Property

Commercial Leases

A commercial lease, simply put is the agreement between the owner of business premises (the lessor) to the tenant that is to occupy those premises (the lessee).

The terms of each commercial lease can and usually do differ depending on the nature of the property, the location and the use to which the premises are to be put. There are however many terms that are common to all leases, even if they may be drafted differently in each lease document.

Sometimes confusion arises as to whether a lease is of commercial premises as opposed to retail premises. Retail leases are covered by the Retail Leases Act and there are many additional obligations on the Lessor in relation to retail premises such as the provision of a Disclosure Statement, minimum lease term etc

Prior to entering into a lease, it is a good idea to obtain a condition report or at least take photos or video to show the condition of the premises as at the commencement date and to show what fixtures and fittings were in place.

Some key considerations in relation to a business or commercial lease include:

  • Development consent for the intended use of the premises
  • Term
  • Options to renew or buy
  • Rent
  • The process for and timing of rent reviews (CPI, market, fixed increase etc)
  • Outgoings
  • Security bonds
  • Director guarantees
  • Costs
  • Insurances
  • Repair and maintenance obligations
  • Lessee’s make good and refurbishment obligations on termination
  • Any pre-lease works/promises made
  • Assignment and sub-letting/licensing

It is not uncommon for the parties to enter into a Heads of Agreement or similar document whereby some or all of the above matters and more are documented briefly, such that the key terms are signed off as agreed, but it is usually important to ensure that this document itself doesn’t create a lease and is in fact subject to the parties negotiating and signing a formal written Commercial Lease.

Leasing can be complicated so it pays to seek the advice of a lawyer before entering into a Commercial Lease, an Agreement for Lease or a Heads of Agreement.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to the leasing or licensing of business premises, commercial law or business related matters, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your legal concerns or objectives.

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in Business / Commercial Law / General / Property / Risk management  by 01 Apr 2026 0 comments

What is a Granny Flat Right?

WHAT IS A GRANNY FLAT RIGHT?

You can have a granny flat interest in any kind of dwelling, not just those typically referred to as a “granny flat” (a separate, self-contained building or living area attached to a home or property). It must be a private residence and your principal home.

You cannot however, have a granny flat interest in a property in which you have legal ownership (or your partner or a company or trust that you control).

A “granny flat right” or a “granny flat interest” is where you pay for the right to live in a specific home for life.

Granny flat interests are usually family arrangements providing company and support for older people, but they don’t have to be for social security purposes. They are created when you exchange assets, money or both for a right to live in someone else’s property for life. For example, you could:

  • transfer ownership of your home but keep a lifelong right to live there or in another private property; or
  • transfer assets, including money, in return for a lifelong right to live in a home.

The granny flat right only lasts for your lifetime. It’s not part of your estate when you die, so you can’t give it in your will as part of your estate plan.

DOCUMENTATION

A granny flat right does not have to be in writing however, given that amounts that can be paid for a granny flat right can be significant and they are usually funded by significant events like the sale of a family home, it can be a very good idea to get a lawyer to draw up a legal document so you have proof of what you and the owner have agreed to in relation to the granny flat arrangement.

A Granny Flat Right Agreement can include many things in addition to the amount paid, such as what happens if the property is sold, whether the right can be transferred to another property or what you may get back if you give up your granny flat right, as well as what regular contributions for rent, maintenance or outgoings (insurance, rates, phone etc) may have been agreed.

GIFTING RULES & THE REASONABLENESS TEST

In Centrelink/Department of Human Services terms, a “deprived asset”, also known as “gifting”, is where you give away an asset without getting something of at least equal value in return.

The value of a granny flat right is the amount paid, or the value of the assets transferred, in return for a life interest or life estate in a property.

Centrelink may apply the “reasonableness test” in determining the amount that should be paid for a granny flat right. This test is based on a formula based on a conversation factor relating to your age next birthday and the couple age pension rate.

If the amount paid is equal to or below the value determined by the reasonableness test, then there is no deprivation. However, if the amount you paid for the granny flat right is more than the cost or value of the granny flat right, the excess amount paid is considered to be a “deprived asset”.

This could affect the amount of pension you are paid.

Depending on the value of the granny flat right, you may be considered as a home owner for Centrelink (assets test) assessment purposes, even though you don’t own the home you have the granny flat right in.

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

Speak to us about how we can assist you to draft a Granny Flat Right Agreement to document your arrangements regarding the use and occupation of part of your home. We will liaise with your financial planner to cover off the financial and social security aspects as there may be other things you can do like contribute proceeds of sale to super.

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to documenting co-habitation and property use agreements and estate planning matters generally, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Asset Protection / Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / General / Property / Risk management  by 01 Mar 2026 0 comments

What is an Injunction?

An injunction is a Court order directing a person or entity to do a specific thing or not to do a something.

Most injunctions are temporary and are often made pending the outcome of a full hearing (known as an “interlocutory injunction“). An example may be to restrain a former employee from doing work for former clients where they have agreed to post-employment restraints pending a hearing on whether the restraint is lawful or to prohibit the publication of a potentially defamatory article in a newspaper or television program.

A Court will not grant an interlocutory injunction unless:

  • the Plaintiff has made out a “prima facie” case – a sufficient likelihood of success to justify in the circumstances the preservation of the status quo pending the trial – or established that there is a serious question to be heard;
  • the balance of convenience favours the granting of the injunction; and
  • the Plaintiff provides “the usual undertaking as to damages” (that they will pay any damages the restrained party suffers if at a final hearing the Court determines that the injunction wasn’t justified).

A Court has discretion as to whether to make such an order and will consider thongs like whether or not you have asked the other party to do/not do the relevant thing, whether damages would be an appropriate remedy, if you have waited too long to seek the order etc.

Where an injunction is sought from a Court without the affected party being notified, this is known as an “ex-parte injunction” as it is made in the absence of a party. They are for that reason only temporary and the Court requires the applicant to disclose all relevant facts to the case, including those that may lead to refusal of the application, not just those in favour of the injunction as there is no respondent in Court to oppose it. Examples can be “freezing orders” that stop the sale of assets or to freeze a bank account to preserve them pending the Court’s further orders.

Mandatory injunctions can be obtained where for example a party to a contract refuses to comply with their lawful obligations under it. An example of this is a party to a Contract for the Sale of Land that unlawfully refuses to sign a Transfer in registrable form. Such an injunction imposes a positive obligation on the affected party to do something, not just stopping them from doing something.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation to business succession, estate planning, litigation and dispute resolution or any commercial law matter, contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your commercial law needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Debt Recovery / Dispute Resolution / Employment / General / Insolvency & Bankruptcy / Intellectual Property / Litigation / Property  by 01 Jun 2025 0 comments

General Security Deeds

A General Security Deed (GSD) or a General Security Agreement is effectively a legal document used to secure the repayment of a loan or some other legal obligation.

GSDs are often used by lenders such as banks where there is no real property security available to place a Mortgage or Caveat over, so in addition to signing a Loan Agreement or Letter of Offer, a borrower will likely also be asked to sign a GSD.

Prior to the creation of the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), a GSD used to be known as a ‘fixed and floating charge‘ which was registered over companies at ASIC. A GSD however, can be registered on the PPSR against any legal entity including a trustee of a trust, a partnership or sole trader and can cover any form of personal property.

Personal property is basically anything other than land and can include motor vehicles, intellectual property, shares in companies, units in unit trusts, stock and business equipment.

Under the GSD, the borrower is known as the ‘Grantor’ and the lender is called the ‘Secured Party‘ and the terms of the GSD can be complicated but basically provide that the Secured Party can take, hold and sell the secured personal property to repay the debt or until the obligation the GSD is securing has been met – this is known as a ‘Security Interest’.

GSDs have priority in the order in which they are registered so there is often a real benefit to registering them on the PPSR (known as ‘perfection’) as soon as possible.

General Security Deeds are complicated and important documents, so before you sign one, you ought to take appropriate advice as to their meaning and effect.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / General / Insolvency & Bankruptcy / Property  by 01 Dec 2024 0 comments

Leasing business premises from a SMSF

Many business owners own the commercial or industrial premises that they use to operate their business from.  Often that property is owned by a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF).

Leasing business premises from a SMSF is becoming commonplace. SMSFs can be a tax-effective way to create wealth and provide for your retirement, in addition to providing some asset protection benefits however, they come with a requirement to comply with the Superannuation Investments (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act) and its Regulations.

Additional obligations apply when the SMSF is using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement and bare trust when borrowing to acquire the premises and consideration ought to be given to who the members of the fund are and what happens if they were to pass away.

One of the leasing obligations on SMSF trustees in the SIS Act is that there be a written Lease in place. Not only does there need to be a Lease in place, but it must be at ‘arms length‘ and on commercial terms.  This effectively means that it must have all of the usual or typical terms that would be expected to be in place if the property was being rented to a third party, for example with market rent being required to be paid in full and on time, with no discounts.

Practically, there are other benefits of having a proper Lease in place and one of them is that on the sale of the business, the Lease can be assigned to the purchaser so that the SMSF continues to get the benefit of the Lease and its protections after you cease to run the business. It also can assist your SMSF to maintain the value of the premises as any purchaser of the land is bound by it, so having a good yield is important.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / General / Property / Risk management / Superannuation  by 01 Oct 2023 0 comments

Retirement Village Contracts

Moving into a retirement village is generally more complicated than purchasing a residential property because of the additional considerations involved such as:

  1. Ownership structures
  2. Cost options
  3. Exit arrangements

although there are obviously benefits such as enhanced security, easier lifestyle and better access to appropriate services and activities, like-minded and similarly aged residents and the friendships they are formed and maintained.

We obviously can’t advise on whether a village or operate is suitable for you or your needs as they may change in the future (you and your family can only do that) but we can advise you on what it all means, legally.

Ownership structures

Retirement villages vary in terms of ownership models. There are several major types, including:

  • outright ownership (where you actually own the unit or townhouse)
  • loan and licence (where the majority of the ingoing contribution is documented as a repayable loan to a village operator in return for a licence to occupy a unit)
  • lease or sub-lease arrangement (where you lease the unit from the village operator or sublease it from the village operate who leases it from the owner)

Cost options

The on-going costs involved after the initial purchase/contribution need to be considered and fully understood. Fees for the additional services, building and maintenance levies and administration costs (as well as contribution to council rates, utilities and strata levies etc) can be added. The amounts and types vary from village to village and between operators.

Exit arrangements

The contract should also outline any fees and obligations associated with your departure from the village. The ‘departure fee’, ‘deferred management fee’ or ‘exit fee’ is commonly calculated as a percentage paid per year of residency, and is generally capped at a maximum, for example, 2% per year capped at 20% after 10 years. It may be calculated on your entry payment, or the amount the next resident pays to move into your unit when you leave.

The contract can also determine which party or parties benefit from any capital gain on the premises,

Retirement Village legislation

The Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW) as last updated by the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2020 (NSW) applies to ‘registered interest holders’ – those who have a long-term registered lease that entitles them to at least 50% of any capital gain (profit) of the sale of the premises. Such residents must sign a contract in the standard form. The standard form is designed to be adapted and used for all types of village arrangements (eg a licence, leasehold etc as noted above).

Contract

Although a general enquiry documents is provided to prospective residents enquiring about a village, the following documents must be attached to the actual contract:

  • a copy of the Disclosure Statement that was given to the resident;
  • the Condition Report for the premises (if one is required to be prepared);
  • a list of the village services and facilities;
  • the NSW Fair Trading document, ‘Moving into a retirement village?’ and
  • the village rules (if any).

Disclosure Statement

The Disclosure Statement is important and contains things such as a table of fees and charges payable and an ‘average resident comparison figure‘ or ARCF to help you understand and compare the financial cost of living in different villages. The ARCF is the sum of the following fees and charges over an assumed residency period of 7 years (84 months), averaged to a monthly figure:

  • the total amount of recurrent charges payable under the village contract;
  • the departure fee payable by the resident if the premises are permanently vacated at the end of that period; and
  • capital gains, if any, payable to the operator by the resident in respect of the unit.

Operators can ask residents to pay a maximum of $50 towards the cost of preparing a contract but they must give prospective residents a copy of the proposed contract at least 14 days before signing it.

The standard contract form does not have to be used where a resident buys a strata or community scheme unit (using a sale of land contract) or in relation to an agreement to buy company title shares.

Cooling off and settling in

All residents have a 7 day cooling-off period after signing the contract. During this time, either party can end the contract (for any reason) by notifying the other party in writing and any money paid must generally be refunded. Importantly, if a resident moves in during the cooling-off period, the cooling off period ends immediately!

All residents are however entitled to a 90-day settling-in period, which means if a resident needs to move out (for any reason) within the first 90 days of their occupation, they only have to pay:

  • fair market rent for that period;
  • the cost of any repairs for damage (this does not include general wear and tear);
  • an administration fee of no more than $200; and
  • to reimburse the operator for the reasonable costs of making any alterations or adding any fixtures or fittings you requested to the premises.

No departure fee can be charged during the settling-in period and the amount paid to move into the village will be refunded (subject of course to the terms of the contract).

Before making the decision to move in, you should take the time to read the documents provided, obtain independent legal advice and if necessary, seek appropriate financial advice from an expert.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Estate Planning / General / Property  by 01 Sep 2023 0 comments

What is independent legal advice?

If you are:

  • borrowing money from a bank or someone else, like a parent,
  • have some special vulnerability in relation to a borrowing arrangement (such as due to age, inability to speak English well etc),
  • borrowing in relation to a self managed superannuation fund’s limited recourse borrowing arrangement, or
  • perhaps going guarantor on a loan for a company or a family member for their loan,

then chances are you will be asked to get “independent legal advice” from a solicitor in relation to the loan and the security for the borrowing or guarantee.

The document evidencing the loan is usually a:

  • Loan Agreement,
  • Letter of Offer or similar

and may have accompanying terms and conditions etc.

Security for a loan arrangement usually takes the form of a:

  • Mortgage,
  • Caveat or
  • Security Interest registered on the PPSR.

Independent advice us usually required by the lender so that it cannot (easily) be argued later that the borrower or guarantor didn’t understand the gravity of the arrangements being put in place – so although you get the advice, it is really for the lender’s protection.

In order to give independent legal advice, the lawyer will read the loan and security documents provided, advise you as to the meaning and effect of them and discuss any risks.

You will then be required to sign a document called a Declaration under oath confirming that you obtained independent legal advice before you freely and voluntarily signed the loan/guarantee/security documents.

Often the lender will also require the borrower or guarantor to obtain “independent financial advice” from a financial advisor, accountant or other appropriately qualified person. Lawyers, simply by virtue of their profession, possess no special skill to give financial (as distinct from legal) advice.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Asset Protection / Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / General / Litigation / Property / Risk management  by 01 Aug 2023 0 comments

Severing a joint tenancy

If you own real property with others, then it is either held as “joint tenants” or as “tenants in common“. For more information on the difference between both, please click here.

Assuming land is held jointly, on your death it will pass to the surviving joint tenant/s regardless of what you state in your Will. This is known as the “right of survivorship” and it operates because each joint owner of the property owns the whole of the land at the same time as the others, so the deceased owner simply drops off the title leaving the remaining joint tenants on title. This isn’t automatic as the land registry needs to have the details of the death to update the register, but it is a relatively simple process.

Joint tenancy may be a suitable scenario for a husband and wife where the survivor expects to retain the house however, generally joint tenancy is not suitable for investments as the investors would want their family or beneficiaries to inherit their interest in the property on their death, rather then their co-owners on title. From an estate planning perspective, tenants in common would generally be more sensible in this situation.

Property is sometimes incorrectly held as joint tenants because, for example:

  • people inherit property from their parents jointly with siblings, but they intend for their own children to inherit it on their deaths, rather than it staying with their surviving siblings;
  • sometimes purchasers just don’t understand the difference or don’t take advice at the time of acquiring a property (or the advice they got was wrong); or
  • they have divorced or separated and not taken any steps to separate their assets, update their property interests or estate planning arrangements

however, this is not a massive problem provided that they identify the issue and seek to rectify it without delay;

You can sever a joint tenancy. Severing a joint tenancy changes the nature of ownership so you and your co-owners own the land as tenants in common, which allows you to leave your share of the property to anyone in your Will (or if you don’t have a Will, under the laws of intestacy).

NSW Land Registry Services allows joint tenancies to be severed (converted to tenants in common) either unilaterally or with the consent of the other joint owners.

No stamp duty is payable in such a severance.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / General / Property / Risk management  by 01 Jul 2023 0 comments

Getting out of a Lease

Leases (whether commercial or retail*) come to an end at the End Date or Terminating Date stated on the Lease.

Sometimes there is an early termination provision. Often there is not.

Getting out of a Lease in that scenario is not simple. There are however, ways for a Lease to end earlier than the Termination Date:

  • Surrender; and
  • Assignment or Transfer

Surrendering a Lease

Surrendering a Lease is where both parties (the Owner/Lessor/Landlord and the Lessee/Tenant) both agree for the Lease to end before the Term of the Lease has expired.

A form of Surrender of Lease~ is used for registered Leases as it needs to be registered with NSW Land Registry Services (NSWLRS).

Often, a Surrender of Lease is used as a precondition to a new Lease being granted (either to the same Lessee or a new one, such as on a business sale) as 2 Leases of the whole of the same premises cannot concurrently exist.

Transfer / Assignment of Lease

A Transfer of Lease or an Assignment of Lease is a relatively commonplace transaction in leasing, and is particularly common in relation to a sale of business.

The current Lessee seeking the assignment as part of its business sale (Assignee) effectively asks the Lessor to approve of to the assignment of the Lease in favour of the proposed new Lessee that is buying the business (Assignee).

An assignment is usually done by executing a tripartite Deed of Consent to Assignment of Lease by the Lessor, Assignor and the Assignee. The Lessor usually drafts the Deed of Consent to Assignment of Lease and the Assignor and/or the Assignee pay the costs of it (as they commercially agree).

The form used at  NSWLRS for this purpose is a Transfer of Lease~ and from the transfer date, the Assignee is responsible for complying with the Lease, paying rent and the like.

For Commercial Leases, the Lessor usually seeks information about the proposed Assignee and their financial standing before consenting and, depending on the terms of the Lease, consent can be withheld.

The Assignor may be released from those obligations or may (together with any personal guarantors) remain liable for the compliance with the Lease for the balance of the Term (effectively guaranteeing the new Lessee’s performance) depending on the Lease and the parties’ agreement. The Lease terms can specify the requirements to assignment.

Retail Leases on the other hand are slightly different and involve the issue of new Disclosure Statements etc as required by the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW). With Retail Leases, the Assignor can force the Lessee to give permission within a certain time after providing proof that the proposed Assignee has the same or better retailing skills and financial resources than the Assignee.

~In both cases, stamp duty (usually nominal in amount, unless a Lease is being transferred for a monetary payment) is payable and the transactions are performed online via the PEXA system.

Other options

Other options if surrender/assignment are not viable options, can include seeking to sublease part or all of the premises (consent may be required for this) so as to offset the rental expense on the main Lease.

*This article does not apply to residential leases.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / General / Property  by 01 Mar 2023 0 comments

Properly executing documents

When it comes to properly executing documents, depending on the type of document and the parties executing it, there are different requirements for it to be valid.

The manner of execution depends on matters such as:

  • Party – whether a party is an individual, a partnership, the Government, an association or a corporation (and whether those signatories are parties in their own right or as a trustee of a trust or a superannuation fund;
  • Document – whether it is a Deed or just a contract or an Agreement; and
  • Physical/Electronic – whether it to be signed online or in person, or a combination of both.

PARTY TYPE

Individuals

An individual may execute a document by simply signing it with their signature witnessed by a person who is not party to it.

Partnerships

For a partnership to be bound by a document or a deed, either all partners to the partnership or an individual authorised by all the partners (whether or not the individual is a partner) should execute the document or deed.

Often, documents will be executed by a partner on behalf of a partnership. This authority may be set out in the partnership deed or a power of attorney. If you cannot obtain a copy of the relevant authority, you should consider obtaining a warranty from the individual in the relevant execution clause that they have authority of the partnership to so execute the document.

Companies

Section 127 of the Corporations Act (Corporations Act) sets out the ways in which a document may be executed by a company. If a company executes a document in this way, anyone will be able to rely on the protection in other sections of the Corporations Act for dealings in relation to that company. A company may execute documents under seal or choose not to have a company seal and even if the company has a seal, it need not apply it.

A company may execute a document with or without a seal if the document is signed by:

  • 2 directors; or
  • a director and a company secretary o; or
  • a sole director (there is no requirement for a private company to have a secretary).

Companies can also sign via an agent under s.126 of the Corporations Act.

For more information on how companies can becomes bound by the actions of its agents and employees, click here.

Associations

Usually an incorporated association signs documents by having 2 committee members sign it but often the Rules of Association need to be examined to confirm this.

An unincorporated association is not a legal entity and so cannot contract in its own right so be careful entering into any contract of value with them.

Trusts

A trust is not a legal entity and as such, it cannot contract in its own right so all acts relating to a trust must be undertaken by its trustee or trustees.

The type execution clause that should be used will depend on what type of entity the trustee is (eg a company  or one or more individuals) execution clause should be used if the trustee is a company).

Although a trust is not a legal entity, it may be a tax entity so may have its own ABN. You should therefore confirm that the ABN being used is the ABN of the trust and not the ABN of the trustee. An ABN is a great identifier.

If you are unable to confirm that the trustee has the power to enter into the arrangement (which can usually be ascertained by examining the trust deed), you should consider obtaining a representation and warranty from the trustee that it has the power to execute the document or deed on behalf of the trust.

DOCUMENT TYPE

There are various reasons for choosing between the different types of document. such as greater (often double the length) limitation periods for enforcing obligations in deeds compared to just agreements. Sometimes legislation requires transactions by deed, but oftentimes deeds are used as they are the most solemn act a person can perform in relation to an item of property or any other right.

Agreement / Contract

Generally, a contract is in place and is valid if the following conditions are met:

  1. Intention to create legal relations
  2. An offer
  3. Consideration (price) being agreed
  4. Acceptance

A written signature is not necessarily required for a valid contract to exist. The terms of the agreement also can be agreed verbally.

Contracts can be signed electronically (even with the click of a mouse) since the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW) (ET Act) and corresponding legislation in Australia’s other States and Territories.

Deed

Traditionally, to be a valid, as a deed the document had to be “signed, sealed and delivered” and thus it had to be:

  • written (on paper or parchment);
  • signed and the parties’ seal/s applied); and
  • delivered (physically to the other party),

however now, there is no requirement for a seal (where it is described as a deed or expresses that is is ‘sealed’ and it is witnessed appropriately), the parties are presumed to have ‘delivered‘ it on execution and the parchment requirement has also been dispensed with given the ET Act, amendments to the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) and, in relation to companies, the passing of the  Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Act 2022, which from 01 April 2022 (after the temporary COVID-19 pandemic measures ended on 30 March 2022), amended the Corporations Act to permanently allow things such as:

  • director or member meetings virtually, such as through Zoom or Teams meetings etc (regardless of the requirements under their constitutions); and
  • documents, including deeds, to be executed electronically.

As Deeds do not require consideration like a contract, often it can be sensible to include a nominal item (such as $10) as consideration just in case the document isn’t valid as a deed – as it can still be relied on as a contract, possibly even if not signed by the other party but part performed.

WET INK OR ELECTRONIC?

Documents now can either be signed:

  • in physical form with ‘wet ink‘ signatures;
  • electronically; or
  • a combination of both.

Either way, the method of signing must clearly and reliably identify the part and indicates the party’s intention in respect of the information recorded in the document.

Obviously, special care needs to be taken with parties that are not Australian residents and to consider the governing law and jurisdiction of the arrangement.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Asset Protection / Business / Commercial Law / Debt Recovery / Dispute Resolution / General / Litigation / Online Issues / Property / Risk management  by 01 Aug 2022 0 comments