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Are you up to date on your TPAR obligations? The Australian Taxation Office has begun to actively issue failure to lodge penalties for businesses who are behind on their TPAR lodgements.

The Queensland Government announced that the expansion of Project Trust and Retention Trust Accounts originally scheduled to take effect 1 April 2023 will be extended by three years to 2025. Eligible contracts valued between $3m and $10m will now need to comply from 1 March 2025, and contracts above $1m will need to comply from 1 October 2025.

Real Estate and Construction (RE&C) companies are continuously looking for ways to innovate, optimise processes, remain competitive and ease the pressure. To incentivise innovation activities onshore, the Federal Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI), Australia’s flagship innovation program, is available to support businesses across all industries undertake research and development (R&D) activities.

From 1 April 2023, private sector, government-owned corporations and local government contracts valued at $3m or more (excl. GST) become subject to the Project Trust Account (PTA) regime. The threshold further drops for these valued to $1m from 1 October 2023. Organisations impacted by the requirement to operate PTAs on each project they undertake need to prepare for the additional regulatory compliance required, as well as the cashflow implications of restricted access to progress claim receipts and subcontractor retention monies after the relevant commencement date.

It has been a busy month for State Taxes around the country. This month we saw the validity of foreign surcharges in question, proposed changes to NSW stamp duty in the lead up to the State election, Victoria’s recent inquiry into stamp duty and windfall gains tax changes.

With soaring building costs and interest rates on the rise, builders and property developers are seeing their margins eroded and losses accumulating from development projects.

ATO's draft GST Determination for Margin Scheme Valuations may soon require property developers to obtain new or ‘confirmed’ valuation reports to support the application of the margin scheme for sales of real property that occur outside of the three-month transitional period. Read more about the impact on businesses and the property market.

As we watch the ramifications of the recent widespread data breach continue to play out in the media and on the floor of Federal Parliament, I keep reflecting on the requirements of APRA Prudential Standards CPS 234: Information Security and the draft Prudential Standard CPS 230: Operational Risk Management. If ever there was any doubt in the minds of Boards or Management as to why the focus on cyber security and operational resilience, then the current situation brings this into stark focus.

The ATO has released a draft Margin Scheme Valuation Requirements Determination for comment. While it’s substantially similar to the current determination, its differences may cause issues for property developers.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has confirmed that from 1 July 2022, licensees must provide the QBCC with General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS) when either submitting a Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) Report to adjust reported Net Tangible Assets (NTA) or Allowable Annual Turnover; or complying with annual reporting requirements (if licence categories 4-7). The changes mean that licensees wishing to adjust their NTA and/or approved turnover should ensure an MFR Report is signed before 31 October 2022 and lodged with the QBCC before 30 November 2022.

The Western Australian Government has recently handed down its 2022-23 State budget announcing a record $33.9 billion investment in infrastructure over the next four years. The significant investment in infrastructure will not only create a strong pipeline of future economic activity but will shape the way we live and move around the state.

As the financial year draws to a close, now is the time for property developers to review their projects and determine whether there has been a change of intended or actual use of any residential premises which may require a GST adjustment under Division 129 of the GST Act.