The Elda Lore

Ruling from Beyond the Grave

"Everything MUST REMAIN AS IS For posterity." Those were the words used by Norma Adel Byrne in her handwritten Will when gifting her home to the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Inc. She directed that the property must never be sold,…

Estate Planning, Tax

Trust Issues: Testamentary Trusts and the New Era of Tax

When the Australian Government introduced sweeping changes to the taxation of trusts as part of their controversial budget earlier this year, attention quickly turned to whether testamentary trusts would be drawn into the net of the new regime. The…

Tax

Dividend Access Shares: An Ongoing Dividend Stripping Risk

What is dividend stripping? Dividend stripping is an anti-avoidance concept designed to prevent arrangements that allow shareholders to extract the economic value of a company’s accumulated profits in a tax-advantaged form, rather than…

Commercial

Proposed Non-Compete Ban: What Employers Need to Know

The Federal Government has released an exposure draft of the Competition and Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Banning Unfair Non-Competes) Bill 2026 (Bill), proposing significant reforms to restrict the use of non-compete clauses for Australian…

Commercial

Private M&A Guide in Australia – Common deal structures

What Are The Key Private M&A Deal Structures? Private M&A transactions in Australia are typically structured as either a share sale or an asset sale where the assets of a business are purchased and certain liabilities assumed. While…

Estate Planning

Life Interest or Right to Reside?

Rights to reside and life interests can often be mistaken as interchangeable estate planning strategies and understandably so. On the surface, they appear to be almost identical. Both are created by the terms of a deceased’s Will. Both create…

Tax

Minimum 30% Trust Tax Minefield

On Thursday 3 September, Treasury released the Exposure Drafts on the proposed minimum 30% tax on discretionary trust distributions. The draft legislation pack covers three topics: the mechanisms for imposing the 30% minimum tax; the…

Tax

WHEN DO SUBCONTRACTOR ARRANGEMENTS ATTRACT PAYROLL TAX?

The New South Wales Court of Appeal has confirmed that the payroll tax employment agency provisions can apply to outsourced cleaning arrangements even where the client has limited control over the individual workers performing the services. In…

Tax

Proposed Negative Gearing and CGT Reforms: Tranche 2

Capital Gains Tax and Negative Gearing Reforms – What does Tranche 2 mean? Treasury has released the second tranche of draft legislation implementing the Government’s capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing reforms. The first…

Commercial

New Australian Standards for AI will be legislated: Key insights for businesses and investors

On 15 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a new direction for Australia’s approach to artificial intelligence (AI), including plans to establish a national regulatory framework and governance standards. The proposals indicate…

Estate Planning

Renton v Dresselhaus: A Cautionary Tale of Executor Disputes

When preparing a Will, many testators are drawn to the idea of appointing multiple joint executors. It is, understandably, an attractive prospect. Appointing multiple trusted family members (especially amongst children) can spread the workload,…

Commercial

Director Duties & Corporate Governance in Practice: Managing Risks After ASIC v Bekier

This recent Federal Court decision provides timely guidance on the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in boardrooms and the limitations of using technology to satisfy directors’ governance obligations. While AI can enhance decision-making…

Estate Planning

A Tale Of Two Wills

What Erez v Jooste-Jacobs Reveals About Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence Challenges to the validity of a Will often begin with the same question: does the document truly reflect the testator's wishes? Concerns about undue influence…

Tax

Proposed Rollover Relief for Discretionary Trusts

The Federal Government has recently released a consultation paper on one of the most significant proposed changes to the taxation of discretionary trusts in decades. As part of its broader tax reform package, the Government proposes introducing…