The New 10-Year Capital Works Plan — Standard Form Required

From 1 April 2026, NSW strata schemes must use a new standard form when revising or replacing their 10-year capital works fund plan. Every scheme must also review its plan at least every 5 years — and once work is identified as needed, "we don't have the money" isn't a defence. Fair Trading can now order the work to be done.

What is a 10-year plan, in plain English?

Every strata scheme in NSW has to forecast what big-ticket repair and replacement jobs are coming over the next 10 years — roofs, paving, fences, painting, retaining walls, pumps, common-property plumbing. The "10-year plan" sets out:

• What's likely to need work
• Roughly when it'll need work
• Roughly what it'll cost
• How the capital works fund will cover it

The whole point is to avoid surprises. Without a plan, you can find yourself short of funds when the roof goes — and a special levy is the only option.

What's actually changed

Fair Trading has issued a standard form that all NSW strata schemes must now use when:

• Revising their existing 10-year plan, OR
• Preparing a new 10-year plan to replace one that's been in place for 10 years.

Review at least every 5 years

Under Section 80 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, every owners corporation must review its 10-year capital works fund plan at least once every 5 years — not just when the 10 years runs out. Reviews keep the plan honest as building components age, costs change, and conditions in the scheme shift.

At Townhouse Strata, we treat the 5-year review as the practical baseline. If a scheme is in our care, we'll be working with the committee well ahead of that 5-year mark to make sure the plan reflects what the building actually needs.

"We can't afford it" isn't a defence

One of the biggest changes in the strata reform package — particularly the 27 October 2025 amendments — is that NSW Fair Trading now has real compliance powers over an owners corporation's duty to repair and maintain common property. Where work is required and the OC fails to do it, Fair Trading can:

• Seek an enforceable undertaking — a formal written commitment to fix the problem
• Issue a compliance notice — requiring specific work to be done by a specific date
• Issue a penalty infringement notice — a monetary fine if the OC doesn't comply

Importantly, lack of funds is not a valid reason to ignore an order. If the capital works fund is short, the OC has to find the money — through a special levy, a strata loan, or some other lawful means. The duty to repair sits with the OC, and Fair Trading can now enforce it.

This is why a properly funded, honestly-reviewed 10-year plan matters more than it ever has. Schemes that plan ahead avoid being caught short. Schemes that don't end up paying through emergency special levies — or now, through Fair Trading enforcement.

Why the standard form?

Consistency. Previously, plans varied widely in quality and format. Owners couldn't easily compare one year to the next, or one scheme to another. The standard form gives buyers, owners and committees a common template so the numbers are comparable and the major items are properly considered.