Strata Levy Arrears: The Letter You Must Send Before NCAT, VCAT or QCAT (and What It Has to Say)

The committee has voted. The strata manager has a debt collector’s number. Someone says “just file in the Local Court”. Six weeks later the claim is adjourned because the owner’s representative points out the 30-day notice under s 86 was never served, and the court asks why the corporation wants $1,800 in legal costs for a step it skipped.

For the forms, fees and each step, see our guide to making an NCAT application.

Levy recovery isn’t hard. But in most states there is a mandatory letter before action, with prescribed content and a prescribed waiting period, and the tribunals police it. This post is about that letter: what it must say, when it can go, and how long you wait.

Your rights

An overdue contribution is a debt from the due date. Interest runs at the statutory or resolved rate. The owners corporation can recover the debt, interest and reasonable recovery costs. But the same Acts that create the debt condition the right to sue on a notice: the owner must be told, in writing, what is owed, how it’s calculated, and that proceedings will follow if it isn’t paid within the statutory period. The notice protects the owner from surprise litigation and protects the corporation’s costs claim. Serve it correctly and the later application is almost always granted on the papers.

By state

• New South Wales. Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, s 86. Since 27 October 2025, at least 30 days’ written notice to the owner before any debt recovery action, stating the levies, interest and expenses sought, how the corporation proposes to recover them, the due date, how the amount may be paid and whether a payment plan may be entered into. Recovery action can be taken in NCAT or a court, usually the Local Court. Levy must be at least one month overdue. Interest 10% simple (s 85).
• Victoria. Owners Corporations Act 2006, ss 31–32. A fee notice in the approved form, then a final notice in the approved form stating that action under Part 11 will be taken if payment isn’t made within 28 days. Only after those 28 days can the corporation apply to VCAT.
• Queensland. BCCM Act 1997 and the applicable module. The contribution notice itself must give at least 30 days and state the penalty interest and the discount for early payment (if any). A reasonable final reminder is standard practice before filing in QCAT (minor debt) or the Magistrates Court.
• Western Australia. Strata Titles Act 1985, s 100. No prescribed pre-action notice, but a written demand with the arrears, interest and a payment deadline is expected before a Magistrates Court claim, and the court considers it on costs.
• South Australia. Strata Titles Act 1988 / Community Titles Act 1996. No prescribed form; a written demand stating the contributions, interest under the articles and a deadline is the accepted precursor to a Magistrates Court minor civil claim.
• Tasmania. Strata Titles Act 1998. A written demand, then either an application to the Recorder of Titles for a payment order (s 113) or a Magistrates Court claim.
• Australian Capital Territory. Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011. A written notice of the amount owing, 10% interest and the intended ACAT application; ACAT expects to see the demand and the resolution to recover.
• Northern Territory. Unit Title Schemes Act 2009. A written demand with the arrears and deadline, then NTCAT (up to $25,000) or the Local Court.

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the pre-action notice to that state’s mandatory content and waiting period.

What to do right now

1. Pull the levy history. Each contribution, the meeting that struck it, due date, amount, payments received, and interest calculated from the day after the due date at your state’s rate.
2. Pass the resolution. A minuted committee (or general meeting) resolution to recover the debt and to charge interest where your state requires a resolution for that.
3. Draft the notice with the mandatory elements. Owner’s name and lot; each overdue contribution and due date; interest and how it’s calculated; recovery costs to date; the total; the statutory period (30 days, 28 days, or your deadline); the statement that proceedings will be commenced in the named court or tribunal if unpaid; and, in Victoria, the approved-form wording.
4. Serve it the way the Act allows. Post to the owner’s address on the strata roll, or email if the owner has nominated email. Record the date.
5. File the day the period expires. Attach the notice, proof of service, the levy history, the resolution and the interest calculation.

What to leave out of the letter

Threats about the owner’s other disputes with the corporation, comments about their character, or a demand for costs not yet incurred all weaken the notice and can be quoted back at the hearing. Equally, don’t offer to waive interest “if paid within 7 days” unless the corporation has resolved to; a strata manager can’t waive what the Act imposes. The strongest levy letter is dull: a table, a rate, a date, a tribunal.

Who to complain to

New South Wales NCAT or the Local Court; VCAT; QCAT or the Queensland Magistrates Court; the Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmanian Magistrates Courts (or the Tasmanian Recorder of Titles); ACAT; NTCAT or the Northern Territory Local Court. If the owner disputes the levy’s validity, that goes to the strata dispute body (NCAT, VCAT, the Queensland BCCM Commissioner, SAT, SACAT, the Recorder, ACAT, NTCAT) and the corporation should still file the debt claim in parallel.

Get the pre-action notice right — $49

Stop reading. Start doing. Claim Done drafts a Strata Levy Recovery Demand that contains every element your state’s Act requires before proceedings, calculates interest and costs, sets the correct statutory waiting period, and names the tribunal or court the owners corporation will file in.

Draft Our Pre-Action Levy Notice — $49 →

You review every word before it’s sent.