Insights & updates
Briefings from the desk.
Practical legal updates on NSW conveyancing, planning reform and liquor & gaming regulation. Written for operators, investors and developers, not for lawyers.
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17 briefings
- Conveyancing27 May 20266 min read
AML/CTF Arrives at the Settlement Table on 1 July
From 1 July 2026, Australia's anti-money-laundering regime extends to lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents: the 'tranche 2' reforms. AUSTRAC enrolment opened on 31 March 2026, and every firm providing designated services must be enrolled by 29 July 2026. What it means in practice: formal identity verification for every buyer and seller, source-of-funds questions on some matters, and a little more paperwork at the start of every transaction.
Read briefing - Conveyancing26 May 20266 min read
The 2026 Budget: What Property Owners Need to Know
The 14 May 2026 federal budget rewrites the tax settings that have shaped Australian property investment for a generation: negative gearing limited to new builds from 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount replaced with indexation and a 30% minimum rate on gains, and the foreign-buyer ban on established homes extended to 30 June 2029. A practical read of who is affected, who is grandfathered, and what the timetable allows.
Read briefing - Liquor & Gaming25 May 20265 min read
Inspectors in the Gaming Room: The Winter Compliance Push
Liquor & Gaming NSW inspectors have visited more than 300 Sydney metropolitan venues over the past two months and spoken with over 480 gaming-room staff, testing not paperwork but people: whether staff can recognise and respond to indicators of gambling harm. A read of what the inspections focus on and what well-run venues have ready.
Read briefing - Conveyancing24 May 20265 min read
First Home Buyer Duty in 2026: State by State (and the ACT)
Stamp duty concessions for first home buyers now differ sharply across the country: NSW exempts homes to $800,000, Victoria to $600,000, Queensland to $700,000 with a full exemption for new builds, SA scraps duty on new homes, WA adds an off-the-plan rebate, and the ACT goes furthest with a full exemption for every first home buyer from 1 July 2026. Because LAS handles conveyancing across all six jurisdictions, here is the map in one place.
Read briefing - Conveyancing20 May 20266 min read
The 2026 Contract: What Changes on 1 June
The Law Society's 2026 Edition of the Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Land, released on 2 March 2026, becomes the only compliant form for residential contracts and option agreements exchanged on or after 1 June 2026. A clause-by-clause read of what changed: the revised cooling-off notice, the rewritten clauses 28 and 29, the new disclosure items, and why the 2022 edition stops being safe to use after 31 May.
Read briefing - Liquor & Gaming15 May 20266 min read
Buying a Gaming Venue in 2026: The Forfeiture Squeeze
Gaming machine entitlements don't transfer cleanly with a venue sale. The forfeiture scheme claws back one entitlement in every block of two or three transferred, the pools are closed (hotel-to-hotel, club-to-club), and the reform trajectory is pointed firmly downward. With the Audit Office's June 2026 recommendations bearing down on the scheme, a practical read of how forfeiture reshapes the economics of a venue acquisition.
Read briefing - Conveyancing9 May 20264 min read
Foreign Resident Withholding Now Catches Every Sale
The foreign resident capital gains withholding regime used to be a problem for high-value sales only. Since 1 January 2025 the rate is 15% and the $750,000 threshold is gone, so every Australian-resident vendor now needs an ATO clearance certificate, or 15% of the price is withheld at settlement. A short, practical briefing on the one piece of paperwork no vendor can skip.
Read briefing - Planning2 May 20266 min read
The Pre-Sale Finance Guarantee, Six Months In
With more than 600 homes now under guarantee across NSW and the first regional guarantees issued to two Orange projects on 27 April 2026, the Pre-Sale Finance Guarantee program has moved from policy launch into active deployment. A practical look at how the $1 billion revolving fund operates, what projects qualify, and the issuances confirmed in Pyrmont, Westmead and the Central West.
Read briefing - Planning1 May 20264 min read
On Exhibition: The East Tamworth Rezoning
A NSW Government rezoning of 16.5 hectares of vacant Government-owned land in East Tamworth (former TAFE NSW, Crown and Council parcels) is on public exhibition from 1 May to 29 May 2026. Approximately 213 new homes, with a minimum 30% dedicated to social and affordable housing managed by a community housing provider, and building heights between one and three storeys.
Read briefing - Planning29 April 20265 min read
Punchbowl and Wiley Park Enter the TOD
The NSW Government finalised the Punchbowl and Wiley Park TOD precinct controls on 24 April 2026: capacity for more than 15,000 new homes, building heights from 6 to 18 storeys, FSRs from 0.7:1 to 5.5:1, and a 3% affordable housing requirement on developments over 200 sqm.
Read briefing - Liquor & Gaming26 April 20265 min read
What Changed in April: Hospitality and Racing
The April 2026 Hospitality and Racing newsletter sets the Annual Liquor Licence Fee deadlines, gazettes a new Facial Recognition Code of Practice under the Gaming Machines Act, and confirms NSW has assumed responsibility for liquor sales at four major airports. A practical reading of what each item actually requires.
Read briefing - Conveyancing22 April 20265 min read
PEXA in 2026: The New Settlement Day
Recent PEXA workspace changes, lender integration updates and ARNECC settlement-time requirements, and the practical effect on purchasers, vendors and incoming mortgagees.
Read briefing - Planning15 April 20265 min read
Kurnell Peninsula: 4,300 Homes on a Single Site
A NSW Government state-assessed rezoning proposal for 210 hectares of Kurnell Peninsula: up to 4,300 homes including 240 affordable, building heights 3 to 12 storeys, 116 hectares of open space and a 20-year staged delivery aligned with sand mine closure and remediation. On public exhibition until 5pm Monday 11 May 2026.
Read briefing - Planning12 April 20264 min read
One Plan, One State: NSW's New Participation Framework
The NSW Government's draft single Community Participation Plan replaces over 100 separate local plans with one statewide framework: extending strategic-planning exhibitions from 45 to 60 days, standardising 7-day neighbour notification for complying development, and on public exhibition until 3 June 2026.
Read briefing - Planning8 April 20266 min read
After the Reforms: NSW Planning in 2026
The TOD SEPP and the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Pathway are reshaping development pipelines in NSW. A practical look at the controls, the carve-outs and the matters that are still going to merit appeal.
Read briefing - Liquor & Gaming2 April 20265 min read
After 1 April: The New Six-Hour Shutdown
From 1 April 2026, all NSW gaming machine venues must observe a mandatory six-hour shutdown between 4am and 10am, following the revocation of 649 ILGA-delegated exemptions and 10 ILGA-direct exemptions that had previously permitted shorter shutdowns at approximately 20% of NSW gaming venues. A practical reading of the change and the affected hours.
Read briefing - Liquor & Gaming28 March 20266 min read
The Liquor Licence Reforms, in Practice
Recent changes to ILGA application processing, Community Impact Statement standards, and the precinct-based assessment regime, and what they mean for new applications, transfers and variations across NSW.
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