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Every other strata obligation ultimately runs on money: the building cannot be insured, repaired or maintained without funds, and the committee carries real responsibility for handling them properly. This guide pulls together everything a NSW committee needs to know about levies and finances, with links to the detailed how-tos for each.
The big picture
A strata scheme’s finances rest on a few principles: money is held in the owners corporation’s name across two separate funds; levies are raised from owners to fill those funds based on a budget; and every dollar must be accounted for. Get those right and the rest follows.
The two funds
NSW schemes keep two funds: the administrative fund for day-to-day running costs, and the capital works fund for major, less-frequent expenses. They must be kept strictly separate. Our guide on the admin fund vs capital works fund explains what belongs in each and why mixing them is the classic audit failure.
Setting levies
Levies are set at the AGM from a budget and apportioned across lots by unit entitlement — not equally. The full method, including notice periods and the financial-hardship statement, is in how to calculate and issue strata levies.
Collecting levies and handling arrears
Issuing the levy is only half the job; collecting it is the other. When an owner falls behind, interest, lost voting rights and recovery come into play — but so do payment-plan rights and hardship protections. See what happens if you don’t pay strata levies.
Your finance department, in software
OneStrata keeps the two funds separate, calculates levies per lot, tracks payments and records everything to an audit trail.
Planning for the big costs
The capital works fund only works if it is funded against a forecast — the 10-year capital works plan, now on a standard form. Our guide to the capital works fund and 10-year plan shows how to budget so major works do not land as a shock special levy.
Audit-proof books
Underlying all of it is record-keeping: a ledger that is the single source of truth, every transaction recorded, the two funds visibly separate. That is not just good practice — it is what protects a volunteer treasurer if the books are ever questioned.
Doing it the easy way with OneStrata
OneStrata was built around exactly this. It keeps the administrative and capital works funds as separate ledgers, calculates levies per lot by unit entitlement, tracks who has paid, and records every transaction to an immutable audit trail — with each owner able to see where their money goes. For a self-managed committee, it is the finance department in software.
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This guide is general information for NSW strata committees, not legal, financial or tax advice. Strata obligations are governed by the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, its Regulation and recent amendments, alongside NSW Fair Trading (nsw.gov.au); always confirm current requirements for your scheme. OneStrata is record-keeping and management software for small to medium size strata schemes; it is not a licensed strata managing agent and never holds your funds.
Frequently asked questions
What are the two strata funds in NSW?
The administrative fund (day-to-day costs) and the capital works fund (major, less-frequent expenses). They must be kept separate.
How are strata levies calculated?
From the budget approved at the AGM, apportioned across lots by unit entitlement, and issued quarterly with at least 30 days’ notice.
What happens if an owner does not pay levies?
The levy is overdue the next day, the owner becomes unfinancial and loses most voting rights, 10% interest can apply after a month, and the owners corporation can recover the debt — though payment plans must be offered.
What is the 10-year capital works plan?
A forecast of major works and their cost over ten years, used to set the capital works levy; from 1 April 2026 it must use a standard form when revised or replaced.