This Regulation organises around a few discrete, interacting concepts: the building work levy, the triggering event for levy assessment (the expected completion notice), rates expressed in monetary units and their annual indexing, prescribed exclusions, information obligations, enforcement levers and penalty notice arrangements.

Building work levy: The Secretary is the decision maker who may impose a levy on a developer in relation to specified building work (cl 5(1)). The levy is only payable when the Secretary issues written notice by the NSW planning portal, and must be paid through the same portal within 14 days (cl 5(1)-(2)). Interest at 6% per annum attaches to unpaid levies from a fixed point after notice (cl 11).

Triggering instrument and required information: The levy attaches to building work to which an expected completion notice relates. The developer must ensure that, at the same time as an expected completion notice is given to the Secretary, specific information is also supplied: the category of the work (new building/additional storeys/repair/renovation/protective treatment), and depending on that category, the number of storeys and gross floor area, or projected cost of the works (cl 10). For expected completion notices given before the commencement of Part 2 the Secretary may specify the time for providing the information (cl 13(2)).

Rates and categories: There are two rate models. Clause 7 sets banded rates for work that produces a new building, part of a new building, or where storeys are added. Those bands are by number of storeys, with two sub-bands for 1-3 storeys based on gross floor area, and higher monetary unit amounts for taller buildings (cl 7(1)-(2)). Clause 8 sets banded rates for repair, renovation or protective treatment based on projected cost bands (cl 8).

Monetary unit and inflation adjustments: The monetary unit is $100 in financial year 2022-23 and is indexed annually thereafter by reference to the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index) for Sydney, using a formula tied to the March quarter CPI of the applicable preceding financial year versus the March quarter of 2022 (Sch 2 cl 2). Rounding rules apply both to the monetary unit and to levies calculated from it (Sch 2 cl 2(2)-(3) and cl 3). There is also a non-decreasing floor: if an indexed monetary unit would be less than the prior year, the prior year figure carries over (Sch 2 cl 2(3)).

Exclusions and limits on imposition: Clause 6 lists express exclusions. The Secretary may impose a levy only at the rate prescribed in Part 2 (cl 6(1)); the Secretary must not impose a levy for certain kinds of building work, including where no rate is prescribed (cl 6(2)(e)), where a registered building practitioner is not required to provide a building compliance declaration (cl 6(2)(a)), where the resulting building will have fewer than 5 residential premises (cl 6(2)(b)), where work is performed by or on behalf of the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (cl 6(2)(c)), or for cladding replacement, repair or rectification work (cl 6(2)(d)). Where work both adds storeys and is repair/renovation the higher of the two clause 7 and clause 8 rates applies (cl 6(3)).

Waiver and discretion: The Secretary holds broad discretionary relief powers. A person may apply for a waiver, reduction, postponement or refund, and the Secretary may act on application or on the Secretary’s own initiative on grounds including financial hardship, charitable purpose, payment error or “special circumstances” such as natural disaster (cl 12).

Enforcement levers and interaction with other instruments: Failure to pay the levy is a prescribed ground relating to the issuing of occupation certificates and registration of strata plans (cl 14). The Secretary may issue prohibition orders when a rectification bond required under an earlier written undertaking has not been provided (cl 15), or where a developer fails to comply with certain strata decennial insurance obligations (cl 15A). The Regulation prescribes a set of “relevant agencies” or persons for information exchange under the Act (cl 16), and declares that a vertical transportation product can be a serious defect where its use in the building poses a risk of death or serious injury, including where the risk arises only in certain circumstances such as fire (cl 17).

Penalty notice regime: Schedule 1 lists offences under specified sections of the Act that may be dealt with by penalty notice, and sets the payable amounts for individuals and corporations for those listed provisions (Schedule 1 cl 1 and table). The Schedule also instructs that only the limited kinds of offences specified will be eligible for penalty notice treatment (Sch 1 cl 1(2)).

Together these concepts frame a levy collection model that is event-driven (expected completion), portal-mediated (NSW planning portal), banded and indexed, with defined exclusions and a set of enforcement and relief mechanisms administered by the Secretary.

The Regulation names the primary and secondary actors who gain obligations or face enforcement outcomes under its mechanics.

Developers: Developers are the primary obligors. The Secretary may impose a building work levy on a developer in relation to building work, must notify by written notice using the NSW planning portal, and requires that the developer pay the levy via that portal within 14 days of the notice (cl 5(1)-(2)). Developers must also ensure that specified information is given to the Secretary at the time an expected completion notice is lodged, including whether the work will result in a new building, additional storeys or repair/renovation/protective treatment, and quantitative particulars such as storeys, gross floor area or projected cost (cl 10). Failing to provide required information attracts maximum penalties stated in cl 10.

Registered building practitioners: The Regulation ties eligibility for levy imposition to whether a registered building practitioner is required to provide a building compliance declaration under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. If a registered building practitioner is not required to provide such a declaration, the Secretary must not impose a levy (cl 6(2)(a)). Hence projects where the Design and Building Practitioners Act does not require a compliance declaration are excluded.

Owners corporations, owners and contractors: Clause 16 prescribes a set of persons and bodies as “relevant agencies” for the Act’s information exchange provisions. The prescribed parties include local councils, owners of residential apartment buildings that are not in a strata scheme, owners corporations for strata schemes, and contractors or subcontractors engaged by the Secretary to carry out building work on behalf of the Secretary (cl 16). These entities are both sources and recipients of information under the Act’s exchange provisions.

NSW Land and Housing Corporation: Clause 6(2)(c) expressly excludes building work carried out by or on behalf of the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation from levy imposition. The Regulation defines that body by reference to the Housing Act 2001 (cl 6(4)).

Occupiers and prospective purchasers: The Regulation creates indirect effects for users and purchasers of buildings because non-payment of the levy is a prescribed ground relevant to the issue of occupation certificates and registration of strata plans (cl 14). That mechanism can delay lawful occupation or strata registration where levies remain unpaid.

Strata developers and schemes: Clause 15A prescribes as a ground for prohibition orders the failure of a developer of a strata scheme to comply with clause 55C of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016. That ties developer compliance with decennial insurance or related obligations to the availability of prohibition orders under the Act (cl 15A).

Secretary and administrative apparatus: The Secretary gains the administrative roles of imposing levies by notice, receiving expected completion notices and accompanying information, charging interest, exercising waiver/refund/postponement powers, issuing prohibition orders for failure to provide rectification bonds, and notifying indexation changes under Schedule 2 (cl 5, cl 10, cl 11, cl 12, cl 15, Sch 2 cl 4).

Persons supplying building compliance declarations and building practitioners: Because a levy may not be imposed where a registered building practitioner is not required to provide a building compliance declaration, the interface with the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 makes practitioners and their statutory obligations a practical gate for whether a levy can be imposed (cl 6; see cl 3 for definition cross-reference).

Corporations and individuals liable for penalty notices: Schedule 1 lists specific dollar penalty amounts for a set of offences under the Act, with different amounts for individuals and corporations. For example, a contravention of section 7 of the Act attracts a penalty notice of $11,000 for individuals and $33,000 for corporations (Schedule 1 table).

Entities performing repair/rectification of external cladding: Clause 6(2)(d) specifically excludes building work performed for repairing, rectifying or replacing external cladding from levy imposition. Entities focused on cladding remediation therefore sit outside Part 2’s levy regime.

In short, the regulation directly creates obligations for developers and grants the Secretary procedural and substantive control over a levy, while also bringing local councils, owners corporations, contractors, and owners of non‑strata apartment buildings into the information loop. The Regulation excludes certain public housing activity and small-scale residential developments, and links levy imposition to the presence of statutory registration and compliance declaration requirements.

This section sets out the specific duties imposed on private parties and the rights and discretions vested in the Secretary, with clause citations.

Developer duties

• Payment duty: If the Secretary imposes a levy by written notice, a developer must pay the levy using the NSW planning portal within 14 days of that notice (cl 5(1)-(2)). The portal is the prescribed channel for both notice and payment.
• Information duty: At the same time an expected completion notice is given the developer must ensure the Secretary also receives prescribed information about the building work. This includes the category of work (new building/additional storeys/repair or renovation), number of storeys and gross floor area where relevant, or projected cost for repair/renovation works (cl 10). Failure to supply this information attracts a maximum penalty expressed as penalty units: 200 penalty units for a corporation, 100 penalty units for an individual (cl 10).
• Record and calculation duties: Developers must supply accurate data that determine levy rate selection, including storey counts, gross floor area and projected cost; those variables feed directly into the banded rates in clauses 7 and 8 and into the computation using the monetary unit set under Schedule 2.
• Interface with other requirements: Developers must be aware of whether a registered building practitioner is required to give a building compliance declaration; if not, the levy cannot be imposed (cl 6(2)(a)).

Secretary discretions and rights

• Power to impose and notify levies: The Secretary may impose a levy and must give written notice using the NSW planning portal (cl 5(1)). The Secretary determines timing of notices and therefore triggers the developer’s 14 day payment obligation (cl 5(2)).
• Interest charging: The Secretary is able to charge a fixed 6% interest on unpaid levies under the terms set out in clause 11.
• Waiver, reduction, postponement, refund: The Secretary may, either on application or on the Secretary’s own initiative, waive, reduce, postpone or refund a building work levy in whole or part on specified grounds including financial hardship, charitable purpose, payment error, or special circumstances such as natural disasters; charitable purpose is defined to include benevolent, philanthropic or patriotic purposes (cl 12(1)-(3)).
• Prohibition orders: The Secretary may issue prohibition orders under the Act where a rectification bond undertook to be provided has not been provided (cl 15(1)). The Regulation also prescribes failure in relation to strata scheme decennial insurance as a prescribed failure for prohibition order purposes (cl 15A).
• Information exchange: Clause 16 prescribes persons and bodies with whom information can be exchanged under the Act, extending the Secretary’s reach for information-driven compliance.

Rights of developers and others

• Right to apply for relief: Developers and other persons may apply in writing to the Secretary for waiver, reduction, postponement or refund of the levy (cl 12(1)).
• Procedural protections implied by written notice: The levy is triggered by a written notice through the NSW planning portal; that is the statutory procedure set out (cl 5(1)). For expected completion notices given before Part 2 commenced there is a transitional provision which allows the Secretary to specify the time for information to be given (cl 13).
• Right to monetary unit floor: The Schedule 2 indexing method includes a floor so that the monetary unit cannot decline from the prior year; effectively once increased the monetary unit cannot fall below the prior year amount (Sch 2 cl 2(3)).

Ancillary duties and limitations

• Exclusions limit the Secretary’s power to impose levies in specific circumstances, for example work that results in a building with fewer than 5 residential premises or work performed by or on behalf of the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (cl 6(2)(b)-(c)).
• The Secretary cannot impose a levy at any rate; the Secretary must impose the levy only at the rate prescribed by Part 2 and, where work both adds storeys and involves repair/renovation, only at the greater of the two applicable rates (cl 6(1), cl 6(3)).

Other administrative duties

• Indexing notification: The Secretary must notify Parliamentary Counsel and give public notice of the monetary unit for the next financial year as soon as practicable after the March quarter CPI number is published, and must give public notice of actual levy amounts resulting from the monetary unit application (Sch 2 cl 4(1)). Schedule 2 expressly states that the change in levy amounts is operative independently of the notification requirement (Sch 2 cl 4(2)).

Penalty powers and notices

• The Schedule 1 framework permits penalty notices to be issued for the offences listed at the specified amounts, which creates a summary enforcement alternative to prosecutions for those particular offences (Sch 1 cl 1). The Schedule instructs that penalty notices may be issued only for the limited kinds of offences and circumstances specified (Sch 1 cl 1(2)).

In short, the developer bears the operational duties of reporting and payment via the portal, while the Secretary holds substantial administrative discretion over imposition, interest charging, relief, prohibition orders and information exchange. The statutory text prescribes exact timing, channels and calculation methods, and sets monetary caps and CPI linkage that convert qualitative thresholds into calculable liabilities.

The Regulation establishes a multi‑layered enforcement framework combining monetary penalties, interest on unpaid levies, prohibition orders, the withholding of statutory approvals, and the use of penalty notice procedures. The following sets out those levers with clause references.

Penalty notice regime

• Schedule 1 identifies a set of offences under the Act for which a penalty notice may be issued and fixes the dollar amount payable for those penalty notices (Sch 1 cl 1 and table). The table lists, for example, offences under the Act’s section 7 attracting $11,000 for individuals and $33,000 for corporations; section 8 attracting $1,500 for individuals and $5,500 for corporations; section 27 attracting $11,000 for individuals and $33,000 for corporations; and smaller penalty notice amounts for some other specified subsections (Schedule 1 table).
• Schedule 1 explains that penalty notices may be issued only for the kinds of offences or circumstances specified (Sch 1 cl 1(2)). The Schedule is expressed to operate for the purposes of section 57 of the Act (Sch 1 cl 1(1)).

Direct statutory penalties for information failures

• Clause 10 prescribes maximum penalties for a developer who fails to ensure that the required information accompanies an expected completion notice: 200 penalty units for a corporation, 100 penalty units for an individual. That is a maximum pecuniary penalty distinct from, and potentially in addition to, a penalty notice disposition where the Act provision aligns with Schedule 1 eligibility (cl 10).

Interest on unpaid levies

• Unpaid levies carry interest at a rate of 6% per annum, calculated from the earlier of two dates: the day that is 15 days after the Secretary gives written notice of the requirement to pay, or if the Secretary has postponed the levy, the day after the postponed levy becomes due (cl 11). The Regulation fixes the interest rate and the accrual start date, making the cost of delaying payment explicit.

Leveraging statutory approvals

• Clause 14 prescribes the failure to pay a building work levy as a ground relevant to the Act’s section 9(1)(f) regime. The text states that for the Act, section 9(1)(f), the failure of a developer to pay a building work levy is prescribed (cl 14). The practical effect is that the non-payment of a levy is a prescribed failure that can affect the issue of occupation certificates and the registration of strata plans; withholding or refusal to issue those instruments is therefore an enforcement lever tied directly to levy payment.

Prohibition orders and securities

• The Secretary may make a prohibition order where the Secretary has accepted an undertaking from a developer to provide a rectification bond, and the bond has not been provided (cl 15(1)). A rectification bond is defined broadly as a bank guarantee, bond or other security acceptable to the Secretary which may be claimed to meet remediation costs (cl 15(2)). Where a rectification bond is not provided as required, the Secretary has power to prohibit use or occupation under the Act’s prohibition order regime.
• Clause 15A prescribes failure to comply with a strata decennial insurance requirement in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 clause 55C as a ground for a prohibition order for the Act’s section 9(1)(f). That links strata-specific insurance non-compliance to potential prohibition orders.

Discretionary relief and its limits

• The Secretary’s power to waive, reduce, postpone or refund levies is discretionary and may be exercised on several grounds including financial hardship, charitable purpose, payment error and “special circumstances” such as natural disaster (cl 12(1)-(2)). This discretion provides a remedial channel but leaves the timing and evidentiary standards of relief within the Secretary’s control.

Exchange of information and compliance assistance

• Clause 16 prescribes a set of parties for information exchange purposes under the Act, including local councils, owners corporations, and contractors engaged by the Secretary (cl 16). That creates an administrative pathway for enforcement and compliance monitoring through inter-agency information sharing.

Operational enforcement signals and timing risks

• The imposition of a levy is by written notice through the NSW planning portal (cl 5(1)), and the developer’s payment duty is time‑bound to 14 days after that notice (cl 5(2)). Interest runs from day 15 after notice was given (cl 11). The sequential nature of notice, payment window and interest commencement creates predictable enforcement timing and financial exposure for late payers.

Practical enforcement consequences

• The combination of civil monetary penalties (penalty units and penalty notices), interest, prohibition orders and the withholding of occupation certificates or strata plan registration is calibrated to attach both financial and operational consequences to non‑compliance. The Regulation leaves operational choices to the Secretary within those statutory tools.

The Regulation thus supplies both summary enforcement options via penalty notices for selected offences, and broader civil regulatory levers and monetary consequences for levy non-payment and information failures. The Secretary holds extensive administrative discretion in both imposition and relief, while the Regulation prescribes precise timing rules for notice, payment and interest that convert non‑compliance into measurable financial exposure.

The Regulation is designed to function in a web of related statutes and subordinate instruments. The text explicitly cross-references and depends upon other Acts and regulations for definitions, thresholds and complementary obligations. The following summarises the principal interactions as found in the Regulation.

Primary Act: Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020

• The Regulation is expressly subordinate to the Act and implements specified powers and prescriptions for the Act. Many clauses are framed as “for the Act, section X” or otherwise specify the operation of a particular Act provision, for example the application of provisions to building classes (cl 4 reads “For the Act, section 6(2), all of the provisions of the Act extend to the following buildings as if they were residential apartment buildings”), and prescribing failure to pay the levy as a ground for refusal of occupation certificates/registration of strata plans for the Act’s section 9(1)(f) (cl 14). Clause 16 refers to the Act’s information exchange provision (section 65(7) definition of “relevant agency”) and prescribes particular relevant agencies.

Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020

• Clause 6 and clause 3 specifically rely on definitions in the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. The Regulation prevents levy imposition where a registered building practitioner is not required to provide a building compliance declaration, and expressly defines “building compliance declaration” and “registered building practitioner” by cross-reference to that Act (cl 6(2)(a), cl 6(4), cl 3).

Housing Act 2001

• The Regulation excludes building work carried out by or on behalf of the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation from levy imposition and defines that corporation by reference to the Housing Act 2001 (cl 6(2)(c), cl 6(4)).

Residential Tenancies Act 2010

• The term “residential premises” used in clause 6(2)(b) is defined by cross-reference to the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (cl 6(4)).

Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016

• Clause 15A prescribes the failure of a developer to comply with clause 55C of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 as a prescribed failure that can attract a prohibition order under the Act’s section 9(1)(f) framework. That creates a direct compliance linkage between strata-specific insurance/decennial obligations and the Act’s prohibition order mechanics.

Interpretation Act 1987

• Clause 3 notes that the Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain interpretative and definitional provisions that affect the Regulation.

Planning and building regulatory architecture

• The Regulation mandates use of the NSW planning portal for levy notices and payment (cl 5), which meshes with the online administrative mechanisms used across planning and building approvals. The expected completion notice concept is a triggering event for levy imposition and is a concept established in the Act rather than the Regulation; the Regulation’s obligations depend on that external statutory notice regime (see cl 10 and cl 13).

Land titling and strata registration processes

• Clause 14 ties levy payment to the issue of occupation certificates and registration of strata plans via the Act’s section 9(1)(f) power. While the mechanics of occupation certificates and strata registration sit in other regimes and instruments, the Regulation makes non-payment of the levy a prescribed reason for invoking the Act’s refusal or prohibition powers, which can affect those downstream administrative actions.

Penalty notice procedural law

• Schedule 1 references the Act’s section 57 as the procedural basis for issuing penalty notices for specific offences. The Regulation therefore relies on Part or sections of the Act that set out the procedure and legal effect of penalty notices.

CPI indexation and ABS data

• Schedule 2 ties the monetary unit to the Consumer Price Index for Sydney published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That link relies on ABS data series as the technical basis for annual monetary unit adjustments (Sch 2 cl 1 and cl 2).

Taken together these interactions mean a person working under this Regulation must navigate several linked instruments: the primary Act for procedural and enforcement bases, the Design and Building Practitioners Act for compliance declaration thresholds, the Strata Management instruments for certain insurance obligations, housing legislation for public housing exclusions, and CPI publications for levy indexing. The Regulation deliberately locates certain decisions, such as whether a levy may be imposed and whether relief will be granted, within the Secretary’s administrative authority, while the legal effect of non-payment is designed to operate through the Act’s existing approval and prohibition mechanisms.

The Regulation text includes marginal amendment notes recording insertions, substitutions and renumberings. The instrument as presented reflects several amendments, many of which redesignated clauses or inserted new provisions. The following chronicles the changes as recorded in the document. The list refers to the marginal notes included in the source.

• Commencement and title: The Regulation is identified as the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Regulation 2020 in clause 1, and clause 2 records commencement on 1 September 2020 (cl 1, cl 2).
• Part and clause insertions under 2022 instrument: Part headings and numerous clauses were inserted by 2022 instrument references. For example, Part 2 is shown as “Ins 2022 (293), Sch 1[4]” (pt 2 heading). Clause 5, clause 6, clause 7, clause 8, clause 9, clause 10, clause 11, clause 12 and clause 13 each carry the marginal note “Ins 2022 (293), Sch 1[4]”, indicating insertion by Schedule 1 of the 2022 instrument 293 (see cl 5-13).
• Clause 3 and general amendments: Clause 3 was amended in 2022, indicated by “cl 3: Am 2022 (293), Sch 1[2] [3]”. There was an insertion of clause 3A in 2021, later renumbered to clause 15 in 2022 (“cl 3A: Ins 2021 (510), sec 3. Renumbered as cl 15, 2022 (293), Sch 1[5]”).
• Clause 4 substitution and later renumbering: Clause 4 was substituted in 2021 (2021 (252), cl 3) and then renumbered as clause 16 in 2022, with an insertion in 2023: “cl 4: Subst 2021 (252), cl 3. Renumbered as cl 16, 2022 (293), Sch 1[5]. Ins 2023 (65), Sch 2 (subst 2023 (317), Sch 3[7])”.
• Renumbering notes: Many clauses have renumbering notes indicating that earlier clause numbers were altered by later instruments. For example clause 16 carries the marginal note “cl 16 (previously cl 4): Renumbered 2022 (293), Sch 1[5]”.
• Schedule 1 amendment: Schedule 1 has a marginal note “sch 1: Am 2022 (812), sec 3(1) (2)”, showing amendment by the 2022 instrument 812.
• Schedule 2 insertions: Schedule 2 is recorded as “sch 2: Ins 2022 (293), Sch 1[6]”.
• Clause 15 and clause 15A insertions: Clause 15 appears as “cl 15 (previously cl 3A): Renumbered 2022 (293), Sch 1[5]”, and clause 15A is shown as “cl 15A: Ins 2023 No 44, Sch 3.3.”.
• Clause 17 insertion: Clause 17 is recorded “cl 17: Ins 2024 (5), Sch 2”, indicating an insertion in 2024.
• Editorial and historical notes: The regulatory text includes editorial notes such as the fee unit amounts calculated for specific financial years under Sch 2 cl 2 (2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26), which appear in an editorial note under Sch 2 cl 2.

Chronological highlights derived from the marginal notes:

• 2020: Base instrument commenced 1 September 2020 (cl 2).
• 2021: Clause 3A inserted (Ins 2021 (510)); clause 4 substituted in 2021 (Subst 2021 (252), cl 3).
• 2022: Major insertions and reorganisation under instrument 2022 (293), Schedule 1 with multiple insertions of Part 2 and attendant clauses (cl 5-13), renumberings across the Regulation, and Schedule 2 inserted for CPI indexing (Sch 2: Ins 2022 (293), Sch 1[6]). Schedule 1 penalty amounts amended by 2022 (812).
• 2023: Further amendments including clause 4 renumbering and substitution references and clause 15A insertion (Ins 2023 No 44, Sch 3.3).
• 2024: Insertion of clause 17 regarding vertical transportation products as a possible serious defect (cl 17: Ins 2024 (5), Sch 2).

The marginal notes within the Regulation are the only internal record of these changes provided in the text. They identify the year and instrument number that effected insertions, substitutions and renumberings. The Regulation therefore has been actively amended since its commencement to introduce the Part 2 levy mechanics, to refine application to building classes, to add new enforcement prescriptions and definitions, and to add CPI-indexing provisions. The editorial note in Schedule 2 also shows administrative computation outputs for the monetary unit for several financial years.

Users should treat each marginal note as the official indicator of when the specific provision was inserted or amended, and verify the operative text against the consolidated instrument on the NSW legislation website when preparing compliance or advisory work.

The Regulation as provided contains no references to judicial decisions, case citations or specific litigation. The instrument’s text and marginal notes record amendments, insertions and renumberings but do not include any litigation history or references to judicial interpretation. Consequently:

• There are no cases or judicial determinations cited in the Regulation itself.
• No reported authority within the text construes the clauses, interprets the Secretary’s discretion, or decides disputes arising under the levy regime or related enforcement provisions.

For practitioners seeking case law interpreting similar levy mechanisms, prohibition orders, information obligations tied to completion notices or the exercise of administrative discretions by the Secretary, it will be necessary to search external court and tribunal databases for decisions under the Act or in relation to analogous instruments. The Regulation does not itself record or identify any such litigation or adjudication.

The text contains a number of practical traps, timing risks and discretionary bottlenecks that can have material consequences for developers, owners corporations and other actors. These are matters that deserve targeted attention when advising clients.

Payment channel and timing

• Portal-only process: Levy imposition and payment are both prescribed to use the NSW planning portal. The Secretary must give written notice using the NSW planning portal and the developer must pay using the same portal (cl 5(1)-(2)). Failure to monitor the portal, or delays in portal functionality, are operational risks not addressed elsewhere in the text.
• Short payment window and interest: The developer has 14 days to pay from the date the Secretary gives written notice (cl 5(2)). Interest accrues at a fixed 6% per annum from the day 15 after notice is given (cl 11). The sequence is strict and the interest start date will generate added cost quickly for unpaid levies.

Trigger and information timing

• Expected completion notice tie-in: The developer must provide the specified information at the same time the expected completion notice is given (cl 10). For expected completion notices given before Part 2 commenced the Secretary may specify the time for giving the information (cl 13(2)). That transitional route means developers with in-flight projects must monitor any written directions from the Secretary to avoid late information compliance.
• Penalties for failure to provide information: The maximum penalties for failing to provide the required information are expressed as penalty units and are sizeable: 200 penalty units for a corporation, 100 penalty units for individuals (cl 10). Those maximum penalties may be imposed separately from any penalty notice regime appliable to other Act offences.

Calculation complexity and indexing

• Multiple calculation bases: The levy is calculated using banding by storeys and gross floor area for new buildings or additional storeys (cl 7), and by projected cost for repair/renovation works (cl 8). Projects that do both may require selection of the higher of the two rates (cl 6(3)). Developers must collect and retain data to support whichever band applies.
• Monetary unit indexing and rounding: The monetary unit is indexed annually by reference to Sydney CPI and a mathematical formula in Schedule 2 cl 2. The monetary unit is rounded to the nearest cent with 0.5 cent rounded down, and levies are rounded to the nearest dollar with 50 cents rounded down (Sch 2 cl 2(2), cl 3). Small errors in applying these rounding rules will alter the payable amount. The monetary unit cannot decrease from the previous year (Sch 2 cl 2(3)).
• Notice independence: Schedule 2 cl 4(2) makes clear that the operation of the indexed monetary unit is not dependent on the Secretary’s notices. Practically that means a levy calculation adjusted by indexation is effective whether or not notifications have been published in a timely way.

Scope and exclusions

• Exclusion traps: The levy cannot be imposed for works where a registered building practitioner is not required to provide a building compliance declaration (cl 6(2)(a)). This reference requires checking the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 to determine whether a compliance declaration is required. There is therefore a cross-check obligation between the two regimes.
• Small developments excluded: Work that results in buildings with fewer than five residential premises is excluded (cl 6(2)(b)). Developers must verify whether a project meets that threshold at the time of calculating exposure.
• Cladding remediation excluded: Works involving repairing, rectifying or replacing external cladding are excluded from levy imposition (cl 6(2)(d)). Do not assume remediation projects will attract the levy.

Secretary discretion and uncertainty

• Broad Secretary powers: The Secretary may impose levies, postpone them, reduce or waive them on a variety of grounds and issue prohibition orders where rectification bonds are not provided (cl 5, cl 11, cl 12, cl 15). That breadth of discretion can produce inconsistent outcomes if administrative guidance is not published.
• Waiver criteria imprecise: “Special circumstances” is a ground for relief and only illustrated by an example such as natural disaster (cl 12(2)(d) and example). The lack of a closed definition means relief outcomes will be fact-specific and administratively discretionary.

Operational and registration consequences

• Withholding occupation certificates and strata plan registration: The failure to pay a levy is a prescribed ground relevant to occupation certificates and registration of strata plans (cl 14). This creates a direct and operationally significant consequence of non-payment which may halt occupancy or title creation.
• Rectification bond requirement and prohibition orders: Where the Secretary accepts an undertaking to provide a rectification bond under the Act and the bond is not delivered, a prohibition order may be issued (cl 15). The definition of rectification bond is broad and acceptable forms of security are at the Secretary’s discretion (cl 15(2)).

Penalty notice coverage limits

• Limited list of penalty notice offences: Schedule 1 lists only certain Act provisions eligible for penalty notice treatment and fixes amounts. Do not assume all Act offences can be dealt with by penalty notice; the Schedule instructs that only those specified may attract penalty notices (Sch 1 cl 1(1)-(2)).

Definitions and serious defects

• Vertical transportation products: Clause 17 declares that the use of a vertical transportation product in a building may be a serious defect if it poses a risk of death or serious injury, and that the risk may arise only in certain circumstances (cl 17). This expands the scope of what can be a “serious defect” under the Act and may bring elevators, escalators or parking systems into the serious defect rubric.

Practical consequences

• Concentration of procedural risk in timing and portal use: Because notice, payment and information provision are all portal-mediated and time-bound, operational errors or system outages can generate interest exposure, penalties and potentially prohibited occupation. Developers and certifiers should adopt portal monitoring and documented receipt processes.
• Record-keeping and calculational evidence: Developers must retain and be able to justify gross floor area, storey counts and projected cost figures used to select levy bands. Those data points will be the basis for disputes about levy application.

These are practical “gotchas” grounded in the Regulation’s operation. Advisers should review project timelines, ensure portal access and notifications are tracked, verify whether compliance declarations are required under the Design and Building Practitioners Act, and use administrative relief channels early when circumstances justify them.

Compliance under this Regulation requires integrating administrative, technical and documentation steps into project workflows. The following is a practical, clause‑by‑clause checklist for developers, certifiers and advisors.

1. Register and monitor the NSW planning portal

• Ensure the developer has active and monitored access to the NSW planning portal, as levy notices and payments are to be given and made via that portal (cl 5(1)-(2)). Record the date and time of any notices received.

2. Understand whether the levy can be imposed on the project

• Confirm whether the particular building work is one for which a registered building practitioner must give a building compliance declaration under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. If a compliance declaration is not required, the levy cannot be imposed (cl 6(2)(a)). Obtain written advice where the threshold is unclear.
• Check whether the project will result in fewer than five residential premises; if so, the levy is excluded (cl 6(2)(b)).
• Verify whether the project is carried out by or on behalf of the NSW Land and Housing Corporation, or is cladding remediation, both of which are excluded from levy imposition (cl 6(2)(c), cl 6(2)(d)).

3. Prepare required data for the expected completion notice

• At the time an expected completion notice is given, ensure the Secretary receives the prescribed information about the building work: whether it will create a new building or add storeys, or involve repair/renovation/protective treatment; if new/added storeys, provide the number of storeys and gross floor area; if repair/renovation/protective treatment, provide the projected cost (cl 10).
• Maintain contemporaneous documentation supporting gross floor area calculations, cost projections and storey counts; these will determine levy banding under clauses 7 and 8.

4. Calculate the levy before payment

• For new buildings or additional storeys use clause 7 banding: identify the number of storeys and, for 1-3 storeys, whether gross floor area is less than 6,000 m2 to select the relevant monetary unit amount (cl 7(1)-(2)).
• For repair, renovation or protective treatment use clause 8 banding by projected cost to identify the monetary unit amount (cl 8(1)-(2)).
• Apply the monetary unit value from Schedule 2 cl 2 for the relevant financial year. For 2022-23 the monetary unit is $100, and later years are calculated under the Schedule’s CPI formula (Sch 2 cl 2(1)). Observe rounding rules: monetary units rounded to nearest cent with 0.5 cent rounded down (Sch 2 cl 2(2)), and levy amounts rounded to the nearest dollar with 50 cents rounded down (Sch 2 cl 3).
• If a project involves both additional storeys and repair/renovation, apply clause 6(3) and select the greater of the two applicable rates.

5. Respond promptly to levy notices and consider relief early

• When the Secretary issues written notice via the portal, pay within 14 days to avoid interest accrual and potential operational restrictions (cl 5(2), cl 11).
• If cash flow or other hardship is likely to impede timely payment, apply in writing to the Secretary for waiver, reduction, postponement or refund under clause 12(1). Provide evidence for grounds such as financial hardship, charitable purpose, or payment error; for “special circumstances” provide documentary support such as evidence of natural disaster recovery (cl 12(2)).
• Keep written records of any application and the Secretary’s response. Relief is discretionary; early, documented applications increase the prospect of administrative accommodation.

6. Manage security and rectification bond obligations

• If the Secretary has accepted an undertaking that a rectification bond will be provided under the Act, ensure the bond is executed and delivered in the form acceptable to the Secretary to avoid prohibition orders (cl 15(1)-(2)). The text defines rectification bond broadly, making it essential to agree the form of security with the Secretary in advance.

7. Control information flows to and from relevant agencies

• Be prepared to interact with local councils, owners corporations, owners of buildings not in strata schemes, and contractors or subcontractors engaged by the Secretary, as these are prescribed relevant agencies for information exchange under the Act (cl 16).
• Maintain logs of all information delivered to the Secretary to substantiate compliance with clause 10 and to defend any penalty or regulatory action.

8. Track CPI indexing and public notices

• Monitor the ABS release of the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index) for Sydney for the March quarter annually to anticipate changes in the monetary unit (Sch 2 cl 1 and cl 2).
• Watch for the Secretary’s public notice to Parliamentary Counsel and the subsequent publication of the monetary unit and actual levy amounts under Sch 2 cl 4. Note that indexation is effective regardless of notice, but published amounts provide administrative clarity.

9. Prepare for occupation certificate and strata registration consequences

• Understand that failure to pay a levy is prescribed for the Act’s section 9(1)(f) purpose and can affect the issue of occupation certificates and the registration of strata plans (cl 14). Coordinate payment status with certifiers and conveyancers to avoid unexpected delays in occupation or title registration.

10. Manage potential penalty notices and prosecutorial risk

• Know which Act provisions are penalty notice eligible and the fixed amounts in Schedule 1 to anticipate summary enforcement exposure (Sch 1 cl 1 and table).
• Keep thorough records of expected completion notices, payment receipts, and communication with the Secretary to contest any penalty notice where applicable.

11. For transitional projects

• If an expected completion notice was given before commencement of Part 2, liaise with the Secretary about the timing for providing the clause 10 information; the Secretary may specify a time by written notice (cl 13(1)-(2)).

12. Address vertical transportation and “serious defect” risks

• Where a project involves vertical transportation products (lifts, escalators, moving walkways, parking systems), be alert to clause 17 which declares that the use of such products may constitute a serious defect where their use poses a risk of death or serious injury (cl 17). Ensure maintenance, testing and compliance records address safety contingencies including circumstances such as fire.

Implementing a compliance plan that integrates the above steps into project timelines, contract schedules and certification workflows will materially reduce the risk of penalties, interest, prohibition orders and withheld approvals. Where uncertainty exists about whether a levy applies, or about the Secretary’s likely approach to waivers or acceptable forms of rectification bond, obtain interlocutory written guidance from the Secretary, and document all interactions.