Strata Insurance Valuation Requirements by State — Australia 2026

Every Australian strata scheme is legally required to insure its buildings — but whether the scheme must ever obtain a valuation to verify the sum insured depends entirely on which side of a state border it sits. Only two of Australia’s eight jurisdictions (Victoria and Queensland) impose a mandatory periodic insurance valuation. The other six — including New South Wales, home to more than a million strata lots — impose a continuous “replacement value” obligation with no statutory check on whether the number on the policy is right.

This article compares the statutory building-insurance and valuation requirements across all 8 states and territories, with the act and section for each, verified directly against the consolidated legislation in force as at July 2026. Australia has 367,970 strata schemes containing 3,173,631 lots, with an estimated total insured value of $1.4 trillion (UNSW City Futures, Australasian Strata Insights 2024, revised October 2025) — and for most of that insured value, no law ever requires anyone to test the figure.

Quick reference — strata insurance valuation requirements by jurisdiction

Verified against the consolidated acts and regulations in force, accessed 11–12 July 2026. Sections and sources are listed per jurisdiction below.

Australia’s strata footprint — the numbers behind the obligation

From the UNSW City Futures Research Centre’s Australasian Strata Insights 2024 (revised October 2025), the authoritative census of Australian strata:

Two structural observations follow from this table. First, the two jurisdictions with a valuation mandate (VIC and QLD) cover roughly half of Australia’s strata lots — meaning the other half sit in schemes where the sum insured is only as good as the committee’s last voluntary review. Second, the ACT has the highest strata share of population in the country (22%) and no valuation mandate at all.

New South Wales — the mandate that was repealed

NSW is the counter-intuitive case. Under the former Strata Schemes Management Act 1996, s 85 required a valuation of insured buildings “at least once every 5 years”. That provision was removed by the Regulatory Reform and Other Legislative Repeals Act 2015 (NSW) — consequential on the repeal of the Valuers Act 2003 — and was never re-enacted in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Many industry summaries still assert a 5-yearly NSW valuation requirement; the current statute contains none.

What the law does require:

• s 160(1) — the owners corporation must insure the building under a damage policy (maximum penalty: 5 penalty units).
• s 161(1)(a) — the building must be insured “for at least the amount determined in accordance with the regulations”.
• Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016, cl 39 — that minimum amount is the estimated cost, at the policy’s commencement date, of the required rebuild work and payments, plus the estimated increase over the following 24 months. In other words: a cost estimate with a two-year escalation allowance, but no requirement that a valuer produce it.
• cl 43 — the owners corporation must report “the replacement value of the building… as specified in the damage policy” to the Strata Hub annually.

Since 3 February 2025, the Strata Managing Agents Legislation Amendment Act 2024 also tightened s 166: managing agents placing strata insurance must give the owners corporation at least 3 quotes (or written reasons why fewer), now penalty-backed, and fully disclose the base premium, commissions, broker fees and any connection to the quote provider. The 2025–26 tranche of NSW strata reforms did not touch the insurance provisions of Part 9.

Victoria — 5-yearly valuations for virtually every owners corporation

Victoria has the broadest valuation mandate in the country. Under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic):

• s 59 — the OC must take out reinstatement and replacement insurance covering “the cost necessary to replace, repair or rebuild the property to a condition substantially the same, but not better or more extensive than its condition when new”, plus debris removal and professional fees.
• s 65 — the OC “must obtain a valuation of all buildings that it is liable to insure… every 5 years or earlier”, and “must present the valuer’s report at the next general meeting after it is received”.

The mandate applies to every owners corporation except tier five (2-lot subdivisions and services-only OCs, exempted via ss 7A and 8). This is a 2021 expansion: before the Owners Corporations and Other Acts Amendment Act 2021 commenced on 1 December 2021, only “prescribed” OCs (more than 100 lots or annual fees above $200,000) had to obtain 5-yearly valuations. Since then, the duty reaches down to 3-lot schemes.

Neither s 59 nor s 65 carries penalty units — enforcement runs through the owners corporation dispute pathway and VCAT — but the AGM-presentation requirement in s 65(3) makes non-compliance visible to every lot owner.

Queensland — independent valuation at least every 5 years, in every module

Queensland is the strictest jurisdiction. The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 sets the head power (ss 189–191), and each of the five regulation modules repeats the same operative rule — Standard Module s 200, Accommodation Module s 190, Commercial Module s 147, Small Schemes Module s 119, and Specified Two-lot Schemes Module s 51:

“The body corporate must, at least every 5 years, obtain an independent valuation stating the full replacement value of the building or buildings.”

Three features distinguish Queensland:

1. The valuation must be independent — the only jurisdiction whose statute says so expressly for the periodic valuation.
2. No scheme-size carve-out — unlike Victoria’s tier-five exemption, the rule appears even in the Small Schemes and Two-lot modules (where the module obliges the body corporate to insure buildings for full replacement value).
3. The developer is caught too — under BCCM Act s 191(3), the original owner must obtain an independent replacement-value valuation from a quantity surveyor or registered valuer when the scheme is established (maximum penalty: 150 penalty units).

AGM notices must disclose the full replacement value “as stated in the most recent valuation” and the valuation date (Standard Module s 196(3)). Since 1 May 2024, a body corporate that cannot comply with the full-replacement-value requirement may apply to an adjudicator (previously the Commissioner) for an alternative insurance order.

For pre-1997 schemes still governed by the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980, s 55 requires insurance to reinstatement or replacement value but imposes no valuation frequency.

Western Australia — replacement value, but the “5-year rule” is a myth

WA is the most commonly misquoted jurisdiction. The Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), as rewritten by the 2018 reforms (in force 1 May 2020), requires in s 97(1) that all insurable assets be insured to replacement value — defined in s 3(1) to include rebuild cost, demolition, site clearance and professional fees. There is no insurance valuation requirement anywhere in the Act or the Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019.

The persistent “valuation every 5 years in WA” claim is a confusion with s 100(2A)(b): designated strata companies (schemes with 10 or more lots, or a scheme building replacement cost above $5 million under reg 79) must maintain a 10-year maintenance plan and revise it “at least once in each 5 years”. That is a maintenance-planning obligation — not an insurance valuation.

Single-tier schemes have their own regime (Schedule 2A): lot buildings may be insured by each owner rather than the strata company unless the scheme resolves otherwise, while common property insurance remains the strata company’s duty by default.

South Australia — two acts, no valuation mandate in either

SA splits strata between two statutes, neither of which requires a valuation:

• Strata Titles Act 1988, s 30 — the strata corporation “must keep all buildings and building improvements on the site insured to their replacement value”, defined as complete replacement cost including demolition, surveying, architectural and engineering work. No penalty attaches to s 30 itself.
• Community Titles Act 1996, s 103 — the community corporation must insure buildings “for the full cost of replacing the buildings or improvements with new materials”, with incidental costs covered (maximum penalty: $15,000). Notably, s 103(3) makes the corporation itself bear “any excess or shortfall resulting from under insurance” — the sharpest statutory statement in the country of who wears the risk of an outdated sum insured.

Tasmania — reinstatement cover, penalty-backed, valuation-free

The Strata Titles Act 1998 (Tas), s 99 requires the body corporate to maintain building insurance providing “for the reinstatement of the buildings and improvements to their condition when new”, covering fire, storm, tempest, explosion and incidental reinstatement costs. Failing to insure carries a fine of up to 50 penalty units (about $10,250 at the 2025-26 penalty unit value of $205). The Act contains no insurance valuation provision.

Australian Capital Territory — no mandate, but compulsory AGM disclosure

The Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (ACT), s 100 requires the owners corporation to keep buildings insured “for their replacement value from time to time” — a continuous adequacy obligation with no prescribed valuation schedule. The regulation-making power in s 100(3)(d) would allow a valuation rule to be prescribed, but the Unit Titles (Management) Regulation 2011 currently prescribes none.

What the ACT does mandate is transparency: under Schedule 2, s 2.3, the executive committee must present at each AGM the details of every current insurance policy — including, for building insurance, “details of any recent valuation of the insured buildings”. Failure is an offence by each executive member, with a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units (currently $3,200 per member). Schemes whose common-property buildings are worth under $10,000 can opt out of building insurance by unanimous resolution (s 101).

Given that 22% of ACT residents live in strata — the highest share in Australia — this disclosure-without-mandate model carries a lot of weight.

Northern Territory — two parallel regimes, no valuation in either

• Schemes created under the Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 (post-2009): ss 52–53 require a body corporate policy insuring “all reasonable costs for the reinstatement” of damaged common property. Failing to hold the policy is a strict liability offence — 100 penalty units (currently $18,900).
• Older schemes under the Unit Titles Act 1975: s 80 requires buildings to be insured “for their replacement value from time to time”, with an opt-out available only by unanimous resolution, and any owner or mortgagee able to force reinsurance by written notice.

Neither act, nor the management-module regulations under them, contains any valuation or frequency requirement.

Why the gap matters — premiums are repricing the risk

The valuation gap is colliding with a hard insurance market:

• The ACCC’s Insurance Monitoring Report (July 2025) found average strata premiums per $100,000 of sum insured fell 7% in medium-to-high cyclone-risk zones after the cyclone reinsurance pool (with 95th-percentile reductions of 28% in Townsville and 23% in Karratha), but rose 4–5% in low- and nil-risk zones — and north-WA average premiums rose 18% to more than $18,000.
• CHU’s 2025 State of the Strata Market report (industry data, November 2025) put the national average premium per strata lot at $981, up 2.8% in the year to June 2025 — against a 14% rise for standalone house insurance.
• The Insurance Council of Australia (November 2024) notes a single strata lot’s premium averages 32–36% less than a comparable detached home’s, but that strata premium rates have been “steadily trending upwards” since 2007-08.

Rising rebuild costs plus rising premiums cut both ways: an undervalued building leaves the scheme exposed to the underinsurance shortfall (which, in SA at least, the statute expressly drops on the corporation), while an overvalued building means every lot owner overpays premium year after year. A current replacement cost valuation is the only instrument that fixes both.

Methodology

Statutory requirements were verified directly against the consolidated legislation in force, accessed 11–12 July 2026, from the official legislation portals of each jurisdiction (legislation.nsw.gov.au, legislation.vic.gov.au, legislation.qld.gov.au, legislation.wa.gov.au, legislation.sa.gov.au, legislation.tas.gov.au, legislation.act.gov.au, legislation.nt.gov.au), using archived captures of the official consolidations where portals block programmatic access. Section numbers cited are from the current consolidations; verbatim standards (“replacement value”, “reinstatement… to condition when new”) are quoted from the operative provisions. Strata scheme, lot and insured-value statistics are from UNSW City Futures Research Centre, Australasian Strata Insights 2024 (revised edition, October 2025) — note that the revised edition corrected the originally published national totals. Premium trend data are from the ACCC (July 2025), CHU (November 2025, industry source) and the Insurance Council of Australia (November 2024). Penalty-unit dollar conversions are given only where the jurisdiction’s current penalty unit value was verified (ACT $160, NT $189, TAS $205).

South Australian subordinate regulations could not be verified in full text; the statements above reflect the acts themselves. Readers should confirm current requirements with the relevant statute or a strata professional before acting.

When a strata scheme needs an independent replacement cost valuation

• Victoria and Queensland schemes — on the statutory clock: every 5 years at the latest, and in Queensland the valuation must be independent. See our building insurance valuation service for how these are prepared.
• All other jurisdictions — the obligation to insure at replacement value is continuous even though no valuation is mandated. A scheme that hasn’t tested its sum insured against current construction costs since before the 2021–2024 building-cost inflation is very likely carrying a stale figure. Our guide to replacement cost vs market value explains why the two numbers differ — often dramatically.
• At scheme establishment in Queensland — the developer’s independent valuation obligation under BCCM Act s 191(3) requires a quantity surveyor or registered valuer.
• After major works, extensions or defect rectification — the insured value should be re-tested regardless of jurisdiction.
• For strata managers — a documented, independent valuation is the cleanest answer to the AGM question “how do we know the building is insured for enough?” See our strata managers page for portfolio arrangements.

Frequently asked questions

Which Australian states require a strata insurance valuation?

Only Victoria and Queensland. Victoria requires every owners corporation (except tier-five schemes) to obtain a valuation of the buildings it insures at least every 5 years (Owners Corporations Act 2006, s 65). Queensland requires every body corporate that must insure buildings for full replacement value to obtain an independent valuation at least every 5 years, under all five regulation modules of the BCCM Act. No other state or territory currently mandates a periodic insurance valuation.

Does NSW require a strata valuation every 5 years?

No — not any more. The former requirement (s 85 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996) was removed by the Regulatory Reform and Other Legislative Repeals Act 2015 and was never re-enacted in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. NSW owners corporations must still insure the building for at least the amount determined under cl 39 of the 2016 Regulation — a rebuild cost estimate with a 24-month escalation allowance — and report the replacement value to the Strata Hub annually.

How often should a strata building be valued for insurance if it’s not mandatory?

Industry practice in the non-mandate jurisdictions mirrors the VIC/QLD statutory cycle: a full replacement cost valuation every 3 to 5 years, with annual indexation between valuations. Construction cost inflation since 2021 has made longer gaps risky — a sum insured set in 2020 and never re-tested can sit far below today’s rebuild cost, and the underinsurance shortfall falls on the scheme.

What must strata insurance actually cover?

Every jurisdiction requires cover to a full rebuild standard — expressed as “replacement value” (WA, SA, ACT, NT pre-2009), “full replacement value” (QLD), “reinstatement and replacement” (VIC), or reinstatement “to condition when new” (NSW, TAS). All jurisdictions also require incidental costs: demolition, debris removal, and professional fees for architects, engineers and surveyors.

How many strata schemes are there in Australia?

367,970 schemes containing 3,173,631 lots, per UNSW City Futures Research Centre’s Australasian Strata Insights 2024 (revised October 2025). About 15% of Australians — roughly 1 in 6 — live in strata, with the highest shares in the ACT (22%), Victoria (18%) and NSW (17%). The estimated total insured value of Australian strata schemes is $1.4 trillion.

Disclaimer

This article is general information about Australian strata insurance and valuation legislation, not legal or financial advice. Statutory requirements change — confirm the current provisions with the relevant legislation portal or a strata professional before acting. For an independent replacement cost valuation of a strata scheme, request a quote from Landmark Valuations.

Sources:

• NSW — Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016
• VIC — Owners Corporations Act 2006
• QLD — BCCM Act 1997 and BCCM (Standard Module) Regulation 2020
• WA — Strata Titles Act 1985 and Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019
• SA — Strata Titles Act 1988 and Community Titles Act 1996
• TAS — Strata Titles Act 1998
• ACT — Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011
• NT — Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 and Unit Titles Act 1975
• UNSW City Futures Research Centre — Australasian Strata Insights 2024 (revised October 2025)
• ACCC — Insurance Monitoring Report, July 2025
• Insurance Council of Australia — Improving Consumer Outcomes for Strata Communities, November 2024
• CHU — 2025 State of the Strata Market (industry source)

Last verified: 12 July 2026. This article is reviewed and updated as strata legislation changes — if you spot an outdated provision, contact info@landmark-valuations.com.au.

See also

• Replacement Cost vs Market Value for Insurance — why the insured figure differs from what the property would sell for
• Stamp Duty Rates by State Australia — 2025-26 Comprehensive Data — the companion cross-state comparison for transaction taxes
• Land Tax by State Australia — 2025 Thresholds, Rates & Foreign Surcharges — recurring state property taxes compared
• Council Rates by Capital City Australia 2026 — the other recurring cost line for strata budgets
• Australian Property Valuation Statistics 2026 — Market, Industry & Cost Data — market-wide context for the insured-value figures above
• Property Valuation Cost by State and Type — Australia 2025-26 — what an independent valuation costs
• SMSF Property Holdings Statistics Australia 2026 — strata lots held through SMSFs face both regimes