Recent News
What is a First Home Concession and am I eligible?
First home buyers in Queensland are often confused and nervous when it comes to Stamp Duty obligations. Purchasing a property for the first time involves consideration of a large amount of factors which can sometimes be overwhelming to a first time purchaser. The...
Stamp Duty – Am I eligible for a Home Concession?
To reduce the costs of purchasing property in Queensland, the Office of State Revenue allows various concessions on Stamp Duty for different purchasers depending on their situation and the intended use of the property. One of these concessions is the “Home...
Strengthening Domestic Violence Law in Queensland
Between 2006 and 2012 there was an average of 23 deaths per year in Queensland associated with domestic violence according to the DVConnect statistics. DVConnect also reported an average of 55,000 incoming calls that relate to domestic violence each year. In 2012 the...
Could you be facilitating money laundering?
In its April 2015 Mutual Evaluation Report of Australia, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) indentifies the real estate sector as an attractive destination for laundering the proceeds of crime. This coincides with an article published by Fairfax media alleging a...
QBCC to crack-down on building offences
Starting on the 1st of July 2015 stricter penalties will come into affect for contractors who commit building offences under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 and/or the Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000. So what are the changes and what...
Guide for rental property owners
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has recently released the 2015 Rental Property Owners Guide. This contains a large amount of information relevant to investment owners including what income and expenses you have to declare on your tax return and what deductions you can...
Law Making in Brief: Who Makes our Laws?
Most Australians have an opinion about law-making, and leading from this generally have strong opinions on the parliamentary representatives in power when laws are passed. What many Australians don’t understand is the complex system from which our laws stem. In this...
Time to terminate? Understanding Breaches of Contract, Agreements and Leases
A breach of a lease or commercial agreement is a very serious legal matter, but at what point should this result in termination? If you are the innocent party in the matter you have a number of options available. Firstly you may claim for damages resulting from the...
An introduction to the PPSA
The PPSA or “Personal Property Securities Act 2009” deals with security interests in personal property and assets and allows a creditor to take security for the payment of a debt or obligation by registering an interest over an asset (more commonly known as a “charge”...
Basics for Consumers and Contractors in Building Contracts
In Queensland, building works performed by a building contractor must only be done where the contractor has a Queensland Building and Construction Commission ('QBCC') licence and the amount of the building contract is over the value of $3,300. It is an offence under...
Electronic Transactions and the Introduction of PEXA
As technology enters a new age and property transactions become more complicated with parities purchasing in different entities, foreign investment, and the need for efficiency during transactions there has been a growing need for the procedural side of property...
Dinner Time: A guide to Chinese Business Etiquette
At a time when the horizons for business and trade are soaring, it is important to remember that all is not equal with regards to etiquette. In this article I hope to enlighten you on some key elements of etiquette for a Chinese Business Meal. Here are the key points...
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