New 50% tax on rezoned rural land - The Victorian Government has made a further announcement about a new windfall gains tax, WGT, which was first announced as part of the 2021-22 Victorian Budget. It is proposed that a new windfall gains tax will be applied to land rezoned by a planning scheme Continue Reading
No such thing as a simple Will
No such thing as a simple will A recent decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Calvert v Badenach [2015] TASFC 8 is a good reminder for lawyers preparing wills that there is no such thing as a simple will. The case concerned a professional negligence claim against a Continue Reading
Small Business Contracts Unfair terms
Small Business Contracts under review ACCC v JJ Richards is the first successful prosecution involving unfair terms in small business contracts. It is likely to have a significant impact on commercial practices. Snapshot: ACCC v JJ Richards is a landmark case, being the first case to test the Continue Reading
Retail Leases update
What is this all about A case that has extended the definition of what constitutes a retail tenant will have wide ramifications for practitioners who deal with commercial leases, the Victorian Small Business Commissioner (VSBC) Judy O'Connell has warned. Providing commercial services The Continue Reading
Superannuation retirement and tax
Superannuation, contributions, retirement and tax seem to take up a lot of discussion and the changing laws keep many people confused about what are their rights and entitlements when they make contributions to their superannuation. Mr Andrew Proebstl chief executive of legal super writes in the Continue Reading
Verification of identity and e-conveyancing
Today I am discussing the need for Verification of identity and e-conveyancing. To reduce the risk of property fraud, states across Australian are introducing verification-of-identity (VOI) legislation for transfers of property. It also compulsory for property sales over $2m in Victoria. The Continue Reading
Lease renewal – transfer of lease
Last week I wrote about creating a new retail tenancies lease and some of the issues related to that so today we discuss lease renewal and transfer. Lease renewal - You have been in retail business for the first term of your lease and the lease needs to be renewed. The Retail Leases Act 2003 (the Continue Reading
Retail Premises Lease
The Retail Premises Lease in Victoria When you are in business or you decide to go into business one of the most daunting experiences is finding your business address and entering into a lease with the landlord. If you are a sole trader the lease will be in your personal name and if you have Continue Reading
New property rules
For contracts of sale of real estate worth $2M or more entered into from 1 July 2016 new property rules state that all purchasers of such real estate must withhold 10 percent of the purchase price unless they are given a clearance certificate by the vendor. Vendors of such property who are not Continue Reading
New Building Laws
Have you ever found yourself looking at a new building contract and wondering what it all means? Next door to my place here in Silverwood’s a new home is being built and I went to have a chat to the painter and walked inside to see that the concrete slab already had hairline fractures. I don’t Continue Reading