Levy arrears, debt recovery and privacy in strata
Usually yes, a strata manager or owners corporation can disclose an owner's details to a debt collector or lawyer to recover unpaid levies. That disclosure flows from the statutory levy-recovery power and the owners roll the scheme already keeps, so privacy is generally not a lawful reason to refuse it. But publicly naming defaulters, on a noticeboard or at a meeting, is a different and higher-risk step to handle carefully.
By Jon Oates, Founder of Privaproof · Last updated
General information, document templates and tools you tailor, not legal advice. Privaproof is not a law practice.
The levy-recovery power comes with a disclosure power
An owners corporation is entitled to raise levies and to recover unpaid contributions as a debt, including interest and the reasonable costs of recovery, and to engage a debt collector or a solicitor to do it . To act on that power the scheme has to identify the debtor and pass their details to whoever is chasing the debt. That is the whole point of the function.
The owner's name and address already sit on the strata roll, which state strata law compels the scheme to keep and, on request, to make available for inspection LOCKED: NSW SSMA 2015 s 178 roll content, s 182 inspection access. So the information used to recover a levy is not secret data the manager has gone looking for. It is the statutory record the scheme is required to hold. Disclosing it to a debt collector engaged to recover a lawful debt is a normal exercise of the recovery power, not a privacy breach.
Why this is usually allowed under the Privacy Act, if you are even covered
Start with the honest coverage question, because for many schemes the Privacy Act does not apply at all.
- The owners corporation itself is almost always a small business (turnover A$3 million or less) and usually falls within the small-business exemption under s 6D, so the Australian Privacy Principles largely do not bind it. The s 6D exemption is still in force as at 2026; its proposed removal is not law and has no date. Read: owners corporations and the $3 million small-business exemption
- Your managing-agent business is covered by the Privacy Act only if either its turnover exceeds A$3 million or it is a related body corporate of a larger covered group. Many branded and national managers are caught this way even when a single office assumes it is exempt. Read: does the Privacy Act apply to strata managers?
If you are a covered manager, the disclosure still holds up. Under APP 6, you may use or disclose personal information for the purpose you collected it for, or for a related purpose the person would reasonably expect, and you may also disclose where it is required or authorised by or under law. Recovering the levies that fund the scheme is a core reason owner details are held, so passing a defaulter's name to a debt collector engaged for that purpose is within the primary purpose and reasonably expected, and it is separately supported by the state levy-recovery power. Disclosing to enforce the very debt the record exists to administer is not the kind of secondary misuse APP 6 is aimed at.
If you are a smaller independent manager under A$3 million and not part of a larger group, you may genuinely be outside the APPs across your business. Either way, the answer to "can we send this to the debt collector" is generally yes.
The debt collector has duties of their own
Handing the file over does not end your responsibility, and it does not put the debtor beyond protection. A debt collector or debt-recovery lawyer acting on the scheme's behalf is subject to their own conduct rules, including the ACCC and ASIC debt-collection guidelines on how and when a debtor may be contacted and what pressure is not allowed . Disclose only what the recovery agent actually needs (identity, the amount owed, the relevant lot and contact details), not the owner's wider file, and use a collector who handles the data properly. Minimising what you send is both good practice and, for a covered manager, part of the APP 6 and APP 11 discipline below.
Where it gets risky: naming defaulters publicly
This is the line that catches strata managers out. Recovering a debt through a collector or a tribunal is one thing. Publicly identifying who is behind on levies is another, and it carries real exposure.
- Noticeboards and group emails. Pinning a list of arrears with names on the common-property noticeboard, or emailing "these owners have not paid" to the whole scheme, is not part of the recovery mechanism. For a covered manager it is a disclosure that is hard to justify under APP 6, and it invites a complaint. It can also expose the scheme to a defamation claim if any detail is wrong, and to a serious-invasion-of-privacy claim in egregious cases . Regardless of the Privacy Act, it is a poor and combustible way to run a high-conflict building.
- Meetings and minutes. Arrears are legitimately reported to owners as part of the scheme's finances, and financial statements and levy ledgers presented at a general meeting will show amounts outstanding. But there is a difference between reporting the financial position and singling an individual out for public criticism. Report the numbers the meeting needs to see, and keep the tone administrative, not punitive .
- The honest test. Ask whether the disclosure is a step in recovering the debt or a step in shaming the debtor. The first is generally defensible. The second is where complaints, tribunal orders and reputational damage come from.
Note that owners and other entitled persons can often inspect the scheme's records, which may reveal who is in arrears, because state strata law compels that access and privacy is not a lawful shield against it. That is inspection on request under the statute, which is a different thing from the scheme actively broadcasting the list. Read: is the Privacy Act a shield against strata record access?
Treat arrears data as sensitive in practice
Even where you are entitled to disclose it, levy-arrears and debt-recovery files are among the more sensitive things a strata office holds. They reveal financial hardship and they sit in a high-conflict setting. For a covered manager, APP 11 requires you to keep that data secure and to destroy or de-identify it when it is no longer needed, and the state record-keeping floor sets how long you must hold it first (in NSW, records are generally kept for about seven years) LOCKED: NSW SSMA 2015 s 180. Keep arrears records for the statutory period to support the recovery and any dispute, then dispose of a former owner's debt file rather than hoard it. Read: how long must a strata manager keep owner records?
Whether or not the Privacy Act binds you, treating arrears data with restraint, sending only what a recovery agent needs, and not turning a debt into a public spectacle, is the position least likely to generate a complaint, a tribunal matter or a headline.
Common questions
Can the owners corporation give my details to a debt collector without my consent?
Generally yes. Recovering unpaid levies is a statutory power of the owners corporation, and your name and address are already on the roll the scheme is required to keep. Disclosing them to a debt collector or lawyer engaged to recover the debt flows from that power, so your separate consent is not usually required.
Is it a privacy breach to chase levy arrears through a lawyer?
No. Engaging a solicitor or debt-recovery agent to recover a lawful debt is a normal exercise of the levy-recovery power. A covered manager should disclose only what the agent needs and keep the data secure under APP 11, but the disclosure itself is authorised.
Can strata put my name on the noticeboard for not paying levies?
That is the risky step. Publicly listing defaulters is not part of the recovery mechanism, is hard for a covered manager to justify under APP 6, and can expose the scheme to defamation or privacy claims. Reporting the scheme's overall financial position to owners is fine; singling an individual out for public shaming is not.
Does the Privacy Act even apply to our small self-managed scheme?
Often not. The owners corporation is usually a small business under the s 6D exemption, and a sub-A$3 million manager that is not part of a larger group may also be outside the APPs. State strata law and the levy-recovery power still apply either way, so the recovery answer does not change, but the APP obligations only bite if you are a covered entity.
This is general information and document templates you tailor to your own business, not legal advice. Privaproof is not a law practice and does not provide legal advice. Privaproof's strata documents are self-authored and are not independently reviewed by a solicitor. Whether the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) applies to your business depends on your turnover and structure; state strata legislation, levy-recovery powers and debt-collection rules apply separately and vary by jurisdiction, and section numbers change with amendments, so confirm your own state's current requirements. For advice on a specific arrears matter, consult a qualified Australian legal practitioner. Back to the strata privacy hub.