Describe the work rather than naming the room
“Kitchen renovation” is not enough to determine an approval route. List cabinetry, flooring, services, waterproofing, walls, ceilings, ventilation and external penetrations. Identify what the plans and by-laws treat as common property. Give the strata manager a specific scope and ask who has authority to decide each part.
The current NSW strata renovation guidance distinguishes cosmetic work, minor renovations and major work. A cabinetry change can sit in a different category from waterproofing or structural work in the same project. This article concerns an owner’s existing Sydney apartment; it is not the developer’s process for a new strata building or a tenant’s permission request.
Separate the approval questions
| Proposed work | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Painting without other affected work | Does the limited scope fit cosmetic work? |
| Kitchen cabinetry without structure or waterproofing | What minor-work process and authorised decision maker apply? |
| Hard flooring | What permission and acoustic evidence are required? |
| Bathroom waterproofing | What owners-corporation resolution and responsibility terms apply? |
| Structural or external/common-property changes | What strata, planning, engineering and building approvals apply? |
| Regulated building elements | Does the DBP scheme apply, or does a specific exclusion fit? |
Minor work must stay within its category; waterproofing is not made minor by keeping the bathroom layout. NSW guidance says major renovations require the owners corporation’s special resolution and a statement of ongoing common-property maintenance responsibility. Check whether a by-law, legal drafting or registration is needed for the actual proposal. A managing agent’s acknowledgement of an email is not the same as a completed approval record.
Check the regulated-building position carefully
Do not infer that every apartment job above AUD 5,000 automatically needs declared regulated designs. The specialist NSW DBP guidance contains exclusions, including qualifying waterproofing arising from alterations to a bathroom, kitchen, laundry or toilet in a single dwelling when those alterations are exempt development. The conditions must all fit the actual work.
Have the appropriate practitioner confirm building class, scope, planning status and the applicable requirements. A DBP exclusion does not remove strata permission, required licensing or compliance with building standards. Conversely, strata approval does not prove a DBP exclusion. If the scope expands to shared services, a balcony or structural work, reassess before proceeding. Keep the written basis for that decision.
Budget for approvals and building logistics
For this conditional teaching example, assume a combined kitchen/bathroom scope includes wet-area waterproofing and new hard flooring, but the final approval and practitioner costs remain to be confirmed. The trade package excludes the owner’s appliance supply and each separately listed organisational task. These final planning amounts include any applicable GST; they are not published strata fees.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Defined contractor package | 38 500 |
| Owner appliance supply | 4 200 |
| Approval/by-law professional allowance | 1 800 |
| Engineering/regulated-design allowance pending classification | 2 500 |
| Acoustic assessment allowance | 650 |
| Independent inspection and condition records | 850 |
| Lift/common-area protection and access | 850 |
| Waste logistics outside contractor scope | 900 |
| Subtotal before contingency | 50 250 |
| Contingency: 10% of contractor package | 3 850 |
| Project funding provision | 54 100 |
| Separate refundable building bond, assumed condition | 1 500 |
| Peak funding provision including bond | 55 600 |
The AUD 1,500 bond is a hypothetical scheme condition, not a statutory national charge or consumed work cost. Record who holds it, release conditions and refund status. It increases the funds temporarily required, not the final cost if returned in full. The professional allowances must be revised after the real scope is classified.
Resolve the programme and insurance before payment
Ask when the relevant meeting can consider a complete application, what further documents are needed and how the decision will be recorded. Confirm permitted work hours, lift bookings, water isolation, resident notice, access and protection. Do not promise a fixed approval duration or base a booking on an unverified assumption about silence or consent.
Check SIRA’s project-specific HBC position where required before work or payment. A renovation of an existing apartment is not automatically exempt because the building has more than three storeys. Insurance, strata consent and design registration are separate checks. Have the contracting business identify its cover and the scope to which it relates.
Close the approval loop at handover
- Retain the approved plans, resolution and applicable by-law.
- Check the built scope against those documents and accepted variations.
- Collect required trade, inspection and design records.
- Record damage and outstanding reinstatement of shared areas.
- Track bond release separately from contractor payments.
If the AUD 2,500 design allowance is replaced by a confirmed AUD 1,650 fee for the assessed requirements, the project provision becomes AUD 53,250 with the contingency unchanged; peak funding with the assumed bond is AUD 54,750. That arithmetic follows a professional classification, not a reason to omit required design. Reno Pro can keep approval tasks and cash commitments visible alongside the work stages.
Sources, date and scope
- NSW Government — Strata renovation rules
- Building Commission NSW — Design practitioner obligations for regulated buildings
- SIRA, NSW — Home building compensation for builders and tradies
Checked on 19 October 2026. Worked projects are in Sydney, NSW, unless stated otherwise. NSW rules are not national rules. All dollar amounts are Australian dollars (AUD); worked costs, quantities, margins and contingency percentages are invented teaching assumptions, not market prices, quotations or prescribed reserves. Each article describes a separate project. GST treatment is stated for the example; final amounts already include any applicable tax. Check the property, current approvals, insurance and contract with the appropriate professionals.