Notice of Trust Acquisition: The post-settlement step practitioners miss

Lodging a NOTA is a straightforward task, but easy to miss if not built into a firm’s workflow and all staff working on conveyancing matters are appropriately trained as to the relevant requirements.

The LPLC sees NOTA claims because the practitioner:

• was not aware of the requirement to lodge a NOTA

• never inquired whether the purchaser was acquiring the land in the capacity as a trustee of a trust

• knew the purchaser client was acquiring the property in its capacity as trustee, but overlooked lodging the NOTA because it wasn’t a post-settlement task in their practice management system.

Section 46K of the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) (Land Tax Act) requires that a trustee must notify the SRO within one month of becoming the owner of the land.

The NOTA is a separate and different document to the standard notice of acquisition provided to councils and water authorities by the purchaser’s solicitor after settlement.

The NOTA is how the SRO assesses whether the trust will attract the land tax surcharge, and in turn correctly levy the landowner’s land tax liability for each calendar year.

A NOTA must still be lodged for trust structures that are exempt from the land tax surcharge, such as SMSF trusts or charitable trusts.

The risk of failing to lodge a NOTA and exposing the trustee client to a later SRO audit and backdated land tax surcharges can be minimised by simple practice management procedures, which are outlined below.

At the client intake stage

At the start of a conveyancing matter (and in accordance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements from 1 July 2026 for Designated Services), practitioners should ask any client purchaser or nominee whether they are acquiring the land personally or in their capacity as a trustee of a trust.

If the client confirms that it will be acquiring the property as trustee of a trust, before engaging in any legal work, obtain a copy of the signed trust deed and any deeds of variation. For an acquisition by a trustee of a unit trust, you may also need copies of the unit register.

Getting this information at the start of the matter allows practitioners to:

• obtain some of the information required as part of customer due diligence obligations for trusts under the AML Regime

• review the trust deed documents to ensure that the trustee has the ‘right to deal’ and acquire the real estate, as required under clause 6.4 of the ARNECC Model Participations Rules

• ensure that the practitioner has all the relevant information on hand to complete and lodge the NOTA.

Below are questions the LPLC suggests including in your client intake form:

1. Who will be the legal owner on title – full name of each person or company acquiring the property?
2. Is the purchaser(s) acting as a trustee of a trust? If yes, what is the full name of the trust and the trustee?
3. Is this trust a unit trust, a fixed trust or a discretionary/family trust?
4. For each trustee, what is the ACN and ABN (if a company) or date of birth and ABN (if an individual)?
5. Please provide us with copies of the original trust deed and any amending deeds as soon as possible. [If your firm does not hold the original trust deed documents]
6. If the trust is a unit trust, please provide us with a copy of the unit register, so that we can confirm who are the current unit holders.

Workflow reminders if the purchaser is acquiring the land as trustee of a trust

Once confirmed that a purchaser is acquiring property as a trustee of a trust, the solicitor must set a task or reminder in their practice management system to lodge the NOTA after settlement.

Key tasks within one month off settlement

Once settlement has gone through practitioners need to ensure that they:

• lodge the NOTA within one month of settlement

• retain a copy of the notice and the lodging number on the relevant client file.

Principals need to make sure that all staff doing conveyancing work have sufficient training and systems to know:

• how to correctly identify whether the purchaser or nominee is acting as trustee

• if the purchaser or nominee is acquiring the land as trustee, the requirements under section 46K of the Land Tax Act, in relation to lodging the NOTA

• how to correctly prepare and lodge the NOTA.

Principals should conduct periodic file audits of purchase files to ensure compliance with the requirements of section 46K of the Land Tax Act.

• SRO current land tax rates

• SRO Notice of Trust Acquisition landing page

• LPLC Guide to Property Taxes (Victoria)

• LPLC Conveyancing Risk Guide

• LPLC Client File Audit Tool

• Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) AML/CTF Hub

• Austrac – AML customer due diligence requirements when law firms are providing designated services

• ARNECC Model Participation Rules

• ARNECC Model Participation Rules Guidance Note 4 – Right to Deal