Is an owners corporation the same as a body corporate?

Yes in function. CAV describes an owners corporation as formerly a body corporate. Victoria and NSW strata schemes use owners corporation, and Queensland uses body corporate. The thresholds, forms and fees differ by state, so Victorian rules should not be assumed to apply in Queensland.

Do all townhouses in Victoria have an owners corporation?

No. One exists only where the plan of subdivision contains common property. A townhouse on its own title with no shared land has none. Company title and stratum title properties do not have an owners corporation either and are not covered by the Act, according to CAV, though both are less common.

Who sits on an owners corporation?

Every lot owner is a member. Day-to-day decisions usually go to an elected committee of owners or their proxies. Owners corporations with 10 or more lots must elect a committee at each annual general meeting, and smaller ones can choose whether to. (CAV's page on annual general meetings says 13 or more lots, so the tiers page is the one to check.)

Does an owners corporation need a manager?

Only a tier 1 owners corporation, with more than 100 lots, must appoint a manager, and it can opt out by special resolution. Smaller ones can run themselves through volunteers or hire a manager. A manager who is paid or rewarded must be registered with the Business Licensing Authority.

What if a neighbour breaks the rules?

The owners corporation must have an internal complaints process. If that fails, the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria can help where everyone agrees to take part, and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can order a person to comply or impose penalties.

What is an owners corporation, and what does it do?

An owners corporation is the legal body made up of every lot owner in a Victorian subdivision that has common property, and it manages that shared property. It is created automatically when a plan of subdivision containing common property is registered, and anyone who buys a lot becomes a member without signing up. This page reflects Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) guidance and the Owners Corporations Act 2006 as at October 2026.

The name replaced "body corporate" in Victoria on 31 December 2007, when the Act came into force. NSW strata schemes also use the term owners corporation, while Queensland still says body corporate.

An owners corporation is created automatically when a Victorian plan of subdivision that contains common property, such as a shared driveway, is registered. Membership is automatic for every lot owner.

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

What an owners corporation does

CAV lists the core duties. An owners corporation must:

manage and administer the common property
repair and maintain the common property, fixtures and services
take out and maintain required insurance
raise fees from lot owners to meet its obligations
prepare financial statements and keep financial records
provide owners corporation certificates when requested
keep an owners corporation register
establish a grievance procedure

Common property is whatever the plan of subdivision says it is. CAV gives gardens, passages, walls, driveways, lifts and fences as examples. A single development can have more than one owners corporation, for example to separate costs for shared facilities that only some lots use.

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How big is a typical owners corporation?

Most are small. A 2025 statutory review of the Act reported that, as at 2024, Victoria had about 129,000 active owners corporations covering roughly 1.04 million lots, and that 74% of them had five or fewer lots. Small townhouse developments sit in that group.

The Act sorts owners corporations into five tiers by the number of occupiable lots.

Tier	Lots	Townhouse example
5	Two-lot subdivision, or services only	A pair of townhouses sharing a driveway
4	3 to 9	A small row of townhouses
3	10 to 50	A larger townhouse estate
2	51 to 100	Mixed or apartment-style developments
1	More than 100	Large estates and towers

Larger tiers carry more obligations. Tier 1, 2 and 3 owners corporations must elect a committee at each annual general meeting, while tier 4 and 5 may choose to. Tier 1 must appoint a manager unless it opts out by special resolution. Two-lot owners corporations are exempt from many requirements, including formal meetings, financial statements and the voting rules for special resolutions, but must still issue certificates and repair shared services.

Who runs it day to day

The owners corporation acts through all the lot owners, an elected committee, and people the committee delegates to, such as a manager. CAV says an owners corporation must have a secretary, and the committee must elect a chairperson. A committee must have at least three members and no more than seven, unless owners resolve to go up to 12.

A manager is optional below tier 1. Paid managers must be registered, and the full rules are in owners corporation managers in Victoria. CAV says committee members must act in good faith, use due care and diligence, and not use their position to gain an advantage for themselves or anyone else.

What lot owners pay

Annual fees cover general administration, maintenance and repairs, insurance and other recurring costs, and are shared by lot liability. If the owners corporation has a maintenance plan it must also have a maintenance fund. Fee notices give 28 days to pay, and an owner who is behind on any fees loses the vote on ordinary resolutions.

Special fees for unexpected costs need a special resolution if they are more than double the current annual fees. For a townhouse development, insurance is worth asking about. CAV says lot owners in an owners corporation without common property can decide unanimously that each arranges their own insurance, and that the certificate must say whether members may arrange their own, so ask who insures each building. See how fees are set for how the numbers are worked out.

How decisions are made

Votes are counted by lot or lot entitlement, not by the number of people living there, and an owner of two lots can have two votes. CAV describes three kinds of resolution.

Ordinary: a majority of the votes cast
Special: 75% of lots, or 75% of lot entitlements where the decision is made by ballot or poll
Unanimous: 100% agreement, used for fundamental decisions such as selling common property or changing lot entitlements

A special resolution can also pass as an interim special resolution with at least 50% support and no more than 25% against, but it can only be acted on after 29 days, and only if no petition from owners holding about a quarter of the votes is received. CAV's voting guidelines describe that petition test in slightly different ways, so check them for the exact rule.

What buyers receive

In Victoria the seller must include an owners corporation certificate in the Section 32 vendor statement. It shows current fees, insurance, proposed works and legal claims. What the certificate shows has the full list. Browse new townhouses in Melbourne and check the proposed owners corporation budget before comparing prices.

Common questions

Is an owners corporation the same as a body corporate?: Yes in function. CAV describes an owners corporation as formerly a body corporate. Victoria and NSW strata schemes use owners corporation, and Queensland uses body corporate. The thresholds, forms and fees differ by state, so Victorian rules should not be assumed to apply in Queensland.
Do all townhouses in Victoria have an owners corporation?: No. One exists only where the plan of subdivision contains common property. A townhouse on its own title with no shared land has none. Company title and stratum title properties do not have an owners corporation either and are not covered by the Act, according to CAV, though both are less common.
Who sits on an owners corporation?: Every lot owner is a member. Day-to-day decisions usually go to an elected committee of owners or their proxies. Owners corporations with 10 or more lots must elect a committee at each annual general meeting, and smaller ones can choose whether to. (CAV's page on annual general meetings says 13 or more lots, so the tiers page is the one to check.)
Does an owners corporation need a manager?: Only a tier 1 owners corporation, with more than 100 lots, must appoint a manager, and it can opt out by special resolution. Smaller ones can run themselves through volunteers or hire a manager. A manager who is paid or rewarded must be registered with the Business Licensing Authority.
What if a neighbour breaks the rules?: The owners corporation must have an internal complaints process. If that fails, the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria can help where everyone agrees to take part, and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can order a person to comply or impose penalties.

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Sources

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