Standard form contracts

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law, Despina Priala, Priala Legal and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel, Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers and...

Purchaser due diligence and enquiries

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law, Despina Priala, Priala Legal and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers ...

Prescribed, implied and prohibited terms for contracts of sale

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law, and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel, Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers and Katie Loughridge, former Australian...

Identification of land, improvements and goods in contracts

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel, Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers and Katie Loughridge, Former Australian...

Foreign investment in Australian land

Authored by the LexisNexis Legal Writer team. Updated by Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW) and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld). The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (the Act) imposes limits on foreign ownership of Australian real estate. It is supplemented by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 (Cth) (the Regulations). This guidance note only...

Execution and exchange of contracts

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers (WA); Philip Page, Retired Partner...

Foreign investment in Australian land

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (the Act) imposes limits on foreign ownership of Australian real estate. It is supplemented by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 (Cth) (the Regulations). This guidance note only considers the application of the Act and Regulations to Australian land, and not other actions which might be restricted...

Heads of agreement

The commercial terms upon which parties agree to enter into a lease between the parties are usually set out in a document called: a "heads of agreement" (HOA); a "lease proposal"; or a "letter of offer". The HOA is executed by both parties and its terms form the basis of the lease. A critical issue for parties to consider when entering into an HOA is the point at which the parties...

CGT discount, anti-overlap rule and minor CGT exemptions

Authored by Greg Vale, Solicitor Director, Vale Legal and John Gaal, TaxCounsel. Updated by the LexisNexis Legal Writer team. CGT discount Capital gains made on assets disposed of after 11:45 am (ACT time) on 21 September 1999 may be reduced by the discount capital gains tax (CGT) concession in Div 115 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (ITAA 1997). What is the discount capital gain concession? The CGT...

Other issues

For definitions of key e-conveyancing terms, see the Toolkit: Glossary — E-conveyancing terms Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer and Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers (WA); Philip Page, Retired...

Benefits and risks of e-conveyancing

Introduction What are the benefits of e-conveyancing over paper-based conveyancing? Electronic conveyancing (or e-conveyancing) benefits legal practitioners and the relevant parties in a number of ways, including the following: More efficient conveyancing transactions: Legal practitioners do not need to attend a physical settlement or physically lodge documents at a revenue authority or land registry. Legal...

Variation of leases

Can a lease be varied? A lease, being a contractual agreement, can be varied by way of a supplementary agreement between the parties. If considering a variation of lease, it is important to determine if it will operate: to vary the existing lease; or as a surrender of the existing lease and a regrant of a new lease under the varied terms. Varying a lease under general law Under the general law, it was formerly...

What happens if a tenant goes into liquidation?

It is unlikely that a company will still exist after the end of a period of liquidation given that the purpose of the appointment of a liquidator is: to use the assets of a company to pay the company’s debts; and to then “wind up” the company. Landlord may be entitled to terminate the lease The appointment of a liquidator for a tenant company may entitle the landlord to terminate the lease...

Mandatory disclosure — Commercial building energy efficiency

Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program The Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program is a national regulatory program established by the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (Cth) (the Act). Subject to some exceptions, in most cases where commercial office space with a net lettable area of 1000 sq m or more is offered for sale, lease or sublease: a building energy efficiency certificate (BEEC...

Agreements for lease

What is an agreement for lease? An agreement for lease is a document separate from the lease. It is an agreement to enter into a lease at a later date on the terms set out in the agreement for lease and is binding on the parties. An agreement for lease is entered into when a lease cannot yet be entered into because: one or more of the critical terms of the lease, usually the rent or the commencement date, cannot...

Incentives provided by landlords to tenants

What is an incentive? A landlord may give a tenant an incentive to enter into a lease. An incentive is generally (but not always) recorded in a separate incentive deed. See the Precedent Lease incentive deed . It is common practice for all or part of the incentive(s) to be repayable by a tenant in the circumstances specified in the relevant incentive deed, e.g., assignment or early termination. From a landlord’s...

Entering into a lease — what a tenant should consider

Key considerations for a tenant before entering into a lease Before entering into a lease, a tenant should ensure that: the premises (and the building containing the premises) are sound; the required services will be available to the tenant during the term of the lease; the premises can be used for the permitted use (see Use the premises for the permitted use); any obligations to spend money/do work are capped...

Entering into a lease — what a landlord should consider

Authored by Catherine Hallgath, Partner, Mills Oakley Lawyers, Brian Ralston, Barrister-at-Law and Tim Tierney, Principal, and Sebastian Thomas-Wilson, Principal, Tierney Law (Tas). Updated by the LexisNexis Legal Writer team. Understanding the considerations and motivations of a landlord can assist legal practitioners in determining how to advise a landlord before the landlord enters into a lease with a tenant. Protection...

What is community title?

Authored by Robina Kidd, Partner and Carolyn Chudleigh, Partner, Holding Redlich (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers; Richard Skopal, Principal, DWF (Australia) (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Director, MacDonnells Law (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers; Katie Loughridge, formerly Solicitor, Australian Government Solicitor office (WA); Philip Page, Retired Partner, Mellor...

Exemptions from land tax

Authored by Catherine Hallgath, Partner, Mills Oakley Lawyers, Jack Stuk, Partner, Mills Oakley Lawyers, Andrew Johnston, Partner, Mills Oakley Lawyers; Geoff Mann, Partner, Ashurst and John Gaal, TaxCounsel; Leon Loganathan, Partner, Ward Keller (NT); Stephanie Lynch, Partner, Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers and Christine Murray, Partner, Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers (ACT); Tim Tierney, Principal Tierney Law (TAS). Updated by the...

Practical drafting considerations for sale of land contracts

Authored by the LexisNexis Legal Writer team. Updated by Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld) and Duncan Webber, Partner, Moray & Agnew (ACT). Contracts of sale tend to be prepared by, or on behalf of, the vendor. As a result, they are usually more vendor friendly. Purchasers prepare contracts of sale less commonly. In either case, understanding the client and property, through taking proper instructions...

Cooling off rights

Authored by Dr Stephen Pallavicini, Lead Property Lawyer, Marie Boustani, Property Lawyer, Woolworths Group Ltd and Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Partner, MacDonnells Law and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers Pty Ltd (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers (WA); Philip Page, Retired...

Dealing with contaminated land in contracts of sale

Authored by Chris Camillin, Partner, Aitken Partners (Vic); Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld); Eric Ross-Adjie, Principal and Andrea Keri, Principal, Warren Syminton Ralph (WA); Philip Page, Retired Partner, Mellor Olsson Lawyers (SA); Tim Tierney, Principal, Tierney Law (Tas); Lyn Bennett, Consultant, Minter Ellison (NT); Christine Murray, Partner, Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers and Duncan Webber, Partner, Moray...

Licences

Authored by Tony Cahill, Legal Author and Commentator; John Boag, Director, Everingham Solomons; Katelin Whitley, Principal, Bestic Law (NSW); Lisa Gaddie, Partner, Lander & Rogers; Richard Skopal, Partner, Holding Redlich and Matthew Jones, Director, Jones & Mitchell (Vic); Luckbir Singh, Director, MacDonnells Law (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers (WA); Philip...

Continued tenures and other restricted or conditional purchases and grants

Authored by Tony Cahill, Legal Author and Commentator; John Boag, Director, Everingham Solomons; Katelin Whitley, Principal, Bestic Law (NSW); Luckbir Singh, Director, MacDonnells Law (Qld); Gary Thomas, Special Counsel and Anthony Davis, Director, McWilliams Lawyers (WA); Philip Page, Retired Partner, Mellor Olsson (SA); Tim Tierney, Principal, and Sebastian Thomas-Wilson, Principal, Tierney Law (Tas); Tony Morgan, Partner...