Property Transactions

Minter Ellison has extensive experience in negotiating and documenting commercial arrangements between parties for the acquisition, disposal and shared occupation and use of different types of properties. Our practice includes:

advice on strategic, contractual and regulatory issues associated with property acquisition, development, construction and operation and maintenance

  • property acquisitions and disposals (including distressed disposal)
  • sale and leaseback
  • due diligence
  • volume conveyancing
  • advice on contracts with third parties
  • advice on state and territory real estate licensing issues

We can provide commercially relevant, strategic advice on high value and complex transactions around structuring, acquisition, procurement process, finance, tax, development and disposal. We also have extensive experience in dealing with 'green' buildings.

Minter Ellison has acted for a wide range of clients on property acquisitions including CBD properties, commercial and industrial sites, greenfield sites, residential and development land and utility, energy and transport infrastructure.

We have acted in many major asset sales, including carrying out vendor due diligence, setting up due diligence data rooms and establishing access protocols to ensure all potential purchasers are treated appropriately and given access to the same information.

We have extensive experience in contract negotiations for major asset sales, of both freehold and leasehold title.

Our team has experts in due diligence planning and management and we have tools available to make the due diligence process faster and more effective.

Complex issues arise relating to the continuation of the development and the completion and enforceability of contracts relating to the land when parties are financially distressed and official controllers are involved. We advise financiers, developers, builders and insolvency practitioners in resolving these issues.

Lodging and removing caveats

Our dispute resolution team is experienced in the process of defending and removing disputed caveats from title and has had significant experience in successfully removing and defending contested caveats through the judicial process.

24 February 2012

From 1 March 2012, the exception to the operation of the cooling off provisions, under section 31 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, concerning the receipt of independent advice from a legal practitioner before signing the contract, will be deleted.  All contracts signed on or after 1 March 2012 to which the cooling off provisions apply, need to contain the correct cooling off notice because failure to strictly comply with section 31 could give the purchaser the right to avoid the contract.

21 February 2012

Can the liquidator of a landlord disclaim a lease so that the tenant no longer has any interest in the land? This question has now been answered with a resounding no. The issue was determined by the Supreme Court of Victoria in its decision on a preliminary question that was handed down last week, In the Matter of Willmott Forests Ltd (in liquidation) [2012] VSC 29 (Willmott).

27 January 2012

Australia's Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) comes into force on 30 January 2012 and represents an enormous shift in the law relating to security interests in personal property.  It is modelled on similar legislation already in force in New Zealand and Canada.

12 October 2011

The Federal Government has recently announced proposed GST changes which will directly affect property developers. As part of its draft legislation, the Government proposes that developers' sales of new residential premises which are constructed under a development lease arrangement, will be treated as taxable supplies and not input taxed supplies. The ATO has also announced that it will release GST refunds to developers for GST overpaid in margin scheme transactions.