Short answer
Yes — an NSW strata scheme can lawfully self-manage, at any size. Nothing in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) requires an owners corporation to appoint a strata managing agent: appointing one is optional, made by a resolution at a general meeting (s 49), and the only way a manager can be forced on a scheme is an order by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) in cases of serious dysfunction (s 237). A self-managed scheme keeps carrying out the same legal duties — levies, insurance, financial records, meetings and maintaining common property — through its elected committee and office-holders, and keeps the management fee it would otherwise pay.
Is self-management actually legal in NSW?
Yes. The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) sets out what an owners corporation must do to run a scheme, but it does not require the owners corporation to hire a strata managing agent to do it. Appointing an agent is a choice the owners corporation can make — by a resolution at a general meeting (s 49) — not an obligation it must meet.
There is only one situation in which a manager is imposed rather than chosen: where a scheme is dysfunctional, NCAT can make an order for the compulsory appointment of a strata managing agent and hand that agent some or all of the functions of the owners corporation, committee or office-holders (s 237). That is a last-resort remedy for a failing scheme — not the normal path. NSW Fair Trading treats self-management as a normal, supported choice; many smaller schemes, including two-lot schemes, are self-managed.
Who does the work in a self-managed scheme?
When there is no managing agent, the jobs don’t disappear — the owners corporation carries them out through its strata committee and the office-holders it elects (typically a secretary, a treasurer and a chairperson). Here is who is responsible for what, and the part of the Act each duty comes from:
| The job | Who does it in a self-managed scheme | Where it sits in the Act |
|---|---|---|
| Setting and collecting levies (contributions) | Owners corporation sets them; treasurer issues notices and banks them | Levy notices must give at least 30 days (s 83) |
| The two funds — administrative fund (day-to-day) and capital works fund (long-term) | Treasurer maintains both; owners corporation approves the budget | Administrative fund (s 73); capital works fund (s 74) |
| Financial records and annual statements | Treasurer prepares; owners corporation presents them at the AGM | Records duties, Part 5 (s 177–183) |
| Meetings and minutes (AGM and committee) | Secretary convenes and minutes; chairperson runs them | Meeting procedure, Schedule 1 |
| Insurance — building cover and other required policies | Owners corporation holds the cover; committee arranges it | Insure the building (s 160), damage-policy cover (s 161), other mandatory insurance incl. public liability (s 164) |
| Repairs and maintaining common property | Owners corporation is under a strict duty to maintain and repair | Duty to maintain common property (s 106) |
| Records and the strata roll (and owners’ right to inspect) | Secretary keeps and makes them available | Records to be kept and retained (s 177–183) |
| By-laws — making, changing and enforcing them | Owners corporation by resolution; committee enforces | By-laws (Part 7, s 134) |
| Engaging contractors and obtaining quotes | Owners corporation / committee, within the scheme’s spending limits | Two independent quotes required for spending over $30,000; large schemes capped at the AGM estimate + 10% (s 102) |
What self-management actually requires
Self-management is not “doing less” — it is doing the same statutory work without an agent in the middle. The obligations that don’t go away include: keeping the building insured; maintaining common property; setting levies correctly and giving proper notice; holding an AGM and keeping minutes; preparing financial records and keeping them for the required period; and administering the by-laws. The scheme that self-manages well is the one that has a reliable system for staying on top of those deadlines and records — not the one that hopes to remember them.
Does scheme size matter?
There is no size cap on self-management. Small schemes (say 2–20 lots) with simple finances and a couple of engaged owners are the classic self-managers, and two-lot schemes get some relaxations. Larger schemes — bigger budgets, major capital works, more owners — carry more administrative and compliance load, so they self-manage successfully only with capable systems behind them. Size changes the workload and the tooling you need; it does not change whether you are allowed to self-manage.
What actually goes wrong in practice
Self-management fails in predictable ways, and they are almost always administrative rather than legal:
- Missed deadlines — an AGM not held, insurance allowed to lapse, a fire-safety statement not lodged.
- Levies set wrong or under-funded — no realistic capital works forecast, so there is no money when a big repair lands.
- Poor records — minutes, financial records or the strata roll not kept properly, which then blocks sales and owner requests.
- Everything in one person’s head — the scheme runs fine until that volunteer moves out or burns out.
Left to run down, a genuinely dysfunctional scheme can end up with a compulsory managing agent imposed by NCAT (s 237) — the outcome self-management is meant to avoid. The lesson isn’t “don’t self-manage”; it’s “self-manage with a system that carries the routine.”
What does it cost — and what do you save?
The saving is the managing agent’s fee (see what a strata manager costs). The cost is the work: the statutory jobs above still have to be done, and done on time. So the honest question is not “can we self-manage?” — you can — but “do we have something reliable carrying the load?” Where that load rests on one volunteer and a spreadsheet, self-management is fragile; where a proper system runs the routine, it is sustainable and the fee stays in the scheme’s funds.
Can you self-manage but still use specialists?
Yes — and this is the part most owners miss. Self-management is not all-or-nothing. A scheme can run its own affairs and still bring in targeted professional help for a specific, exceptional issue — a serious dispute, a major building-remediation project, a one-off legal question — while handling the everyday administration itself. The modern model is not “volunteers become strata managers.” It is simpler: the owners corporation keeps control and the decisions, while software does the administrative machinery — the levies, the deadlines, the records, the meeting paperwork — and specialists are called in only for the genuinely hard, one-off problems.
Reviewed by: Leon Chan, Licensed NSW Strata Managing Agent (Class 1) — NSW Licence No. 1430575 Jurisdiction: NSW · Primary legislation: Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) Last reviewed: 25 September 2026 · Sources: legislation.nsw.gov.au · NSW Fair Trading This explains the legislation in plain English; it is not legal advice.
How Straita fits
Straita is built for exactly this: self-managed, with the work done for you. You no longer choose between paying a managing agent and drowning in spreadsheets. Straita runs the routine — levies, meetings, key dates, compliance, records and money — and tells the committee what needs to happen next. The committee just approves the decisions. You keep the control and the savings; the admin runs itself. Enter your strata plan number in the calculator below to see what your scheme would pay.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — appointment of a strata managing agent by resolution (s 49) and term of appointment (s 50); compulsory appointment by NCAT (s 237); the two funds (s 73, s 74); levy notices (s 83); spending limits and quotes (s 102); insurance (s 160, s 161, s 164); duty to maintain common property (s 106); records and the strata roll (s 177, s 180, s 183); by-laws (s 134); meeting procedure (Schedule 1).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — official guidance for owners and committees.
- NSW Strata Hub — the NSW Government’s annual strata reporting portal.