Tax insights

On 2 July 2026, Australia's Federal Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (“the bill”), which seeks to introduce the previously announced changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime for foreign residents that were set out across two exposure drafts released in April 2026 (“exposure drafts”).

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On 18 June 2026, the Australian government released a consultation paper proposing a targeted capital gains tax (CGT) discount for investors in innovative start-ups. The announcement arrives amid debate over the CGT reforms announced in the 2026–27 Federal Budget, with the first tranche of legislation having received royal assent on 26 June 2026, acting to replace the 50% CGT discount with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on capital gains.

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On 28 May 2026, the Australian government introduced Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026.

Relevant to property funds, the bill introduces legislation to implement the Federal Budget 2026-27 announcements in respect of:

• Negative gearing limitations; and
• Capital gains tax (CGT) discount changes.

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On 10 April 2026, the Government released exposure draft legislation proposing changes to the foreign resident CGT regime that were first announced in May 2024 as part of the 2024–25 Federal Budget. Despite the importance and breadth of these changes, the consultation period closes on 24 April 2026.

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On 25 March 2026, Senator the Hon Tim Ayres addressed the National Press Club of Australia on “Smarter, Stronger, Safer: A Future Made in Australia backed by R&D”, building upon key messages from the much-anticipated Strategic Examination of Research and Development final report, “Ambitious Australia”, released on 17 March 2026.

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On 17 February 2026, the Full Federal Court released its decision in favour of the Commissioner in Commissioner of Taxation v. S.N.A Group Pty Ltd [2026] FCAFC 10 finding that around $19 million of inter-entity service fees paid during the tax years 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2019 were not deductible under s 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).

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On 24 March 2026, and after eight years of negotiations, Australia and the EU put pen to paper on a historic free trade agreement which will drive enhanced economic and people to people links between the EU and Australia.

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Division 296 tax is a new Australian tax on superannuation earnings for those individuals with a total superannuation balance of more than $3 million.

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On 3 March 2026, the ATO released final instructions to complete the public country-by-country (CbC) report. The instructions include information that must be included in an annual public CbC report, the level of detail expected in both quantitative and qualitative disclosures, the process for submission of the report to the ATO, and how to interpret and apply the legislation and accompanying guidance in practice.

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