The strata sector in Australia is a multi-billion dollar business, effectively run by committee volunteers.
Part of the recent NSW strata reforms involves mandatory online training provided by NSW Fair Trading for new and returning strata committee members.
The training, available from October 2026, involves a simple, free one hour online course. Training must be completed within three months of appointment. Additional training will apply in future years.
If a committee member does not complete the required training within three months of their appointment, they automatically cease to be a member of the strata committee.
This should not be an issue for the larger buildings with professional strata managers. Committee members will know their obligations. But for the vast number of smaller buildings with strata committees who rarely meet and who use less organised strata managers (or none at all), the risk of missing the deadline and ceasing as a member of the committee seems much higher. (Note that two-lot strata schemes are exempt.)
This may lead to a lack of quorums for meetings or invalid resolutions where members act as if they are still committee members despite being disqualified.
NSW Fair Trading notes that decisions involving disqualified members will generally remain valid if the committee acted in good faith and did not know the person had not completed the training.
A simple solution would be to adopt a Training Register so it is clear that all members have completed the required training. NSW Fair Trading has guidance for committee secretaries on this point.
Yet to see if other States move towards adopting mandatory strata training.
September 2026
© PELEN 2026
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