Property Council welcomes red tape reduction for residential and commercial land in M&A reform
The Property Council of Australia has welcomed today’s announcement that the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 will acknowledge land appropriately purchased for residential and some commercial purposes should not be subject to unintended delays.
Proposed notification thresholds would have captured thousands of capital-intensive property transactions that are clearly outside the policy intent of the reforms. As drafted, those thresholds would have harmed the residential market’s ability to price, finance and deliver new homes to rent and buy, pushing up house prices and the cost of creating essential new commercial property that supports economic activity in our cities.
If consulted on and implemented correctly, today’s announcement should avoid those property pitfalls.
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said the Treasurer’s sensible decision, backed by Housing Minister Clare O’Neil, is an example of complex reform supported by solid consultation in the first phase of implementation.
“These are complex and difficult reforms to get right. There is detail to come but so far the government has listened to industry feedback and acted to address unintended consequences for the capital-intensive but low-risk property sector,” Mr Zorbas said.
“As originally proposed, the thresholds would in effect have put a rocket under new house prices, so we commend the government for re-balancing the framework.
“Equally, the exemption of land acquired for residential development, or for commercial development for the primary purpose of leasing or selling, will be affected by ministerial instrument and it remains imperative that there is close industry consultation in coming months.
“Strongly supported by industry, the ambitious national target of 1.2 million homes by 2029 deserves the alignment of all government policies that affect property, and this legislation meets that challenge,” he said.
