Is a strata plan the same as a strata scheme?

No. The plan is the registered document that sets out lots, common property and unit entitlements. The scheme is the whole arrangement that the plan creates, including the owners corporation and its by-laws. People often use the two terms loosely.

Where do I find my unit entitlement?

On the registered strata plan, against your lot number. The seller must include the plan in the contract of sale, and a conveyancer can obtain it through NSW Land Registry Services if it is missing.

How small can a strata scheme be?

Two lots. NSW Fair Trading refers to two-lot schemes, such as duplexes, and Queensland describes a community titles scheme as two or more lots. From 1 October 2026 NSW two-lot schemes no longer have to complete strata annual reporting.

What happens to my membership when I sell?

It ends, but the owners corporation carries on. NSW Fair Trading says you automatically become part of it when you buy a lot and stop being part of it when you sell. The next owner takes your place, and the scheme's by-laws and funds stay with the scheme.

What is a strata plan and a strata scheme?

A strata plan is the registered plan that divides a building or group of buildings into lots that can be owned separately and marks out the common property that every owner shares. The strata scheme is what results: the lots, the common property and the owners corporation, which in NSW is created automatically when the plan is registered with NSW Land Registry Services. Details below were checked in October 2026, with notes on Victoria and Queensland.

Checked October 2026. Rules, rates and prices change, so confirm anything that matters with the source linked below.

What a strata plan shows

In NSW, the registered strata plan defines the boundary of each lot and identifies the common property. NSW Fair Trading says a lot's unit entitlement sets its share of ownership of the common property and how much it pays to maintain it, and that it also affects the lot's voting power. The plan shows the entitlement for each lot.

Two points for buyers:

Check the lot number. Match the lot number on the plan to the one in your contract, because the plan shows the unit entitlement lot by lot.
Older plans work differently. NSW Land Registry Services says plans from before 1 July 1974 need careful interpretation. For example, it says a wall, floor or ceiling between separate parts of the same lot is lot property, not common property.

Term	What it means in NSW
Strata plan	The registered plan showing lots and common property
Strata scheme	A building or group of buildings divided into lots, plus the common property
Lot	The part you own, usually the inside of a townhouse, villa or apartment
Common property	Everything outside the lots, such as roofs, external walls, driveways and gardens
Unit entitlement	Your lot's share of ownership of the common property, which affects what you pay to maintain it and your voting power
Owners corporation	All the lot owners together, created when the plan is registered
By-laws	The scheme's rules, recorded against the common property title

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How a scheme is created in NSW

The steps below are the ones Fair Trading and NSW Land Registry Services describe for a new scheme.

The plan is registered. The strata plan is lodged and registered with NSW Land Registry Services, and the owners corporation comes into being automatically.
The developer holds the reins at first. The developer or builder, called the original owner, acts as the owners corporation during an initial period. It runs from registration until at least one third of the unit entitlements are sold.
There are limits on that power. During the initial period the original owner cannot, for example, borrow money, sell common property, or appoint a strata manager or building manager to carry on past the first annual general meeting (AGM).
The first AGM follows. It must be held within two months of the end of the initial period, with at least 14 days' notice. If the original owner still holds half or more of the unit entitlements, its vote is cut to one third of the total.
Owners get the paperwork. At least 14 days before the first AGM the original owner must hand over documents, including an initial maintenance schedule.

Since 1 April 2026 the initial maintenance schedule must use a standard form. A separate requirement for an independent quantity surveyor to certify the schedule and the first levy estimates applies to multi-storey schemes, which Fair Trading defines as three or more storeys above ground with lots stacked on top of one another. That describes apartment-style buildings rather than side-by-side townhouses, but the scheme's own documents show which rules apply.

Buying before any of this exists is called buying off the plan, which Fair Trading describes as buying before the building is built or the land is subdivided. See buying a townhouse off the plan.

How to get and read the plan

Fair Trading says the seller must include a copy of the strata plan in the contract of sale. If it is missing, a solicitor or conveyancer can get it through NSW Land Registry Services, which says copies are available through its approved information brokers.

Fair Trading's online strata search shows a scheme's plan number, address, registration date, lot information and when it last completed annual reporting. It does not show the full annual report.

When you read the plan, the points buyers commonly check are:

the lot number and unit entitlement for the property
which parts of the building sit inside the lot and which are common property
the by-laws, which are recorded against the common property title.

If a scheme has no clear definition of common property, it can pass a special resolution to adopt the government's common property memorandum, a standard document listing what is and is not common property. Land Registry Services can help explain a plan but says that is not legal advice, so a conveyancer or solicitor is the person to ask.

The plan decides who owns the roof, the external walls and the pipes. Read it before assuming a repair, a renovation or an insurance claim is the scheme's job or yours.

Plans in Victoria and Queensland

Victoria. A plan of subdivision is registered at Land Use Victoria, and an owners corporation is created automatically if the plan creates common property. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the plan sets out each lot's lot entitlement, which decides voting rights, and lot liability, which decides the share of expenses.

Queensland. A body corporate is created when land is subdivided and registered under the Land Title Act 1994 to form a community titles scheme of two or more lots. The scheme has a survey plan, which is either a building format plan or a standard format plan, and a community management statement that lists lot entitlements and by-laws. The Queensland Government notes that some townhouses are registered under a building format plan, and that in a standard format plan townhouse complex, boundaries are set by marks on the ground and owners usually carry more maintenance. The plan type matters, so see shared walls in townhouses for how that plays out.

Common questions

Is a strata plan the same as a strata scheme?: No. The plan is the registered document that sets out lots, common property and unit entitlements. The scheme is the whole arrangement that the plan creates, including the owners corporation and its by-laws. People often use the two terms loosely.
Where do I find my unit entitlement?: On the registered strata plan, against your lot number. The seller must include the plan in the contract of sale, and a conveyancer can obtain it through NSW Land Registry Services if it is missing.
How small can a strata scheme be?: Two lots. NSW Fair Trading refers to two-lot schemes, such as duplexes, and Queensland describes a community titles scheme as two or more lots. From 1 October 2026 NSW two-lot schemes no longer have to complete strata annual reporting.
What happens to my membership when I sell?: It ends, but the owners corporation carries on. NSW Fair Trading says you automatically become part of it when you buy a lot and stop being part of it when you sell. The next owner takes your place, and the scheme's by-laws and funds stay with the scheme.

Keep reading

Sources

This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Get advice that suits your situation before you buy.