On this page:
- Applications for review of a decision
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) orders
- Record keeping
- SBBIS Forms
- Key terms
- Contact us
Applications for review of a decision
An application for review of the Secretary’s decision must be made within 14 days after notice of the decision has been given.
You can apply to review a decision if you are the:
- developer
- owners corporation
- owner of a lot in the strata scheme
- builder who carried out building work or who is responsible for defective building work
The following decisions of the Secretary are reviewable decisions:
- a decision to appoint a building inspector to carry out a final report
- a determination by the Secretary that a developer is not required to arrange for a final report
- a decision to vary the period within which an interim report or final report is to be provided, or other action is to be done
- a decision that the whole or part of a building bond may be claimed or realised for payment to an owners corporation, developer or other person.
A decision by the Secretary is not reviewable if the amount secured by the building bond has already been paid in accordance with the Secretary’s decision.
If an application to review a decision to pay the whole or part of the building bond is made, the amount is not to be paid until the application for the review is determined or withdrawn.
The application must be made in writing and signed by the applicant. It must specify the decision to be reviewed and the reasons for the application along with any extra information and why that information was not previously provided, and an email address where that decision will be sent. Email your review application to [email protected].
For more information see section 213 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and clause 56 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016
NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) orders
Regarding access:
- The Tribunal (on application) may make an order requiring the occupier of a lot (or any other person) to allow access for the purpose of inspection or rectifying defective building work.
- An application may be made by an owners corporation, the developer, a building inspector or a builder.
Regarding contract price:
- The Tribunal (on application) may make an order specifying the amount of the contract price of building work - to determine the amount of a building bond. If there are other incidental proceedings being dealt with by a Court, then the application must be made to the Supreme Court of NSW.
- An application may be made by an owners corporation, the developer, or the Secretary. A determination under this section of the amount of the contract price of building work does not bind a court or tribunal in any other proceedings.
For more information see section 211 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
Record keeping
All information and documents relating the building bond will be stored in accordance with NSW Government record keeping policy.
SBBIS forms
List of forms
- Form-A1-Application-for-review-(for-developers-owners-corporations,-building-inspectors-and-builders)
- Form A2 - Application for review (for lot owners)
Most manual forms are no longer accepted. Please log into the Strata Hub to complete any actions in relation to the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme. Only form A1 and form A2 listed above are available. Please email the completed forms to the email addresses listed on the forms.
Key terms
The content below is general in nature and should not be relied upon.
Building work
Building work means, building work that is carried out on a residential or partly residential (mixed-use) strata building, that is four or more storeys.
Mixed use purpose could be, for example, a development that includes a combination of residential, retail, commercial, hotel, but it must include residential, even if just one unit.
The building work must also be carried out for the purposes of, or contemporaneously with, the registration of a strata plan or a strata plan of subdivision of a development lot.
For more information see Sections 190 and 191 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
Approved issuer
The building bond must be issued from an authorised deposit-taking institution or a general insurer authorised to conduct new or renewal insurance business, who are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The issuing authority must be listed on the:
- Register of authorised deposit-taking institutions, or
- Register of general insurance (authorised to conduct new or renewal insurance business), which is maintained by APRA.
Contract price
Generally, the contract price is the total price paid under all the applicable contracts for the building work as at a time just before the developer makes application for any occupation certificate (OC) which allows people to occupy the building – whether with conditions or interim OC. It also includes all variations, additions and GST.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- construction and fit out costs (not including appliance and prime cost items)
- demolition and site preparation
- excavation
- car parking
- costs for the common property that is included in the property plan, including landscaping, pools, fencing and gates
- professional fees, and
- taxes applied in the calculation of the as-built construction.
If there is no written contract for the building work, or the parties to the building contract are connected persons (for example where the developer is also the builder), the contract price for building work is to be the price set out in a cost report (see below) prepared by a quantity surveyor who is a member of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and is not connected to the developer or the builder.
For more information see Part 11 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015; Part 8 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
Cost report
When there is no written contract for the building work (for example where the developer is also the builder), or the parties to the building contract are connected, the contract price is the price set out in a cost report prepared by a quantity surveyor.
The cost report must be prepared by a quantity surveyor who is a member of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is not connected to the developer or the builder, or a bank, or other person, providing finance for the building work.
The cost report prepared by the quantity surveyor must include:
- all work that is conducted in relation to the contract, as list above under contract price, and
- a certificate by the quantity surveyor that they have inspected the as-built drawings and specifications for the strata plan.
For more information see Clause 50 Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
Professional fees
Professional fees as listed in Clause 50(3)(f) of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016, include but are not limited to costs associated with developing design drawings for the preparation of the development application such as:
(a) fees “involved in” the actual construction and co-ordination of construction and/or
(b) fees incurred as preliminary to construction or co-ordination of construction, being the fees for the as-built drawings and specifications for the strata plan.
The Secretary
The Secretary is either the Commissioner for Fair Trading or the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service, in accordance with section 4 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
For more information refer to Section 4 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015
Strata inspector panel (SIP)
A building inspector must be a member of a strata inspector panel. Inclusion on a strata inspector panel can only be provided by an authorised professional association, as listed in Section 45 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
A strata inspector panel may be established by any of the following:
- the Housing Industry Association Limited
- the Master Builders Association of New South Wales Pty Ltd
- the Australian Institute of Building
- Australian Institute of Building Surveyors
- the Australian Institute of Building Consultants Pty Ltd
- the Australian Society of Building Consultants Incorporated
- the Institute of Building Consultants Inc
- Engineers Australia Pty Limited
- the Association of Accredited Certifiers Incorporated
- The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors Ltd
- RICS Australasia Pty Ltd
Each association will have a register of members who are qualified to be building inspectors for the purposes of the scheme. This register will be available on each association’s website and contain the details and experience of each building inspector, including their contact details.
If you need more information on strata inspector panels, read this document:
Written notice
A written notice includes email notifications.
The Strata building bond and inspections scheme communications is administered by electronic transmissions. Written notices for the scheme are available in soft copy and are available to download from this webpage.
Key participants can use the written notices to complete their required actions under legislation.
'the' or 'any' occupation certificate
For the purposes of the Strata building bond and inspections scheme, ‘the’ or ‘any’ occupation certificate issued for the strata scheme refers to the first occupation certificate (OC) issued which allows people to occupy the building – whether with conditions or interim OC.
Also, refer to section 3C of the Home Building Act 1989.
Other legislative terms
| Building work | Connected person | Defective building work | Developer |
| Occupational certificate (OC) | Interim report | Final report | Owners corporation |
| Residential building work |
Contacting us
You can contact us at [email protected] during any stage of the process.