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<img src="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/images/supermarket-power-600-4057.jpg">
Source: <a href="https://www.farmersjournal.ie/">The Farmers Journal</a>.
This infographic first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Infographic: The power of supermarkets

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Many property investors see land tax as an unavoidable evil, hard to get around and often simply the ‘price of doing business’ in this area.
But there are some ways to mitigate the effects of land tax on your property asset and cash flow. The best option depends on how you’ve structured your investments and planned your investing.
How it works
Land tax is levied annually on the value of your unimproved land holdings, determined as at 31 December each year. General exemptions exist in many States, such as the exemption for your primary place of residence or for land used for primary production. But vacant land, holiday homes and investment properties can all incur land tax liabilities.
Land tax is charged as a percentage of the total taxable land holdings value on a calendar year basis. Some States have a flat rate and others have a sliding scale. Most have a ‘tax free threshold’ so land tax isn’t payable until your land value exceeds the threshold. Some States also charge a different rate of land tax to trusts compared to individuals.
Who pays it?
As an individual, you are eligible to pay land tax in Victoria if your land holdings have a total taxable value of $250,000 or more. The taxable value of land is the site value provided by the relevant municipal council and can be found on your council rates notice.
Many people use trusts for asset protection and estate planning purposes. In Victoria trusts must pay a surcharge (subject to various exclusions) on top of the general rates of land tax.
It’s worth noting that some trusts - such as charitable trusts can be exempt from the land-tax surcharge. A Principal Place of Residence (PPR) Nomination may also exclude a trust from the surcharge if the trust’s beneficiary is using a residence owned by a trust as their family home.
It is important to remember that the taxpayer must notify the State Revenue Office if circumstances change. For example; if your principal place of residence is rented out for more than six months in a calendar year and you don’t notify the State Revenue Office you can face significant penalties.
When you begin to invest in property, land tax may not be a material consideration, but as additional properties are acquired the annual land tax assessment can become substantial. So what can you do to minimise your land tax obligations?
Invest in different states
Land tax is a State based tax - holdings in one State are not aggregated with holdings in another. Each State has its own land tax regime, with most States offering investors a tax-free land tax threshold. Consequently, investors may be able to own an investment property in each State before incurring a land tax liability. Concentrating your investment properties in one State means you cannot take advantage of the land-tax threshold available in other States.
Invest in different names
Holding all your investment properties in one name can result in substantial land tax assessments. Each individual has a tax-free threshold, so spreading ownership will often reduce land tax. For example, you may own one property, your spouse another, with a third property held in joint names or owned by a trust.
 If you own property jointly, remember that each owner is equally liable for the land tax assessed on any jointly owned land. An assessment will be issued to one of the joint owners on behalf of all owners.
If you hold additional land to that held jointly you will be separately assessed on your total land holdings, including your share of the jointly owned land. You will reduce your land tax liabilities for the tax already paid.
If investing in different corporations, it is important to remember that grouping provisions can deem related entities to be grouped if the management and control of the entities are the same. This will result in the taxable land values being aggregated for land tax calculations, rather than each corporation having its’ own tax free threshold.
Invest in Units/Apartments
As land tax is only based on the value of the land, there can be cash flow advantages to buying property with a very small land component. However, if you decide to invest in a unit or apartment, remember that the annual body corporate fees can often exceed your land tax liability. Further consideration needs to be given to the appreciation of the land value as opposed to short-term cash flow savings.
These are all useful ideas to consider when talking to your financial advisor or accountant about how to make your property investment as effective as possible. Remember, too, that while minimising land tax can have immediate cash-flow advantages, any land or property acquisitions should be made as part of a balanced, long-term and diversified investment strategy.
Danielle Canterford is an accountant <a href="https://www.marinaccountants.com.au/" target="_blank">Marin Accountants</a>, a firm specialising in advice for individuals, investors and family businesses. 
You can contact Danielle via <a href="mailto:daniellec@marinaccountants.com.au" target="_blank">email </a>or call (03) 9645 9229.
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Mitigating the effect of land tax on your property assets and cash flow

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A textile manufacturing company that has been operating in the Victorian regional city of Wangaratta for more than sixty years has collapsed into liquidation due to the offshoring of government contracts and an increasingly competitive market.
Bruck Textile Technologies <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/42794-popular-cake-business-with-reality-tv-show-collapses-for-a-second-time" target="_blank">went into liquidation</a> on 11 July, with Barry Taylor and Andrew Needham from HLB Mann Judd appointed as liquidators.
Speaking to SmartCompany, Taylor said in prior years the manufacturer had a turnover of around $56 million.
“More recently to June 2013 it had dropped to about $38 million,” he said.
Taylor said creditors are owed around $7-8 million, with employees’ entitlements estimated to be worth an additional $4 million.
In recent days the textile manufacturer has been <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wangaratta-textile-maker-shreds-company-sheds-worker-entitlements-20140713-zt65q" target="_blank">accused of deliberately entering into a questionable business arrangement</a> with another company, Australian Textile Mills, to avoid paying 60 redundant workers their entitlements – including annual leave, long service leave and redundancy pay entitlements.
This has caused Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz to refer the matter to ASIC, and Taylor said as joint liquidator he is instructing solicitors to review the transaction.
“ASIC have been in touch with us and we are assisting them with their enquiries,” he said.
In a statement, Australian Textile Mills chief executive Geoff Parker told SmartCompany Bruck Textile Technologies was a company losing money despite its best efforts.
“With the demise of the local automotive industry and the offshoring of key government contracts, it was not a sustainable business and was incurring ongoing, significant losses,” said Parker.
“Under this strain, in the last six months alone, significant funds were invested by the shareholder to fund day to day activities, which was simply not sustainable,” he said.
Parker said the manufacturer’s board took professional financial and legal advice and decided it either had to liquidate the company – which would have affected more than 200 jobs – or sell the business to Australian Textile Mills in order to retain two-thirds of its staff.
Parker said all creditors will be paid and Australian Textile Mills will take on liabilities of approximately $20 million.
“The Directors of Australian Textile Mills are confident that they have made the correct decision,” said Parker.
“The only other option would have been far more devastating to the local Wangaratta community, creditors and employees.”
Bruck Textile Technologies has a long history in northeast Victoria and Cathy McGowan, the local federal MP, told SmartCompany there has been a huge amount of support shown for the workers both in Parliament and Wangaratta itself.
“The footwear clothing and textile industry is a very tough industry and it’s extraordinarily competitive,” says McGowan.
“This is a wake-up call for this sector in rural and regional areas.”
McGowan says it’s crucial for government to work with business in order to create an environment where manufacturing can reach its long-term potential.
“When businesses get into trouble they have to seek advice early,” says McGowan.
“There is absolutely no point in waiting until the death knoll. In a much bigger context, we need to look at how we can plan for the future of manufacturing.”
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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60-year-old Wangaratta manufacturing giant collapses

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Bali… Bucolic Bliss or Beach Bellini? 
The dream of buying a second home in Bali is a reality for many Australians, particularly retirees, people working in the Asia region and those with fly-in, fly-out jobs. 
One of our most popular destinations for a quick and cheap tropical getaway, Bali has a broad range of property options. But prices are not cheap anymore due to strong consumer demand driven by wealthy Indonesians (mostly from Jakarta and Surabaya), buyers from Australia and Europe, and Asian expats from Hong Kong and Singapore. 
During the past five years, Bali has become a major investment opportunity, especially for the luxury property market. Since early 2012 land prices have skyrocketed - particularly in Legian, Seminyak and Petitenget, thriving beachside lifestyle areas with a plethora of luxury villas, upmarket hotels, shopping boutiques, world-class restaurants, bars and clubs.
Given soaring prices around Seminyak, developers and villa buyers have looked further afield. Many moved north up the coast and also inland to areas such as Canggu, Tabanan and Tanah Lot, and in the other direction to Uluwatu, a windswept area on the island's most southern tip.
A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/09/bali-property-frenzy-islanders-boom" target="_blank">report in The Guardian</a> states: “Development can be seen pretty much everywhere along the southern coast, with old buildings bulldozed to make way for new commercial properties, among them glittering cafes and restaurant ventures to cater to the ever-burgeoning market of wealthy clientele.”
“In the upmarket beachfront Canggu area, Echo Beach is now home to an InterContinental hotel and the Sea Sentosa project, a resort that calls itself "the benchmark for unparalleled luxury", while a Sunset Road extension is planned to link the capital, Denpasar, with Bali's more western beaches.”  
Land prices also have surged around seaside Sanur (an area inhabited since the 1960s by bule, the Balinese term for foreigners) and the cultural mountain village of Ubud, known for its yoga retreats, art galleries and brilliant green rice terraces. According to research by Elite Havens, Ubud’s land prices increased by about 55% during 2012. 
There are a range of alternatives for structuring one’s property ownership in Bali, but that is a story for another day.
This week our property contrarians, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, choose their pick of villas for sale in Bali’s bucolic inland village regions and blissful beachside areas.
HE SAID:<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" style="float: right;">
I prefer Bali’s inland regions for the peace, privacy and traditional village life. For me, this is the real Bali. 
I enjoy waking to crowing roosters, the distinctive sound of gamelan music drifting across rice terraces at sunset, and the ubiquitous village religious ceremonies with temple dancers wearing elaborate head dresses, women balancing enormous offering baskets on their heads, and men carrying umbrellas for the gods. 
All this and more is on offer at a blissfully bucolic villa in the charming village of Buduk in the Canggu region. While it feels miles from nowhere, the beautifully appointed 450 square metre villa is a five minutes minute drive from the new hotel/restaurant precinct of Echo Beach, and 8 kilometres (or 25 minute drive) north-west of the trendy restaurant area of Seminyak.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%20two.jpg" alt="">
Built four years ago, and renovated extensively last year, the villas stands privately on an elevated 1,460 square metre block with picturesque views of surrounding rice fields and a church spire in the distance.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%20three.jpg" alt="">
There are three oversize double bedrooms (each with air-conditioning, bespoke joinery and a limestone ensuite) including the master suite with a separate room suited to an office or television/media room.
Honed marble floors and soaring vaulted ceilings are features of the enormous 20 metre x 7 metre living/dining zone with a custom-designed teak and terrazzo kitchen and bar at one end. Concealed behind the kitchen is second kitchen for staff and caterers. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%20five.jpg" alt="">
Outside are a 14-metre swimming pool and a luxuriously appointed open-air living/entertainment “bale” with bespoke cabinetry and glorious views. Other features include staff quarters, a double carport, guest parking and a koi pond. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%20six.jpg" alt="">
The property is for sale at US$895,000<a href="https://www.baliselectproperty.com/Property?PropertyId=7100" target="_blank"> through Adrian Savage at Bali Select Property</a>.
Margie Blok's choice is on the next page. Please click below.
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" style="float: left;">
SHE SAID:
It’s the beach for me - but not busy tourist precincts or seaside villages that take hours to reach by car.
I love Bali’s East Coast. In particular, the quiet coastal village of Saba, 15 minutes drive from Sanur, 30 minutes from the airport (via the new Benoa bypass road), 20 minutes from Denpasar and 40 minutes from Ubud.
The Saba property I would buy (if I had US$4 million to throw around) is a <a href="https://www.elitehavenssales.com/property/63/East-coast-luxury" target="_blank">magnificent 5,000 square metres beachfront estate</a> with approximately 70 metres of beach frontage, and a superb five-bedroom villa compound consisting of two dwellings that combine Bali’s traditional elements with western luxury. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20two.jpg" alt="">
Approached by a scenic drive through rice fields, the property is at the end of very long paved driveway/private road. Surrounded by manicured gardens with vast level lawns and a sparkling swimming pool measuring 18 metres by 7 metres, the two-storey main residence has an enormous master bedroom suite (with a dressing room and stunning bathroom) on the upper level. 
At entry level are an impressive entrance foyer, vast open-plan living and dining areas (flowing to the grounds outside), a large modern kitchen, two bedroom suites (with beach views) and a beautifully appointed guest bathroom. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20one.jpg" alt="">
Also in the grounds is a spacious wantilan (an outdoor meeting and entertainment pavilion used for lounging and dining) with a bathroom and a kitchen. 
The second dwelling is a self-contained guest house with a living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20three.jpg" alt="">
Certain to appreciate in value given its size and beachside location, the 5,000 square metre estate includes staff quarters and a 2,000 square metre parcel of vacant land which the owners have kept undeveloped as a green belt for absolute privacy.  The 2,000 sqm parcel could be developed or sold separately.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20four.jpg" alt="">
Since Bali property prices skyrocketed, it is impossible to find a beachfront property of this size with such close proximity to Sanur. When you consider the cost of land in this premium beachfront precinct, you are practically getting the house for nothing in the property’s US$4 million price.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20five.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20six.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/07/18/bali%20july%2018%202%20seven.jpg" alt="">
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Bali… Bucolic Bliss or Beach Bellini? He Said/She Said

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In response to Terry Ryder's article published on Property Observer on July 9.
I have respected Terry for many years as an industry commentator - and still do.  I am appreciative, however, to have the opportunity to share a few things with Property Observer readers following Terry's 9 July article in which he discusses myself and my business.
Prior to beginning my property investment journey back in the early 2000s, I had very little. Through motivation, self-education (reading industry articles written by the likes of Terry for example) and the support and guidance of a trusted few, I went from strength to strength. I'm now recognised as one of the most successful property investors in Australia under 40 - which still amazes me when I think back to where I started. Having achieved this new life for myself, the obvious next step to me was to share everything I had learnt over the years with others, so that they too could create better lives for themselves.
As a property investment mentor and coach, establishing and preserving my clients' trust is absolutely paramount. Without this trust, I would not have seen my property business experience such incredible growth over the past five years.  
I value honesty and integrity above all else and these values are instilled in my company and my team. I am committed to providing accurate, informative market information to my clients to help them in their decision making processes and education, and I am transparent in terms of my company's commercial interests. 
While I have market expertise in the resources towns of WA's northwest, it is by no means limited or restricted to these areas - my company is also active in Perth, Queensland and NSW.  We strongly promote diversification in all our clients' property portfolios and many of my blogs and articles have highlighted the importance of this.
Further, my approach to coaching - and the approach of my business - is founded on the rigorous risk and financial assessment of all our clients. No two clients are the same and strategies are tailored as such. 
My opinions on where investors should and shouldn't be looking to invest are based on my expert knowledge of these areas - and each article clearly states the risks involved.
Terry Ryder did not refer to the relevant person by name in his article, so Property Observer chose to publish this letter of response anonymously. 
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Letter to the editor

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The government has grabbed an unlikely victory to preserve its changes to Labor’s Future of Financial Advice legislation, after a last minute deal with Clive Palmer.
Just over a week after Palmer insisted his party would not be swayed by government lobbying and “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/comment/fofa-your-financial-planner-is-about-to-send-you-a-letter-but-its-not-enough-20140714-zt6gi" target="_blank">they can stick it up their arse</a>”, PUP senators and their ally, Motoring Enthusiast Ricky Muir voted against disallowance of the regulations.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, desperate to preserve his changes – which are widely condemned by consumer and seniors' groups as watering down FoFA – secured PUP by agreeing to make further regulations spelling out protections.
For Cormann, regarded as one of the most ideological in the government, it was a significant personal victory.
Palmer’s U-turn will give the government greater hope for cutting deals with PUP on other issues. Hours before the Senate vote, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told the Coalition parties the government was still “learning to deal with the crossbenchers” to achieve its agenda.
The government now knows that even the most unequivocal statements by Palmer are not necessarily immutable – that, whatever he’s said, he may be willing to play. This presumably increases the incentive for it to humour him when it can – provided he doesn’t set the price too high. It will be a game of wits.
On FoFA, Palmer has ended up centre stage, rather than just being part of a political consortium (with Labor and Greens) saying no. He was able to claim ownership of the outcome. “I was negotiating as hard as I could for the people of Australia,” he told reporters.
He negotiated into the early hours of Tuesday. The terms of the deal were read into the Hansard by Cormann (presumably Palmer thought one couldn’t be too careful).
Publicly, the issue was surrounded by confusion. At one stage on Tuesday morning Labor seemed confident it had the PUPs in its camp.
The government will be delighted to have got its way, but it risks alienating older voters, an important Liberal constituency. Its actions continue to carry significant dangers for the Coalition; Labor can campaign on bringing back stronger consumer protections.
Chief executive of National Seniors Australia Michael O'Neill, who previously had exchanges of text messages in which Palmer indicated he was on side with their concerns, accused the PUP leader of stringing him along.
“Changes as important as this should not have been developed in a deal that excluded all the key interests,” O'Neill said.
Palmer indicated it wasn’t just the consumer groups who’d not been consulted – he said he hadn’t spoken with the financial advice industry either in developing his proposals. “I thought it out. I drew on my own experience,” he said, but then quickly mentioned the “team” of senators.
In his letter to Palmer, Cormann pledged the government would make further regulations within 90 days to ensure certain requirements “are explicitly listed in the Statement of Advice provided by financial advisers to their client and signed off by both”. (In fact they’re already in law or in practice covered by professional standards.)
The requirements are that the adviser has to act in the best interests of the client and prioritise the client’s interests ahead of their own; fees are to be disclosed and the adviser will provide an annual fee disclosure statement for post 1 July 2013 arrangements; a client can return financial products under a 14-day cooling off period; and the client has the right to change instructions to the adviser, if for example they experience a change in their circumstances.
The government also agreed to work in consultation with stakeholders to “establish an enhanced public register of financial advisers”, including advisers who were employees. It would have on it their credentials and status in the industry. The initiative for this, a proposal supported by various inquiries and submissions, came from Motoring Enthusiast Ricky Muir.
The vote was lost 31-34, with the minority comprising Labor, the Greens and independent Nick Xenophon. The DLP’s John Madigan abstained.
Critics condemn the Palmer deal as adding red tape without significantly increasing protections.
Cormann won over Palmer on the day when the interim report of the inquiry into Australia’s financial system, chaired by the former CEO of the Commonwealth Bank David Murray, said it “considers the principle of consumers being able to access advice that helps them meet their financial needs is undermined by the existence of conflicted remuneration structures in financial advice”.
While the government insists it has retained the ban on commissions and conflicted advice its changes allow incentive payments for general advice in certain situations.
The government’s regulations have survived despite the background of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia scandal in which many people lost their savings due to bad or fraudulent advice. In the Coalition parties room on Tuesday National party minister Luke Hartsuyker revealed that his parents had been victims of the CBA affair and said there should be a new Senate inquiry. Treasurer Joe Hockey, whose mother-in-law also lost money (although was later compensated) lashed out at the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, saying it is “failed miserably and I am very, very unhappy with this”.
In the Senate, Labor’s Sam Dastyari used the line that’s becoming the opposition’s mantra: the PUP was “wagging the tail wagging the dog”. To the Palmerites, he said: “You have been sold a pup”.
There’s another way of looking at it. At the end of the day, Palmer wanted PUP to have the last bark.
Michelle Grattan is one of Australia's most respected and awarded political journalists. Michelle currently has a dual role with an academic position at the University of Canberra and as associate editor (politics) and chief political correspondent at The Conversation.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. 
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FoFA deal encourages government to humour Palmer

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GUEST OBSERVATION
At the current frequency of financial system inquiries (Campbell 1982, Wallis 1997, Murray 2014) there will not be another until 2030. That makes this week’s interim report from David Murray all the more critical.
By far the biggest problem with Australia’s financial system is the retirement savings system. Its fundamentally flawed structure is damaging the welfare of millions of Australian households.
There are three closely related problems. First, Australia’s retirement system forces households to make complex decisions that most households are not well placed to make.
Households in Australia have more freedom in managing their retirement savings than in any other developed country. That freedom would be terrific if it was matched by a world-leading level of financial literacy, but it is not. So the putative freedom is really more a burden to the majority of households who cannot navigate a complicated system without help from advisers.
The second problem is the poor quality of financial advice provided to households. The certification required to be employed as a financial adviser is an RG146. A person of average ability takes a few weeks to meet the RG146 requirements. That is, with a few weeks' training almost anyone can be employed in a financial advisory group and advise households on their lifetime savings.
The knowledge hurdle for financial adviser certification is not low because the requisite knowledge is small. It is low because of political pressure not to make it too high. In the 1980s and 1990s the life insurance sales sector morphed into the financial advice sector. Financial advice deals with much more complicated questions than insurance but the sector was able to resist regulation that would force its members to be properly trained.
Lobbyists have won
To this day the financial advisory firms have successfully resisted attempts to raise the bar on the expertise required by their employees to provide financial advice. Because most financial advisers are so poorly trained they cannot provide quality advice solutions to the problems of their clients. Most financial advisory firms simply have a set of cookie-cutter solutions for clients and the financial adviser’s job is to decide which cookie cutter goes with which client.
The third problem is by the far the most important. Most financial advisers have a substantial conflict of interest – the interests of their employer are at odds with the interests of their clients.
To make the point imagine the following situation. Your doctor is an employee of the Acme Drug Company. Acme has a suite of drugs covering many but not all medical conditions. For some conditions the Acme drug is the best, but for many conditions there are better drugs.
You pay for medical advice by the hour, but your doctor is paid by Acme. Your doctor can prescribe whichever drug she chooses, but her compensation depends on the volume of Acme drugs she prescribes, not other drugs.
Even though the medical profession has a well-deserved reputation for putting patients first, drug companies are not allowed to own medical practices. It is obvious that vertical integration in the medical system, where drug companies employed doctors, would corrupt the system. Sadly, this is exactly the situation we have in the retirement savings sector in Australia.
Conflicts remain
Over 80% of financial advisers work for firms that are either directly owned by, or very closely affiliated with, firms that provide a suite of financial management products. When a household goes to a financial advisory firm they will most likely be talking to a financial adviser who works for a firm that is vertically integrated with a provider of financial products. The financial adviser may or may not be free to select whichever financial products he chooses for the client’s solution, but he will only be compensated for recommending his own product provider (investment management firm).
This obvious conflict of interest is leading to dreadful outcomes in Australia. Households are being put into retail funds when they would be better off in industry funds. They are being put into very high-fee investment products when low-fee products would deliver the same expected returns before fees. They are being encouraged to borrow money to invest, to be underdiversified, to make the wrong decisions all around.
The financial system inquiry should address each of these three problems. First, it should recommend the federal government implement a long-term program of public education about fundamental ideas in retirement savings: save while you are young, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and get a second opinion from an adviser who is certified as independent.
Second, it should insist on a proper level of training for all financial advisers.
Third, it should insist that financial advisers cannot be affiliated with financial product providers in any way – using the medical sector as its template.
The missing institution
There is another retirement savings problem that is of first order importance but unrelated to financial advice. Elderly households need a way of releasing the equity in their homes without the uncertainty that they will lose control of their residence.
The largest form of saving that most Australian households undertake over their lifetimes is that they buy homes that appreciate in value. The equity that Australian households have in residential real estate (value minus debt) is about A$2.8 trillion. That is nearly twice the A$1.6 trillion that Australian households have in retirement savings. Yet, there is no direct connection between these great pools of value.
There is a missing institution in the Australian financial system. What is needed is a financial organisation that will allow Australian households to borrow against their homes without any fear of losing control of the home and at an interest rate close to government treasury rates.
There are reverse mortgage products in the market. But those products are too expensive and poorly structured for most households. Releasing the equity in the homes of retirees is essential for solving the fiscal problems of the ageing of the Australian population.
Sam Wylie is principal fellow at <a href="https://mbs.edu/Pages/Default.aspx" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Melbourne Business School</a><img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/28725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.3em;">.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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Three financial system flaws David Murray can’t ignore

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GUEST OBSERVATION
When the powerful gather for the G20 summit in Brisbane this November, the core mandate is to discuss measures to support global economic growth, including trade liberalisation, investment and infrastructure development.
These discussions are very important for tourism – an industry that relies on the free movement of people and goods. Issues such as lifting visa restrictions are central to the mandate of agencies such as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. In fact, at a time where we believe that people can travel freely wherever and whenever they like to, an astonishing 110 million international tourists – or 17% of all international arrivals – still require paper visas to be able to visit G20 countries.
Reducing barriers through visa requirements is essential for international tourism. Research commissioned by the <a href="https://www.wttc.org/site_media/uploads/downloads/Impact_ASEAN.PDF" target="_blank">World Travel and Tourism Council</a> (WTTC) in 2014 showed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would gain between 6 to 10 million additional international tourist arrivals by 2016 if they facilitated and improved visa processes.
Tourism relies on safe destinations and political security, something that cannot be emphasised enough in the light of current <a href="https://www.globalconflictmap.com/" target="_blank">“conflict hotspots”</a> globally (including the Middle East, Ukraine, and the South China Sea). <a href="https://www.iipt.org/" target="_blank">Some</a> even point to tourism as a force for peace as it fosters inter-cultural understanding and friendly exchange between nations.
Directly, the summit leads to travel of those participating in it. What could be coined <a href="https://www.uper.org/UPER-martinotti.pdf" target="_blank">“political tourism”</a>, political meetings and conferences induce substantial amounts of travel. For the G20 in Brisbane it is expected that there will be about 4,000 delegates (some of whom will arrive with their families), 3,000 media, and 5,300 police from interstate and New Zealand.
Business tourism is often overlooked when we discuss tourism, but the <a href="https://www.wttc.org/research/policy-research/business-travel-research/">WTTC</a> established a compelling link between business travel and global trade: one third of growth in trade globally over the last 10 years can be attributed to business-related travel and resulting increases in corporate productivity. WTTC’s analysis also shows that if business travel was reduced by one quarter for two consecutive years, global GDP would be 5% lower than if travel continued as normal.
The average business tourist in Australia spends A$280 per night, compared with a holiday visitor who spends $162.
Research on the economic benefit of G8 and G20 summits valued the 2009 and 2010 US and Canada summits at US$135 million and US$95.4 million respectively. The benefits measured include the immediate spending of participants and longer-term effects of increased investment, infrastructure and training. Similar numbers have been advanced as an <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/study-shows-g20-hosts-reap-the-economic-benefits-20131202-2ym6j#ixzz34IbfpFoa" target="_blank">estimate</a> for the Brisbane summit.
How is Australia performing?
Eleven out of Australia’s top 20 international markets are G20 members. Amongst these are key markets such as China, the US, Japan, Korea and the UK. Other G20 countries, such as Russia, Brazil or Saudi Arabia, are not yet in the top 20 markets to Australia, but are seen as promising “emerging markets”.
Considering many of the traditional markets to Australia have been stagnating since the global financial crisis, and emerging markets are experiencing fast growth, increasing destination awareness in these countries represents a significant opportunity.
But focusing on one event, and dedicating tourism infrastructure to it, may also crowd out other forms of tourism, for example leisure tourists. Research on sport mega events has found that peaks in arrivals due to the event can be followed by a “low” in visitation, because participants or spectators time their visit for the event. This may be less relevant for political summits. However there might be other risks associated with political tourism. Hosting a political summit always bears the risk of “counter-summits” and activism that might undermine the destination image.
From a research perspective, major events have been analysed mainly with a focus on mega-sport events, for example Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and FIFA World Cups. Political summits have received very limited attention (with <a href="https://www.cuc.ac.jp/eng/gpac/papers/snu/SNUtourism.pdf">some exceptions</a>).
Research to establish whether political events are different from other events, perhaps because of their political nature and the types of delegates, is yet to be undertaken, and the Brisbane G20 provides an excellent opportunity to research the economic impact of the summit, and compare it to other events hosted previously in Australia.
Susanne Becken is professor of sustainable tourism and director Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith University.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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Hosting a World Cup is nice, but the G20 could prove more lucrative

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The fastest growing sector in the economy today is not mining, retailing or even education. It’s superannuation, which accounts for almost 30% more than the total savings held by the banking and mutual sector.
Self-managed superannuation is the fastest growing form of investment vehicle.
This has altered the landscape of both property and share investment. In the property market there are well-established regulations and safeguards. The stock market is a different story.
The proposed takeover of David Jones by the South African-based Woolworths and the deal made by Woolworths to buy Solomon Lew’s stake in David Jones, who happens to own an equally large share of Country Road (another takeover target of Woolworths), highlights the problem.
The board of the takeover target recommends to its shareholders what to do, but there is no formal requirement for shareholder approval. It’s assumed if the shareholders sell, that’s their approval. If they don’t sell, they don’t approve.
In the case of David Jones, a wealthy, assertive investor is getting a side deal not available to other investors.
Why should this happen?
In other countries, a formal takeover requires shareholder approval, thus discouraging side deals to occur where some walk away with large profits and others get what they can.
David Jones
The David Jones takeover provided an opportunity for some to simply profiteer, to the extent they could make more money linking this deal with others, thus cornering Woolworths to pay for deals it may not have planned.
If anything, the David Jones scenario raises questions as to whether a takeover of this nature is manipulative, unfair to ordinary shareholders and a distortion of the market mechanism.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has intervened, asking questions about the side deal protecting the interests of David Jones' shareholders by intervening in Woolworths' $2.2 billion takeover bid for David Jones.
As ASIC threatens to withhold its consent to the scheme of arrangement, a core part of the $2.2 billion takeover is arguing that a collateral benefit to one shareholder is not available to the other shareholders. The board is so keen to push the takeover that they are prepared to sell the takeover on the basis that the millions made on the side by Lew should not kill the deal.
Directors should of course be supporting the interest of the company as a whole and of all the shareholders. In the past the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/dec/14/australia.theairlineindustry">Allco Finance Group takeover of Qantas</a> had the same set of facts. A takeover favouring those few in particular linked to the board is a further reason for ASIC’s intervention.
ASIC is not about increasing share prices - it’s about access to a fair price. If one shareholder gets a huge side bonus which increases the prices, should those getting the crumbs be happy? Are their shares the same of those getting the bonus?
ASIC had failed in the Federal Court to force David Jones to secure an <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/asic-steps-into-david-jones-country-road-battles-with-demand-for-independent-valuation-20140702-zstnq">independent valuation of the “collateral benefit”</a> that Woolworths was offering to one of its shareholders simply to buy his support for the David Jones scheme of arrangement. ASIC can always withhold a letter of consent for the scheme, on the grounds that all David Jones shareholders are not being treated equally.
In response, David Jones has provided shareholders with additional information to help show shareholders how this deal was done.
All this could be resolved if shareholders were given the complete, true facts in an accessible manner, and if takeover predators were forced to make the same offer to all and let shareholders decide.
Why the loophole exists
Law reform in the area of takeovers is well overdue and belongs to another age. Unlisted companies don’t require shareholder approval for takeovers on the presumption that shareholders don’t have enough information. The idea is public information and scrutiny aren’t as readily available as for listed companies.
This thought process belongs to a pre-internet era and is not very relevant today. The rule has been kept as it tends to favour larger investors who play the game of takeover and sales. Allowing other smaller shareholders more power would complicate the game, which explains why governments have kept their distance from changing these laws.
The world has moved on, and it’s only a matter of time before the predators and profiteers further manipulate the hordes of superannuation investors in the market to extract extraordinary profits.
It’s time for a closer look at shareholders' rights, together with the regulation of the market place, to discourage two-tier takeover offers - one for the well-connected and aggressive market operators and another for the other shareholders.
Michael Peters is lecturer at <a href="https://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Australian School of Business</a>.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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To protect SMSF investors the stock market needs the same safeguards property has

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The receiver for the company behind retail ventures Crazy Clark’s and Sam’s Warehouse has announced the closure of 29 stores today, after the business recently <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/42635-jan-cameron-s-retail-adventures-goes-under-for-a-third-time" target="_blank">collapsed into receivership</a> for the third time in five years.
Most of the stores in the Retail Adventures discount chain will close by 20 July, with around half of them based in Queensland. More than 300 employees are expected to lose their jobs.
According to a spokesperson for KordaMentha, the receivers who were appointed to take control of DSG Holdings earlier this month, all stores will have “massive” sales over the next nine days to clear stock.
“Local communities are urged to go out and get a bargain and help us raise money to pay the staff entitlements,” the spokesperson told SmartCompany.
The move will bring the total number of store closures to 39 since DSG Holdings owner and former BRW Rich Lister Jan Cameron called in voluntary administrators Nicols + Brien on June 30. David Winterbottom and Rahul Goyal of KordaMentha were appointed receivers on 1 July.  
Of the 29 stores included in today’s announcement, 14 are in Queensland, seven in NSW, five in Victoria and three in WA and South Australia.
In an <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/business/retail/i-failed-jan-cameron-rules-out-new-retail-adventures-tilt-20140709-zt1fj">interview with Fairfax</a> earlier this week, Jan Cameron said she felt as though she had “failed”.
“I’m relieved that I can stop worrying and trying desperately to make the company work,” she said.
“I don’t feel bitter [but] disappointed for all the staff. Some of them are finding jobs but it will be very difficult for others.”
SmartCompany understands DSG Holdings owes around $20 million to trade creditors. However, this is a relatively minor component of the company’s debts. The business is also understood to owe another $10 million in staff entitlements.
At the time of entering receivership, Retail Adventures employed approximately 2,500 people across 143 retail outlets.
Cameron founded outdoor adventure and clothing company Kathmandu in the 1980s. She purchased Retail Adventures <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/leadership/professional-development/40730-rich-tales-how-jan-cameron-lost-nearly-90-of-her-quarter-billion-fortune-in-four-years" target="_blank">out of receivership in 2009</a>, only to <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/economy/30298-jan-cameron-buys-back-retail-adventures-for--58-9-million-but-may-face-legal-battle-with-creditors" target="_blank">buy it back in 2013</a>, after the chain again collapsed into administration in 2012.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Retail Adventures saga continues as receiver closes 29 more stores

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

Joel Robinson

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

&nbsp;

Developer GURNER™ Group has revealed $1.65 billion in residential sales nationally across the 12 months to December 2025, driven largely by the continued momentum of its Docklands wellness-focused precinct, Elysium Fields.

The sales result was generated across seven projects in Victoria and New South Wales, headlined by Elysium Fields, GURNER™’s $2.75 billion mixed-use precinct planned for Harbour Esplanade in Docklands.

The project has recorded more than $500 million in sales across the first three towers, equating to around 580 apartments sold.

The first tower, Helios, has now sold out of its 240 private residences, with GURNER™ preparing to release a premium penthouse collection comprising 15 three-bedroom penthouses in coming weeks.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370975]

Elysium Fields is being developed on the long-held 20,000 sqm Docklands site at 208-226 Harbour Esplanade, which had remained undeveloped for more than two decades prior to GURNER™ taking over the project around four years ago.

Construction has now commenced across four towers ranging between 18 and 30 storeys, with Hamilton Marino and Maxcon appointed as builders.

Once complete, the precinct is expected to comprise around 1,100 residences, alongside retail, hospitality and public realm uses integrated throughout the site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370981]

Designed by Fraser &amp; Partners in collaboration with GURNER™ Design House, the project has been positioned around the developer’s broader focus on wellness-led residential living.

“We don’t sell apartments. We create a true luxury lifestyle that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere in the market today,” Founder and Executive Chairman Tim Gurner said.

“To deliver that requires an extraordinary level of detail, coordination and discipline across multiple verticals, from design and hospitality through to wellness and service.”

“We’ve always believed that living extends far beyond the physical residence. It’s about how you feel the moment you arrive, how you live day-to-day, and the ecosystem that supports that.” 
[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370977]

The project’s design places a heavy focus on landscaping, wellness amenities and biophilic design principles.

Plans include around 3,700 sqm of landscaped gardens and open space throughout the precinct, alongside a retail and dining offering spanning approximately 5,000 sqm.

The broader public realm strategy centres around what GURNER™ describes as the “Path of Life”, an urban forest and landscaped pedestrian environment intended to connect the various buildings and wellness spaces across the precinct.

The apartments themselves will incorporate a range of wellness-focused inclusions, including purified air and water systems, circadian lighting, antimicrobial surfaces, and optional in-home wellness upgrades.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370980]

Gurner said the company’s experience through its Saint Haven wellness clubs had directly informed the residential offering now being incorporated into Elysium Fields.

“We’re seeing a clear global shift toward longevity, performance and proactive health,” Gurner said.

“Our role is to deliver that in a way that feels seamless, highly private and beautifully resolved within the environments we create.”

A large component of the wellness offering is planned through the resident amenity and health facilities proposed within the precinct.

That includes plans for bathing and recovery facilities spread throughout the towers, incorporating mineral pools, saunas, steam rooms, flotation therapy, red light therapy and wellness lounges.

The developer is also seeking approvals for what it describes as a “reverse ageing medical clinic” within the precinct.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370978]

According to project information released by the group, the proposed facility would include cryotherapy, IV infusion therapy, infrared and dry saunas, PEMF beds, MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans and blood analysis services.

Within the first tower, Helios, residents will also have access to a dedicated amenity offering known as the Sky Private Club.

The upper 15 levels of the building will include private lounges, dining spaces, rooftop amenities and optional private wellness studios integrated within residences.

The Helios tower itself comprises 260 apartments ranging between 60 sqm and 300 sqm, including a collection of penthouses.

That includes a planned two-storey penthouse spanning around 600 sqm with uninterrupted bay views.

The Elysium Fields precinct is being delivered in partnership with Digital Harbour Holdings, a consortium that includes the Liberman family, which controls the development rights across the Docklands site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370979]

The sales result comes as GURNER™ continues expanding its national development pipeline beyond Victoria.

“We have a strong pipeline across Australia and are now focused on scaling into key markets including New South Wales and Queensland, while continuing to build on our Melbourne base,” Gurner said.

“We currently have more than $3 billion in the market, growing to over $5 billion by October, and expect to materially outperform last year in the 2026 calendar year.”

The result also reflects the continued strength of the upper-end apartment market in Melbourne, particularly for owner-occupier-focused product with large-scale amenity and lifestyle offerings.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144441]

Record result anchored by the Group’s “utopian” Elysium Fields precinct – defying market headwinds in Docklands.

Elysium Fields drive Gurner to $1.65 billion in apartment sales over 2025

National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.

The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.

Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]

Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.

Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.

“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.

He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.

“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.

“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.

Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.

Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.

Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.

The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]

Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more international and domestic flights.

Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.

Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.

The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.

The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" />

According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”

The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.

The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.

Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.

“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.

The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.

The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" />

The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.

“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.

According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.

“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.

“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”

The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.

Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.

&nbsp;

The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" />

St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.

Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.

The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.

More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.

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