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Thanks for completing our unfair contracts assessment.
You can explore our business & consumer law articles below.
Harwood Andrews Planning and Environment team have been recognised as First Tier in the 2026 listing of leading Victorian Town Planning & Development Law Firms and Recommended in the area of Leading Environment & Climate Change Law Firm - Victoria, 2026.
The Supreme Court decision in Alphington Developments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] VSC 709 clarifies how stamp duty (land transfer duty) is assessed on the transfer of land. Specifically, the Court in this decision held at that payments made by a vendor to remediation and demolition works do not reduce the consideration under a contract of sale when assessing stamp duty.
The matter of KES v Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] VCAT 75 considered whether the property in question was both ‘residential land’ and ‘vacant’ as defined in the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) and therefore, whether vacant residential land tax had been correctly applied by the Commissioner. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that despite the property being in disrepair, it was capable of being used for residential purposes and had been vacant for at least six months in the relevant land tax year.
The decision in Caldwell and Caldwell [2025] FedCFamC1F 506 (Caldwell) reaffirmed the position that while the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Court) has broad powers in respect to family law disputes, its powers are not limitless. In the context of preserving intergenerational wealth, particularly where long-standing family-operated businesses are involved, Caldwell provides welcomed reassurance that where trusts are established and structured effectively, for a clear genuine purpose, they can successfully limit assets from the reach of the Court.
The Commissioner of State Revenue has released draft revenue ruling, Draft-DA-70: Land Transfer Duty – Consideration – Assumption of Tax Liabilities (Draft Ruling) seeks to impose land transfer (stamp) duty on adjustments made for certain taxes at settlement of a property transaction, by treating those adjustments as dutiable consideration.
Harwood Andrews is proud to announce the following well-deserved promotions effective 1 January 2026.
Please join us in congratulating Rob Warnock Principal Lawyer and CTA on his retirement from active practice as a lawyer at Harwood Andrews.
If your organisation is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), you are required to notify the ACNC of the appointment of people responsible for governing the charity. These are known as “Responsible Persons”. Essentially, they are entrusted with making decisions on behalf of the charity and determining how the organisation should be run.
We are honoured to announce that our esteemed consultant, Rob Jeremiah, will retire from active practice at Harwood Andrews, effective 5 December 2025
As covered in our previous article series (link), amendments to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), extending anti money laundering (AML) and counter terror financing (CTF) obligations to additional professional service sectors, will take effect from the 1 July 2026.
At the heart of law firms’ anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) obligations is a risk assessment.
With the passing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (Act), law firms will soon be subject to the expanded anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regime.
Reporting and recordkeeping are core pillars of the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regime.
Harwood Andrews is delighted to have been identified by clients and peers for expertise and abilities for Victoria in the 2026 Doyle’s Guide. Doyle's Guide is a highly regarded independent annual peer review of the leading corporate law firms and lawyers in Victoria.
With the passing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (Act), law firms will soon be subject to the expanded anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regime. The Act captures firms of all sizes, from sole practitioners handling conveyancing to large commercial practices with trust accounts, with core obligations for law firms and conveyancers commencing on 1 July 2026.
New Division 296 Tax – A win for the industry
Controversial taxation bill has been watered down – tax of unrealised gains has been scrapped.
Harwood Andrews congratulates Daniel Fullerton, Principal Lawyer in our Disputes team, on his recognition as a Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation Law.
This prestigious accreditation reflects Daniel’s expertise and experience in commercial litigation and adds to our team of LIV-accredited specialists, reinforcing our commitment to excellence for our clients.
In the case of Roberts ([2025] FCA 957) an application to the Federal Court to exercise its discretion to grant leave to a bankrupt individual to manage a self-managed superfund.
Landholder duty issues for Hybrid Unit Trusts highlighted by Victory International Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] VSC 484
From 1 October 2025, changes to the Home Guarantee scheme will come into effect for Australians looking to purchase their first home. The scheme will allow all first home owners eligible under the scheme to purchase a property with a 5% deposit with no income eligibility requirements and increased price caps on the value of property.
Criminals have long used real estate as a way of laundering or concealing funds – not only can they get that trophy house, a real estate purchase allows a large amount of money to be laundered in a single transaction.
One of the biggest shifts for law firms under Tranche 2 of the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regime will be undertaking customer due diligence (CDD) before acting.
Every law firm that provides a “designated service” must establish and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) program. Think of it as the rulebook your firm writes for itself, setting out how your firm identifies, assesses and manages AML/CTF risk.
It is important for law firms to obtain clarity on what services are captured by the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regime.
For years, Australian law firms have heard rumblings about anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) rules extending to the legal profession. With the passing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (Act), those rules are finally here.
Every practice providing designated services must develop an AML/CTF program. Think of it as your playbook for managing money-laundering risk.
The AML/CTF regime uses a ‘designated services’ model for regulation. This means that regardless of branding or occupation, if a business provides one or more Designated Services as set out in the Act, they are regulated under the regime.
Internationally, the professions - accountants and lawyers, have been consistently characterised as “gatekeepers” and “professional enablers” of crime and corruption – remember the Panama Papers?
With the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 to providers of certain professional services, these ‘Tranche 2” entities – including many accounting practices – will become regulated by Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering regime from 1 July 2026.
Harwood Andrews is delighted to have been identified by clients and peers for expertise and abilities for Victoria in the 2025 Doyles Guide.