When a major repair, insurance claim, or dispute arises within a strata community, the solution can often be found in its records.
Meeting minutes, financial records, and maintenance histories can help paint a picture of what decisions were made and why.
Has this maintenance problem been addressed before? How much was the item insured for? Is this a new dispute or a long-running issue?
Keeping records is more than good practice for a strata community; it is an important legal responsibility of owners corporations or body corporates. Across Australia, legislation requires schemes to maintain records covering ownership, finances, meetings, contracts, and maintenance activity.
While record-keeping requirements differ between states and territories, most schemes require similar categories of information to be maintained.
Imagine joining your committee or reviewing your budgets and realising no one knows why a special levy was raised three years ago. The meeting minutes, budgets and correspondence may hold the answer.
Good record keeping supports the day-to-day management of a strata community. For committee members, owners, and residents, records provide a reliable source of information when decisions need to be made, questions arise, or issues need to be resolved.
Past budgets and financial records help committees plan future expenditure and reduce the likelihood of unexpected costs or special levies. They also support financial transparency by helping owners understand how scheme funds are being used.
Maintenance and repair logs help committees identify recurring issues, prioritise future works and plan repairs more effectively. This can help contractors focus on the areas most in need and reduce the risk of more serious building issues developing over time.
Ownership information can be helpful when resolving disputes or preparing for meetings. Because unit entitlement is often linked to levy contributions and voting power, these records can be particularly useful when levies are being reviewed or decisions need to be made.
Altogether, historical records chart the journey of the scheme. This is especially important when committees change over time. Having well-kept records can provide continuity and help current members understand the building, its finances, and its community.
Records are not kept only for the benefit of current owners.
Prospective buyers are able to request access to records, including the strata roll, body corporate roll, or owners register, financial statements, maintenance logs, and the by-laws or rules.
This may help them understand whether the community is financially healthy, whether maintenance issues are being addressed, and how the community is run. Histories of disputes, tribunal notices, and special levies may also influence buyer decisions.
Terminology can vary across states and territories. The record of owners’ lots and key scheme information is known as the strata roll in New South Wales, the body corporate roll in Queensland, and the owners corporation register in Victoria. The Northern Territory and Tasmania lack a defined term.
Each record can serve an important purpose in helping with life in a strata community. The different records can be broken down into three categories: records that help manage the community, records that help manage finances, and records that help protect the building.
Records can serve an important purpose in supporting community living and managing disputes. Here are some common uses for records:
The owners corporation or body corporate typically keeps:
An owners corporation or body corporate is often responsible for a great deal of money. This money is used to pay bills for common property, such as electricity and water usage, cleaning and maintenance services, strata, owners corporation, and body corporate management fees, and for major repairs when things break down.
These costs are paid through levies collected from lot owners.
Levy notices often generate questions. Why are fees increasing? Is a major project planned? Should I expect more fee increases in the future? Clear financial reporting can help by showing where the money is spent and what expenses may be coming next.
The owners corporation or body corporate should keep records of:
A resident notices a leaking roof.
At first, it seems like a new issue. After reviewing maintenance records, the committee discovers similar reports dating back several years. What appeared to be a one-off problem is revealed to be part of a large pattern, and can now be addressed properly.
Records like these can help committees understand recurring issues, determine whether common property is under warranty, and process insurance claims.
The owners corporation or body corporate should keep:
The condition of the building itself can be critical to the functioning of a strata community. Residents want to live in a nice, well-kept environment; owners want their property looked after; and committees want things to run smoothly.
Good record-keeping can support building maintenance and help everyone involved achieve the outcomes they want.
Most records are available upon request to both owners and potential buyers, although some, such as committee correspondence, are only available to owners.
Access to these records typically requires a fee, which is paid into the owners corporation or body corporate’s administrative fund. Since fees can vary across states and territories, knowing which legislation applies to your scheme can be important if you are considering looking into your community’s records.
The Northern Territory does not have a prescribed fee in legislation. However, the fee cannot exceed the cost of searching the records incurred by the body corporate.
In New South Wales, fees depend on whether the request is made by an owner or a representative acting on an owner’s behalf, and are set out in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 under Schedule 4. Current fees can be found on the New South Wales Government website.
In Queensland, fees depend on whether the person inspecting the records is a lot owner. Creating copies of specific documents also costs a fee, but if you only want copies, you don’t have to pay the inspection fee. Current fees can be found on the Queensland Government website.
There is no prescribed fee in Tasmania.
Inspecting records in Victoria is free. Owners corporations may set a fee for copies, up to the maximum amounts prescribed on the Consumer Affairs Victoria webpage here.
The amount of time certain records need to be kept can vary. Whether you are on the committee or an interested owner, understanding the requirements of your state or territory can help you know how to treat scheme records.
In the Northern Territory, the Unit Titles Act 1975 sets out the regulations for a body corporate. The Northern Territory does not prescribe an exact time period for how long records must be kept.
In New South Wales, the record-keeping responsibilities of the owners corporation are set out in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Almost all records must be kept for seven years, including changes to the strata roll, financial records, and copies of communication. Electronic voting records only need to be kept for 13 months, while the strata roll itself, strata plan, and by-laws are kept for the life of the scheme. NSW legislation also requires all records to be kept electronically.
In Queensland, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 is the source of record-keeping legislation.
The body corporate can dispose of committee and general meeting material, correspondence that is no longer relevant, and financial statements after two years. Account statements, meeting notices and papers, records of major repairs or installations to common property, orders from courts, tribunals, or other authorities, contracts that the body corporate is a party to, and reports from the body corporate manager must be kept for six years.
In Tasmania, regulations are set out in the Strata Titles Act 1998. There are no specific laws on how long records must be kept in Tasmania, although the body corporate must keep records required for administration, financial management, and maintenance.
Record-keeping requirements in Victoria are set out in the Owners Corporation Act 2006. The owners corporation must keep meeting minutes and all documents relating to building plans, permits, specifications, contracts, subdivisions, and builders’ insurance certificates for the lifetime of the building. In addition, voting materials and proxies must be retained for 12 months, and all other documents must be retained for 7 years.
Record retention requirements are designed so that important information may be available when needed. Historical records may be needed to support insurance claims, resolve disputes, demonstrate compliance, or assist committee decision-making.
It is important to remember that even though a strata, owners corporation, or body corporate manager may handle most of the record-keeping, the records remain the property of the owners corporation or body corporate.
Decisions around the building and levies are not just made by the committee and the strata, owners corporation or body corporate manager. As an owner, being actively involved in your owners corporation or body corporate can help you see what’s ahead for the building and give you the chance to contribute to budget and levy discussions.
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Whether you are investigating a maintenance issue, preparing for an insurance claim, reviewing levy increases, or settling a dispute, you may be able to find relevant information in your strata scheme’s records.
Good record-keeping does more than satisfy legal obligations. It helps committees make informed decisions, grants transparency for owners, preserves valuable historical information, and provides confidence that important information will be available when it’s needed.
Over time, the records collectively tell the story of the community. For residents, owners, and prospective buyers alike, the records play an important role in the scheme’s life.
This article is edited by Lauren Shaw Regional General Manager and Licensee-in-Charge on October 2026.
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