Self-Managing Your Strata Scheme: A Practical Guide for Owners Corporations
How Australian owners corporations can self-manage a strata scheme: legal duties, two-fund budgeting, levies, insurance, compliance, meetings and records.
Self-managing a strata scheme means the owners corporation runs the building itself, without appointing a professional strata manager. The committee and owners take on the administration, financial handling, compliance and meeting obligations directly. It is legal in every Australian state and territory, and it can save thousands in management fees each year. It also means the committee carries the legal responsibility for getting those obligations right.
This guide explains what self-management involves, what your scheme is legally required to do, and how to decide whether it's the right call for your building.
What does it mean to self-manage a strata scheme?
Self-management means the owners corporation (called a body corporate in Queensland and some other jurisdictions) performs the functions a strata manager would otherwise be paid to do. No external agent is appointed under a management agreement.
In a self-managed scheme, owners and the elected committee typically handle:
- Collecting levies and maintaining the scheme's bank accounts
- Budgeting and keeping financial records
- Arranging building insurance and valuations
- Organising repairs, maintenance and contractors
- Meeting compliance and essential-services obligations
- Convening meetings, issuing notices and recording minutes
- Keeping the roll of owners and statutory records
Self-management suits smaller schemes best — think duplexes, townhouse rows and small unit blocks of roughly 2 to 12 lots, where owners are engaged and at least one person has time and basic financial literacy. Larger or more complex schemes (lifts, pools, fire systems, embedded networks) carry heavier compliance loads that are harder to carry without help.
Self-managed vs professionally managed strata: what's the difference?
The difference is who does the work and who carries the day-to-day risk.
- Professionally managed: A licensed strata manager is appointed under an agreement to handle administration, finances and compliance. Owners pay management fees plus disbursements. The committee still makes the decisions, but the manager executes them and advises on obligations.
- Self-managed: The owners corporation does everything itself. There are no management fees, but the committee is personally responsible for meeting legal duties, and there's no professional to flag a missed compliance deadline.
A middle path is partial outsourcing — self-managing day-to-day operations while paying specialists for narrow tasks such as the annual financial statements or fire compliance. Many capable self-managed schemes use this hybrid model.
What are the committee's legal duties in a self-managed scheme?
The owners corporation has statutory duties that do not disappear just because no manager is appointed. Exact wording varies by state and territory, but across Australia the core duties are broadly consistent:
- Maintain and repair common property — keep shared structures, services and grounds in good condition.
- Manage the scheme's finances — raise levies, pay expenses and keep proper accounting records.
- Insure the building — hold adequate building (and usually public liability) insurance.
- Hold meetings and keep records — run an annual general meeting, record minutes and keep statutory registers.
- Comply with relevant legislation — strata/community titles laws, plus building, fire, safety and work-health-and-safety rules.
- Act in good faith — committee members must act honestly, reasonably and in the scheme's interests, not their own.
Committee members are generally volunteers and usually have limited personal liability when acting honestly and within their role — but the owners corporation as a whole remains accountable. Check the legislation for your jurisdiction (for example NSW's Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, Victoria's Owners Corporations Act 2006, or Queensland's Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997) for the precise duties that apply to you.
How should a self-managed scheme handle money and the two funds?
Most Australian strata schemes must keep two separate funds, and self-managed schemes are no exception:
- Administrative fund (admin fund): Covers recurring, day-to-day expenses — insurance premiums, electricity for common areas, gardening, cleaning, minor repairs and routine servicing.
- Capital works fund (also called the sinking fund or maintenance fund): Saves for larger, less frequent expenses — repainting, roof replacement, repaving, lift overhauls and major structural works. Many jurisdictions require a long-term capital works or maintenance plan (often a 10-year forecast) to set the contribution level.
Key financial rules for self-managers:
- Keep scheme money separate from personal money. The owners corporation's funds must sit in an account in the scheme's name — never in a personal or mingled account. Treating levies as trust-like money is the safe default.
- Levies must match a budget. Set contributions at a general meeting based on a budget owners have approved, then issue levy notices accordingly.
- Keep clean records. Maintain a clear trail of income, expenses, receipts and bank statements. Several states require records to be kept for a set period (commonly seven years).
- Reconcile and report. Reconcile the bank account regularly and present financial statements at the AGM.
If no one in the scheme is comfortable with bookkeeping, outsourcing just the financial function is a common and sensible step.
How do levies work when you self-manage?
Levies (also called contributions) are how the scheme funds itself. The process is:
- Prepare a budget for the admin fund and capital works fund for the coming year.
- Approve the budget and levy amounts by resolution at a general meeting, usually the AGM.
- Apportion contributions between lots, normally by unit entitlement (lot liability in some states), not equally per lot.
- Issue levy notices to each owner showing the amount, due date and which fund it goes to.
- Collect and follow up — track payments, send reminders, and apply any interest on overdue amounts the legislation allows.
Special levies can be raised for one-off costs that the funds can't cover, but they generally need owner approval at a meeting. Software built for self-managed buildings — such as Orveya — can generate levy notices, track who has paid and chase arrears automatically, which removes much of the manual effort here.
What insurance and compliance does a self-managed scheme need?
Insurance. Almost every strata scheme is legally required to hold building insurance for full reinstatement value, plus public liability cover. Self-managed schemes must arrange this themselves and should:
- Obtain a current insurance valuation (many jurisdictions require one periodically, often every few years) so cover isn't inadequate.
- Renew on time and keep the certificate of currency on file.
- Consider additional cover such as office bearers' (committee members') liability, voluntary workers and machinery breakdown where relevant.
Compliance and essential services. Common property often includes safety systems that must be inspected and certified on a schedule:
- Fire safety equipment and exits (annual fire safety statements apply in several states)
- Smoke alarms
- Emergency and exit lighting
- Lifts, pumps, pools and backflow devices, where present
- Asbestos registers and electrical safety for applicable buildings
These obligations come from building and fire regulations as much as strata law, and missing them can void insurance or expose the scheme to penalties. Keep a compliance calendar of every inspection, certificate and renewal due date.
How do meetings and minutes work without a strata manager?
The owners corporation must still meet and document decisions properly. At minimum:
- Hold an annual general meeting (AGM) each year, covering financials, the budget, levies, insurance and committee elections.
- Give proper notice — provide the required notice period and agenda to all owners before each meeting (notice periods vary by state).
- Reach decisions by valid resolution — ordinary resolutions for routine matters; special or unanimous resolutions for significant decisions like by-law changes or major works, depending on the threshold your laws set.
- Record accurate minutes — capture motions, voting outcomes and key decisions, and distribute them to owners within the required timeframe.
- Hold committee meetings as needed between AGMs for operational decisions.
Minutes and notices are legal records, not formalities. They're the evidence that decisions were made correctly, and they matter most when a dispute or a property sale puts the scheme under scrutiny.
What records must a self-managed owners corporation keep?
Strata laws require schemes to maintain a set of statutory records, typically including:
- The roll of owners (names, addresses and lot/unit entitlements)
- Financial records, statements and the budget
- Minutes of general and committee meetings
- By-laws or rules currently in force
- Insurance policies and valuations
- Maintenance and compliance records and the capital works plan
- Correspondence and contracts entered into by the scheme
Owners (and prospective buyers via a records inspection or certificate) have a right to access many of these. Most jurisdictions require records to be retained for a minimum period — commonly around seven years. Keeping everything organised and retrievable is one of the most underrated parts of self-management, and one where a shared digital system beats a shoebox of paperwork.
When should a self-managed scheme outsource or get help?
Self-management isn't all-or-nothing. Consider getting professional help when:
- The building is complex — lifts, pools, fire systems, embedded networks or heritage elements create heavy compliance loads.
- There's a major project or dispute — large capital works, a building defect claim, or a conflict between owners can warrant specialist advice.
- No one has the time or skills — if bookkeeping, compliance tracking or chairing meetings is being neglected, the savings aren't worth the legal exposure.
- The scheme is growing or turning over owners — engaged owners today don't guarantee engaged owners next year.
Even committed self-managers often pay specialists for the annual financials, an insurance valuation or fire compliance certification while keeping everything else in-house. The goal is meeting your legal duties reliably — not avoiding all outside help on principle.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to self-manage strata in Australia?
Yes. Self-management is permitted in every Australian state and territory. The owners corporation is not required to appoint a professional strata manager. However, all the legal duties — finances, insurance, compliance, meetings and records — still apply and fall on the committee and owners to meet.
How much can you save by self-managing?
Schemes typically avoid ongoing strata management fees, which for small buildings can run from several hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, plus disbursements. The trade-off is the committee's time and the responsibility for getting compliance right. Many schemes reduce both by using software designed for self-managed buildings rather than paper-based processes.
Do self-managed schemes still need two funds?
In most jurisdictions, yes. Schemes are generally required to keep an administrative fund for day-to-day costs and a capital works (sinking) fund for major future expenses, often supported by a long-term maintenance plan. Self-managing doesn't change this requirement.
What happens if a self-managed scheme misses a compliance obligation?
Missing obligations like fire safety statements, insurance renewals or required meetings can lead to penalties, void insurance cover, or disputes that end up before a tribunal. Because there's no manager to catch these, a self-managed committee should keep a compliance calendar of every certificate, inspection and renewal due date.
Can software replace a strata manager for a self-managed scheme?
Software can handle much of the administrative load — levy notices, payment tracking, maintenance requests, document storage and meeting records — which makes self-management far more feasible. Australian-built, AU-hosted platforms such as Orveya are designed for self-managed owners corporations, with AI assistance that only acts under human approval. Software handles the workflow; the committee still makes the decisions and carries the legal duties.