7 July 2026
Insurance is usually one of the largest single costs in a strata budget. For years, how the people arranging that insurance were paid was hard for owners to see. NSW law has changed that, and most committees still do not know what they are now entitled to ask for.
Here is the current position, in plain terms, and what to do with it at your next renewal.
What the law now requires
Since 3 February 2025, a strata managing agent in NSW has to disclose more than before. Before they are appointed, they must tell the owners corporation about connections with suppliers they routinely use, including where an insurer is related to the management company. During the appointment, insurance quotes have to be itemised. That means the quote must set out the base premium, GST, the commission amount, any broker fee, and who each of those amounts is ultimately paid to. At every annual general meeting, the agent must also disclose any commissions, gifts or training benefits received in connection with the scheme.
Failing to disclose can carry penalties into the tens of thousands of dollars. This is not guidance. It is a legal obligation on the agent.
Where the line currently sits
It is worth being clear about what the law does not do, because this is where a lot of committees are misled by headlines. Commissions to strata managers are not banned in NSW. They remain lawful, provided they are disclosed and authorised in the agency agreement or approved by the owners corporation. There is one specific prohibition: an agent cannot take a commission where the owners corporation sourced the insurance and arranged payment independently, without the agent’s help.
So the current framework is built on disclosure, not prohibition. The information has to be put in front of you. Reading it and acting on it is still the committee’s job.
Where it is heading
The direction of travel is away from commissions. From 1 January 2026, the Strata Community Association NSW began phasing commissions out of new member contracts, moving to a fee-for-service model over the next few years. Separately, the NSW Government asked the Productivity and Equality Commission to review the impact of prohibiting commissions and other conflicted payments, and that review reported in early 2026 with further reform under consideration. A recent review of strata insurance broking by the Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee (IBCCC) also found conflicts and disclosure gaps across the brokers it examined, which tells you the issue is real and now being actively policed.
None of that changes what you can do today.
What to ask at your next renewal
You do not need to wait for legislation to get clarity. At renewal, ask your manager for the itemised quote the law already entitles you to, and read it. Ask what commission or fee is being paid on your insurance, and to whom. Ask whether any business connected to your manager benefits from the placement. Ask how many insurers were approached and to see the comparison. If any of that is hard to get a straight answer to, that is useful information in itself.
Our position
We built Bettr Strata without insurance commissions. When a committee asks us who gets paid on their insurance and how much, the answer is short: we do not take a commission on it. That is not a reaction to the reforms. It is how we set the business up. If your committee wants to understand its current insurance arrangements, the questions above are the place to start, whoever manages your scheme.
John Martin (JM) | Founder & Managing Director | Bettr Strata
Link to the IBCCC report.