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You can claim a tax deduction for some of the expenses associated with owning a rental property in the year in which you incurred them, but others must be claimed over time.
DEPRECIATING ASSETS
Items that will wear out and need to be replaced, such as carpets and appliances, need to be depreciated. This means you claim the cost of the item over its expected lifespan.
The Australian Taxation Office has published a list of the timeframes for depreciating common items found in rental properties.
For example, the ATO suggests carpet should be depreciated over 10 years and floating timber doors over 15 years. Gas or electric hot water systems can be depreciated over 12 years, while the suggested lifespan of solar hot water systems is 15 years. The ATO suggests cook tops, ovens and refrigerators should be depreciated over 12 years.
You can use the ATO’s suggested timeframes to claim depreciation or, in some cases, you can make your own estimates.
If you want to use your own estimate of the e ective life of a depreciating asset, you’ll need to be able to back up your claims with information such as the manufacturer’s specifications, engineering information or common practices for scrapping the item.
The item’s lifespan starts from when it was new, not when you started claiming deductions. If you install second-hand items, you’d have to consider their lifespan since new, not since you bought them.
CAPITAL WORKS
If your rental property was built after July 17, 1985, you may be able to claim a deduction for construction costs, known as a capital works deduction. 
Capital works deductions are usually claimed at a rate of 2.5 percent t a year for the 40 years after construction. They cover expenses for buildings, extensions such as garages or patios, alterations such as kitchen and bathroom renovations and structural improvements including carports, sealed driveways and fences.
Assets that are considered to be part of the building must also be depreciated as capital works.
This includes:
• Cabinets, sinks and xtures in kitchens and bathrooms
• Built-in wardrobes
• Tiles and other oor coverings that can’t easily be removed without damaging the building
• Insulation
• Fly screens and awnings
If you want to claim for capital works, you’ll need records of the construction dates and building costs, details of who carried out the works and the type of construction.
If you don’t have access to these details, you can hire a quantity surveyor, architect or builder to supply this information. 
To download a free ebook on new financial year taxation tips for property investors,<a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/tools/ebooks-and-webinars/55208-new-financial-year-tax-planning-tips-for-property-investors" target="_blank"> click here</a>.
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Claiming a tax deduction for rental property ownership expenses

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Rental properties make money for investors through income and capital gains, both of which are taxable.
Depending on your annual income from investments, wages and other sources, tax can eat up a sizable chunk of your returns.
One way to minimise your tax bill is to ensure you’re claiming all of the deductions you can on your investment property.
Expenses you incur due to owning a rental property can be o set against the income the investment brings in.
If the deductions add up to more than the income, you can offset set the tax loss against earnings from other sources. If the income is higher than the total value of deductions, you must pay tax on the excess. 
Most of the income you’ll receive from your investment property will be rent paid by tenants. Other property-related income is also taxable, such as insurance payouts for damage to the property or lost rent, and rental bond you’ve retained to pay for damage caused by tenants.
The Australian Taxation Office has strict rules about what costs and expenses you can and can’t use to reduce your tax bill. For example, you can only claim expenses for the period that your property was rented or available for rent.
You can claim some expenses in full in the tax year in which you incurred them but others must be claimed over a number of years.
CLAIM IN FULL NOW
The long list of expenses you can claim straight away includes:
• Interest on your mortgage
• Strata fees
• Council rates
• Water bills
• Repairs and maintenance
• Pest control
• Property management costs
• Advertising for tenants
• Land tax
• Legal expenses
• Bank charges
• Administration costs such as phone bills, stationery and postage.
You can claim a tax deduction this year on expenses you’ve prepaid such as insurance and interest on your mortgage for the coming nancial year.
CLAIM OVER TIME
Some costs must be claimed over several years. Charges for establishing a mortgage are usually claimed over five years, for instance. Assets that wear out and need to be replaced periodically – such as carpets and hot water systems – need to be depreciated with the cost claimed over their useful lifespan. 
You may also be able to claim capital works deductions, which cover the property’s construction costs, including the home itself, carports, sealed driveways and fences, and items that are fixed in the building such as kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
DON’T CLAIM AS EXPENSES
You can’t claim the cost of buying and selling the property or any initial repairs that are needed before you can rent it out. These costs are factored into the profit, or capital gain, you make when you sell.
These lists are not exhaustive. If in doubt, check with a tax professional. 
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To download a free ebook on new financial year taxation tips for property investors,<a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/tools/ebooks-and-webinars/55208-new-financial-year-tax-planning-tips-for-property-investors" target="_blank"> click here</a>.
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New financial year tax tips for property investors

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<h4> </h4>
Jean-Paul Gagnon, University of Canberra; David Carter, University of Canberra; Fanny Thornton, University of Canberra
 
Most of us know the story of what Salon’s Elias Isquith calls “Wall Street’s favourite disrupter”. Uber, the ride-hailing service run primarily through smartphones, is a global economic success story.
In 2008, it was but an idea held by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Today it is a profit-making “unicorn”. It was recently valued at US$62.5 billion.
How Uber came to be worth such significant sums is a question often posed.
Integral to its success was its speedy efforts at connecting riders with drivers through smartphones. This saw Uber become an on-demanddisruptor business. In the process, it has alluringly branded itself as a service “for the good of all” that puts “people first”.
Uber seemingly takes from over-priced taxis, facilitates livelihoods for its drivers, gives to the needy rider and sticks it to urban regulators – or so the story goes.
Much closer to the truth may be that when Uber isn’t wrapping itself in cloaks of communal good, it is busy trying to institute a monopoly on ride-hailing. It actively encloses what could be a more open city in which riders and drivers work to benefit city residents.
<h2>Now you’re open, now you’re closed</h2>
Uber “opens” cities to “close” them. We think this way because Uber is just another intermediary capitalist (like eBay, Airbnb and PayPal) that profits from the needs of typically urban people connected to the internet.
Uber is therefore an extension of capitalism and, because of that, can be understood as a business trying to maximise its market share.
Uber “opens to close” a city in three steps:
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to disrupt the existing taxi monopoly (a closed system) through marketing and paying fines incurred by its drivers;
</li>
<li>
to entice riders to download its app, drivers to “share” their car, and urban regulators to acquiesce to the popularity of the Uber service; and
</li>
<li>
to exclude ride-hailing alternatives through its maximised market share.
</li>
</ul>
 
The marketing Uber uses to disrupt the grip one or more taxi companies have on a city is to present a rich rhetoric of being the “alternative”, somehow “grassroots” and, most importantly, a “communal” choice for drivers and riders. It casts itself as a Robin Hood in the struggle against unjust, or simply outdated, urban regulators.
This branding, Uber’s cheaper price and its convenient app make it an alluring option for ride-hailers. So long, cabbie dynasty, this city’s now open.
But because Uber grows within the shell of the taxi industry all it really does is open a city to enclose it for its own benefit. It does this through consistent marketing to riders, but also by enticing drivers to partner with Uber with promises of higher pay and a be-your-own-boss mentality.
Uber also crows about creating tens of thousands of jobs and getting one million women into work. This helps to get regulators onside.
A city is “closed” when Uber’s enclosure is complete: when it has successfully disrupted taxis, changed ride-hailing regulation and has a city’s residents on board (so to speak).
We say closed because an “Uber city” is a city captured by intermediary (middleman) capitalism. Defeated taxis are creating their own apps, and alternatives abound. But Uber’s market dominance makes it very difficult for more meaningful alternatives to emerge.
Market dominance means the exclusion of competitors and the control of the means of production so that profits keep rolling in. “Capture your market” is a mantra for a reason. And that reason is because it works – it’s Capitalism 101.
<h2>An open-city alternative</h2>
The need to get around a city safely and conveniently shouldn’t be viewed as an opportunity for businesses like Uber to cash in. STML/flickr
A truly open city would be one where residents are invited, supported and backed by their city government to create their own ride-hailing apps.
Riders still get picked up for a fair price, drivers still get paid more, but profit goes into a public trust to ensure the apps provide good service but also to fund resident-specific projects, like bike roads fully separated from cars.
Not only will this keep jobs and money inside the city, but it also puts a vital transportation resource into the hands of city residents and not a foreign business.
The need to get around a city safely, conveniently and with as little carbon emissions as possible shouldn’t be viewed as an opportunity for businesses like Uber to cash in. It should rather be treated as a common pool resource.
Since the majority of people in cities still depend on cars and roads to get around, chasing the wrong incentives can lead to chronic traffic jams and a host of other problems.
City residents don’t want traffic jams; moving around is a vital part of their daily lives. Uber doesn’t necessarily mind traffic jams because of surge pricing and a rolling meter – it still makes money. Ironically, despite this conflict of interests, Uber is the US$62 billion Wall Street poster child and the open-city alternative is excluded.
Uber may open cities from taxi rackets, but it closes them off to the possibility of more radical and meaningful alternatives.
To read more from The Conversation <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-uber-opens-cities-only-to-close-them-59067?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%206%202016%20-%205178&amp;utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%206%202016%20-%205178+CID_f7988f9ce5c939534436cde1d2bfddde&amp;utm_source=campaign_monitor&amp;utm_term=How%20Uber%20opens%20cities%20only%20to%20close%20them" target="_blank">click here.</a>
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How Uber opens cities only to close them

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<h4> </h4>
Marion Terrill, Grattan Institute
Every decade or two, Australia focuses on cities. Leading into the election, the government talked of smart cities, innovative cities, productive cities. But somehow there’s been no trade-off of costs and benefits – just more expensive infrastructure promised in the cities and in the regionstoo.
What’s missing is an explanation of how to support productivity in cities – to help regional people as much as city dwellers themselves. Will it be different this time?
Australia’s prosperity depends on managing cities well. Contrary to our myths about rugged outback pioneers, Australia is highly urbanised, with the biggest share of population in its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, of any developed nation.
This is a good thing for our prosperity.
Cities have more productivity growth than towns, and bigger cities more than smaller ones.
When a city doubles in size, wages, output and innovation per capita more than double. All the benefits of human interaction play out in a more productive and dynamic economy.
But as cities grow, the negative impacts of interaction grow too. These include more pollution and more congestion per person. Governments need to make sure the positive impacts of cities outweigh the negatives.
<h2>Well-connected cities work best</h2>
Cities work best when they actually operate as cities – with all the choice of jobs and employers and goods and services that are available as long as the city is not simply a series of disconnected villages.
The trend to greater urbanisation is set to continue. Even during the mining boom, most economic activity occurred in Australian capital cities, as the chart below shows.
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Not only are most existing jobs in the cities, so too are most new jobs. More than one-quarter of all jobs are located within five kilometres of the CBDs of the major capital cities. Around 40% are within ten kilometres.
At the same time, people who live in growing cities face real pressures. While job growth is strongest in the CBD, most housing growth occurs on the outer fringes.
This mismatch between where the people are and where the jobs are makes us all less prosperous if people decide it’s too hard to commute to work, or commute to a job that best suits their skills, and instead settle for something that they’re less suited to, or work less, or don’t work at all.
<h2>Better use of the infrastructure dollar</h2>
Governments try periodically to make cities easier to get around, generally by announcing major new transport infrastructure. The growth in the big capital cities has led many people to feel that the transport infrastructure we have is no longer up to the job, and will only struggle more over time.
So the government made plenty of transport infrastructure promises in the election campaign – A$5.4 billion worth.
Yet, of this, only $800 million was for projects that Infrastructure Australia had fully assessed as nationally significant and worth doing. One-quarter was for projects that sit nowhere on Infrastructure Australia’s list – because they’re not nationally significant, because they’re not worth doing, or because nobody has even asked Infrastructure Australia whether they justify public money.
With the federal budget under pressure, a more disciplined approach to investment is vital. The Commonwealth should defer funding for any project until Infrastructure Australia has assessed it as nationally significant and worth doing.
In other words, a large number of campaign promises to fund specific projects should be deferred. If these promises are allowed to override disciplined project assessment – as they have over the last decade – then vested local interests override the public interest.
To institutionalise this approach, the National Land Transport Act and the Federal Financial Relations Act should be amended so that the minister may commit public money only after an independent evaluation of the project and the business case (by Infrastructure Australia, for example) has been tabled in parliament.
<h2>A cost-effective alternative to building roads</h2>
Before building more roads, which will only fill up soon with more cars, there is unexplored potential to improve the use of what already exists.
The existing road network could work much harder for us. Within cities, every driver who sets out onto a congested road imposes costs on all the other drivers through his or her contribution to overall congestion.
Over and above the financial costs of buying a car and filling up with fuel, congestion represents a further cost to our time and convenience. This cost is real, and it’s larger than it needs to be. 
Governments could consider changing this from a time cost to a money cost. In other words, instead of sitting in traffic jams, people could pay to drive on freer-flowing roads. The choices we would face would be: pay to use key roads at peak hour; take our trip at another time; take a different route; or avoid the trip altogether. Some people will take one option; others will take another.
A small change in the number of cars on a stretch of road can make a big change to congestion on that road. The NRMA estimates that when traffic volume drops by 5%, speeds increase by 50%.
The federal government could encourage states to take two small preliminary steps. First, it could require states to include an in-principle application of road pricing on any new urban transport proposal seeking Commonwealth funding. Second, it could provide policy support and funding to any state willing to trial congestion pricing in its capital cities.
With these small and reversible steps, city dwellers and governments could start to find out whether the benefits of congestion charging are worth it. We may find, as the designer of the highly successful Stockholm congestion charge said:
If you do it right, people will actually embrace the change, and if you do it right, people will actually even like it.
To read more from <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-cities-work-better-heres-what-the-government-needs-to-do-61668?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%2014%202016%20-%205230&amp;utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%2014%202016%20-%205230+CID_c1ac821b0ce0ec6179282c4295468077&amp;utm_source=campaign_monitor&amp;utm_term=How%20to%20make%20cities%20work%20better%20%20heres%20what%20the%20government%20needs%20to%20do" target="_blank">The Conversation, click here.</a>
 
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How to make cities work better

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Growth has been strong, but inflation is weak. This is an unusual combination.
Typically, strong growth sees a pick-up in domestic demand, which creates jobs and drives wages and inflation up.
Not this time.
Part of the reason has been that global inflation is low, but this is not the full story.
Australia's low inflation also reflects an unusual local cycle. The end of the mining boom has been long and drawn out, running for four years, so far.
Faced with falling commodity prices, which have weighed on national incomes, Australia's economy has adjusted with slower wages growth, down from 4% to 2% y-o-y. This has, in turn, delivered lower inflation.
In this way, we see low inflation as an element of Australia's rebalancing act, as growth shifts from being driven by the mining sector towards the housing and services sector.
Slower wages growth has helped to improve Australia's competitiveness, supporting the shift in growth.
The shift itself has also lowered wages growth, as higher paid mining jobs are being replaced by lower paid services jobs.
Low wages growth and inflation have also allowed the RBA to cut its cash rate, supporting the rebalancing of growth, and pushing the AUD lower, which has helped to improve local competitiveness.
Lower wages growth and inflation have helped to allow the economy to more smoothly absorb the impact of lower commodity prices.
We see inflation as likely to pick up when the rebalancing act is complete, which we forecast to be around mid-2017.
In our view, commodity prices have already passed the trough and mining investment should start to stabilise around mid-2017.
As a result, we see wages growth and underlying inflation stabilising soon and edging higher in 2017. It is for this reason that we do not expect the Australian cash rate to fall much further.
Our central case is for a 25bp cut in August, following the second quarter underlying CPI print (on 27 July) and for the RBA to hold its cash rate steady at 1.50% over subsequent quarters.
However, this view is conditioned on the Q2 underlying inflation print being below 0.5% q-o-q. If it is higher, the RBA may not cut.
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The good kind of inflation: HSBC's Paul Bloxham

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Lynden Griggs, University of Tasmania and Rouhshi Low, Queensland University of Technology
<div class="content" data-raw="">The paperless property market is now a reality and it could provide a faster more efficient sales. But it’s unlikely any consumers will be using the system themselves.</div>
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Paperless house sales are now a reality but it might be some time before we’ll all be buying and selling property online.
The electronic system, Property Exchange Australia or PEXA, set up by financial institutions and a number of state governments, changes conveyancing of real estate in a way not seen since the introduction of title by registration in the mid-1800s.
What this transition achieves is a remote electronic based system for the buying and selling of land. The new process from contract to settlement can be paperless. The only physical aspect of the transaction involved the vendor moving out, the purchaser moving in, and the stakeholders, such as mortgagees and conveyancing agents entering keystrokes on a remotely maintained work space.
<h2>How PEXA works</h2>
Once the parties enter into a contract for the sale of real estate, an online work space is created through PEXA, whereby relevant information is populated by all stakeholders who retain password verified access to the site.
Instead of the buyer and seller signing forms to be lodged at land titles offices, agents on behalf of these parties (such as conveyancing agents) will digitally sign on their behalf. Overseeing this is the Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council a regulatory agency providing guidance and oversight through operating and participation rules.
These rules govern the relationship between the PEXA operator and the land title registry, as well as the electronic lodgement operator and direct participants such as conveyancing agents and financial institutions.
At the moment only conveyancing agents and other subscribers such as financial institutions can lodge online and have direct access to PEXA. To facilitate the use of the system, some land contracts now require that the conveyancing be done through PEXA.
In the foreseeable future its unlikely that the consumers will be able to use PEXA themselves. The cost and impediments to obtaining access are only feasible for someone engaging in transactions on a routine basis.
In theory, the system should reduce costs and unintentional errors through embedding checks in the process of lodging these forms. Currently the paper-based system is arguably more prone to human error, though computer systems depend greatly on the security that sits behind them and the mistakes potentially made by the keystroke operators.
From the point of the real estate industry, it increases productivity and can provide simpler and easier access to real-time data in relation to the property and to the state of the transaction.
Because money is transferred electronically within moments of the settlement occurring, it reduces the current gap that occurs between settlement and registration within paper-based systems. The new system should streamline the complex legal problems that can sometimes occur in transactions.
It should help resolve a category of irreconcilable legal decisions around the priority between two unregistered interests, where there’s one interest in a property and a second interest is also created in the period between settlement and registration. At the moment, judicial bodies resolve these on a case by case basis, but with PEXA reducing the gap between settlement and registration, the opportunity for these sorts of conflicts should disappear.
<h2>Risks of paperless property exchange</h2>
The first sale using PEXA has already occurred with the five largest states already using the system.
But with any development comes risks. At its heart conveyancing requires that a purchaser be able to identify the vendor, verify that the vendor is indeed the owner of the land, and finally, confirm that this vendor has the right to deal with that land and is not constrained by others (such as a mortgagee). These requirements are key to preventing identity fraud.
PEXA’s response has been to impose significant identity verification requirements that can exceed the well-known 100 point requirements to open a bank account. Purchases by overseas parties have had significantly greater requirements for identity verification imposed upon them.
However identity fraud will continue to pose a threat in the PEXA environment if users are not vigilant in complying with these enhanced identity requirements. There may also be risks in the movement of funds at settlement. Because this occurs electronically, the capacity to cancel cheques paid in settlement before these cheques are cashed will disappear.
The risk of a person accessing the computer system fraudulently and altering multiple records is palpable.
At its heart, what this new era does is reallocate risk. Lawyers, conveyancing agents, mortgagees, assurance funds and land title registries have for close to 150 years of private law jurisprudence on title by registration developed a complex series of rules governing this allocation.
The new dawn of electronic conveyancing will inevitably provoke new jurisprudence with the stakeholders jousting for position. Whoever emerges with the least amount of risk attached to them will be a powerful player in this new paperless property market.
To read more from The Conversation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-the-paperless-property-market-works-62109" target="_blank">click here</a>.
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How the paperless property market works

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Phillipa McCormack, University of Tasmania; Jan McDonald, University of Tasmania
Australia’s conservation laws presume that we can preserve everything in its natural state. But in a changing world, we'll have to be more flexible than that.
Australia recently gained an unenviable title: perhaps the first country to lose a mammal species to climate change. The Bramble Cay Melomys, a native rodent found on one tiny sand island in the remote northern regions of the Great Barrier Reef, reportedly became extinct after rising seas destroyed its habitat.
The melomys' likely extinction is a symptom of the massive changes taking place across the natural world. Faced with these changes, we cannot possibly save every species without increasing funding for conservation.
We should be trying to conserve everything we can, or at least minimising the number of plants, animals and ecosystems that are lost. The problem is that Australia’s conservation laws presume that we can preserve everything in its natural state. But in a changing world, we’ll have to be more flexible than that.
<h2>The new nature</h2>
Our conservation laws were drafted on the assumption that, if human intervention could be avoided or managed, plants and animals would survive in their natural, pristine environments.
We now know that that is not the case. Nature is dynamic. Humans have had a pervasive influence on the environment and recent research suggests that pristine environments no longer exist.
Climate change will rapidly accelerate environmental change. Shifting temperature and rainfall will shift the specific conditions that species depend on to survive. Everything will be on the move.
On top of these gradual climate shifts, more frequent and intense bushfires, storms and heatwaves will destroy some habitats and increase the threatened status of many species. In some cases, these extreme events may result in localised extinctions.
Climate change is creating new problems for biodiversity (such as new invasive species) and is making existing problems worse (such as by changing fire patterns).
<h2>What does conservation mean if we can’t save everything?</h2>
Far from making conservation law irrelevant, these challenges mean that conservation policy and laws are more important than ever.
Expanding land and marine reserves, restoring and connecting habitat with other areas, and reducing other threats such land clearing or feral animals are all important climate adaptation strategies.
But many Australian plants and animals will not be able to move fast enough to escape extreme events or to keep pace with their specific climate niches on their own. To conserve these species, we may need to engage in high‑intervention conservation strategies, such as assisted colonisation.
This involves moving an individual, population or species to a place where it has never been found before. This tactic is being investigated for the endangered Western Swamp Tortoise in Western Australia, as its wetland habitat begins to dry out.
Conservation laws in Australia were not designed to accommodate these kinds of dynamic and proactive approaches to conservation management.
<h2>Legal road blocks</h2>
Current conservation laws promote keeping or returning the environment to what it used to be, whether that is pristine or not.
In a recent paper, we looked at three ways laws may impede conservation in a changing world.
First, current laws emphasise maintaining the current status and location of ecosystems and their constituent parts, or returning them to an “undisturbed” state.
Second, they place high value on biodiversity that is rare, native and wild.
Finally, they emphasise reserves (especially on public land) as the sites for most conservation effort.
For example, national park laws typically require agencies to conserve national parks in their natural state. This is usually defined by the plants and animals that are already there or that have been found there in the past.
But some species might need to be moved into national parks, even if they have never been found there before, or out of national parks to somewhere more climatically suitable. Current laws do not let us do this.
Rather than an outdated idea of what is “natural”, we need new objectives that focus on diversity and ecosystem function and health. If introducing a plant or animal into a national park will increase its chance of surviving under climate change and will not undermine the health of the park’s ecosystems, the introduction should not be excluded just because the species is not “native” to that specific park. This approach would help species adapt through movement across boundaries.
<h2>Letting species go</h2>
Another example of a potential legal roadblock is the emphasis on individual threatened species in both legal protection and funding. For instance, the Coalition government has pledged AU$5 million for specific actions to protect some of the most endangered of Australia’s listed threatened species.
But this is an example of assuming that we can save everything. The contracting ranges and already precarious status of many listed speciesmake it unlikely that we will be able to conserve them all, and impossible to do so in their historic locations.
Choices based on what species we fund are rarely transparent and the public is rarely consulted about what we value the most. We need to have a conversation about how we value species and ecosystems in a changing world. If more people realised that we cannot save everything, perhaps more people would demand that appropriate funding is allocated to saving as much as possible.
While funding remains limited, we need objectives that reflect the certainty of some loss of species in the wild and that clearly define the criteria we are using for targeting some species for protection while letting others go.
Our conservation laws direct how we will act to save species and ecosystems under climate change, and whether we will succeed. But climate change makes our current objectives unachievable.
We must not give up on conserving as much as we can as the climate changes. Laws can be used to help us achieve this goal. But we urgently need a national conversation about what reform is needed to ensure the best possible conservation results for Australia’s precious wildlife, plants and ecosystems.
 
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We can't save all wildlife, so conservation laws need to change

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RBA Governor Glenn Stevens' July 2016 statement
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent. 
The global economy is continuing to grow, at a lower than average pace. Several advanced economies have recorded improved conditions over the past year, but conditions have become more difficult for a number of emerging market economies. China's growth rate has moderated further, though recent actions by Chinese policymakers are supporting the near-term outlook.
Commodity prices are above recent lows, but this follows very substantial declines over the past couple of years. Australia's terms of trade remain much lower than they had been in recent years.
Financial markets have been volatile recently as investors have re-priced assets after the UK referendum. But most markets have continued to function effectively. Funding costs for high-quality borrowers remain low and, globally, monetary policy remains remarkably accommodative. Any effects of the referendum outcome on global economic activity remain to be seen and, outside the effects on the UK economy itself, may be hard to discern.
In Australia, recent data suggest overall growth is continuing, despite a very large decline in business investment. Other areas of domestic demand, as well as exports, have been expanding at a pace at or above trend. Labour market indicators have been more mixed of late, but are consistent with a modest pace of expansion in employment in the near term.
Inflation has been quite low. Given very subdued growth in labour costs and very low cost pressures elsewhere in the world, this is expected to remain the case for some time.
Low interest rates have been supporting domestic demand and the lower exchange rate since 2013 is helping the traded sector. Financial institutions are in a position to lend and credit growth has been moderate. These factors are all assisting the economy to make the necessary economic adjustments, though an appreciating exchange rate could complicate this.
Indications are that the effects of supervisory measures have strengthened lending standards in the housing market. Separately, a number of lenders are also taking a more cautious attitude to lending in certain segments. Dwelling prices have risen again in many parts of the country over recent months. But considerable supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years, particularly in the eastern capital cities.
Taking account of the available information, the Board judged that holding monetary policy steady would be prudent at this meeting. Over the period ahead, further information should allow the Board to refine its assessment of the outlook for growth and inflation and to make any adjustment to the stance of policy that may be appropriate.
 
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Watch the considerable apartment supply: RBA Governor Glenn Stevens' July 2016 statement

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Property tax depreciation is calculated on two different aspects of your asset, Depreciating Assets and Building Allowances. Depreciating Assets include plant and equipment, things like carpets, lifts, appliances and white goods. Building Allowances are primarily based on the building and structure of your asset.
We, Napier &amp; Blakeley, were the first in Australia to provide professional, specialised property tax depreciation advice, and now over 30 years later we’re still the market leaders. A professional property tax depreciation schedule can boost your cash flow potentially by tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your investment.
Yet so many property owners stumble. A simple lack of knowledge and the specialist nature of property tax depreciation means investors often under-claim and at times even avoid the process missing out on thousands. Unfortunately many investors rely on their financial advisors or generic advisors who really cannot dissect a property and its component parts and, they may not maximise the potential benefits.
Remember that no property is too old or small to benefit from a professionally prepared property tax deprecation schedule. Whether it be commercial, residential or industrial, brand new, renovated or just old, every investment property has the potential to further increase your cash-flow. There's hard cash sitting there waiting to be claimed. It's just a matter of taking the first step in the right direction, and that's where NBtax comes in.
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NBtax combines cloud-based data management with our specialist experience.  With an NBtax property depreciation schedule for your investment you’re able to relax and know that we’ve got your back. Our Quantity Surveyors are some of the most experienced in the industry and their objective is to produce a maximised property tax depreciation schedule tailored to your investment.
It's a wise move, an easy process. More cash and peace of mind – the best of both worlds with NBtax.
Contact one of our specialists for <a href="https://nbtax.com.au/" target="_blank">further information</a>.
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It’s tax time and NBtax is here to help

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Rental properties make money for investors through income and capital gains, both of which are taxable. Depending on your annual income from investments, wages and other sources, tax can eat up a sizable chunk of your returns.
One way to minimise your tax bill is to ensure you’re claiming all of the deductions you can on your investment property.
Expenses you incur due to owning a rental property can be offset set against the income the investment brings in.
If the deductions add up to more than the income, you can offset the tax loss against earnings from other sources. If the income is higher than the total value of deductions, you must pay tax on the excess.
For more tax planning tips for property investment in the new financial year, download our free eBook from Mortgage Down.
For more information, contact Mortgage Down by <a href="https://mortgagedown.com.au" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.
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How to maximise your tax advantages and pay off your home sooner

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

Joel Robinson

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Local Little Bay residents, along with buyers from premium postcodes across Sydney’s affluent Eastern Suburbs, have dominated purchases in developer-builder Urban Property Group’s first Eastern Suburbs apartment development, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a>.

The $250 million coastal project, one of the first new developments in the area in several years, has proven particularly popular with downsizers, especially those from Coogee and Bondi. One Double Bay downsizer paid $4.7 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, setting a new local apartment price record in the process.

Buyers have been attracted to the combination of coastal tranquillity, premium design and amenity-rich neighbourhood living. The walkable village setting, along with proximity to three of Sydney’s leading golf courses, New South Wales Golf Club, St Michael’s Golf Club and The Coast Golf Club, has also been a key drawcard.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352689]

Built across two low-rise buildings designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hill-thalis-architecture-urban-projects-pty-ltd">Hill Thalis</a> and set along a lush, landscaped green spine, designed by leading landscape architect <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>, ESTE Little Bay offers a collection of one, two, three and four-bedroom residences with interiors by Richards Stanisich.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> Sales Director, Tom McIvor said the response to ESTE has been "nothing short of extraordinary."

“Buyers have been quick to recognise ESTE as a rare opportunity to invest in a coastal sanctuary that offers both seclusion and connectivity to the heart of Sydney,” McIvor said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352687]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">SRM Residential</a> Senior Director, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">Clayton Ross</a> said the local market has responded incredibly well, driven by ESTE’s exceptional location and the rarity it offers.

“We’ve seen strong interest from a variety of buyer groups, all of whom are drawn to the exclusivity and quality of the build and construction by the 4.5-star iCIRT-rated builder / developer, Urban Property Group. There’s truly nothing else like it along Sydney’s coastline.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352690]

The project also includes robust buyer protections, including Resilience Insurance’s Latent Defects Insurance, providing 10 years of structural cover, and an independent iCIRT-rating of the developer.

“The iCIRT-rating adds another layer of confidence,” Ross added. “Buyers see it as a safeguard for their investment and their lifestyle.” A highlight of ESTE’s offering is its exclusive wellness amenities, including a heated rooftop infinity pool and outdoor heated spa, a state-of-the-art Technogym fitness centre, and a sauna.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a> is topped out and is on track to complete towards the end of 2026, with residents moving in before Christmas.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112343]

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