2026 brought the largest change to Australian capital gains tax in a generation, new anti-money laundering checks on lawyers, real estate agents and accountants, and a longer ban on foreign persons buying established homes. For families in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Malaysia who hold Australian property or expect to inherit it, the practical message is to review Wills, ownership structures and paperwork before the main changes bite on 1 July 2027. This round-up sets out what changed, from when, who is affected and what to do, and separates laws already in force from proposals and drafts.
Summary of the changes
| Change | Effective | Who is affected | Article |
|---|
| CGT discount replaced by indexation; 30% minimum tax (law) | 1 July 2027 | Australian resident individuals, trusts and partnerships, including estates and beneficiaries | Inherited property and the 2-year rule |
| Further CGT amendments, including for deceased estates (Bill only) | Not yet law | Estates, testamentary trusts, foreign and temporary residents | — |
| AML/CTF “tranche 2” (law) | 1 July 2026 | Anyone using an Australian lawyer, conveyancer, real estate agent or accountant for property, trusts or companies | Source of wealth checks |
| Ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings extended (policy) | 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 | Foreign persons, including temporary visa holders | Foreign owners of Australian property |
| Foreign resident CGT rules strengthened (law) | 1 October 2026 | Foreign residents holding Australian land, including indirectly | — |
| Foreign resident capital gains withholding 15%, no threshold (context) | Contracts from 1 January 2025 | Every seller of Australian real property | Foreign owners of Australian property |
| Victoria: statutory legacy on intestacy $591,390 (law) | Deaths from 1 July 2026 | Spouses and children where there is no Will | Dying without a Will |
| Victoria: vacant residential land tax extended to long-undeveloped land (law) | 1 January 2026 | Owners of undeveloped residential land in metropolitan Melbourne | Tax on inherited property |
| ATO TD 2026/D1 on “right to occupy” under a Will (draft) | Draft only | Estates where a family member lives in the deceased’s home | Inherited property and the 2-year rule |
| Taiwan: siblings’ reserved share removed (law) | Six months after promulgation on 17 August 2026 | Taiwanese families with Wills | Taiwan estate and gift tax |
| Taiwan: tax on gifts within two years before death (law) | September 2026 | Recipients of late-life gifts | Taiwan estate and gift tax |
| Mainland China: CRS-based checks on overseas income (enforcement) | Continuing | PRC tax residents with Australian accounts or investments | CRS and overseas income checks |
| Mainland China: IIT rules for offshore trusts (rules issued) | Issued 24 July 2026 | PRC residents who set up or benefit from offshore trusts | China’s offshore trust tax rules |
1. Capital gains tax reform from 1 July 2027
What changed
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026. From 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount is replaced by indexation of the cost base for resident individuals, trusts and partnerships, for gains accruing on or after that date. Individuals also face a minimum 30% tax on certain net capital gains. Assets held on 1 July 2027 are treated as sold immediately before that date and reacquired on it. The notional gain to that point is deferred and taxed under the old rules (including the discount) only when the asset is actually sold or another CGT event happens. Assets acquired before 20 September 1985, which have always been outside CGT, become taxable on gains accruing from 1 July 2027. The ATO has confirmed that the main residence exemption is unchanged. The same Act quarantines rental losses on residential property acquired after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 from 1 July 2027, with exceptions for new dwellings.
Who is affected
Australian resident families holding investment property, shares or a family trust, and executors of estates that will still hold assets on 1 July 2027. Foreign and temporary residents generally keep their existing treatment, but families often include members with different residency, so the effect varies within one family.
What to do
Keep evidence of market value at 1 July 2027 for assets you will hold across that date, particularly real property and unlisted interests; the ATO has said valuation guidance will be published. Executors deciding whether to sell before or after 1 July 2027 should get tax advice on the specific assets. Our article on inherited property and the 2-year rule explains how these changes interact with the rules for inherited homes.
Still a proposal
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026, introduced on 14 October 2026, would amend the reforms. As introduced, it would exempt deceased estates and genuine testamentary trusts from the 30% minimum tax, with anti-avoidance rules, and apportion benefits for foreign and temporary residents by the days they were Australian residents. It is a Bill, not law, and may change.
2. Anti-money laundering checks on lawyers, agents and accountants
What changed: since 1 July 2026, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate professionals, accountants, and trust and company service providers have obligations under the AML/CTF laws when they provide regulated services, such as buying or selling property, handling client money, or setting up companies and trusts. AUSTRAC lists the core obligations as an AML/CTF program, customer due diligence, suspicious matter reporting and record keeping.
Who is affected: any family using these professionals for an Australian transaction, wherever the family lives. Estate work is not exempt where it involves property sales or holding money.
What to do: expect to provide identity documents, details of who ultimately owns or controls any company or trust, and evidence of where the funds came from. Translated, certified documents from mainland China, Taiwan or Hong Kong prepared in advance avoid delays at settlement. See Source of wealth checks in Australia.
3. Foreign buyers: the established dwellings ban runs to 2029
What changed: the Government’s policy, applied through foreign investment screening since 1 April 2025, is that foreign persons generally cannot buy established (previously occupied) dwellings. The 2026–27 Budget extended the ban to 30 June 2029, and the Foreign Investment Review Board’s residential land guidance (updated June 2026) reflects that date. Exceptions are narrow, mainly for developments that add housing supply.
Who is affected: foreign persons, including temporary visa holders such as students and workers. Permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens do not need approval.
What to do: families planning to buy for a child studying in Australia should plan around new dwellings or the child’s future residency status, and take advice before signing. The ban concerns purchases; inherited property raises separate questions about foreign investment approval, duty and land tax surcharges, covered in Foreign owners of Australian property.
4. Foreign resident CGT: withholding and wider rules
Context (not new): for contracts entered into from 1 January 2025, a buyer must withhold 15% of the purchase price of Australian real property unless the seller gives an ATO clearance certificate, regardless of price. The certificate is valid for 12 months. Australian residents, including executors selling estate property, need one to avoid withholding; foreign resident sellers will generally have 15% withheld and claim any excess in their Australian tax return.
New: the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 passed the Senate on 10 September 2026. It broadens what counts as Australian real property for foreign residents, extends the look-back period of the principal asset test for indirect holdings to 365 days, and requires notification to the ATO of certain large sales. It received Royal Assent on 15 September 2026, and the changes started on 1 October 2026. It mainly affects families holding Australian land through companies or trusts, and their advisers should review those structures.
5. Victoria: intestacy and probate
Statutory legacy: where a person dies in Victoria without a Will, leaving a partner and children who are not all children of that partner, the partner takes the personal chattels, a statutory legacy and half of the balance. The Supreme Court of Victoria lists the statutory legacy as $591,390 for deaths between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. It is indexed each year, and the date of death decides which figure applies. See Dying without a Will in Australia.
Probate notice: not a 2026 change, but a common cause of delay for overseas executors. Applicants must publish a notice of intention to apply on RedCrest-Probate, and the Court’s current guidance is that the notice must be published at least 15 days before the application is filed. Build this into the timetable, along with time to obtain certified documents from overseas. See our Executor duties checklist.
6. Victoria: vacant residential land tax
What changed: vacant residential land tax has applied across Victoria since 1 January 2025. From 1 January 2026, it also reaches residential land in metropolitan Melbourne that is capable of residential development but has remained undeveloped for at least five years. Owners of vacant residential land must notify the State Revenue Office each year (for land vacant in 2025, the deadline was 15 February 2026), and absentee owners must notify their status by 15 January.
Who is affected: overseas owners of empty homes or land banks, and estates holding a property that sits empty during administration. Exemptions exist, including in some circumstances for land held in a deceased estate, but the conditions need to be checked.
What to do: diarise the notification deadlines early each year and do not assume an exemption applies automatically. See Do you pay tax on inherited property?
7. ATO draft view on living in an inherited home
Draft only: in draft Taxation Determination TD 2026/D1, released for consultation in early 2026, the ATO takes a narrow view of when a person has a “right to occupy” the deceased’s home “under the deceased’s Will”, one of the conditions for the CGT main residence exemption for inherited dwellings. On the draft view, the right must arise under the Will’s own terms in favour of an identified person; informal family arrangements, executor discretion and some testamentary trust powers may not qualify.
What to do: where a parent intends a surviving spouse or child to live in the home, the Will should say so expressly. Executors should document who lives in the property and on what basis. Check whether the determination has been finalised before relying on it. See Beneficiaries in occupation of estate property.
8. Taiwan: reserved shares and late-life gifts
We work alongside lawyers and tax advisers in Taiwan on these points; the summary below is general.
Siblings’ reserved share removed: the Legislative Yuan amended Article 1223 of Taiwan’s Civil Code on 28 July 2026 to remove the reserved (forced) share of siblings. The amendment was promulgated on 17 August 2026 and takes effect six months later. As reported, it applies according to the date of death, so deaths before the effective date remain under the old rule. Siblings still inherit where there is no Will and no closer relatives.
Gifts within two years before death: amendments to Taiwan’s Estate and Gift Tax Act, passed on 21 August 2026 and promulgated in September 2026, provide that the estate tax attributable to gifts made to specified relatives within two years before death is calculated proportionately and borne by the recipient. The amendments also change who counts as the taxpayer and the rules for paying estate tax in instalments.
What to do: Taiwanese families with Australian assets should check that their Taiwan and Australian Wills still work together. See Taiwan estate and gift tax for families with Australian ties.
9. Mainland China: overseas income and offshore trusts
We work alongside tax advisers in mainland China on these points; the summary below is general.
Overseas income checks (continuing): since 2025, mainland tax authorities have publicly reminded PRC tax residents to review and declare foreign-sourced income, using information received under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Media reports describe reviews of income for 2022 to 2024, and taxpayers who have corrected their filings paying tax and late-payment surcharges. Australian financial institutions report accounts of people who certify mainland tax residence. See CRS and mainland China’s overseas income checks.
Offshore trusts: on 24 July 2026 the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration issued rules on the Individual Income Tax treatment of offshore trusts set up by PRC residents. They address tax when assets are transferred into a trust and on income during the trust’s life, with transitional rules for existing trusts. See China’s new offshore trust tax rules.
10. Recent changes still worth knowing
- South Australia: the Succession Act 2023 commenced on 1 January 2025, consolidating the State’s law on Wills, intestacy and family provision.
- Family law disclosure: since 10 June 2025 the duty of full and frank disclosure in property proceedings has been set out in the Family Law Act 1975 itself (sections 71B and 90RI), for proceedings commenced from that date. Overseas assets must be disclosed. See Overseas and hidden assets in Australian disputes.
Practical points
- Separate law from proposals. The Tax Reform No. 3 Bill and TD 2026/D1 may change before they apply.
- Diarise 1 July 2027 for valuations, and early each year for Victorian land tax and vacancy notifications.
- Review Wills where the family’s assets, residency or Taiwan or mainland China arrangements have changed, rather than relying on documents made under the old rules.
- Prepare identity, ownership and source of funds documents before signing a contract.
- Coordinate advisers. A sale timed for Australian CGT purposes may have consequences in mainland China or Taiwan, and the reverse.
How we can assist
We review Australian Wills, estate plans and ownership structures in light of these changes, act for executors through probate and sale, and prepare documents for use overseas. On tax questions we work with the family’s accountant in Australia and with lawyers and tax advisers in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, so that each part of the plan is consistent.
Related reading
Chua Tan Associates acts for families and their professional advisers on Australian legal matters with a cross-border dimension, working alongside lawyers and tax advisers in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. To arrange a confidential consultation, please contact our Melbourne office on +61 3 9602 3988 or submit an enquiry. Advice is available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Justin Chua (蔡智勋), lawyer and mediator, Chua Tan Associates, Melbourne. General information only, not legal or tax advice.
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