If you look after families in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta or Hong Kong, some of them will have an Australian dimension: a Melbourne apartment held for a child, a Sydney investment company, a farm, a beneficiary who has migrated, or a family member who has married or separated in Australia. Usually that dimension is quiet. Then a client dies, loses capacity, separates, or wants to restructure, and the Australian piece becomes the part holding everything else up.
This section of our website is written for you, the adviser. It explains the Australian issues we see most often in your clients’ affairs and how we work alongside you.
What we do for advisers’ clients
Estates with Australian assets: obtaining or resealing grants, collecting and selling Australian property, dealing with Australian banks, and acting as professional or independent executor or administrator where the family needs one.
Trusts and holding structures: reviewing how an offshore trust or company holds Australian assets, and the foreign investment, duty, land tax and residency issues that follow.
Relocation and succession: Australian Wills and enduring powers of attorney that sit alongside the home-country plan, and pre-arrival planning for families moving to Australia.
Disputes: mediation and, where needed, litigation over Australian estates, family property and family businesses. I mediate in English and Mandarin.
Notarial and document work: our firm’s notary public certifies and authenticates Australian documents for use overseas.
Why advisers work with us
Our firm has practised in Melbourne since 1990 and acts for many Chinese-speaking families across Asia. I am a second-generation lawyer, an Affiliate member of STEP, a Nationally Accredited Mediator and an Accredited Family Business Advisor. Before law, I worked in finance in Hong Kong; my extended family has plantations in Malaysia, and I have worked in Singapore, Myanmar and Vietnam. I understand how decisions are made in your clients’ families, and how a private bank or trust company needs to receive information.
We act Australia-wide on estates and succession, and coordinate with trusted local practitioners where a matter needs local court work in another state.
How a referral works
A short no-names call. You can describe the issue in general terms first. We will tell you whether it is something we can help with and what information we would need.
Engagement directly with the client or the trustee, as appropriate. Under Australian law our duties run to our client, and our engagement terms make clear who that is.
Identity and source-of-funds checks. From 1 July 2026, Australian law firms providing certain services, including property and trust work, have their own anti-money laundering obligations. Your existing KYC file can make this quick, with the client’s consent.
Coordination. With the client’s authority, we keep you informed at agreed points and work with the client’s overseas lawyers, accountants and trustees, so advice is consistent across jurisdictions.
Confidentiality
Communications with us are protected by Australian legal professional privilege where they are for the dominant purpose of legal advice. We are careful about what is shared with intermediaries so that privilege is not lost. We will agree with you and the client at the outset how information should flow.
For ongoing families: the Australian Legal Desk
For families with lasting Australian interests, we offer an annual review of their Australian property, Wills, powers of attorney and land tax position, with priority access to the firm when something happens. It keeps the Australian file current before a death or crisis tests it.
Refer a matter. Contact Justin Chua directly for an initial discussion. Matters are handled discreetly from the first call.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice.
Sources: AUSTRAC — obligations for tranche 2 entities · Corrs — extending AML/CTF to tranche 2 entities
Related reading: The Australian Component of a Client’s Affairs: A Note for Private Bankers, a companion note focused on estates.
More notes for private bankers, trustees and family offices: For Private Banks, Trust Companies and Family Offices.
Justin Chua (蔡智勋), lawyer and mediator, Chua Tan Associates, Melbourne. General information only, not legal advice.
简体中文 
English (Australia) 
繁體中文