NSW Strata Hub – new regulations coming

NSW Strata Hub – new regulations coming

If you don’t know, the “Strata Hub” is an initiative of Service NSW and is intended to centralise strata information in the state of New South Wales. The portal will pull data from organisations like Land Registry Services, the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme, and the owners corporations’ themselves. It will be targeted to current owners of strata properties, prospective owners and tenants and the broader community, such as emergency services and utilities providers to “better meet strata communities needs and improve customer protection.”  

The Strata Hub has introduced a new annual reporting requirement on strata managers and self-managed committees.

Draft regulations have now been published that will require Owners Corporations in NSW to report annually a range of information. This includes information such as (not the complete, properly defined list):

• strata plan number
• date of registration of the strata plan
• if the strata scheme is part of a community scheme
• address of the property
• number of lots
• the use of lots i.e. residential, commercial, retirement village etc
• the building’s NABERS rating (if any)
• an interim or final occupation certificate
• an annual fire safety statement (if required)
• number of storeys if a “class 2” building
• the replacement value of each building, or part of a building, of the strata scheme
• contact details of the Secretary of the OC
• contact details of the Strata Managing Agent of the OC (including details such as license number)
• contact details of the building manager (if any)
• balance of the sinking fund
• whether a strata renewal committee is in place

Here is the current list of information that will need to be provided.

The information must be provided in the “approved form” and there will be an annual fee payable by each OC (proposed to be $3 per lot). There is proposed timing for the annual report, the initial one being after the first AGM and then after each subsequent AGM. OC’s may also need to update information during the year if it has changed (such as the name of the strata manager). We don’t know what “approved form” means yet. Whether it can be submitted electronically via the portal, via an API, or paper is also unclear at this stage.

The draft regulations can be found here. This is proposed to be introduced from 1 May 2022. If an OC has held an AGM before 1 May 2022, their first report will be due by 1 August 2022.

UPDATE 2 May 2022 – the NSW government has changed the first due date for these reporting requirements to be from 30 June 2022.

Here is a bit more information on the Strata Hub.