Strata dispute trends

How tribunal and court disputes have moved over time, and which council areas are heating up fastest right now. Every figure is a count over the public record, never an estimate.

4,142 Matters on the public record 1989 to 2026
2,453 Schemes with a matter tribunal or court
87 Council areas charted across tracked states

Matters per year

Decisions naming a strata scheme as a party, by the year they were decided. The most recent year is still filling.

2015: 82 matters2016: 69 matters2017: 72 matters2018: 90 matters2019: 117 matters2020: 389 matters2021: 672 matters2022: 589 matters2023: 567 matters2024: 575 matters2025: 269 matters2026: 265 matters67220152018202120242026
Queensland 2,399New South Wales 1,439Victoria 242Western Australia 39Australian Capital Territory 15Tasmania 5South Australia 2Northern Territory 1

What each state's record is about

The dispute mix differs by state, and so does how deep the record runs. Each bar is one jurisdiction's matters split by what the dispute was about. Read the shape, not the height, across states: depth tracks how much of each tribunal we have harvested, not how litigious a state is.

  • Queensland

    2,399 matters
    • Other 31%
    • Repairs and common property 25%
    • Management and meetings 23%
    • By-laws 12%
    • +6 more
  • New South Wales

    1,439 matters
    • Costs and procedure 40%
    • Other 18%
    • Repairs and common property 14%
    • Building defects 9%
    • +6 more
  • Victoria

    242 matters
    • Other 85%
    • Costs and procedure 14%
    • Insurance 0%
    • Building defects 0%
  • Western Australia

    39 matters
    • Repairs and common property 26%
    • Other 23%
    • Costs and procedure 13%
    • Building defects 13%
    • +4 more
  • Australian Capital Territory

    15 matters
    • Repairs and common property 53%
    • Building defects 20%
    • Management and meetings 7%
    • Levies and contributions 7%
    • +2 more
  • Tasmania

    5 matters
    • Other 100%
  • South Australia

    2 matters
    • Other 100%
  • Northern Territory

    1 matters
    • Other 100%

Dispute trend by council

Each council's matters over the last 12 years, with its recent momentum, the schemes involved, and what the disputes are most about. Sort and filter to find where pressure is building.

Strata dispute trend by council area
CouncilTrend, 2015–2026Most about
Sydney294 +5%140Repairs and common property
North Sydney110 +29%60Repairs and common property
Woollahra106 -9%44Repairs and common property
Northern Beaches87 +40%60Repairs and common property
Waverley58 +50%33Repairs and common property
Melbourne City55 -39%33Other
City Of Parramatta55 -13%31Building defects
Bayside44 +58%29Repairs and common property
Central Coast43 +250%24Repairs and common property
Randwick42 0%24Repairs and common property
Inner West40 +11%26Repairs and common property
Canada Bay38 +83%26Building defects
Sutherland Shire38 -10%27Repairs and common property
Ryde34 +80%14Building defects
Georges River30 +25%18Repairs and common property
Willoughby30 -33%22Repairs and common property
Newcastle27 +33%18By-laws
Port Phillip City26 +50%18Other
Canterbury-Bankstown26 +44%18Repairs and common property
Cumberland26 +167%16Repairs and common property
Ku-Ring-Gai25 +600%15Building defects
Lane Cove25 +20%13Repairs and common property
Tweed25 -56%12Building defects
Mosman22 +250%14Levies and contributions
Stonnington City19 +200%13Other
Liverpool18 +500%8Repairs and common property
Coffs Harbour16 -29%7Repairs and common property
Hornsby15 -50%8Building defects
Bayside City14 -17%6Building defects
The Hills Shire14 -17%8By-laws
Wollongong14 +50%10Building defects
Strathfield13 -25%10Repairs and common property
Wyndham City11 +500%4Other
Yarra City11 +200%10Other
Blacktown9 -67%7Building defects
Mid-Coast9 +50%5By-laws
Fairfield8 0%4Building defects
Lake Macquarie8 -80%5Repairs and common property
Maribyrnong City7 +200%6Other
Banyule City65Other
Kingston City6 +100%5Other
Frankston City5 -100%3Other
Greater Geelong City5 -100%3Other
Manningham City5 -100%4Other
Moreland City5 +100%4Other
Burwood5 +100%5Building defects
Byron5 -100%3By-laws
Darebin City44Other
Greater Dandenong City41Other
Monash City4 -67%3Other
Mornington Peninsula Shire4 0%2Other
Whitehorse City4 0%2Other
Gold Coast City4 +200%1Repairs and common property
Wagga Wagga4 +200%1Unit entitlements
Campbelltown32Costs and procedure
Dubbo Regional3 +100%1Repairs and common property
Lismore3 -100%2Levies and contributions
Port Macquarie-Hastings3 -100%3Building defects
Port Stephens3 -100%3Other
Boroondara City2 -100%2Other
Glen Eira City22Other
Hepburn Shire2 -100%1Costs and procedure
Knox City2 -100%2Costs and procedure
Melton City2 -100%2Other
Whittlesea City21Costs and procedure
Act22Repairs and common property
Federation22Repairs and common property
Hunters Hill22Building defects
Penrith22Repairs and common property
Snowy Monaro Regional22Costs and procedure
Ballarat City1 -100%1Other
Brimbank City11Other
Greater Bendigo City11Other
Maroondah City11Other
Moonee Valley City11Other
Murrindindi Shire11Other
Surf Coast Shire11Other
Ballina11Nuisance and behaviour
Bega Valley11Management and meetings
Blue Mountains1 -100%1Repairs and common property
Eurobodalla1 -100%1Costs and procedure
Fraser Coast Regional11Other
Gympie Regional11Other
Maitland1 -100%1By-laws
Noosa Shire11Other
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional11Repairs and common property
Wingecarribee1 -100%1Costs and procedure

Momentum compares the last three complete years against the three before, so a small base can swing it. Shown as "—" where there is too little history to compare honestly.

What disputes are about, over time

Classified from the tribunals' own catchwords. The shape shows whether a kind of dispute is rising or fading.

Strata dispute trend by category
Dispute typeMattersTrend, 2015–2026Momentum
Other1,225 -23%
Repairs and common property813 +24%
Costs and procedure662 +18%
Management and meetings644 -65%
By-laws373 -21%
Building defects239 +84%
Levies and contributions113 +133%
Nuisance and behaviour26 0%
Insurance24 +17%
Unit entitlements23 +250%

Schemes with the most matters

The schemes carrying the heaviest litigation load across the record. Open any one for its full dossier: every matter, the building-work orders, and the companies behind it.

Strata schemes ranked by matters on record
SchemeWhereStateMost aboutMatters
CTS 22174Not on the register yetQueenslandRepairs and common property17
CTS 25277Not on the register yetQueenslandOther15
CTS 18705Not on the register yetQueenslandOther14
CTS 29467Not on the register yetQueenslandManagement and meetings14
CTS 8379Not on the register yetQueenslandManagement and meetings13
CTS 38112Not on the register yetQueenslandOther12
SP 6202284-86 WOLSELEY ROAD POINT PIPERNew South WalesUnit entitlements11
CTS 287Not on the register yetQueenslandManagement and meetings11
CTS 6203Not on the register yetQueenslandOther11
SP 6497046-50 DENING STREET THE ENTRANCENew South WalesOther10
CTS 30946Not on the register yetQueenslandBy-laws10
CTS 36253Not on the register yetQueenslandManagement and meetings10