In Western Australia a strata company must insure the scheme's buildings and common property to replacement value against fire, storm, lightning, explosion and earthquake, and hold public liability cover of at least $10 million. Survey-strata schemes and single tier schemes work differently, and that is where most of the confusion comes from.
WA uses its own words. The owners' body is a strata company, not an owners corporation, and a scheme is either a strata scheme (the lots are parts of a building) or a survey-strata scheme (the lots are parcels of land). This guide sets out what the Strata Titles Act 1985 requires for each.
What insurance must a strata company have in WA?
"A strata company must ensure that the following insurance is in place for the strata titles scheme"
Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), section 97(1)
Two things follow from that section:
- Building insurance. "all insurable assets of the scheme must be insured against fire, storm and tempest (excluding damage by sea, flood or erosion), lightning, explosion and earthquake", to replacement value. Replacement value means rebuilding "no less extensive and in no worse condition than when the asset was new", plus demolition, site clearance and professional fees.
- Public liability. "an amount of not less than $10,000,000" for property damage, death, injury or illness for which the strata company could become liable.
Note the words in brackets. The Act does not require cover for damage by sea, flood or erosion, so flood cover is a choice for the strata company.
What are the insurable assets?
The common property, including its fixtures and improvements, and "the parts of scheme buildings that comprise lots in the scheme (including the paint and wallpaper)". Paint and wallpaper inside a lot are part of what the strata company insures in WA, which is the opposite of New South Wales. Left out are "carpet and temporary wall, floor and ceiling coverings in a scheme building" and fixtures a tenant can remove.
Your furniture and belongings are never included. Our guide to what strata insurance covers explains where contents sit.
Who insures the buildings in a survey-strata scheme?
The owner. The Act says so in a note to section 97:
"The owner of a lot in a survey-strata scheme is responsible for insurance of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) for infrastructure on the lot."
Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), section 97(1), note 1
The strata company still insures any common property and its own liability. So in a survey-strata villa development, each owner insures their own villa, and the strata company's policy is for the shared driveway and its public liability.
What is a single tier strata scheme, and can owners insure separately?
A single tier scheme is one "in which no lot or part of a lot is above or below another lot": villas and townhouses side by side. For these:
- Insurance of a lot is "at the discretion of the owner of the lot", unless the strata company takes it on by ordinary resolution.
- Common property does not have to be insured if the only common property is airspace, subsoil or boundary fencing, or after a resolution without dissent.
- Any owner can reverse that resolution on one month's written notice.
| Scheme | Who insures the buildings |
|---|---|
| Strata scheme with lots above or below each other | The strata company |
| Single tier strata scheme | Each owner, unless the strata company resolves to insure |
| Survey-strata scheme | Each owner, for buildings on their own lot |
Where owners insure separately, a shared wall or roof is still shared. Our duplex guide goes through the practical problems, and our guide to townhouse and unit block insurance covers low-rise sites.
Who pays the excess, and how often is a valuation needed?
The Act and its regulations are silent on both. Who pays an excess is left to the scheme's by-laws or a resolution, and there is no statutory valuation interval. One related rule: an owner can be required to pay the part of the premium that is "attributable solely to the risk associated with something within the member's control" (section 98).
What if a WA scheme cannot get the required cover?
The strata company must obtain the closest cover it can on reasonable terms, and the State Administrative Tribunal can exempt it from the requirement (section 97).
Must a WA strata manager disclose insurance commission?
Yes. A strata manager "must inform the strata company in writing of the amount or value of any remuneration or other benefit" received from anyone other than the strata company (section 147), and must disclose expected benefits before the management contract is signed. Benefits under $100 are exempt. There is no ban or cap.
A discussion paper released by the WA Government in October 2026 proposes going further, including a minimum number of insurance quotes and annual reporting of commissions. Those are proposals, not law. Our news explainer on strata insurance commissions has the national picture.
The quote shows the base premium, each charge and our commission in dollars.
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- Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), sections 3, 97, 98, 145, 147 and Schedule 2A: legislation.wa.gov.au
- Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019 (WA): legislation.wa.gov.au
- Landgate, Managing finances and insurance fact sheet: landgate.wa.gov.au
- Landgate, Strata reform Phase Two discussion paper, October 2026: landgate.wa.gov.au
General information only, not legal advice. Read from the Act as at June 2025 and the Regulations as at August 2026.
Duplex strata insurance: does a two-lot scheme need it?
Townhouse and unit block insurance: who insures what
What does strata insurance cover?