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On Tuesday 24 June 2025, Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki handed down the Queensland State Budget – the first LNP budget in the state since 2014, following the Crisafulli Government’s win in the 2024 election.

Updates to Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding (FRCGW) rules effective 1 January 2025 increase the withholding tax rate to 15% and remove the $750,000 threshold, applying to all Taxable Australian Property transactions. These changes aim to boost tax compliance for property deals. Find out more how to manage your obligations and avoid penalties.

In the latest episode of Beyond the Numbers with Grant Thornton, our Brisbane Office Chair and Tax Partner Sian Sinclair and Risk Consulting Partner Jarrod Lean discuss opportunities, challenges, procurement risks and strategies.

Treasury has recently released for consultation two draft Bills, announced as part of the 2023-24 Budget, to implement incentives for new Build-to-rent (“BTR”) developments. This forms part of the Governments key policy of increasing housing supply across Australia by stimulating interest in the BTR sector.

In a welcome response to feedback from industry and the accounting profession, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission no longer requires entities in Category 3 or Self-Certifying Categories 1 and 2, to provide General Purpose Financial Statements.

Australia is at the pointy end of a long-standing housing crisis. On top of this, the cost of renting a home has escalated rapidly, reaching all-time highs in many cities with vacancy rates the lowest we’ve seen in years. How is the complexity of this problem impacting businesses and investors navigating transaction and investment structures or seeking to attract essential resources, alongside a challenging construction market? Will the May Federal Budget bring any changes to announcements made in October?

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.

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.

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.

With only 3 weeks remaining in the financial year, builders should immediately test their compliance with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s (QBCC) Minimum Financial Reporting Requirements (MFR) to ensure there is enough time to rectify any deficiencies before FY22/23 year end.