There are some new laws around asking for a payment plan as an owner in a strata scheme in New South Wales. In this article, our team answer some important questions regarding these laws.
When did the new laws come into place?
From 27 October 2025, new provisions under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA) will apply.
Do these new laws assist owners in financial hardship?
Yes. Levy notices must now come with a Financial Hardship Information Statement or include the information from the Statement, which includes contact details for the National Debt Hotline.
Can I ask for a payment plan?
If you are an owner of a strata title property, and cannot pay levies on time due to financial hardship, you may request for a payment plan for your overdue strata levies for up to 12 months period. You may be able to enter new payment plans after the previous payment plan ends.
The payment plan cannot include future strata levies.
How can I apply for a payment plan?
You can apply for a payment plan by submitting a Request for a Payment Plan for Overdue Contributions Standard Form (Payment Plan Application Form) to your strata manager or the secretary of the strata committee or owners corporation by email, mail or in person.
The owners corporation or strata committee must give a written response within 28 days of receiving the Payment Plan Application Form.
What must the owners corporation and strata committee do when considering my request?
The owners corporation must:
- consider your request to start a payment plan,
- not to refuse payment plans by way of make a resolution at a meeting to refuse all payment plans
- not charge a fee or other costs to the lot owner for making a request, for starting or continuing with a payment plan
- if a request is refused, include written reasons for the refusal and how they apply to your request.
Will the owners corporation refuse my payment plan?
A payment plan request may be ‘reasonably refused’. Your payment plan request may be refused by the owners corporation if entering into the payment plan would cause insufficient funds in the owners corporation’s capital work fund or administrative fund.
If a request for a payment plan is refused, the written response must include the reasons for the refusal and explain how those reasons apply to your individual case.
What can I do if my payment plan is refused unreasonably?
If you believe a refusal of your request for a payment plan was not reasonable, you should seek legal advice. If the advice determines the payment plan has been refused unreasonably, you can take the following steps to resolve the dispute with the owners corporation:
- You can apply to NSW Fair Trading for mediation on the refusal.
- If mediation is not successful or is declined, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order that the refusal was unreasonable. It is important to seek legal advice first.
- If the Tribunal makes the order, the owners corporation must agree to your request for a payment plan.
Are there any other details I should now about the new laws?
Yes. Repayments under a payment plan made by an owner in arrears must be applied in the following orders:
- The outstanding strata levies (oldest to newest) then,
- Interest and then to,
- Recovery costs of the unpaid levies
This requirement applies unless a Court or Tribunal order, or the owner themselves, specifies how payments must apply.
Can the owners corporation take legal action against me whilst I am in a payment plan?
Action cannot be taken to recover overdue levies where there is a payment plan in place for those levies and the plan is being followed properly, and if action will be taken against an owner, the owners corporation must provide the owner at least 30 days’ notice.
Need legal advice? Contact our Strata Service on (02) 9559 2899 or leave us a web enquiry at www.mlc.org.au/contact.
Information accurate as of 15th January 2026. The information above is not legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please get specific legal advice.
