‍The Victorian Supreme Court in its recent decision has refused the taxpayer leave to appeal the VCAT decision of Tao v Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] VCAT 637.

This upholds the decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that imposed landholder duty on a change of shareholder and director of a trustee company and confirms the drastic widening of the landholder duty change of control provisions which no longer requires the acquisition of units or shares or any rights similar to share or unit ownership.

What happens if I get a land tax assessment or a vacant residential land tax assessment that I do not agree with?  Can I appeal or object a land tax assessment or vacant residential land tax assessment?

The Div 296 bill was introduced to parliament on 11 February 2026. So what were the changes from Treasury’s draft legislation? For a summary of the draft legislation see our articles – part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

As the holiday season concludes and the countdown to another 30 June begins, we highlight 10 income tax issues that we expect will dominate the Australian private wealth landscape over the coming months.

This is our fourth article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation; our second article examined the transitional rules and the third article considered the problem that arises for indirect assets. This article will examine other issues with the proposed new Div 296.

This is our third article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation; while our second article examined the transitional rules. This article will examine how Div 296 will operate for indirect assets – for example where an SMSF holds assets via a unit trust or a company.

This is our second article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation. This article will examine the transitional rules including the CGT adjustment and two rules that just apply for the 2026/27 year.

Treasury released its draft legislation on 19 December 2025 for the new Div 296 and at the time of writing this article the draft legislation was open for consultation (closing 16 January 2026).

The Victorian State Government has announced new taxes to partially fund the Suburban Rail Loop as part of “value capture” arrangements.

Well drafted warranties offer purchasers protection by providing an avenue to seek recovery in the event that what is acquired turns out to be different than what it was represented to be by the seller.

This article looks at a case involving a share sale agreement and the outcome achieved when action was taken against the seller due to a breach of warranties offered in the share sale agreement to the purchaser.

Over the past three years, the Australian Government has placed increasing significance on developing anti-corruption laws at both the domestic and international level. This article provides an overview of some of the legislation which govern this area in Australia, how corporations can be found liable and how to access guides to manage compliance.

Irrespective of whether UPEs are loans under Div 7A or not, what is often forgotten is that dealing with UPEs can result in capital gains for beneficiaries.

Where there has been land consolidation, how does this affect the application of the main residence exemption for deceased estates?

The NSW Court of Appeal has affirmed on-demand loan repayments to shadow directors were reasonable where the company was solvent and the payments caused no detriment and as such do not constitute a breach of the unreasonable director related transaction provisions in section 588FDA of the Corporations Act.

The Victorian State Revenue Office has issued a draft revenue ruling “Land transfer duty - Consideration - Assumption of tax liabilities” for comment that seeks to impose a new stamp duty on adjustments at settlement of property transfers.  This is an Australian first tax and will penalise commercial and other property transfers.

The Victorian Supreme Court in Alphington Developments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] VSC 709 considered the dutiable value for a transfer of land under paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) and whether payments required to be made by the vendor under a contract were able to reduce the headline purchase price for stamp duty purposes.

The Full Court of the Federal Court’s decision in Bakers Delight Holdings Ltd v Fair Work Ombudsman [2025] FCAFC 144 provides insight into the interaction between franchisor liability and ‘reverse onus’ mechanisms in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Specifically, the Federal Court confirmed that franchisors can be held legally responsible for workplace contraventions by franchisees, even where the case against the franchisee relies on a ‘reverse onus of proof’. Franchisors are recommended to implement proactive compliance systems across their networks to avoid liability.

PayDay Super is now law, with changes effective from 1 July 2026. The reforms introduce a new voluntary disclosure regime and a new penalty framework for non-compliance. Stay ahead of the changes and understand your new obligations.

The ART decision in XLZH v FCT looked at whether pre-CGT assets owned by a discretionary trust kept that status under Division 149 and to the extent to which ATO Ruling IT 2430 can be relied upon in applying Division 149.

#CGT, #Division 149, #discretionary trusts, #Tax, #IT 2430

New Division 296 tax, as outlined in a Treasury Fact Sheet, includes two indexed thresholds ($3 million and $10 million) and taxation on realised (not unrealised) earnings from 1 July 2026. However, critical details about how realised earnings will be calculated—particularly regarding pre-1 July 2026 gains—remain unclear.