Strata owners’ rights in NSW, a guide by Dotto

Line 06 of 07 · Commissions and disclosures

Commissions and disclosures

An NSW strata managing agent may neither ask for nor accept a gift or other benefit, apart from a short list the law allows: its pay from the owners corporation, commissions and training services the owners corporation has agreed to, and a gift or benefit of no more than $60. Around that rule sits a set of disclosures: before appointment, at every AGM, before certain contracts, and whenever a new connection arises.

General information. This page explains NSW strata law in plain words. It is not legal or financial advice. NSW Fair Trading’s strata pages hold the current rules, and a solicitor can advise on a particular scheme.

What an agent may accept

  • Pay from the owners corporation to the agent, or to its employees or contractors.
  • A monetary commission, if the agent’s terms of appointment provide for it or the owners corporation has otherwise approved it.
  • A training service related to strata management, on the same condition.
  • A gift or other benefit worth no more than $60.

A commission or training service not covered by the agency agreement needs the owners corporation’s approval at a general meeting, and the agent must give a written explanation of why approving it is in the owners corporation’s interest, with details including the amount.

The moments of disclosure

  1. Before appointment

    Any link between the agent and the developer; any financial stake, direct or indirect, it holds in the scheme; its links with suppliers it uses as a matter of routine, such as an insurer that is a subsidiary of the strata management company; and whether, in the last two years, it advised the developer on strata plans.

  2. At every AGM

    Third-party commissions or training services received in the previous 12 months, with particulars; those likely in the next 12 months, with their estimated value; and connections with suppliers and the original owner, including any in the past year. The disclosures go in the minutes, and later changes are disclosed to the strata committee with an explanation.

  3. Before a contract

    Written notice before the agent signs a contract for goods or services if it will receive a commission or training service, or if the contract is with a connected person such as a related supplier, including the commission amount and why the contract is in the owners corporation’s best interest.

  4. As soon as it happens

    Written notice as soon as possible when a supplier or the original owner becomes connected to the agent, or the agent gains a financial interest in the scheme, for example by buying property in it.

  5. On a referral

    When the agent refers the owners corporation to a service provider: any personal or commercial relationship with it, and the nature and value of any rebate, discount, commission or benefit the agent may receive.

One more applies between agents: an agent that intends to act for an owners corporation, knowing another agent already manages the property, must tell the current agent.

The insurance quote, itemised

Strata managing agents must give owners corporations itemised quotes for insurance, setting out these lines.

Strata insurance quote

  1. Base premiumamount
  2. Commissionamount, and who receives it
  3. Broker feeamount, and who receives it
  4. GSTamount

Fair Trading’s committee guidance adds that a strata manager helping to find insurance must provide at least three separate quotations, or tell the owners corporation in writing if three can’t be obtained. And an agent can’t take a commission on insurance the owners corporation found and arranged payment for itself, without the agent’s help.

If a disclosure is missed

As at October 2026, failing to make the disclosures required before appointment can lead to court-imposed penalties of up to $55,000. If an agent keeps quiet about commissions or training services it has received, either the owners corporation or NSW Fair Trading may ask the Tribunal to order the commissions handed over to the owners corporation, and the agent could face court-imposed penalties of up to $55,000.

A suspected breach of the disclosure laws can be reported to Fair Trading as a complaint. Undisclosed commissions are also among the reasons Fair Trading lists for an owners corporation removing a strata manager, set out in the management agreement and its term.

Next on the board: When owners disagree. Or go back to the directory on the home page.