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Assets held in a super fund are legally inaccessible to trustees in bankruptcy – provided contributions or asset transfers were not made with the “main purpose” of avoiding creditors.
This makes super such a prized method of asset protection, particularly as there is no dollar limit on the protection.
Many small-medium business owners, for example, place their busines spremises in an SMSF partly as an asset protection strategy.
Take the example of husband-and-wife business partners who currently own business premises in their own names.
Depending upon the circumstances (including any professional advice received), this couple may decide to either sell the property to their SMSF at market value or make a non-cash contribution of the property to the fund.
<hr>
This article is part of the <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-21-dos-and-donts-for-smsf-property-investors" style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px;">free eBook: 21 do’s and don’ts for SMSF property investors</a>.
 
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Do know the asset-protection advantages of SMSF property

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Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are examining alternative ways to acquire and gear their business premises in the event that the government bars self-managed super funds from directly borrowing to invest using increasingly-popular limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs).
These SME owners are responding to a recommendation in the <a href="https://fsi.gov.au/publications/final-report/" target="_blank">final report</a> of the Financial System Inquiry, chaired by David Murray, that this form of borrowing be prospectively barred. There is speculation that the borrowing rules for SMSFs could significantly change in the months leading to the May budget.
Since September 2007, super funds have been permitted to borrow to invest – as an exemption to the general bar on borrowing – using limited recourse borrowing arrangements. The geared asset must be held in a holding trust until the loan is repaid and creditors cannot make claims against a super fund’s assets other than the geared asset.
SME owners are believed to be among the biggest, if not the biggest, users of limited recourse borrowing arrangements to gear investments – typically to their own business premises – through their SMSFs.
Significantly, business property is one the few types of assets that SMSFs are allowed to acquire from their members and other related parties. As well, business property is one of the few types of assets that funds can lease to related parties, including the members’ businesses, without being limited by the in-house asset rules in superannuation law.
In her latest newsletter, Meg Heffron, co-principal of SMSF administration group Heffron, asks a telling question for SME owners wanting to buy their business premises through their SMSFs: Does the possible demise of limited recourse loan arrangements “represent the end of the world as we know it” for SMSFs to acquire property if they don’t already have the cash?
It seems the answer is a resounding “no”, according to Heffron and Chris Malkin, senior consultant auditor with Baumgartner Superannuation.
Heffron and Malkin says the strategy that SME owners are likely to most use if limited recourse loan arrangements are barred is to arrange for their SMSFs to progressively buy their business premises through ungeared trusts or companies.
“I think ungeared trusts are much underutilised,” says Heffron, “probably because they are poorly understood.”
A typical strategy would involve the members of an SMSF and the SMSF itself owning units in the ungeared trust which acquires the business premises. And then the SMSF progressively acquires more units to eventually gain full ownership. Although the trust is ungeared, the law does not prohibit SMSF members from personal borrowing to acquire units in the trust.
Factors to think about when considering an ungeared trust as an alternative to a limited recourse borrowing arrangement include:
1. Security for the loan
With limited recourse loan arrangements, the geared business premises (or whatever other asset is being acquired) provide security for the loan whereas with a typical ungeared trust arrangement, SMSF members often borrow against the equity in their homes.
2. What’s at stake if the investment fails
This is, of course, linked to point one above. On the face of it with limited recourse loan arrangements, the geared business premises would be at risk if the investment did not succeed. Whereas with the typical ungeared trust arrangement, fund members would have borrowed against the family home and therefore the family home would be at stake. In practice, however, the contrast is not so clear cut.
Malkin emphasises that although with limited recourse loan arrangements, a financier can only make a claim against the geared asset, SMSFs often use almost all of their assets to pay the deposit or initial instalments on the investment. And lenders often require SMSF members to provide a personal guarantee, which typically means that their homes may also be at risk.
“Speaking as an owner of an SME, I usually try to divorce my personal assets from what I do with the business,” Heffron comments. “If I borrow to buy the business premises, I would like to have the loan secured on the business premises – not secured on my personal assets.”
3. Intended improvements to business premises
Under existing law, SMSFs using a limited recourse loan arrangement can only drawdown on the loan to make repairs not improvements to a geared property. (This applies to arrangements entered into after July 7, 2010.)
Heffron says that this bar on using borrowed money borrowed under limited recourse loan arrangements may make ungeared trusts more appropriate for an SME wanting to acquire business premises through their SMSFs and then to make significant improvements. Much depends on the circumstances, including professional advice received.
“The super fund or the family trust can buy more units in the ungeared trust,” says Heffron, “and that will provide the money to make improvements.”
4. Simplicity of strategies
Opinions differ among superannuation specialists about which strategy is simpler – limited recourse loan arrangements or ungeared trusts. Again much will depend on the circumstances.
Heffron believes that the limited recourse loan arrangement is generally simpler if the super fund does not intend to make improvements to the property and wants to simply rent it to the members’ business. This is partly because the geared asset is held in a holding trust until the SMSF makes the final instalments on the loan. There is no CGT event or transaction whenever the super fund makes loan instalments.
By contrast, Heffron says there is a CGT event with the ungeared trust strategy whenever the super fund acquires more units. Also Heffron warns in her newsletter that an ungeared trust is “permanently comprised” and loses its concessional treatment if it breaches the “fairly stringent” rules after a super fund invests in it.
5. Gearing tax benefits
From this perspective, the ungeared trust strategy would typically be the clear winner.
As Malkin explains, an SMSF member personally borrowing to buy units in the ungeared trust acquiring the business premises would be entitled to claim tax deductions for interest payments at his or her marginal tax rate. By contrast, an SMSF borrowing under a limited recourse loan arrangement would only be entitled to tax deductions at the standard superannuation tax rate of 15%.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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SMSFs and geared business premises: Five factors to consider

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A Federal Court judgment this month provides telling lessons for members of self-managed super funds (SMSFs), including those operating small-medium businesses.
The court personally fined the husband-and-wife directors of their SMSF’s corporate trustee a total of $50,000 for a series of contraventions of superannuation law, including the making of 80 “loans” to members, namely themselves.
Fund money was also used to buy study cattle “for hobby purposes” as well as to pay veterinary bills and other related expenses without the fund earning income from the expenditure. The couple, who were the only members of their SMSF, operates a livestock business in Victoria.
Further, the trustees allowed their son to live in a fund-owned property without paying the rent required under the lease. And the fund had spent $48,500 on furniture before the lease commenced.
This court case – <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2014/2014fca1101">Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (Superannuation) versus Graham Family Superannuation Pty Ltd, Ian Christopher Graham and Carolyn Ann Graham</a> – illustrates the risks when SMSF members mix their superannuation and their non-superannuation finances.
Peter Bobbin, principal of lawyers Rockwell Olivier in Sydney, says: “Without doubt, the couple used the super fund as a personal bank to fund their [pre-retirement] lifestyles.”
There is no suggestion in the judgment that the husband-and-wife trustee directors/members in this case used money from their SMSF in relationship to their business. However, Bobbin and Chris Malkin, the senior consultant auditor with Baumgartner Superannuation, say the case represents a warning for SME owners about the dangers of mixing their super, their business and personal finances.
“This case reminds me of the need for SME owners to quarantine their superannuation from their business activities,” says Bobbin. And Malkin believes that SME owners can face a greater temptation than other members to use their super money for purposes other than for their retirement.
“The simple reason is that the cash-flows of SME owners are sometimes stretched and some may see their super fund as a pseudo bank,” says Malkin.
The couple’s contraventions of superannuation law included breaching superannuation’s sole purpose test, providing financial assistance to members, exceeding the limits on in-house assets and failing to conduct dealings on an arm’s length basis.
This case should reinforce to SMSF members regarding some of the most fundamental provisions in superannuation law. These include:
<ol>
<li>The sole-purpose test: A super fund must be maintained for the purpose of providing retirement or death benefits to members.</li>
<li>The ban on providing financial assistance, including loans, to members or their relatives: Significantly, there is no exemption under the in-house rule (see next point) to the ban on providing financial assistance to members.</li>
<li>The in-house asset rule: SMSFs are generally prohibited from making loans, providing leases or having investments with related parties and entities that exceed 5% of its total asset value. (One of the very few exemptions to the in-house asset rule is business real estate.)</li>
<li>Arm’s length investments: A fund must make investments on an arm’s length, commercial basis.
</li>
</ol>
As Peter Bobbin of Rockwell Olivier says, the ATO in this instance did not revoke the SMSF’s complying status but had decided to pursue the trustees through the court.
When an SMSF is declared non-complying, its assets – less any after-tax, non-concessional contributions – are taxed at the highest marginal rate. This is widely regarded as an ultimate sanction against an SMSF.
Stuart Jones, author of the Australian Superannuation Handbook 2014-15 (published by Thomson Reuters) expects that the ATO is likely to apply its new administrative penalty regime, in force from July this year, to similar cases in the future.
Under the new penalty regime, the Tax Office can directly and personally fine SMSF trustees by imposing an administrative penalty (ranging from $850 to $10,200) intended to match the seriousness of the contravention. Therefore, the ATO does not have to go through the expensive and time-consuming process of seeking court-imposed penalties.
Jones says the commissioner still has the option of applying for a civil penalty court order of up to $220,000 for each offence, or even instituting criminal proceedings in certain cases.
Given the large number of contraventions in the Graham family matter, Malkin suspects the overall penalties would have been significantly higher if it had been dealt with under the new penalty regime.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.SmartCompany.com.au" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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SMSFs warned against using fund as 'personal bank'

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Trustees of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are increasingly putting their retirement savings in jeopardy by granting high-risk, high-interest loans to unrelated businesses in an effort to boost returns in a low-interest environment.
Chris Malkin, senior consultant auditor with Baumgartner Superannuation, suspects that many of the SMSF trustees granting these commercial loans do not understand the extra risks and legal complications involved.
“Some funds are effectively turning themselves into lenders of last resort,” Malkin says. “High-interest, high-risk loans are hardly appropriate investments for super funds.”
Typically when SMSFs strike difficulties with lending money, <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/superannuation/44336-risky-business-using-a-self-managed-super-fund-as-a-personal-bank" target="_blank">the loans have been made to related parties</a>. However, a recent Federal Court case highlights the potential extra risks for super funds when making high-interest loans to unrelated parties.
In the case of <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2014/2014fca1034" target="_blank">Pozzebon (Trustee) v Australian Gaming and Entertainment Ltd (in liquidation)</a>, a husband-and-wife SMSF agreed in December 2013 to grant a $250,000 secured loan to a Perth-based business, which had agreed to provide security over corporate assets. Five months later, the company went into voluntary liquidation.
The SMSF then claimed that the liquidated company owed the fund $348,713 – $98,713 higher than the amount of the initial loan.
However, the Federal Court ruled the SMSF was an unsecured creditor after finding the fund had not registered the “security interest” on the relatively new Personal Property Securities Register within the required time.
Stuart Jones, author of the Australian Superannuation Handbook 2014-15, says: “The Pozzebon case serves as a warning to SMSF trustees chasing a higher yield that commercial loan investments are intrinsically problematic for most trustees in terms of the skills required to assess and manage the additional risks in such loans.”
Martin Murden, a director of SMSF consulting and auditing with the Partners Wealth Group, says his annual auditing of SMSFs show more funds are granting high-interest commercial loans. And he expects this trend to grow during the current financial year.
Murden believes that most of the SMSFs being drawn into investing in high-interest, high-risk loans already hold a high proportion of their assets in fixed interest and have become dissatisfied with prevailing interest rates.
He says such SMSF trustees typically don’t want to invest in residential real estate because of their concerns about a property bubble yet find the share market too volatile.
Stuart Jones of Thomson Reuters says there is nothing under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act (SIS) to prohibit an SMSF from investing in a loan to an unrelated borrower.
However, Jones says the loan would still need to comply with SIS investment rules including the sole-purpose test, trustee duties, arm’s length dealings and mandatory investment strategy. (Under the sole-purpose test, a super fund must be maintained for the purpose of providing retirement or death benefits to members.)
“The risks associated with a commercial loan would also need to be suitable as part of the fund’s written investment strategy,” Jones stresses. “Therefore, at minimum, a trustee considering an investment loan would need to establish a detailed risk-management plan for the life of the loan.”
Jones says if an SMSF trustee is going to “make loans like a bank”, it needs to assess the loan application and take security, ideally real estate, “like a bank”. This would typically require specialist and accounting advice to assess the loan investment and to ensure security for the loan or priority status among creditors in the event of a default.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Beware the property bubble loan trap for SMSFs chasing high yields

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If your self-managed super fund is intending to sell an investment property and the members plan to begin a superannuation pension in the new financial year, consider delaying the sale until after June 30 if it makes commercial sense.
As tax lawyer Robert Richards says, super fund assets backing the payment of a pension are no longer subject to tax – including capital gains tax.
See our free ebook on the <a target="_blank" href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-top-24-tax-strategies">top 24 tax strategies</a> for property investors.
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The sale of self-managed super fund property to eliminate capital gains tax

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The ATO – as tax collector and regulator of self-managed super– repeatedly warns SMSFs about complying with superannuation and tax laws regarding property.
The tax office isconcentrating much attention to geared SMSF property.
Superannuation commentator Trish Power writes in her online self-managed super publication, SuperGuide:
“The Australian Taxation Office is worried about SMSF trustees and property."
"Although the ATO doesn’t express it thisway, the SMSF regulator is particularly worried about the sheer weight of money controlled by SMSF trustees, and a bit edgy that this financially powerful group may go feral.”
For instance, the ATO issued a Taxpayer Alert late last year, which included the warning:
“It is important to ensure that any arrangements entered into by an SMSF to invest in property are properly implemented, particularly those involving limited-recourse borrowing arrangements or the use of a related united trust.”
 
<hr>
 This article is part of Property Observer's <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-21-dos-and-donts-for-smsf-property-investors" style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px;">free eBook: 21 do’s and don’ts for SMSF property investors</a>.
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Do understand where the ATO is looking

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Fund trustees should consider eventual disposal of a property even before their fund even buys it, says Martin Murden, director of SMSF consulting with the Partners Group in Melbourne.
For instance, many trustees plan for their SMSFs to own a direct property until the point of their retirement.
Such long-term planning helps minimise the risk of having to quickly sell a property to pay membe rbenefits or to switch to higher-yield investments in retirement.
Upon retirement, SMSF trustees can decide whether to:
• Sell the property to distribute retirement benefits to members. (If the property is backing the payment of a superannuation pension at the time of sale, no CGT is payable under current law.)
• Allow a member to acquire the property as a retirement benefit. (The trustees would have to consider possible CGT implications.) Some members use a former fund-owned property as thei rretirement home.
• Keep the property in the SMSF togenerate income for the members’ superannuation pensions.
 
<hr>
 This article is part of Property Observer's <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-21-dos-and-donts-for-smsf-property-investors" style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px;">free eBook: 21 do’s and don’ts for SMSF property investors</a>.
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Do consider how SMSF will eventually dispose of a property

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SME owners are likely to accelerate existing plans to gear their business premises through their self-managed super funds after renewed debate about whether to bar future superannuation gearing, say advisers to SMSFs and small-medium businesses.
Business owners are among the biggest supporters of self-managed super with superannuation gearing to acquire business premises becoming an increasingly popular strategy.
The recent <a href="https://fsi.gov.au/files/2014/07/FSI_Report_Final_Reduced20140715.pdf" target="_blank">interim report</a> of the Australian government’s current inquiry into the financial system, chaired by David Murray, is calling for views about whether superannuation gearing should be prospectively prohibited.
“If allowed to continue, growth in direct leverage by superannuation funds, although embryonic, may create vulnerabilities for the superannuation and financial systems,” the inquiry observes.
The inquiry’s final report is scheduled to be delivered to the Treasurer by November 14, although it is not known how long the government may take to react to its final recommendations.
SMSF specialist adviser Peter Crump says: “Where there is a hint that an investment opportunity may be closing, people who have been thinking about it should stop vacillating and make a decision – one way or the other.”
Crump, superannuation strategist for financial advice company ipac South Australia, believes that the financial inquiry’s call for views about the possible future barring of super gearing may prompt SME owners who have already been considering gearing their premises to focus their attention.
And Crump says good advisers have a responsibility to alert clients who had been discussing the gearing strategy with them about the possible impact of the financial inquiry.
“I think as advisers, we have a responsibility to keep our clients fully aware; otherwise we have let them down,” he adds. Crump is chairman of the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA).
SMSF auditor Martin Murden believes the raising of the possible removal of superannuation gearing is a “potential trigger” for SME owners who had been examining whether to gear their business premises through their SMSFs to reach a decision.
Murden, a director of SMSF consulting and auditing with the Partners Wealth Group and author of How to invest in property through your self managed super fund, says the financial inquiry provides something of a deadline for SMEs to make up their minds.
And Naree Brooks, a partner at PwC Private Clients, makes a similar comment: “If SMEs had been thinking about gearing their premises through their SMSFs, the Murray inquiry may bring forward the decision making.”
Article continues on the next page. Please click below.
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Sue Prestney, a partner at PwC Private Clients, says the majority of her medium-sized business clients up to August 1999 had acquired their business premises through their SMSFs, using geared trusts associated with the members. (The law had changed at that date, making such trusts so-called in-house assets of the funds and effectively ending the future gearing of SMSFs in that way.)
Prestney estimates that at least 30% of SMEs who have become her clients since 1999 now hold their business premises in their SMSFs with some of their SMSFs gearing through limited recourse loans, permitted under strict conditions for the past seven years.
“SMEs generally have their resources tied up in their businesses,” Prestney adds, “and usually the only way they can buy their business premises is through their super funds.”
Depending upon the circumstances, the holding business premises in a business owner’s SMSF can provide tax, asset protection, estate planning and business succession benefits.
Since September 2007, super funds have been permitted to borrow to invest – as an exemption to the general bar on borrowing – using limited recourse borrowing arrangements. Geared asset must be held in a holding trust until the loan is repaid.
SMEs owners who hold their business premises in their SMSF must pay an arm’s length rent to the fund, which pays concessional tax on the rental income.
Business property is one the few types of assets that SMSFs are allowed to acquire from their members and other related parties. As well, business property is one of the few types of assets that funds can lease to related parties, including the members’ businesses – without being limited by the in-house asset rules in superannuation law.
The ATO’s latest <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Super/Self-managed-super-funds/In-detail/Statistics/Quarterly-reports/Self-managed-super-fund-statistical-report---March-2014/">self-managed super fund statistical report</a> shows SMSFs owed $2.72 billion in limited resource loans in March, up from $497 million in June 2009. These loans represent half a percent of total SMSF assets. The value of commercial property held by SMSFs is three times greater than the value of their residential property.
PwC’s Brooks says the gearing of businesses premises through SMSFs is increasingly popular among SME owners. Brooks believes a “second wave” of business owners are following the strategy, having progressively built-up their super balances under the more restrictive contribution caps. Further, limited recourse loans are more competitively priced.
Surveys by Investment Trends suggest that 38,000 SMSFs hold geared investments and that one of the main reasons why members of large super funds say they intend to setup an SMSF in the future is to invest in property.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Small business owners pushing for self-managed super gearing of business premises

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A recent Federal Court case underlines the potentially destructive consequences when the assets of a family’s self-managed super fund are used in an attempt to save a family’s struggling small business.
The trustee of the super fund in this case made six back-to-back loans totalling $190,000 to his brother-in-law who immediately transferred the money to the trustee’s Sunshine Coast convenience store.
A high price is being paid by the SMSF’s two members – Anthony Shaune Lyons and his wife, Julianne Marie – for the decision to use their super money as working capital for their financially-troubled business:
<ul>
<li>Their savings in the SMSF have been lost. None of the superannuation injected into their family business has been repaid and is, according to the court, irrecoverable. (The $190,000 in loans represented almost all of the super fund’s $193,000 in assets.) </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The court has personally fined the trustee Anthony Shaune Lyons $32,500 plus $5000 towards costs for contravening a range of the most fundamental laws including the bar on providing financial assistance to members or their relatives.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>By using their SMSF assets to prop up their failing business, the couple lost the protection of superannuation as a means to quarantine their super savings from the fate of their convenience store. Superannuation is widely regarded as an effective means for small business operators to gain asset-protection subject to certain conditions.</li>
</ul>
The couple is now bankrupt because of personal debts incurred in running their business. Their plight is setout in stark detail in the court’s judgment, <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2014/2014fca1353">Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (Superannuation) v Anthony Shaune Lyons</a>.
Peter Crump, superannuation strategist for ipac South Australia, is emphatically against business owners using their super savings to try to save their financially-troubled businesses.
Crump, who is chairman of the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia, says owners of small businesses that are experiencing difficulties may tend to look at their business’s chances of recovering with “very rose-coloured” glasses.
“They may say to themselves, ‘I only need to put in a little more money to see the business through’. It is in a similar vein to gambling,” Crump believes.
The sad experience of the business couple in this court case highlights why SME business owners should:
<ol>
<li>
Not overlook the excellent asset-protection qualities of superannuation  Assets held in a super fund are generally inaccessible to trustees in bankruptcy – provided contributions were not made with the main purpose of defeating creditors. “By moving savings outside super,” says Crump, “you are exposing those savings. Keeping super and business assets separate is one of the key advantages of superannuation.” 
</li>
<li>
Know when to quit a failing business and understand the need for quality professional advice Rather than chasing good money after bad in a failing business, Crump says business owners should listen to expert and independent professional advice about when to quit. “You should have advisers with the courage and conviction to tell you when to quit a business,” he stresses. 
</li>
<li>
Never overlook thefundamental laws of super  The trustee in this court case contravened the most basic laws of super. The trustee breached the sole-purpose test (a super fund must be maintained to provide retirement benefits); the ban on providing financial assistance or loans to fund members and their relatives; the in-house asset rule (with a few exceptions, super funds are prohibited from making loans or having investments with related parties and entities that exceed 5% of its total asset value); and the requirement that transactions must be conducted on an arm’s length basis. 
</li>
<li>
Recognise the “certainty of detection” for illegal payments from a super fund  Crump says a superannuation auditor conducting the compulsory annual audit of a super fund will inevitably detect and ask for an explanation about such transactions as loans to members or their relatives.</li>
</ol>
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>. 
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SMSF money lost in failed attempt to save business: Four ways to protect your SMSF

Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

Joel Robinson

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

IN BRIEF

<ul>
	<li>
	Just three double-storey Sky Homes sit at the top of The Waterline, each with its own private marina berth and rooftop terrace.
	</li>
	<li>
	Construction on The Waterline is complete, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.
	</li>
	<li>
	Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and are priced from $3.65 million.
	</li>
</ul>

<hr />
Lewis Land has opened the first completed sky home for inspection at Harbour Shores, giving buyers their first opportunity to step inside one of just three double-storey residences crowning The Waterline.

Each sky home comes with its own private marina berth, rooftop terrace and Broadwater views, combining the scale of a larger home with direct access to the boating lifestyle that underpins the wider <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/harbour-shores-biggera-waters-564-oxley-drive-biggera-waters-qld-4216">Harbour Shores</a> masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366708]

Lewis Land Head of Development Michael Long said the inclusion of a berth with every Sky Home had become increasingly valuable as marina access across the Gold Coast tightened.

“Marina berths are becoming increasingly difficult to secure across the Gold Coast, so including one with every Sky Home makes this a genuinely rare offering,” Long said.

“The private 70-berth marina will accommodate boats up to 12 metres in length and is positioned just 2.5 kilometres from the Broadwater, placing the open ocean only 15 minutes away.

“Being able to step out of your home onto your boat is a rare luxury, and it’s something residents here can look forward to when it opens later this year.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366709]

The display opening comes as construction completes on The Waterline, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.

The three Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and each feature three bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive kitchens with butler's pantries and large balconies taking in the Broadwater outlook.

Each residence also has three secure basement car spaces and additional storage.

“This is the first opportunity the Gold Coast has had to step into Harbour Shores and see, touch and feel what we’re bringing to life here,” Long said.

“There are only three Sky Homes within The Waterline, ranging in size from 282sqm to 367sqm, with each residence featuring three large bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive custom-built kitchens with butler’s pantry, and large balconies capturing Broadwater views.”

<img alt="Harbour Shores" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bab65e10-4fab-45e1-92d8-fc56e2ab98ff" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-25%20at%202.00.16%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=XT8q76LsPkw3cYTsvN3JfFDaPLud90PN" />

Residents of The Waterline will have access to a private pool, along with Harbour Shores' wider collection of amenity including a lagoon pool, social clubhouse, tennis court, gym, yoga facilities and sauna.

Lewis Land partnered with Studio Collective to furnish the completed display, with the interiors designed to demonstrate how the residences could function as permanent homes rather than simply as show apartments.

Studio Collective Director Melissa Park said the surrounding waterways informed the interiors, but in a more restrained way than a traditional coastal scheme.

“We drew inspiration from the canals and coastal surrounds, but our approach was to interpret that subtly through layered materials and a grounded palette of earthy tones, rather than literal coastal references,” Park said.

“We introduced hero moments of green and teal to reference the surrounding waterways, while mirrored elements help reflect natural light.

“The result is a residence that feels elevated yet comfortable, somewhere buyers can genuinely imagine themselves living, entertaining and unwinding.”

Sky Homes are priced from $3.65 million.

Lewis Land is also offering private marina berths with The Residences, its limited collection of three and four-bedroom villas positioned directly along the Harbour Shores waterfront boardwalk.

Three-bedroom villas are priced from $2.99 million, while four-bedroom residences start from $3.19 million.

Harbour Shores is being marketed by Colliers International.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=113271]

Lewis Land opens sky home display as The Waterline completes at Harbour Shores

St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia has filed plans for a major mixed-use housing precinct on the southern edge of the North Sydney CBD, adding another significant proposal to a pocket around North Sydn​ey Station that is quickly becoming one of the LGA's busiest development zones.

The State Significant Development Application covers a 5,990 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/1-19-mackenzie-street-lavender-bay-nsw-2060">1-19 MacKenzie Street and 211 Blues Point Road in Lavender Bay</a>, immediately south of Nor​th Sydney Station and between the commercial core and the lower-rise Lavender Bay Heritage Conservation Area.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal would deliver a new residential tower comprising 88 build-to-sell apartments and 19 affordable apartments, alongside a separate co-living building with 57 rooms and a building manager's studio.

It would also see the significant restoration and upgrade of St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the adaptive reuse of the former school building, new parish facilities, retail, a new public square and around 1,000 sqm of publicly accessible open space.

<img alt="Vinnies North Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d5dd7f87-a617-463e-b577-17541e01f0e9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.13%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4R8TsFN3P_LrrXO2HswTOIrx2blil8lh" />

The project is seeking a concurrent rezoning of the site to R4 High Density Residential and an increase in the maximum building height to allow a tower reaching RL120, or up to 20 storeys. The proposal was progressed through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The build-to-sell component will be weighted toward larger apartments, with just six one-bedroom apartments compared with 31 two-beds, 43 three-beds and eight four-bedroom residences.

The 19 affordable apartments will comprise two studios, 15 one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments, taking the total apartment component to 107 residences before the 58 co-living rooms are included.

<img alt="Vnnies" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7d568ca5-cb90-4e18-96c6-d9795dba0c56" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=GY2R5M9VtQh0EKy1vajaea19PSLOPuRD" />

Wardle's design for the Vinnies site has sought to negotiate that emerging high-rise context while retaining the lower-scale character of MacKenzie Street and the adjoining heritage conservation area.

The main building adopts a three-storey podium and tower arrangement, with the podium aligned to the ridgeline and front setback of St Francis Xavier Church.&nbsp;Wardle has designed the podium with colonnades, seating, recessed entries and active ground-floor frontages, with sandstone-toned precast concrete and face brick referencing the materiality of the existing church.

The tower then steps back eight metres to the south and six metres to the north before rising in a sculpted form comprising four interlocking quadrants. Wardle has also introduced rounded forms and chamfered corners to reduce the tower's perceived bulk and improve view sharing with neighbouring development sites.

Resident facilities and outdoor areas are planned at the separation between the podium and tower at Level 3, oriented toward Sydney Harbour and the CBD skyline.

The tower itself will feature a glass reinforced concrete facade, with recessed balconies and deep reveals used both to provide shading and privacy and frame views toward the harbour and city. The lower levels take a different architectural approach, using brick and sandstone-toned finishes intended to establish a stronger relationship with St Francis Xavier Church. The Church itself will be conserved and upgraded for its continued use, while the former school building will be adaptively reused as part of the co-living component.

<img alt="Lavendar Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2d4418ad-90aa-4d49-af93-c80b140aea80" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.09.47%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Kv4gzbsACaGvZSRuaqcfGC54jEJRXIDJ" />

&nbsp;

The proposal adds to an increasingly concentrated pipeline of residential development around Blue Street, MacKenzie Street and Lavender Bay.

Just west of the site, Central Element lodged plans earlier this year for one of the most significant residential developments proposed in Lavender Bay in recent years.

Central Element's SJB-designed scheme at 64-66 Lavender Street and 3-7 Middlemiss Street would deliver 163 apartments across two towers rising 23 and 32 storeys, replacing five existing apartment buildings containing 32 homes. The project also forms part of the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-central-element-reveals-lavender-bay-apartment-plans?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">First look: Central Element reveals Lavender Bay apartment plans</a>

Immediately around North Sy​dney Station, another two significant proposals have emerged at 5 and 15 Blue Street.

Zurich Australian Insurance Properties is seeking to adaptively reuse its longstanding commercial building at 5 Blue Street, directly above North Sydney Station, rather than demolishing the structure.

Its SSDA proposes converting the building into a 14-storey mixed-use development with 62 apartments and 86 co-living rooms, together with ground-floor retail and a major refurbishment of Blue Street Plaza. The application is currently at the Response to Submissions stage.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-zurich-targets-north-sydney-office-conversion-with-148-unit-proposal-above-metro-station">First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station</a>

&nbsp;

First look: Vinnies files for 20-storey Lavender Bay apartment tower as North Sydney housing pocket heats up

When the opportunity arose for South Australian developer Palumbo to return to Kent Town, where it had previously delivered East Park Apartments and the East 
Rundle Apartments, it wasn't one the longstanding developer-builder was going to pass up.

The decision was quickly vindicated, with more than 30 apartments sold within the first month of launching <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/royal-apartments-kent-town-2-8-north-terrace-kent-town-sa-5067">Royal Apartments</a> to the market.

The 206-apartment development, which will bring significant new supply to Adelaide's tightly held eastern city fringe, also gives <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/palumbo">Palumbo</a> the opportunity to bring new life to one of Kent Town's most recognisable watering holes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376073]

Royal Apartments incorporates the historic Royal Hotel, a venue Palumbo Managing Director Daniel Palumbo said has a longstanding connection with the local community.

"Everyone in the area has history with the Royal Hotel," Palumbo told Apartments.com.au.

"It was quite an active pub and social gathering place for locals. We want to bring it back to its former glory."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376072]

The wider development will comprise two residential towers alongside the restored hotel, sitting on North Terrace opposite the Adelaide Park Lands.

For Palumbo, the project also marks a return to familiar territory.

The developer completed East Park Apartments next door more than a decade ago and jumped at the opportunity to develop in Kent Town again when the Royal Hotel site became available.

"The opportunity emerged, and we moved to secure the site," Palumbo said.

"We were approached by the previous landowner, who said they had extensive commitments in Sydney and weren't in a position to deliver the project.

"We took over the site and within six months recut the design scheme to be more in keeping with the type of development we want to bring to Adelaide.

"Now we're on the market and those changes have really resonated with local buyers."

That has translated into a strong start to sales, with 33 apartments transacting in the project's first 35 days.

Palumbo said the early purchaser profile had been consistent with the group's traditional focus on owner-occupiers rather than investor-led apartment stock.

"Local owner-occupiers have always been our market," he said.

"There are always some investors, but we've never developed what would be called traditional development stock. Owner-occupiers are very much our market."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376068]

The buyer mix has been diverse so far, with downsizers and younger professionals both accounting for a significant portion of early sales.

South Australia's current stamp duty settings, which allow&nbsp;eligible homeowners in South Australia aged 60 savings of up to $103,830 on stamp duty when they downsize to a new property valued at up to $2 million,&nbsp;have helped encourage downsizer activity, while younger buyers in their late 20s and early 30s have been attracted to the opportunity to live immediately outside the CBD while still being able to walk into the city.



Location has been a major part of the proposition for both buyer cohorts.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376075]

Royal Apartments sits on North Terrace directly opposite the Adelaide Park Lands, with residents able to walk through the parklands toward the East End, Rundle Street and Rundle Mall.

Apartments have been positioned to capture views across the parklands, Adelaide skyline, Botanic Gardens and Adelaide Hills.

Palumbo believes the scarcity of developable land along this section of the Park Lands makes the site particularly difficult to replicate.

"There's very few allotments on that side that can be developed," he said.

"If this location was in New York and you were sitting on Central Park, you'd be talking about a $60 million apartments."

Royal Apartments will offer a broad mix of residences, ranging from one-bedroom apartments through to four-bedroom sub-penthouses and penthouses.

Current listings include one-bedroom apartments from $680,000, while larger three and four-bedroom residences are priced around $2.5 million.

Residents will have access to a swimming pool, gym, barbecue and recreation areas, residents' lounge and dining space, and a communal deck.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376067]

The apartments will feature generous balconies, while secure parking, bicycle storage and storage cages will also be provided.

A porte-cochère-style arrival and drop-off area has also resonated with buyers, particularly those attracted to being able to walk into the CBD during the day while retaining secure vehicle access at home.

Palumbo is acting as developer, architect and builder on Royal Apartments, continuing the vertically integrated model it has used across its South Australian portfolio.

The group was also behind the $150 million Sofitel Adelaide, the 251-room five-star hotel and residential tower which opened in 2021.

Palumbo said Royal's launch had come at an interesting time for the broader Adelaide apartment market.

Buyer confidence had initially been impacted by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Budget and broader economic conditions, but Palumbo believes sentiment is beginning to improve against a backdrop of significant investment flowing into South Australia.

He pointed to increased activity across defence and resources, including Olympic Dam, as potential long-term drivers of the state's economy and housing market.

"Money is starting to flow into Adeliade, significant amounts as Adelaide bucks the trend of the rest of the country.," Palumbo said.

"There's a lot of activity in the economy over the next decade. I think more investment will come into this market."

Early works on Royal Apartments are expected to commence this year, with major construction activity and cranes anticipated on site from early next year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6109]

Palumbo's return to Kent Town strikes early chord with buyers

Go-to builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/graya">GRAYA</a> is continuing to bulk out its already impressive and diverse apartment portfolio across South East Queensland. Their latest milestone is securing development approval for Silk, its boutique riverfront apartment development in St Lucia.

The approval clears&nbsp;the way for the team to begin construction planning for the 22-residence project.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/silk-st-lucia-16-18-sandford-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">Silk</a> will rise 15 levels from an 810 sqm site at 16-18 Sandford Street, occupying a prominent bend of the Brisbane River with a prized northern aspect across Orleigh Park toward the Brisbane CBD.

The approved scheme will comprise 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences, continuing GRAYA's move into larger-format apartment developments targeting Brisbane's prestige owner-occupier market.

The project has been designed around the site's broad river frontage and dual-direction views, with GRAYA prioritising larger residences, privacy and outlook over apartment yield.

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa5c2349-f96c-4914-a812-1f2cd6827af8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=WY0vEU_7vYjeRJKQHiCwFdMxu8PvFh52" />

GRAYA Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Rob Gray said the project had been shaped around local homeowners wanting to remain in St Lucia without maintaining a traditional family home.

"St Lucia is one of those suburbs people do not want to leave," Gray said.

"They know the river, the trees, UQ, the golf course, Toowong and Indooroopilly, and that familiarity is hard to replace.

"True riverfront opportunities here are exceptionally scarce. What we have designed at Silk is a way to stay in the suburb people love, with the scale and privacy of a private home and far less to maintain.

"This is not typical apartment product. It is a proper home on the river, and that is exactly what this market has been missing."

The approval comes as new apartment development continues to increase across the St Lucia and neighbouring Toowong corridor, although direct riverfront sites remain considerably more tightly held.

GRAYA Co-founder and Managing Director Andrew Gray said securing the approval had removed a significant element of development risk from Silk.

"Genuine riverfront sites of this quality in St Lucia are not something that comes up regularly," Gray said.

"The approval removes a substantial layer of execution risk, and the location underwrites demand in a way very few inner-city sites can.

"The fundamentals here are as strong as anything we have assessed in Brisbane."

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0f3d734-65e1-48e8-8ed3-2e0715ffcdd9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sOLSs_jdHkXLWbBKzRyayf5BfTb2vPsD" />

Silk will see GRAYA return to a stretch of the Brisbane River where it already has recent construction experience. The vertically integrated group recently completed ARC in neighbouring Toowong as builder for developer Spyre, delivering the riverfront project on a constrained site.

GRAYA will take a different role at Silk, controlling the project from design and development through construction and aftercare under its vertically integrated model.

The development will include a gym and resident leisure areas at ground level, integrated with the river's edge.

Silk joins a growing pipeline for GRAYA across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which includes Enclave, The Gallery, Coral and Ripple.

The developer-builder has also recently lodged plans for its largest project to date, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-silo-19-chester-street-newstead-qld-4006">The Silo</a>, a proposed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/graya-buys-frasers-newstead-site-plans-the-silo-between-james-street-and-gasworks-precincts">$700 million mixed-use development</a> in Brisbane's James Street precinct.

Silk is expected to predominantly target local owner-occupiers and prestige buyers seeking a permanent riverfront home in Brisbane's inner west.

Registrations of interest are now open, with further details on the project and construction program to be released as it progresses.

<hr />
<h2>SILK PROJECT FACTS</h2>

Developer-builder: GRAYA

Project: Silk

Location: 16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia

Apartments: 22

Built form: 15 levels

Site: 810 sqm riverfront holding

Mix: 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences

Status: Development approved

Next step: Construction planning underway

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152168]

Michael Laurence

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