Developers can unlock stalled or underutilised residential projects by engaging with the government-led Development Facilitation Program (DFP), which offer expedited planning pathways or waive or vary mandatory planning scheme requirements relating to building height, setbacks when affordable housing is incorporated into proposals. These initiatives present a strategic opportunity to align commercial outcomes with housing policy objectives across jurisdictions. 

Our property expert Sejla Kadric is joined by three industry experts on the topic:  

1. Michael Henderson – Michael joined Contour in 2018 and was appointed a Director in 2024. Michael has been working as a town planner in both the private and public sectors since 2009; holding senior positions within both sectors. Michael brings enthusiasm and leadership qualities, together with his detailed understanding of Victoria’s planning system and its intricacies, to a wide cross-section of development projects. His expertise includes advice during site acquisition and project design, management of applications and negotiating successful approval outcomes with planning authorities. 

2. Kate Breen – Kate leads Affordable Development Outcomes, specialising in the development of affordable housing research, policy and precinct and site-specific planning frameworks and delivery strategies. With a strong focus on developing evidence-based and commercially viable strategies that work for all parties, Kate has developed successful approaches supporting major planning scheme amendments and permit approvals, including appearing as an expert witness at Panel. She has also worked extensively with the community housing sector on bids for government land and funding. 

3. Lucy Simms – Lucy is the Chief Commercial Officer at Women’s Property Initiatives (WPI), where she leads partnerships with developers, government, and philanthropy to deliver affordable housing for vulnerable women. With over a decade of experience in development management, Lucy brings a commercial lens to community housing transactions and an understanding of developer needs, alongside the importance of creating social cohesion within projects. 

Our expert speakers will share their insights and guide you through the process from all angles: 

• Michael will set the scene by talking through the various opportunities that the DFP offers, how to engage with the DFP and potential outcomes of incorporating affordable housing into residential developments.  

• Kate will outline what social and affordable housing is, the key elements needed to plan and deliver it, the requirements for securing planning approval, and examples of effective affordable housing strategies. 

• Lucy will round out the conversation by bringing a community housing perspective, demonstrating how collaboration with developers can drive speed and social impact, and outlining WPI’s approach to integrating affordable housing within private developments. 

Walk away with clear, actionable knowledge on how to successfully integrate affordable housing into your developments while maximising both community benefit and project outcomes.  

Date

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Industry speaker

• Michael Henderson | Contour Consultants
• Kate Breen | Affordable Development Outcomes
• Lucy Simms | Women’s Property Initiatives

SW speaker

Sejla Kadric
Director, SW

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The Alert raises the ATO’s concerns about certain property development management agreements. These typical arrangements are used by taxpayers to segregate the development risks from the land-owning entity. TA 2026/1 is another instance of the ATO seeking to apply Part IVA which is a significant development that will have a broad impact across many property developers.

Characteristics of arrangements under review

Those property development arrangements under review, typically involve:

The ATO has concerns that the arrangements are contrived to artificially separate land ownership and development activities to gain a tax timing advantage, being:

• upfront deductions in Dev Co that would not be available to the landowner
• the repeated deferral of income recognition.

The ATO has a specific concern that the repeated utilisation of development losses can result in the economic group perpetually deferring paying tax on group profits and enabling wealth extraction.

The ATO has indicated that Part IVA anti-avoidance provisions may apply to these types of arrangements.

ATO actions

The ATO has confirmed that they will:

• publish a Practical Compliance Guideline outlining a risk framework
• engage with taxpayers that are undertaking these types of arrangements.

How SW can help

TA 2026/1 is another example of the ATO seeking to apply Part IVA to a once typical arrangement. This is a common structure used by taxpayers to segregate the development risks from the land-owning entity. Whilst we have been aware of rumblings in this area from the ATO, this is a significant development that will have a broad impact across many property developers.

SW will provide more detail once the draft Practical Compliance Guideline is released and will discuss TA 2026/1 with any impacted clients.

Our experts can assist with advising how TA 2026/1 affects your existing arrangements. We can also engage with the ATO to deal with potential disputes.

Reach out to your SW advisor for support from our team.

The post Developing trouble: ATO Alert on related party development management agreements appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

The Australian property and construction sector’s growth has softened due to rising borrowing costs and supply chain disruptions. Commercial developments have been impacted through decreased demand for office spaces and the digitalisation of the retail market.

Infrastructure and construction sectors can be volatile, so you can rest easy knowing in some of the most important areas of your business, such as taxes, structuring, cash flow and funding, SW have the expertise to assist you to add value and drive your strategy.

Our property & infrastructure experts offer a full suite of back office support, advisory, structuring, modelling and compliance services to the property and infrastructure sector.   

Whether you’re a developer, builder, investor, financier or manager, we’ll help you navigate the challenges.

Our Property & infrastructure services

Spotlight | Property Forum #back2thefuture

Property and economics are often cyclical in nature. For this reason, experts often use the past to predict a future outlook. However, with global disruption, the level of uncertainty has increased drastically, with many experts uncertain if we can look back to predict our future.

For this reason, we brought renowned property industry experts together to take a deep dive into the changing landscape in Australia, the impact this has on the future for property and what people and businesses should be considering in order to prepare.

Emerging Developers series (EDS)

Taking the lead to support tomorrow’s leaders, our Emerging Property Developers series is now delivered virtually. This series has been tried and trusted by the industry for over 8 years and is designed to walk you through the property development process from start to finish.

An interactive four-part program facilitated by our property specialists is delivered to a limited group of emerging property professionals. Each session features guest industry experts who provide strategic insight into property development and key developer issues, from tax structuring to design and construction.

Industry Associations & Memberships

Our significant involvement in the property industry mandates an active involvement in current tax and accounting issues that impact your sector. We are also involved in consultative processes, making submissions to Treasury and/or the ATO. Other key involvement includes:

• Various Property Council of Australia and Victoria tax committees and forums
• The National Tax Liaison Group Trust Sub-Group, which until recently was the peak consulting
  body on which tax matters concerning trusts were discussed with senior officials at the ATO.

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The Emerging Developers Series is a four-part program of interactive seminars for an intimate group of up and coming property professionals. It is designed to walk you through the property development process from start to finish.

You will have access to leading industry experts, and to learn from their strategic insight into property development and key developer issues from tax structuring to design and construction.

Event details

Date: 4 sessions hosted on a monthly basis starting Monday, 13 May 2019
Time: 3pm – 5:30pm (afternoon tea provided)
Venue: ShineWing Australia, Level 10, 530 Collins Street, Melbourne
Format: Interactive class-room style format where our expert guest speakers will share their insight and expertise on a key component of the property development process.
Cost:  $800 per person for the series or group booking for up to 3 people for $1,600 (prices exclude GST)

This includes:

• Four 2-hour sessions and networking opportunities with speakers and attendees
• Soft and hard copies of speaker presentations and handouts
• Automatic inclusion to our Emerging Developer’s Series Program, including invitations to future networking events
• Invitations to ShineWing Australia’s annual Property Update event which brings together Australia’s leading property professionals

Speakers

	Daren McDonald, Partner, ShineWing Australia Dare is a leading accounting, commercial and taxation advisor to property developers in Australia. With 25 years’ experience in financial and strategic consulting to property developers on significant joint ventures.
	Brihony Boan, Partner, Gadens Brihony Boan is a Partner in the Property, Construction and Planning Team at Gadens in Melbourne, focusing on property development and distressed property sales.
	Luke O’Grady, Director/Owner, INPG Luke O’Grady is a Director and Co-Owner of Incollaboration Projects Pty Ltd. With over 15 years in the industry, Luke has a vast experience with all facets of the residential development industry including medium and high density residential apartments, townhouse projects or land subdivision.
	Christina McRae, Director, Urbis Christina is a Director at Urbis in Melbourne where she advises public and private sector clients on land use and development strategies and navigating the planning system. Multi residential, retail, mixed use and major project management are some of her key areas of practice.
	Sam Nathan, Director, Colliers International Sam has engaged closely with the premium apartment market for over 15 years, initially as a qualified valuer and then as a lead advisor to major domestic and international developers, investors, consultants and financiers, having had significant advisory roles on some of Melbourne’s most complex and renowned residential developments.
	Tom Renda, Director,  Thomas Capital and Advisory Tom has 32 years of banking experience, having held front line roles as State General Manager and National Industry Leader in Institutional Banking, Corporate and Business Banking at CBA, NAB and CBA. Tom has extensive experience across all aspects of banking and is now assisting clients in sourcing finance through bank and non-bank lenders.
	Andrew Deveson, Director, Kapitol Group  Andrew has over 15 years of vast experience in construction, with specialised expertise in active education environments, commercial offices and large-scale residential buildings throughout Melbourne. As a director of Kapitol Group, Andrew is responsible for the management of projects and works in close collaboration with all stakeholders from concept through to completion.
	Brendan Young, Associate, RLB  Brendan is a highly skilled and qualified construction professional who brings competence and enthusiasm to his role at RLB. For his twelve years at RLB, he has demonstrated comprehensive understanding of all key disciplines, providing him strong grounding for producing quality Quantity Surveying services to clients.
	Arif Uzay, Director, RLB Arif demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of all areas of quantity surveying, financial and cost management, specialising in conceptual estimating, cost planning and project procurement. He has considerable experience providing services for both the Government and the private sector on a broad range of construction projects and industries which predominantly include retail, residential and commercial sectors.
	Matthew Gibb, Managing Director, Gibb Group Matthew has in excess of 20 years’ experience in the industry and 15 years in senior positions in commercial and industrial property both in Australia and overseas including that of COO. Matthew’s wealth of knowledge is second to none in the commercial industrial sector.
	Matthew Malseed, Managing Director, Hamton Matt is the Managing Director and joint owner of Hamton Property Group. Upon its establishment in the early 2000’s and prior to becoming a joint owner of Hamton, Matt was a key senior executive in the business.He has been a regular guest lecturer for undergraduate and post graduate courses in property at the University of Melbourne and RMIT and has a strong interest in mentoring young people in the property development industry.
	Sejla Kadric, Associate Director, Blake Rodgers, Senior Managers, ShineWing Australia Sejla and Blake both have more than 11 years’ experience in providing accounting, tax and business advisory services. They have worked with broad spectrum of clients, ranging from high net worth individuals to large private businesses, subsidiaries of foreign multinationals as well as local and foreign owned property developers.

Session topics and dates

Session 1: Are you Development ready? | Legal documentation – Daren McDonald and Brihony Boan
Monday, 13 May 2019 

Are you ‘development ready’? This introductory session will provide a brief overview of the series structure as a whole and focuses on the development planning process. Daren explains the importance of a holistic and strategic development plan along with key factors to consider before embarking on any new project. In particular, this session focuses on structuring, asset protection as well as understanding and developing risk management methodology.

Brihony will present on a range of legal documentation issues. Getting documentation right the first time around minimises the risk of liability, performance issues and non-deliverables. Therefore it is crucial that proper attention be given to all legal documentation including (but not limited to) land acquisitions, contracts of sale, town planning submissions and supplier engagements and building contracts.

Session 2: Feasibility and development management | Town planning | Sales strategy  – Luke O’Grady, Christina McRae and Sam Nathan
Wednesday, 12 June 2019

Luke will step us through the preparation of an accurate feasibility statement, which is essential to the developer’s assessment of the opportunity. In addition, it is critical in determining a host of other factors such as risk and reward, timings, tax and cash flow planning and equity partners’ expectations. In addition, a successful development is all about delivering your project on time and on budget.

Our town planning expert, Christina will talk you through the documentation and practical application associated with all aspects of the development cycle and give tips on how to avoid some of the common pitfalls.

Sam will provide an assessment on current market trends and give advice on how to determine effective sales approaches and marketing strategies tailored to your project.

Session 3: Construction | Funding | Construction cost management – Andrew Deveson, Tom Renda, Brendan Young and Arif Uzay
Monday, 22 July 2019

Andrew, our construction expert, will speak about the construction process including management of the respective parties involved, common issues and the fundamentals in implementing a successful construction program.

Our expert Tom, will address the role that debt can play in funding a development along with the legalities and risks around alternative financing options. Tom will also cover structuring the deal for equity investors and property schemes. In short, everything you need to know about what to consider and avoid in modern-day deal structuring.

Brendan and Arif will provide practical advice to ensure you start off on the right foot when it comes to managing the construction costs of your development.

Session 4: Developers panel discussion | Completion and property taxes – Matt Gibb, Matt Malseed, Sejla Kadric and Blake Rodgers 
Monday, 19 August 2019

In the final session of this series, there will be a recap on the different phases of the development cycle with particular focus given to the completion and settlement of the project.

The first part of this session will be led by Matt Gibb and Matt Malseed, who will share their personal insight into how and why they got involved in property development, lessons learned and their journey to date. This session will be a rare opportunity to get firsthand knowledge from experts in the trade – learn what to avoid in the development process, how to judge feasibility of the project and increase your chances of success.

The final part of the session will be a recap of property related state and federal taxes pertaining to acquisition, hold and disposal of developed property

Registration and more information

Know someone interested in property development? You are welcome to direct any interested property professionals to this web page or to the ShineWing Australia Marketing team via marketing@sw-au.com.

In order to maintain an interactive group, please note that places are limited to 25 and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

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