Short answer
The owners corporation can’t simply fine you on its own. If you breach a by-law after being served a notice to comply, it can apply to NCAT, and the Tribunal can order you to pay a penalty set by the Act. So a “fine” only comes through the Tribunal, after due process — never straight from the committee.
The myth of the committee fine
It’s a common belief that a strata committee can hand out fines like a parking inspector. It can’t. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, a committee has no power to impose a monetary penalty by itself. A penalty for breaching a by-law is a matter for the Tribunal, and only after a set process has been followed.
How a penalty actually works
- Notice to comply. If you breach a by-law, the owners corporation can serve a formal notice to comply on you (section 146). This is a warning with legal weight, not a fine.
- Application to NCAT. If you breach the same by-law again after the notice, the owners corporation can apply to the Tribunal (section 147).
- The Tribunal decides. NCAT can order you to pay a penalty set by the Act. (We don’t publish the dollar amount here — it’s set and updated in the legislation; check the current Act for the figure.)
The key point: the penalty is imposed by the Tribunal, not the committee, and only after a notice to comply and a repeat breach.
What this means for you
If you get a notice to comply, take it seriously — it’s the step before the process can lead to a Tribunal penalty. If you think a by-law is being enforced unfairly or a “fine” has been demanded straight from the committee with no Tribunal order behind it, that’s not how the law works, and it’s worth raising.
Getting by-laws right from the start
Most by-law penalties trace back to confusion about what the by-laws actually say and whether a proper notice was ever issued. A scheme running on Straita keeps the by-laws, the notices, and the record of what was raised with whom in one clear place — so enforcement follows the correct steps and owners can see exactly where they stand.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — sections 146 (notice to comply) and 147 (civil penalty for breach of by-laws).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — by-laws and enforcement.
- NCAT — NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal — where a by-law penalty is decided.