Your Records, Your Right: How to Achieve Full Access to Your Books and Records

Written by Murray Cameron on 09/09/2026.

Every owner in a NSW strata scheme has a right to see the books and records of their owners corporation. Moreover, these include the strata roll, the financial statements, the minutes, the contracts, the insurance certificates, and all related documents.

It’s a statutory entitlement under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). In addition, this entitlement ensures Your Records Access is available to owners.

At Strata Real Estate Services, we don’t treat this as fine print. We treat it as one of the founding principles of how we manage a scheme.

What the Law Actually Guarantees You

Under section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), an owner, mortgagee, covenant chargee, or a person authorised by any of them may formally request to inspect the records of the owners corporation, Your Records Access.

The request must be made in writing and, for owners, comes with a modest, government-set fee — it cannot be inflated by the strata manager or the owners corporation.

Once a request is made, section 183 sets out how the inspection must happen:

• The owners corporation and the applicant should agree on a time, place or method for inspection.
• If no agreement is reached within 3 days, the owners corporation must fix a date within 10 days of the request, at a time between 9am and 8pm.
• The inspection can take place in person, or — increasingly the norm — through secure electronic access.

Section 182(3) sets out a detailed list of what must be made available, including:

• The strata roll (owner and tenant details, unit entitlements, contact details)
• Financial statements, accounting records and the levy register
• Minutes of general meetings and strata committee meetings
• Insurance policies and certificates of currency
• The 10-year capital works fund plan
• Contracts and agreements, including the strata managing agent’s instrument of appointment
• Any other record in the custody or control of the owners corporation

The only carve-out is how individuals voted in a secret ballot — that stays confidential under section 182(5), and secret ballot results only need to be retained for 13 months, not 7 years.

If you’re a prospective buyer, section 184 allows a similar request for a formal strata information certificate covering a specific lot — the document most conveyancers rely on before settlement. Authority from the current owner is normally required.

What Records Must Be Kept, and for How Long

The right to inspect only means something if the records exist in the first place. Section 180 of the Act requires an owners corporation to retain the following for 7 years:

• Minutes of general meetings and strata committee meetings
• Financial statements and accounting records (also governed by sections 96–99)
• Correspondence sent and received
• Notices and orders required to be kept under the Act

Since 11 June 2024, an amendment to section 176 requires any of these records created from that date onward to be kept in electronic form — a physical folder in a cupboard is no longer sufficient on its own. (NSW Government)

How to Request an Inspection — and What It Costs

If you want to inspect your scheme’s records, the process is straightforward:

1. Put your request in writing to the owners corporation or strata managing agent.
2. Pay the prescribed fee — currently $31 (incl. GST) for the first hour and $16 for each additional half-hour if you’re an owner, or $60 and $30 respectively if you’re an authorised third party (such as a strata search agent).
3. Attend the inspection at the agreed or fixed time, in person or electronically, and take copies if you wish — the originals stay with the owners corporation.

These fees are fixed by regulation. No strata manager can charge more for the privilege of showing an owner their own scheme’s records.

What If Records Are Withheld?

If an owners corporation or its managing agent refuses or delays access without good reason, an owner isn’t left without options. Section 188 of the Act allows the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to order that information or documents be produced where it’s satisfied the person is entitled to them and they’ve been wrongfully withheld.

Owners can also raise the issue directly with NSW Fair Trading, which handles complaints and enquiries relating to strata and property management professionals. (NSW Fair Trading)

If your strata manager treats a records request as an inconvenience, that’s worth noticing — and worth asking why.

Where We Stand: Transparency Isn’t Optional

Section 182 sets a legal floor, not a service standard. Additionally, a strata manager can comply with the law by requiring an owner to submit a written request. If owners wait up to ten days or pay a fee to see Your Records Access, the process remains unsatisfactory.

That’s part of why we built real-time visibility into how we manage every scheme we look after, including giving owners day-to-day access to documents, meeting records and case updates through their StrataSoft Owners Portal — rather than making section 182 the only way to see what’s happening with your money and your building.

Our view is simple: if it’s your scheme, your levies and your building, you shouldn’t need a legal process to find out what’s going on with any of them.

How Strata Real Estate Services Can Help

Whether you’re an existing client wanting to know more about your rights, or a prospective client comparing how transparent your current strata manager really is, we’re happy to walk you through exactly what records you’re entitled to see and how quickly you should expect to see them.

Owners – download the guide on How to Use the StrataSoft Owners Portal to gain searchable access to your records.

Your Strata, Our Expertise.

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Key Takeaways

• Owners, mortgagees and covenant chargees have a legislated right to inspect owners corporation records under section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).
• Owners corporations must retain most records for 7 years (section 180) and, since 11 June 2024, keep new records electronically (section 176).
• Inspection requests must be actioned within a 10-day window if no earlier agreement is reached (section 183), for a fee fixed at $31 for the first hour (owners) or $60 (authorised third parties).
• If access is wrongfully refused, NCAT can order production of the records (section 188), and NSW Fair Trading can assist with a complaint.
• At Strata Real Estate Services, we go beyond the legal minimum — giving owners ongoing digital access to their scheme’s records, not just access on request.

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