Sinking Fund Forecast or Capital Works Fund?
Same job, two names, two sets of rules. Queensland and NSW compared.
Same job, two names, two sets of rules
If you manage schemes on both sides of the Queensland and New South Wales border, you have probably noticed that the document everyone relies on has two different names and two different rulebooks.
In Queensland it is a sinking fund forecast. In New South Wales it is a capital works fund plan. The engineering underneath them is broadly the same. The statutory framing is not, and the differences matter enough that using the wrong term signals that the preparer was not paying attention.
Queensland: the sinking fund forecast
Queensland schemes operate under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. The body corporate has to budget for major capital spending covering the current financial year and the following nine years.
We prepare 15 year forecasts, which maintains a validity date of five years. Our recommendation is to update every three years, or sooner after significant maintenance work, so the numbers do not drift away from the building.
New South Wales: the capital works fund plan
New South Wales schemes fall under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Section 80 requires an owners corporation to prepare a plan of anticipated major expenditure covering a ten year period, starting from the scheme’s first annual general meeting.
The plan must be reviewed at least once every five years. An owners corporation can also review, revise or replace it by resolution at a general meeting whenever it makes sense to.
Where the original owner provided an initial maintenance schedule, that schedule has to be taken into account when the first plan is prepared.
What changed in NSW on 1 April 2026
From 1 April 2026, NSW Fair Trading introduced mandatory standard forms along with new sustainability requirements. A plan that was perfectly compliant in 2024 may now be in the wrong format, even where every number in it is still sound.
Worth checking if your scheme has not had its plan looked at recently.
Side by side
- Name: sinking fund forecast in QLD, capital works fund plan in NSW
- Legislation: BCCM Act 1997 in QLD, Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 in NSW
- Statutory horizon: current year plus nine in QLD, ten years in NSW
- Review: five year validity in QLD with three yearly updates recommended, at least every five years in NSW
- Standard forms: not applicable in QLD, mandatory in NSW from 1 April 2026
Why the terminology is not just pedantry
A document headed “sinking fund forecast” handed to a NSW owners corporation raises an obvious question about whether the preparer knew which state they were working in. The reverse applies in Queensland.
More practically, the review cycles differ, so a committee working from the wrong framework can end up out of step with its actual obligation without realising.
If your portfolio spans the border
We work across both. Our quantity surveyors are members of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, and we have been preparing these documents since 2001.
Our New South Wales coverage runs from the Queensland border south to Port Macquarie, taking in the Tweed, Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore, Grafton, Coffs Harbour and the mid north coast. Being based on the Gold Coast puts our inspectors within reach of that corridor without travel costs getting silly.
Frequently asked questions
Can one document satisfy both states?
No. They are prepared under different legislation with different horizons and review cycles. A scheme is in one state or the other.
Our NSW plan was prepared in 2023. Is it still valid?
The five year review requirement may not have caught up with you yet, but the standard form requirement from April 2026 might have. Worth a look.
Do you inspect, or work from documents?
We inspect. A forecast built from plans and assumptions misses the condition issues that drive real expenditure.
Which is more expensive to prepare?
Scope drives cost more than jurisdiction does. Building size, age, complexity and the state of existing records matter more than which side of the border you are on.
Call 07 5573 4011 or email info@seymourconsultants.com.au to discuss your scheme.
