Strata Certificate NSW
A strata certificate is the approval that allows a strata plan to be registered in NSW. Without one, NSW Land Registry Services will not register the plan, and no separate titles are created. Either the local council or an independent registered certifier can issue it.
Southwell Certifiers issues strata certificates under Part 4 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, across metropolitan and regional NSW.
What is a strata certificate?
A strata certificate is the statutory approval that lets a strata plan proceed to registration. It confirms the proposed plan and the buildings on it meet the requirements in Part 4 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015. The scheme itself only comes into being when NSW Land Registry Services registers the plan, and the plan cannot be registered without the certificate.
Only the registered proprietor or owner of the land can apply, or another person acting with their written consent, under section 53. The subdivision itself, and which approval pathway it can use, is covered in our guide to strata subdivision in NSW.
A strata certificate is not a strata report
A strata certificate is not a strata report or a strata search. Those are records about a scheme that already exists, ordered by buyers and conveyancers. A strata certificate is the approval that creates the scheme in the first place. The two get confused constantly, and it wastes time on both sides.
For how this differs from a Subdivision Certificate, see strata certificate vs subdivision certificate.
Two ways a strata certificate can be issued:
Local council
Issued under Division 2 of Part 4 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, sections 54 to 57. The council assesses the plan against the statutory tests.
Registered certifier
Issued under Division 3, sections 58 to 62. Same legal effect, and usually faster because the work is not queued behind council’s other business.
Who needs a strata certificate?
Strata certification is core work at Southwell. These are the projects that need one. If you are still weighing up title types, start with Torrens title vs strata title in NSW.
Duplex and dual occupancy developers
Two dwellings on one lot being separated into strata lots, under a CDC or a development consent.
Townhouse and multi-dwelling schemes
Developments where lots share common property such as driveways, services or shared structures.
Owners converting an existing building
An existing building brought into strata by notice of conversion under section 60.
Owners corporations and surveyors
Owners corporations subdividing a lot or common property inside an existing scheme, which needs agreement under section 59, and registered surveyors who need a certifier appointed before the plan is finalised. If a plan is already sitting unregistered at NSW Land Registry Services, that is usually a certificate or a condition problem, and it can be diagnosed quickly.
How does the strata certificate process work in NSW?
Step 1: Confirm the planning approval is in force. Section 52 sets out when a relevant planning approval is in force for a proposed plan. A CDC pathway and a development consent pathway both work, but they impose different conditions, and those conditions decide the rest of the program. Get this checked before the plan is drawn.
Step 2: Appoint the certifier early. The certifier can tell you exactly which conditions must be closed out before a certificate can issue. Finding that out at the end is what turns a days-long step into a months-long one.
Step 3: Close out the pre-certificate conditions. Section 58(1)(b) requires every condition of the planning approval that must be complied with before a strata certificate may be issued to be complied with first. There is no discretion in it.
Step 4: Obtain the water supply authority’s certificate of compliance. Where the land sits in a water supply authority’s area of operations, section 58(1)(c) makes this a precondition. For Sydney Water this is the Section 73 certificate, issued under section 73 of the Sydney Water Act 1994. It is the single most common cause of delay, so start it early.
Step 5: Have the surveyor prepare the plan. Your registered surveyor prepares the strata plan and the administration sheet.
Step 6: Certifier assessment and issue. The certifier assesses the plan against section 58, or section 59 for a subdivision within an existing scheme, or section 60 for a conversion. Section 61 also requires the certifier to comply with the Regulation and to be satisfied that any prescribed inspections have been carried out. If a building encroaches on a public place, section 62 applies and the plan must show the encroachment.
Step 7: Lodgement and registration. The certified plan is lodged with NSW Land Registry Services. The scheme commences on registration, and the new titles exist from that point.
How long does a strata certificate take and what does it cost?
One to two business days. That applies either way: if the documentation package is complete, the strata certificate is issued in that time. If something is missing, you get a response in that time telling you exactly what is outstanding. The same turnaround applies to Subdivision Certificates, Subdivision Works Certificates and Compliance Certificates.
A strata certificate does not wait on an Occupation Certificate. That is a Subdivision Certificate consideration, and the two get conflated constantly. Section 58 sets out what a registered certifier must be satisfied of, and an Occupation Certificate is not among the preconditions. Knowing which route your project sits on can take weeks out of a program.
What stretches the timeline is never the certificate. It is the water supply authority’s certificate of compliance, the consent conditions nobody closed out, and documentation that arrives in pieces. See why strata certificates get blamed for delays.
Cost depends on four things: whether the scheme is new or a subdivision inside an existing scheme, the number of lots, whether a conversion is involved, and what inspections are required. Southwell quotes a fixed fee up front in a written fee proposal, so the number does not move at registration time.
What we assess
Every strata certificate application is assessed against the same statutory tests. In practice that means checking:
- That a relevant planning approval is in force for the plan, under section 52
- That every condition required to be satisfied before a strata certificate may issue has been closed out
- The water supply authority’s certificate of compliance, where the land is in its area of operations
- Whether the construction certificate route or the alternative route under section 58(1)(d) applies, including the 12-month completion limit
- That each proposed lot corresponds with the building and is designated for separate occupation
- Owners corporation resolutions for subdivisions inside an existing scheme, under section 59
- Any outstanding order, requirement or notice affecting the land
- Encroachments onto a public place, under section 62
- That prescribed inspections have been carried out, as section 61 requires
Why Southwell Certifiers?
- Dean Dehghan-Khalaji, Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and Registered Certifier BDC 05320
- Listed on the National Engineering Register (NER) and a member of the Association of Australian Certifiers (AAC)
- Strata certification across 35+ NSW councils, metropolitan and regional
- An independent strata certifier, not tied to council timelines or big-firm queues
- One to two business days to issue or to come back to you on what is outstanding
- Full subdivision and strata certification under one certifier
- You deal directly with Dean, from the first feasibility question through to registration
FAQ Section
Does a strata certificate require an Occupation Certificate?
No. An Occupation Certificate is not one of the preconditions in section 58 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015. A registered certifier issues on either the construction certificate route in section 58(1)(d)(i) to (iii) or the alternative route in section 58(1)(d)(iv) to (vii). The Occupation Certificate requirement people are thinking of belongs to Subdivision Certificates, and confusing the two adds weeks to programs that did not need to wait.
Who can issue a strata certificate in NSW?
Either a local council, under Division 2 of Part 4 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, or a registered certifier, under Division 3. Both carry the same legal effect. A registered certifier is usually faster because the work is not queued behind council’s other business.
What is the difference between a strata certificate and a subdivision certificate?
A strata certificate allows a strata plan to be registered, creating lots within a strata scheme. A Subdivision Certificate allows a plan of subdivision to be registered, creating separate Torrens title lots. Which one you need depends on the title structure your approval supports, not on preference.
Do I need the owners corporation’s agreement?
For a strata plan of subdivision inside an existing scheme, yes. Section 59 requires the owners corporation to certify that it has agreed by resolution. If the subdivision subdivides or creates common property, it must agree by special resolution instead.
Can I get a strata certificate for an existing building?
Often, yes. An existing building is converted by notice of conversion, and section 60 sets out what a registered certifier must be satisfied of before issuing the certificate. It depends on the original approval and the building’s current compliance, so the first step is a review of the approval documents.
Is there a time limit after the building is finished?
Yes, if you rely on the construction certificate pathway. Section 58(1)(d)(iii) requires the building to have been completed not more than 12 months before the application was made, unless the local council fixes a longer period. Miss it and the application has to go down the alternative route in section 58(1)(d)(iv) to (vii).
What can stop a strata certificate being issued?
Outstanding conditions of the planning approval, a missing water supply authority certificate of compliance, an outstanding order, requirement or notice on the land, prescribed inspections not carried out, or an encroachment onto a public place that the plan does not disclose and no approval covers.
How quickly can you issue a strata certificate?
One to two business days. If the documentation package is complete, the certificate is issued in that time. If something is outstanding, you get a response in that time telling you exactly what is missing. The useful question is what the package must contain, and that is worth asking at the start of the project rather than the end.
Ready to proceed with your Strata Certificate
If you need a strata certificate in NSW, or you are not sure whether your project needs a strata certificate or a Subdivision Certificate, Southwell Certifiers can tell you before you commit to a design. To discuss your project and receive a no-obligation fee proposal, call (02) 8734 5676, email admin@southwellcert.com.au, or request a fee proposal.
Written by Dean Dehghan-Khalaji, CPEng, Registered Certifier (BDC 05320), AAC member. Dean is the principal certifier at Southwell Certifiers, specialising in subdivision and strata certification across NSW.