Every strata and survey-strata scheme has by-laws, rules that owners, occupiers and sometimes visitors have to follow on matters such as parking, noise and how residents and visitors behave. A strata company cannot fine anyone for breaking one: only the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) can impose a penalty, of up to $2,000, which is paid to the strata company.
General informationThis page describes the Strata Titles Act 1985 (official version as at 26 June 2025), Landgate’s guidance and the Tribunal’s strata page. It is not legal advice about any by-law or dispute; the Tribunal says that anyone who needs legal advice on a strata titles matter will need to see a lawyer.
Two kinds of by-law
Some schemes use the by-laws written into Schedules 1 and 2 of the Act, which vary with when the scheme was registered; others register their own by-laws with Landgate. Both are legally valid. A scheme registered before 1 May 2020 can keep using the default by-laws, as the 2020 changes amended them. Anyone unsure which set applies can start by asking the strata company or its manager.
| Kind | Resolution to make, amend or repeal | In effect when |
|---|---|---|
| Governance by-laws | A resolution without dissent. | Registered at Landgate, within three months of the resolution. |
| Conduct by-laws | A special resolution. | Registered at Landgate, within three months of the resolution. |
A company that writes its own by-laws has wide powers, but they cannot be inconsistent with the Act, the Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019 or any other written law. Landgate’s guide is direct about the timing: a new, amended or repealed by-law is valid and effective only once it is registered.
By-laws the Act strikes down
Section 46 makes a by-law invalid to the extent that, among other things, it:
- was made without the power to make it, or is inconsistent with the Act or another written law;
- tries to deny or limit an owner’s right to vote on a proposed resolution, except as the Act allows;
- prohibits or restricts selling, leasing, mortgaging or otherwise dealing with a lot, or its passing to someone else;
- prohibits or restricts an assistance animal used by a person with a disability, whether kept on a lot by an owner or occupier or used anywhere on the parcel; or
- is unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly discriminatory against, one or more owners, or is oppressive or unreasonable, judged against the interests of all owners in using and enjoying their lots and the common property.
Enforcing a by-law
A breach can be reported to the council or to the scheme’s strata manager. If the strata company decides to act, its first step is a written notice to the person said to be in breach. The Act says what that notice must contain: the by-law said to be broken, the facts relied on, what the person must do or stop doing to avoid a further breach, and an explanation of section 47 in terms the regulations set.
The company can apply to the Tribunal for an enforcement order if any one of these is true:
- the breach has had serious adverse consequences for someone other than the person in breach;
- the person has broken that by-law on at least three separate occasions; or
- the person was given a notice and has not complied with it.
An owner, a mortgagee or an occupier of a lot (and, in a leasehold scheme, the scheme’s owner) can apply too, on the same three grounds. If satisfied there was a breach, the Tribunal can order the person to pay a penalty to the strata company, to take specified action to fix the breach or prevent more, or to stop taking specified action. A penalty cannot be imposed on the strata company itself, and cannot exceed the amount the regulations fix. Landgate gives that maximum as $2,000 (as at October 2026).
SAT, the one place for strata disputes
The Tribunal hears and decides cases under the Strata Titles Act 1985, and since the reformed law began on 1 May 2020 it has been, in its own description, essentially the one stop shop for strata disputes. The exception is recovering unpaid levies, which goes through the courts. An application lodged before 1 May 2020 is still decided under the Act as it stood before the changes.
| Inside | Outside |
|---|---|
| Disputes between scheme participants about the scheme documents, including whether a by-law is valid; a function performed or not performed; a resolution or decision of the company or council; or the election of a council member or officer. | A dispute with a planning authority, the Registrar of Titles, the Valuer-General or a rating or taxing authority. |
| Disputes between a strata company and its strata manager, or former manager, about the manager provisions, the contract or the manager’s performance. | A dispute about an amount owed as a debt, with narrow exceptions such as a member’s claim for insurance the company failed to take out. |
| Disputes between a buyer or prospective buyer and the seller about the buyer protection provisions. | Most contract and land disputes with someone outside the scheme. |
Scheme participants include the strata company, its members, occupiers, registered mortgagees and any administrator appointed to the company. An occupier can apply only about the by-laws, a company decision that directly affects them, or their own rights and obligations. If a strata company unreasonably refuses to apply to the Tribunal, a member can ask the Tribunal to authorise them to apply on the company’s behalf, with spending from a company fund up to a set amount for legal advice and action.
The Tribunal asks for a recent copy (a search) of the whole strata plan or survey-strata plan, no more than 10 days old, from Landgate. The Tribunal page’s full list of supporting documents is linked at the foot of this page.
Disputes with a manager follow their own path, set out in the guide to ending a management contract; what a manager may do for the company in the first place is in the list of what is never lent.