Strata approval for timber flooring in NSW: the complete guide

Why this catches so many owners out

Nothing about buying flooring tells you that an acoustic requirement exists. Showrooms sell on look, price and durability. The by-law lives in a document most owners have never read, and the first time many people encounter it is a complaint from the lot below — or, in the worst cases, an NCAT order to remove a floor that was installed in good faith.

It is entirely avoidable. There are two rules to satisfy and one approval to obtain, and none of it is complicated once it is set out plainly.

Rule one: the National Construction Code

NCC 2022 Part F7 governs sound transmission between sole-occupancy units. For a floor separating one apartment from another it requires impact sound insulation of L′nT,w no greater than 62, and airborne insulation of Rw + Ctr of at least 50. Compliance is determined under AS ISO 717.2.

That is the legal minimum for the building, not a target for your floor. In practice, almost every strata by-law asks for better.

Rule two: your building’s by-law, which is stricter

The NSW model by-law on floor coverings requires an owner to ensure that all floor space within the lot is covered or otherwise treated to an extent sufficient to prevent the transmission of noise likely to disturb the peaceful enjoyment of another lot — excluding the kitchen, laundry, lavatory and bathroom.

Most schemes then attach a number, expressed as an AAAC star rating. This is the table your by-law is almost certainly referring to. Lower decibels mean less impact noise reaching the apartment below, so a higher star rating is better.

The approval pathway, step by step

Section 110 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 defines minor renovations, and expressly includes removing carpet or other soft floor coverings to expose or install hard flooring. That classification is good news: minor renovations need an ordinary resolution, not the special resolution and registered by-law that section 108 common-property works demand.

1. Get your by-law. Ask the strata manager for the registered by-laws for your scheme and find the floor-coverings clause. This tells you the star rating you have to meet.
2. Specify a floor build-up that meets it, and obtain the acoustic documentation for that system — a test report from an accredited laboratory, or a desktop assessment from an acoustic engineer.
3. Assemble the application pack (see below).
4. Submit it to the owners corporation or strata manager and ask for it to be placed on the agenda.
5. Approval is by ordinary resolution at a general meeting. Many schemes delegate this to the strata committee, which is usually faster. Approval may carry reasonable conditions, and it cannot be unreasonably withheld.
6. Book the work within any conditions imposed — permitted hours, lift bookings, common-area protection.

What to put in the application

Schemes vary, but this pack covers what almost all of them ask for, and submitting it complete the first time is the single biggest thing that shortens the timeline.

The strata application pack

• A cover letter identifying the lot, the proposed work and the areas involved.
• Acoustic evidence: a laboratory test report for the proposed floor system, or a desktop assessment by an acoustic engineer, showing it meets the by-law and at minimum the NCC figures.
• The contractor’s certificate of currency for public liability insurance.
• Evidence of workers compensation cover.
• A quote or scope of works detailing products and areas.
• Proposed dates and working hours.
• Where the scheme requires it: a SWMS, and a plan for protecting lifts, lobbies and common corridors.

How long it takes

Two to four weeks from submitting a complete application is typical. The delay is usually the meeting cycle rather than the decision itself. Schemes that have delegated the decision to the strata committee can turn it around considerably faster.

Incomplete applications are the main cause of long delays — most often a missing acoustic report or an out-of-date insurance certificate.

The thing almost nobody tells you

Acoustic underlay ratings are laboratory figures. They are measured on a specific test slab, with a specific build-up, under controlled conditions. Your building is not that slab.

Concrete thickness, whether the apartment below has a suspended ceiling, cavities, and service penetrations all change the real result — sometimes substantially. A product rated 6 star in a laboratory is not automatically 6 star in your apartment.

Only on-site testing after installation confirms actual performance. A high lab rating is a strong indicator and it is what your application will be assessed on, but it is not a guarantee of installed performance, and any contractor who presents it as one is telling you something they cannot know.

Which floors work in apartments

Two systems do the overwhelming majority of compliant apartment work: engineered timber floated over a rated acoustic underlay, and hybrid or SPC flooring with an acoustic backing. Both isolate the wear surface from the slab, which is what reduces impact noise.

Solid timber fixed directly to a slab is a poor performer acoustically and is generally discouraged in multi-residential buildings. It is very difficult to make it meet a 5 or 6 star by-law.

Last reviewed 2026-09. General information only, not legal advice — check your own by-laws and the current legislation before acting.