What it does
The Community Land Management Act 2021 (the Act) is the primary statute governing the ongoing operation of community, precinct and neighbourhood schemes in New South Wales. These schemes arise under the companion Community Land Development Act 2021, which handles subdivision and creation; the Management Act then regulates day-to-day governance once the scheme is registered.
At its heart the Act establishes that an association (community, precinct or neighbourhood) is the body corporate responsible for the scheme (s 7(1)). It confers principal authority on the association for management and control of association property and administration of the scheme for the benefit of members and lot owners (s 7(2)). Specific responsibilities are allocated across finances (Part 5), records (Part 10), maintenance and repair (Part 6) and insurance (Part 9).
The Act prescribes detailed machinery for decision-making. Resolutions are classified as ordinary, special (s 5(1): not more than 25 % against, or <50 % for sustainability or accessibility infrastructure resolutions) or unanimous (s 5(2)). Voting entitlements are tied to unit entitlements (ss 5(3)–(5)), with a two-thirds reduction applied to the original owner’s lots when they exceed half the total (s 5(6)). This prevents developer dominance post-initial period.
Meetings are tightly regulated. The original owner must convene the first AGM within two months after the initial period expires (s 12(1)), with a mandatory agenda (s 13) that includes confirmation of contributions, election of the committee, insurance review, by-laws, managing-agent appointment and receipt of initial documents (s 14). Subsequent AGMs are required annually (s 16); other general meetings may be called by the committee or on a qualified request (25 % of unit entitlement) (s 17). Tribunal intervention is available where meetings are not held (s 18).