What Does a Capital Works Fund Plan Cost in NSW?

First published: 6 July 2026 · Last updated: 6 July 2026

The short answer

In 2026, a professionally prepared 10-year capital works fund plan in NSW typically costs $1,800 to $5,500 (published industry benchmarks), depending on the size and complexity of the building and whether the provider physically inspects it. Most providers quote case-by-case. We publish our prices: a full site-visit-led plan from Finer Property starts at $1,295+GST for the smallest schemes, and a refresh of an existing plan from $975+GST. For committees happy to do it themselves, NSW Fair Trading's free online planner is a legitimate $0 option — with trade-offs we cover below.

Why every NSW scheme is asking this in 2026

Under Section 80 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, every owners corporation must have a 10-year capital works fund plan, reviewed at least every five years. From 1 April 2026, any new or reviewed plan must follow the government's mandatory standard form — which added life-cycle costing, sustainability and climate-resilience content that most older plans don't have. That has pushed thousands of schemes into the market for a new or updated plan at the same time, and most are discovering the same thing: almost nobody publishes a price.

What determines the price

Building size. More lots means more common property, more elements to cost, and a longer inspection. Most providers tier their pricing by lot count — so do we.

Site inspection vs desktop. Some plans are produced from records, photos and floor plans without anyone visiting the building. A desktop plan is cheaper to produce; it also can't see the exposed rusty rebar on the underside of the balconies or the rotting eave timbers that will dominate your actual 10-year costs. Ask any provider directly: "Does the price include a physical site inspection?"

New plan vs refresh. If your existing plan still has five or more years of usable life — broadly, it was prepared within the last five years and isn't yet due for its statutory review — it can usually be refreshed to the 2026 standard form and current costs for meaningfully less than starting from scratch. A plan at end-of-life needs a full rebuild. Not every provider offers this distinction.

Complexity. Lot count isn't the whole story. A block of similar low-rise townhouses is straightforward to inspect and cost even at 40 lots; a high-rise tower with lifts, fire-engineered systems and basement car parks is a different exercise — at that end, a quantity surveyor's team-based approach genuinely earns its fee. Our service is built for the buildings that make up most of NSW strata: walk-ups, townhouses and boutique low-rise blocks. If your building sits beyond that, we'll tell you so on the discovery call and point you in the right direction.

Who prepares it. Quantity surveyors, valuers, building consultants and specialist strata providers all prepare plans, at different price points. The NSW Government's own guidance notes preparation "can be done by a strata managing agent, a secretary or treasurer, a member of the owners corporation or a hired independent expert" — the law cares that the plan is competent and in the standard form, not the letters after the preparer's name. We're the hired-independent-expert option, with the site inspection built in.

Finer Property's published prices

We believe committees should be able to see the price before they pick up the phone. Ours, by building size:

Every plan includes a physical site inspection by our Director, the completed 2026 standard-form document with life-cycle costing of every major element, a photo register, a plain-English executive summary, a year-by-year levy schedule, the sustainability and climate-resilience assessments the 2026 form requires, an editable digital copy (PDF plus an Excel financial model), one revision within 30 days, and a 30-minute walkthrough call with your committee. The price we quote is fixed — no surprises at invoice time. See everything included on the service page.

Already a Monthly Care Package client? You receive 15% off your plan. We can also bundle the plan with an on-site maintenance report at a single site visit for a combined saving.

What's the cheapest way to get a compliant plan?

An honest answer, in three tiers:

$0 — do it yourself. NSW Fair Trading provides a free capital works fund planner through Strata Hub that produces a plan in the standard form. For a small, simple scheme with a committee member willing to walk the building, estimate costs and own the result, this is a legitimate option — the law requires a competent plan, not a paid one. The trade-offs: someone has to do the work, cost estimates are only as good as the person making them, and there's no independent set of eyes on the building's actual condition.

Also $0 for some 2-lot schemes. Certain two-lot schemes are exempt from the plan requirement altogether — broadly, where the buildings are physically detached, there are no buildings outside the lots, and the owners resolve unanimously. If you're a 2-lot scheme, check the exemption before paying anyone — including us. It's the first thing we screen for on a discovery call.

From $1,295+GST — the cheapest done-for-you option with a site visit. If you want the plan prepared professionally, inspected in person, and delivered ready for your AGM, that's our Micro tier. We're aware some committees simply want the box ticked at minimum cost — we'd rather tell you plainly what the minimum genuinely is (including the free option) than sell you something you don't need.

What a desk plan can miss

A capital works plan is a 10-year financial instrument: it sets your levies. The most expensive plan is the one that misses what's actually failing in your building — because the shortfall arrives later as a special levy. This is why we treat the site inspection as non-negotiable: waterproofing, roofing and concrete issues in 1960s–1990s blocks are found by walking the building, not by reading its file. If you're comparing quotes, weight the inspection more heavily than the price difference. Published industry benchmarks put update-only pricing at 40–60% of a new plan — but those updates are typically desktop re-costings. Our Plan Refresh sits above that range for one reason: it includes the same physical site inspection as a full plan, because an update is only as good as the condition information underneath it.

Get a fixed price for your building

Tell us your suburb and lot count and we'll confirm your exact price — usually on the same call. Request a quote, or start with the full guide to capital works fund plans if you're earlier in the process.