Short answer
To make, change or repeal a by-law, the owners corporation must pass a special resolution at a general meeting and then register the change with NSW Land Registry Services. The change has no legal effect until it is registered, and the notification must be lodged within six months of the resolution. The same process applies whether you are adding a new by-law, amending an existing one, or removing one.
Step one: pass a special resolution
A by-law change is decided by the owners, not the committee, and it needs a special resolution at a general meeting — a stronger threshold than an ordinary majority (broadly, a special resolution is one not opposed by more than a set proportion of the votes cast). The proposed by-law should be drafted in full and included with the meeting notice so owners know exactly what they are voting on. Confirm the precise wording and voting threshold with a licensed strata manager or NSW Fair Trading if the by-law is contentious.
Step two: register the change
Passing the resolution is not the finish line. The owners corporation must lodge a notification of the change with NSW Land Registry Services, and the by-law has no effect until that recording is made. There is a time limit: the notification cannot be lodged more than six months after the resolution was passed. Miss the window and the vote has to be run again.
Keep the consolidated set up to date
Once a change is registered, the scheme should update its consolidated by-laws — the single current set — so owners and buyers can see the rules that actually apply. The secretary is required to keep a consolidated, up-to-date copy. This matters at sale time, because prospective buyers rely on the consolidated by-laws to understand what they are bound by.
Running the process without a misstep
The two things that sink a by-law change are a resolution that was not actually a special resolution and a registration that never happened (or happened too late). A system such as Straita walks a self-managed scheme through the sequence — draft the by-law, give proper notice, record the special resolution, track the six-month registration deadline, and hold the consolidated set afterwards — so the change is enforceable rather than a motion that quietly lapsed.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — changing by-laws by special resolution, registration with the Registrar-General, the six-month limit, and the consolidated copy (s 141).
- NSW Government — Strata by-laws (Fair Trading) — how to make, change and register by-laws.