Community schemes law reform

What is this about?

The NSW Government is seeking public feedback on the drafting of the Community Land Management Bill 2019 and the Community Land Development Bill 2019. The Bills completely rewrite NSW community schemes laws. They are aligned with the major 2015 strata scheme reforms, make community land development legislation more flexible and incorporate feedback from the implementation of the strata laws.

We seek feedback on the drafting of both Bills and whether they give effect to the proposed reforms announced in the 2014 Community Schemes Law Reform Position Paper (the Position Paper) without any unintended consequences.

What has happened so far?

The NSW Government has previously consulted extensively with the public and industry on strata and community schemes law reforms, including:

• December 2011 to February 2012: Online consultation by Global Access Partners
• September 2012 to November 2012: discussion paper inviting comment on reform options and online survey
• 2013: roundtable meetings with industry and strata experts
• November 2013: strata position paper released, outlining proposed reforms.

Following these consultations, the Position Paper was published in September 2014 outlining the Government’s proposed community schemes law reforms. New strata schemes laws were introduced and have been operating since 2016. This has given the NSW Government insights which have assisted in the current preparation of the community schemes laws.

What are the changes?

The new laws will provide residents and commercial occupants with modern, flexible and democratic governance arrangements. Key measures in the Bills include:

• improving transparency and accountability in the way schemes are managed
• providing greater flexibility to deal with association property
• simplifying dispute resolution within schemes
• reducing red tape by targeting the documents needed to be lodged with a plan
• encouraging greater participation of scheme members, owners and tenants, including through the use of technology.

For more detail on the reforms and explanations on why they are being adopted please read the documents immediately below and the 2014 Position Paper.

Update

Consultation on the draft Community Land Management Bill 2019 and draft Community Land Development Bill 2019 closed on 28 February 2020.

The Bills have been enacted after passing NSW Parliament on 16 March 2021 and assented to on 26 March 2021. The Community Land Development Act 2021 and Community Land Management Act 2021 are available on the NSW Legislation website at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

The NSW Government proposes to commence the new laws before the end of 2021, after preparing and consulting on accompanying regulations.