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All members of our Strata Manager Chapter are ‘PROFESSIONAL STRATA MANAGERS’.

SCA (NSW) strives to ensure that all strata manager members are able to deliver

services to the public that are of the highest professional and ethical standard.

STRATA HUB FAQ

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The Strata Hub is an initiative of the NSW Government to provide better transparency, accountability, better regulation and more engagement for owners and residents of strata schemes in NSW.

The following FAQ has been designed to assist Owners Corporations and Strata Managers prepare for the introduction of the Strata Hub. For more information see the resources pages at https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/strata.

Strata Hub FAQ

General Information 

Strata managing agents and other users will be able to register from 30th June 2022.

Currently, the initial report is required within three months from 30th June 2022. However, the Department of Customer Service (DCS) is considering extending the initial reporting period and will provide more details shortly about what this may mean for you.

For each subsequent calendar year, information must be uploaded within 3 months of the AGM.

Yes. To provide ongoing administration of the Hub, a flat administration fee of $3 per lot will apply, including utility lots and subdivision lots. GST does not apply.

Payment options are currently being explored such as BPAY or Credit Card payment.

Yes. An initial penalty is $220 and further penalties up to $2,200 may be applied for failure to comply.

In the instance where the Owners Corporation does not agree for information to be uploaded the notice will be served on the Owners Corporation however if the managing agent holds delegated authority to keep information up to date and it is not done within the requested time limits the penalty will be served on the managing agent.

Strata scheme information held on the Strata Hub will have robust privacy and security measures in place, including user verification. Not all information will be publicly available. See table below.

Information for Strata Managers

Currently universal logins are not available, however the NSW Government is working on Service NSW Business accounts for Strata Management companies.

Until Service NSW Accounts are available Strata Managers will be able to log in via their individual Service NSW accounts and be verified by their Strata Managing Agent License number.

At present it will be identified by the individual manager however NSW Government is working on a business account solution.

A bulk upload functionality is currently under development which will enable Strata Managing Agents to enter bulk entries via three secure CSV files to be uploaded to the Strata Hub. We will consult further with industry as we develop this solution.

No. The obligation to upload information onto the hub is the Owners Corporations responsibility, however depending on the delegations in your managing agency agreement, a Strata Manager may be required to facilitate the upload on behalf of their clients.

Yes. The SCA (NSW) management agreement will be reviewed following the introduction of the statutory review of strata legislation which is due in the second half of 2022.

If the Strata Manager does not have delegated authority to act in this capacity, the Strata Committee will be responsible for uploading information on the Strata Hub.

This will depend on the delegated authority provided to the manager in the agency agreement, and what fees and charges are outlined in the agreement.

For managers whose agreements state that additional services can be provided if authorised by the committee or Owners Corporation, the relevant authorisation will be required to perform the task and to apply an appropriate fee for service. A committee resolution to the following effect should be enacted by the agent and Owners Corporation;

“The committee authorises the strata manager to comply with the Owners Corporation obligations under the Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Information) Regulation 2021 this year and on an ongoing basis and to charge in accordance with the terms of its agency agreement”.

For managers who only have authority for fixed services and fees, they would need an appropriate amendment to their agreement and delegation from the Owners Corporation to be duly delegated the task and to charge an appropriate fee for service.

For managers who act under full delegated authority or a compulsory appointment, no resolution will be needed.

DCS is working closely with NSW Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and all data will be handled in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

No. At this stage the government will not be providing physical assistance in the upload of information, however a bulk upload solution will be provided.

 

The Strata Committee will be able to update the Strata Management details in accordance with the appointment. Alternatively, if the incoming agent is delegated this authority they will be able to update the necessary information.

All users that access the Hub will be required to verify their identity and complete an authorisation and privacy declaration before uploading or accessing information on the Hub. NSW Government will have records of access to the reporting function and penalties will apply for unauthorised access.

Individuals will register and log into the Strata Hub. Once in the Hub, they must complete a Proof of Identity (POI) to report and view their details.
The user will complete the proof of identity using their personal SNSW account and documents.
Currently, there is no link to their company or licence details, as the POI is completed on the individual.

Once in the Strata Hub there is a licence check which confirms valid licence details of either the Corporation licence or the individual SMA licence details.

Advocacy

SCA (NSW) is working closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that our members concerns and queries are addressed and raised adequately.

Late May is the launch of the pilot scheme and testing phase. The regulation does not commence until 30th June 2022, and users can register from this date.

DCS is considering extending the initial reporting period for all schemes. However, extensions on an individual basis will not be granted.

Yes, user testing will begin late May and SCA (NSW) members will have a chance to participate in this.

Strata Hub is a NSW Government initiative in response to community feedback that information on strata schemes is too difficult. It is aimed at providing transparency, accountability, better regulation and engagement with all stakeholders in the Strata Community.

Yes, NSW Government and SCA (NSW) are working on educational resources for all stakeholders.

Users that register information on the Hub are required to verify their identity and complete a declaration that information provided is true and accurate. The NSW Government is relying on the correct and accurate information being provided by the Strata Manager or Owners Corporation. Information that is incorrectly reported must be corrected or fines may apply.

Yes. Further training and user videos will be rolled out prior to the launch date.

All users that access the Hub will be required to verify their identity and complete an authorisation and privacy declaration before uploading or accessing information on the Hub. NSW will have records of access to the reporting function and penalties will apply for unauthorised access.

Owners Corporation

Yes. It is recommended that all Owners Corporation and Strata Committees are notified and educated on the Regulation and requirements. Where Strata Managers will be uploading this data on behalf of their clients, they are also advised to update their privacy statements accordingly.

Penalties will apply to Owners Corporations who do not permit their information to be uploaded onto the Strata Hub. People can choose to give personal or professional contact details, such as an email associated with the committee member’s role in the scheme.

As an alternative, where a managing agent has been delegated the office bearer roles, their information may be loaded onto the Hub.

Office bearers’ details are required so they can be a point of contact for residents in the building and for emergency services such as Fire and Rescue NSW in some circumstances.

No. At this stage it is only a requirement for Strata Plans to register information to the Hub, including their community or precinct plan number, if applicable. However, this may change in the future.

Yes, it would be beneficial for the emergency services contact to be someone who lives onsite and can assist if emergency access is ever required.

The regulation does not require any documents to be uploaded.

Self-managed schemes will be notified of the requirement via mail outs, social media, email campaigns and GOV website, self-managed schemes must submit the same information as managed schemes. DCS encourages self-managed schemes to sign up for the Strata and Community Schemes eNewsletter updates for information on current strata laws.

Yes, if the tenants details have been provided and are listed on the Strata Roll.

The NSW Government is designing a verification process to establish who should have access to what information on the Hub. 

Yes. Owners corporations are expected to make reasonable enquiries to locate the interim or final certificate(s). However, there will also be an option for schemes over 10 years old that cannot source their occupation certificate(s) to declare the certificate(s) as “lost, destroyed, or undiscoverable”.

Yes. The Secretary will have access to maintain any information.

They will need an email address to make a Service NSW account to be able to access the Strata Hub.

Access to Information Matrix