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8 April 2026

NSW Capital Works Fund 2026: What the Mandatory 10-Year Plan Means for Your Levies

New rules took effect on 1 April 2026. If you own an apartment in NSW, your levies are likely to change.

What changed on 1 April 2026?

The Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 introduced mandatory reforms to how NSW strata schemes plan and fund long-term maintenance. The headline change: every owners corporation must now prepare or update its 10-year capital works fund plan using a new prescribed standard form.

This isn't a minor formatting update. The new standard form is a structured digital template that requires schemes to itemise expected maintenance costs, consider sustainability infrastructure, and produce a plan that buyers and owners can actually compare across buildings.

The four key changes

1. Prescribed standard form

All new or reviewed 10-year capital works fund plans must use the NSW Government's prescribed digital format. If your scheme already has a plan, you don't need to update it immediately — but the next time it's reviewed or replaced, the new format is mandatory.

2. Developer obligations

The original owner (usually the developer) of a new scheme must now prepare a compliant 10-year forecast before the first AGM and include it in the proposed budget. For multi-storey developments, an independent qualified surveyor must review and certify the plan.

3. Sustainability costs

Owners corporations must now factor in costs for sustainability infrastructure — electricity meters, solar panels, sustainable building materials — when estimating capital works fund contributions. This means levies may increase to cover green infrastructure, even in buildings that haven't traditionally budgeted for it.

4. Greater comparability

The standardised format means buyers can compare the financial health of different buildings side-by-side for the first time. Until now, every scheme structured its plan differently, making comparison almost impossible.

What this means for your levies

The short answer: many levies will go up. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The reforms target a widespread problem in NSW strata: maintenance debt. This happens when schemes keep levies artificially low by deferring repairs or failing to save for predictable future costs. The result is deteriorating buildings, surprise special levies, and declining property values.

By requiring proper long-term planning, the reforms will surface costs that many schemes have been kicking down the road. If your levies increase, the question isn't whether the increase is justified — it's whether your building was underfunding maintenance before.

How to know if your levies are fair

With levies likely shifting across NSW, owners need a way to benchmark their costs against comparable buildings. That's exactly what LevyCheck does.

Enter your building address and quarterly levy amount, and you'll instantly see:

  • Your percentile ranking compared to similar buildings in your area
  • The levy range (25th to 75th percentile) for comparable schemes
  • Red flags that might indicate your building is over- or under-funded
  • Specific questions to ask at your next AGM

Check your levies now

Free, instant, no signup required.

Check my levy

Questions to ask your committee

If your building's 10-year plan is being updated to comply with the new requirements, here are questions worth raising at your next AGM:

  1. When will our plan be updated to the new format? If the current plan isn't due for review soon, find out the timeline.
  2. What sustainability costs have been included? Solar panels, EV charging, energy-efficient fixtures — these are now required line items.
  3. How does our capital works fund balance compare to the 10-year forecast? A healthy fund should be tracking ahead of or in line with projected costs.
  4. Has an independent surveyor reviewed the plan? For multi-storey buildings, this is now mandatory for new schemes. Even for existing schemes, an independent review adds credibility.
  5. How do our levies compare to similar buildings? Use LevyCheck to benchmark before the meeting.

The bottom line

These reforms force schemes to plan properly and disclose clearly. Levies will shift. Some buildings will discover they've been underfunding maintenance for years. Others will find their levies are already well-managed.

Either way, you should know where your building stands before the next AGM.