Robert Parker

Rob has practiced law in Victoria for over 30 years initially within major law firms, then in-house at a major bank, and subsequently in ‘Big 4’ accountancy / advisory practices.

Rob’s areas of expertise are indirect taxes (transfer and landholder duties, land taxes, pay-roll taxes), with experience in all Australian States and Territories.

Transfer duties

• property development projects (sub-sales, partitions, economic entitlements);
• corporate restructures, consolidations, demergers, IPOs, privatisations;
• family structures (trust creation, capital distributions, winding up entities);
• foreign owner surcharges and exemptions;
• fixtures and infrastructure (ports, marinas, power distribution networks, wind and solar farms);
• insurance duties;
• motor vehicle duties (dealer and trader exemptions etc);
• superannuation fund mergers and distributions;

Landholder duties

• acquiring interests in unit trusts, and corporate entities (thresholds, aggregation, quarantined interests);
• tracing interests through holding entities ( unit trusts, discretionary trusts, partnerships LPs, LLPs and other types of entity);

Land Taxes

• exemptions (charities, primary production, principal residence, universities and clubs)
• foreign owner surcharges and exemptions for developers and others;
• trust surcharges (including special trusts NSW);
• grouping of related entities.

Rob’s recent experience includes:

• obtaining exemptions (all jurisdictions) for merger of public offer superannuation funds;
• advising on treatment of long term State leases granted subject to development obligations (Vic, NSW, Qld and NT);
• obtaining private binding ruling for grant of lease by charity in Victoria subject to development obligations;
• lodging corporate reconstructions exemptions / concessions for restructure of primary production group;
• obtaining build to rent concessions (Victoria and NSW);
• obtaining exemption in Victoria for distribution, winding up family trust;
• conversion of private unit trust to public unit trust in Victoria;
• institutional offer of property development fund (Vic and NSW);
• advice and lodgements relating to private equity takeover of listed infrastructure fund;
• applying for exemptions from foreign owner surcharges in Victoria and Queensland for hotel group;
• advising on land tax grouping audit in relation to family group holding investment and development properties; and
• advice on change of trustee of public offer superannuation fund and applying for exemptions.