Short answer
A sustainability infrastructure resolution is a special vote that lets a strata scheme approve green upgrades — such as solar panels, EV charging or water-saving measures — at a lower voting threshold than the change would normally need. Altering common property usually takes a special resolution (a 75% vote), but a sustainability infrastructure resolution passes unless more than half the votes cast are against it. That lower bar means a small group of objectors can no longer block a sensible sustainability project.
Why it exists
Anything that alters common property — running new wiring, mounting panels on the shared roof, adding charging points in the car park — would ordinarily need a special resolution, which requires 75% support. In practice that is hard to reach, and for years it let a handful of owners stall every green upgrade. NSW introduced sustainability infrastructure resolutions specifically to remove that roadblock.
What counts as sustainability infrastructure
The provisions are aimed at equipment that reduces a building’s energy or water use, or its greenhouse emissions. Common examples include:
- Solar panels and battery storage
- Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure
- Water-saving measures
The category is defined in the legislation, so a proposal has to genuinely fall within it to use the lower threshold.
How the vote works
Instead of needing 75% in favour, a sustainability infrastructure resolution is passed unless more than one-half of the votes cast are against it — effectively a simple-majority-style bar rather than the usual super-majority. The owners corporation also has to turn its mind to practical matters set out in the Act, such as the cost of the works (including running and maintenance costs), who will carry them out, who will own the infrastructure, and who can use it.
A note on the exact section: The lower-threshold mechanism and the factors the owners corporation must consider sit within the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the sustainability-infrastructure provisions, introduced by 2021 amendments). We have described the mechanism as the Act and NSW Fair Trading state it; confirm the precise section wording against the current Act before relying on it for a specific vote.
Running the resolution properly
The lower threshold only helps if the resolution is put and recorded correctly — the right motion, at a validly convened meeting, with the required factors considered and the outcome minuted. Straita can run a sustainability infrastructure resolution end to end for a self-managed scheme — preparing the motion, putting it to the vote, and recording the decision and who approved it — so the approval stands up if it’s ever questioned.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — sustainability infrastructure and the resolution threshold for approving it.
- NSW Fair Trading — Sustainability infrastructure in strata — installation, financing and by-laws.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes — general strata guidance.