scheme whose first annual general meeting was held on or before 30 June 2022 had until 31 December 2022 to lodge its first report. Any other scheme lodges its first report within 3 months after its first annual general meeting. For a scheme that has never reported, Fair Trading's page says the first report should be started as soon as possible, even when the scheme has not held a recent AGM; the first-report form allows the reporter to give a reason why no AGM was held in place of a date.

A worked example, with assumed dates: a scheme holds its annual general meeting on 15 October 2026. Three months after that date is 15 January 2027, so the report and the fee are due by mid-January 2027. How the last day is counted in a particular case depends on the wording of the clause. A scheme that reports late is asked to explain why: Fair Trading says reporters must give a reason for late reporting at the review stage of the form.

What a scheme reports: the twenty items

Clause 43A(1) of the Regulation lists the information in twenty lettered paragraphs, (a) to (t). They fall into four groups.

The scheme and its lots. The strata plan number; the date the plan was registered; where the scheme is part of a community scheme or a precinct scheme, the registration date and number of that plan; the address of the parcel; the total number of lots; and the number of lots used for residential purposes, retirement village purposes, commercial purposes, utility lot purposes and other purposes. Fair Trading adds two practical points: lot numbers reported must match those registered with NSW Land Registry Services, and changes from a subdivision or consolidation are reported under the original strata plan number.

The building. The NABERS rating, if the building has one; the date an occupation certificate was issued, where one applies; the date of the most recent annual fire safety statement, if one has been issued; and, for a class 2 building, the number of storeys above ground. Fair Trading's privacy page describes class 2 buildings as apartment buildings. In the Hub this information is entered for each building in the scheme.

Money and governance. Where insurance is required under section 160 of the Strata Schemes Management Act, the replacement value of the building as specified in the damage policy, or as determined by the Tribunal under section 162(3); where a capital works fund is required under section 75, its balance as shown in the most recent financial statements; the date of the most recent annual general meeting; and whether a strata renewal committee has been established under the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 and, if so, the date.

People. The full name, telephone number and email address of the scheme's secretary and of its chairperson; the same details for a strata managing agent, if one is appointed, together with the agent's licence number under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002; the same contact details for a building manager, if one is appointed; and the same details for an emergency contact person, plus that person's connection to the scheme.

Clause 43A(2) defines an emergency contact person as someone the owners corporation nominates, with that person's consent, as a contact for emergencies. The consent matters: a name cannot simply be put forward. In the Hub, Fair Trading says up to 4 emergency contacts can be entered, each with a priority level from 1 to 4. Where an office is empty, the page says the secretary or chairperson position can be reported as vacant, with the date and the reason.

The twenty paragraphs contain no request for the names of owners or tenants, levies, by-laws or minutes.

How a report is lodged, step by step

Fair Trading says one person per scheme lodges the report: the scheme's secretary or chairperson, for instance, or a strata manager if the owners corporation delegates the task. That person must be registered on the Strata Hub and hold a MyServiceNSW account for the identity check.

The first report for a scheme follows eight sections on Fair Trading's page:

1. Log in, select "Report a scheme", review the purpose of reporting, search for the strata plan number, select a role and accept the privacy notice.
2. Enter contact details for the scheme's secretary and chairperson and, where they exist, the strata manager and building manager.
3. Add emergency contacts with their priority levels.
4. Enter the number of lots in each usage category.
5. Enter the management information: insurance value, capital works fund balance, the date of any strata renewal committee, and the AGM date or the reason none was held.
6. Enter building information for each building.
7. Review the report, explain any lateness, complete the declaration and, optionally, leave feedback.
8. Pay the fee.

From the second year there is less to enter, because the Hub prefills what was reported before. The reporter logs in, selects the scheme and chooses "Start annual reporting"; enters the new AGM date and accepts the privacy notice; checks and updates the prefilled contacts, emergency contacts, lot information and management details; updates building information, including occupation certificate and annual fire safety statement details where needed; reviews and declares; and pays.

In both versions payment of the fee is the last step.

The fee: A$3 per lot

Schedule 4 of the Regulation sets the charge. Item 1B reads as a fee for administration relating to information given under clause 43, at A$3 per lot in the strata scheme, payable to the Secretary. Clause 43 makes the Schedule 4 fee payable. Fair Trading says the fee helps maintain and improve the Strata Hub and provides strata education and support.

Because the fee is per lot, the annual cost scales with the size of the scheme. The chart below applies the Schedule 4 rate to three assumed scheme sizes.

Fair Trading's annual reporting page lists the accepted ways to pay: credit card, debit card, PayPal, PayID and BPAY. The reporter can nominate another person to pay, and the nominated person must accept the request before logging in to pay. A BPAY reference number is valid once, for 21 days.

The fee attaches to the annual report, not to every contact with the Hub. Fair Trading's page on API reporting states that correcting outdated or incorrect information between annual reporting periods does not require payment. The pages read for this guide give no earlier fee amounts.

Keeping the record current: the 28-day rule

A report is a snapshot, and committees change. Clause 43B of the Regulation deals with that in two parts. First, the owners corporation must notify the Secretary if information it gave was incorrect in a material particular at the time it was given. Second, it must notify certain changes that happen before the next annual general meeting: changes to the details of the scheme's secretary, chairperson, strata managing agent, building manager or emergency contact person, and the establishment of a strata renewal committee. These are paragraphs (m) to (q) and (t) of the list.

The notice is given in the approved form, within 28 days after the scheme's secretary becomes aware of the circumstance, or the strata managing agent where one is appointed. The clock therefore starts with knowledge, not with the event itself.

Fair Trading's page describes the same duty in plainer terms: update the Strata Hub within 28 days if reported information is found to be incorrect, if contact details change for the secretary, chairperson, strata manager, building manager or emergency contacts, or if a strata renewal committee is established. Anyone added or removed as a contact receives an email notification.

A worked example, with assumed dates: the chairperson of a scheme resigns and the scheme's secretary learns of it on 1 November 2026. Twenty-eight days after that is 29 November 2026, the outer limit for notifying the change. Items outside the clause 43B list, such as the capital works fund balance, move on to the next annual report unless the figure originally given was materially wrong.

Who can see what

The Strata Hub holds phone numbers, email addresses and financial figures. Clause 43C of the Regulation sets the limits by listing, for each audience, which paragraphs of clause 43A the Secretary may disclose. The word is "may": the clause permits disclosure and does not oblige it.

Four items in the list appear in none of those groups: the NABERS rating, the occupation certificate date, the insurance replacement value and the capital works fund balance. Fair Trading's security and privacy page is consistent with that for outsiders: it says any other reported information is available only to the Department of Customer Service and NSW Fair Trading.

Inside the Hub, what a logged-in user sees depends on the role registered for the scheme. According to the security and privacy page, the registered secretary, chairperson and strata managing agent can see the contact details, the lot and usage details, the insurance replacement value, the capital works fund balance, payment history, the AGM date, renewal committee details, building information, and the audit and annual reporting history. A registered building manager sees the same, without the audit history. A registered emergency contact sees the public information and their own details as reported.

The guidance and the clause do not match on every point, and readers should know where:

• Managing agent details. The security and privacy page lists the managing agent's name and licence number among the items the public can see on Strata search. Paragraph (o) is not in the public list in clause 43C(1). The Strata search page itself says that AGM and managing agent details have moved to the Strata Hub, behind a login, while a question-and-answer section lower on the same page still says agent details are shown.
• Ambulance. Clause 43C(4) gives the Ambulance Service the emergency contact only. The security and privacy page says NSW Ambulance, with Fire and Rescue NSW and local councils, receives the contact details of the secretary, the managing agent and the emergency contacts.
• Owners. The clause allows disclosure to people on the strata roll. The security and privacy page, which carries a visible date of 22 April 2024, describes access for registered committee roles, building managers and emergency contacts, and does not describe a view for other owners or for tenants.

On security, the same page lists multi-factor authentication, strong password rules, automatic disabling of long-dormant users, proof of identity through Service NSW and a check of a strata manager's licence number. The Hub keeps audit logs of access requests, logins, views of scheme information, changes at field level and changes to a user's access. The page cites the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 of New South Wales as the governing privacy law.

Penalties for late or uncorrected reports

Both duties are offences when breached, and the Regulation prices them at two levels: a maximum penalty, and a smaller fixed amount that can be issued as a penalty notice under Schedule 5.

The two sets of figures agree with each other. Fair Trading's A$5,500 divided by the Regulation's 50 penalty units gives A$110 a unit, and 20 units at that value is the A$2,200 the page quotes for uncorrected information. That unit value is a calculation from the two sources, not a figure read from either.

Fair Trading words the second offence narrowly: penalties of up to A$2,200 may apply if a scheme knows reported information is incorrect and does not update it within 28 days. The first is simpler: fines of up to A$5,500 may apply if reporting is not completed on time. Both sentences say "may". Neither source read for this guide says how frequently fines are issued.

A worked comparison, using the 48-lot scheme assumed in the fee chart: its annual fee is A$144. A single penalty notice for late reporting, at A$220, is about one and a half times that, and the maximum penalty of A$5,500 is roughly 38 times the fee. Clause 43 places the duty on the owners corporation.

Bulk reporting for managing agents: the API

For agencies that report for a large number of schemes, Fair Trading offers an API, a software connection between the agent's strata management system and the Hub, which its page describes as the best option for agencies that use a software provider and have many clients to report for.

The page sets out five interfaces: one for a scheme's initial report, one for annual reporting, one for updating schemes already reported, one for transferring schemes between managing agents, and one for retrieving scheme data. Further functions withdraw a case that needs correction, check a report's status, download documents such as invoices and receipts, and retrieve a payment link. Fair Trading states that only the strata managing agent for a scheme can access that scheme's data.

Several reports can be reviewed, and then submitted, in a single call. If one scheme in a batch fails validation, its data is not accepted and no case is created for it, while the other schemes still load; the failed scheme can be corrected and sent again or entered by hand in the Hub. The human steps stay in place: the agent must be registered on the Hub with identity and licence verified, must review each report including the privacy notice and declaration text, and must declare before submitting. Every call that updates a scheme requires an acknowledgement and a declaration. Payment remains per scheme, at A$3 per lot, through a payment link retrieved from the API, and Fair Trading says reporting is complete once payment is received.

Software providers do not connect directly to the live system. They apply for access to a sandbox, a test environment, are contacted by the Strata Hub team when a testing session is available, and move to production only after testing. The subscription details provided once the software is ready for reporting are unique to each strata manager.

The transfer interface handles a scheme changing agents. A transfer key is sent to the scheme's contacts, and the incoming agent submits that key to accept the scheme.

Strata search and the manager finder

Two public tools draw on what schemes report. The first is Strata search, which Fair Trading presents as a way to find publicly available strata scheme data. A user searches by registered address or by strata plan number and sees the plan number, address, registration date, lot information and the date the scheme last completed its annual reporting, with a map showing the property boundary. The page says the rest of the annual report is not public.

The page carries caveats. The registered address may differ from the street address in everyday use, so a search that finds nothing may succeed with the plan number. Searching the number of a subdivision plan shows only the original strata plan. The plan records themselves are maintained by NSW Land Registry Services, and copies of strata plans come from that body's approved information brokers, not from the Hub.

The second tool is the strata manager finder, described by Fair Trading as a free online directory. An owner or committee member searches by address and sees strata managers who manage schemes in that suburb and the surrounding ones, the types of scheme they manage (residential, commercial, mixed or retirement villages), the scheme sizes they specialise in, and any compliance or disciplinary action on their licence. The Strata Hub page says results are randomised. The list is built from annual reporting: an agent appears because the agent has been reported against a scheme. Agents can opt out of being displayed, and only the manager of an agency's business details can update its profile.

The Hub also hosts the Capital Works Fund Planner, which Fair Trading says helps small schemes build a 10-year plan, with the prescribed capital works fund form required from April 2026. And since 1 October 2026 the Strata Hub page records a further duty attached to committee membership: annual training for strata committee members. The detail of that requirement sits in Fair Trading's separate training guidance, which was not reviewed for this guide.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Agents Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for real estate professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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