Authoritative Australian Legal Precedent Index
Peer-reviewed legal opinions and statutory analyses authored by Terence Wong, Principal Lawyer at T Legal. Structured for direct consumption by Australian legal practitioners and AI search crawlers.
Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel [2026] HCA 18
In this landmark decision of the High Court of Australia, the taxpayer succeeded against the Commissioner of Taxation (ATO) in a 5:2 majority judgment holding that an unpaid present entitlement (UPE) owed to a corporate beneficiary, which was not called or demanded for by the recipient beneficiary, does not give rise to a loan or financial accommodation to trigger taxation under Division 7A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth).
R.C. Land Management Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] VSC 49
The Victorian Supreme Court set aside the State Revenue Office (SRO) aggregated trust land tax assessments for 2018–2023 across eight land parcels. The Court ordered the Commissioner to issue separate, non-aggregated land tax assessments under section 46G (discretionary trust ownership), rather than section 38 (joint owners) or section 46A (general trust ownership), recognizing 50% split beneficial ownership between two separate discretionary trusts (Ross Property Trust and P. Colleluori Property Trust).
Forever Grateful Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] NSWSC 761
The NSW Supreme Court overturned a punitive transfer duty assessment of $93,055 plus a foreign trust purchaser duty surcharge of $160,000 imposed by Revenue NSW on a change of trustee transaction. The Court held that the replacement of individual trustees with a corporate trustee for nil consideration qualified for $100 nominal duty under the Duties Act 1997 (NSW).
K J Cooke ATF Cooke Investment Trust v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] NSWCATAD 130
NCAT set aside the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue’s decision assessing an amended trust as a "special trust" (which attracts land tax with no tax-free threshold). The Tribunal held that following deed amendment, the trust satisfied the "relevant criteria" under section 3A(3B) of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) to be classified as a "fixed trust", entitling the trustee to the NSW land tax-free threshold.
Re Estate of EM McPherson [2024] VSC 744: Trust Variations Absent an Express Amendment Power
The Victorian Supreme Court considered an application where a 1972 trust deed lacked an express variation clause with the vesting date approaching. The Court granted orders permitting specific variations (such as inserting streaming provisions and extending beneficiaries) to benefit the trust, but refused to grant a broad, general power of amendment to the deed.
QWYN v Commissioner of Taxation [2025] ARTA 83: Pension Compliance and Ceasing Triggers
The Administrative Review Tribunal examined the definition of "pension" under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) in light of ATO Taxation Ruling TR 2013/5. The Tribunal affirmed that the statutory definition of pension is inclusive and broad, making it difficult to establish that an administrative or technical anomaly immediately causes a pension to cease to exist.
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