State Tax Disputes (Land Tax, Stamp Duty)
Drawing on specialist knowledge of tax issues relating to property and land tax assessments to bring certainty to your tax position.
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State taxes catch many people by surprise
Whilst objections relating to federal taxes such as income tax or GST are common, there are also a growing array of state taxes that can catch landowners, property investors and property developers by surprise.
Aptum and its wider team has in-depth knowledge of valuation processes and factors used by state revenue offices to determine property and land tax assessments.
Our team has extensive experience working with state revenue offices to resolve a range of issues in land tax disputes, including: high valuations, failure to apply exemptions, incorrect attribution of ownership, and double stamp duty.
Aptum can help you gain certainty on your tax position in relation to your land holdings and any investments, such as property transactions or property developments. We provide strategic, practical advice, so you can make informed decisions about your business and investments.
Where Aptum runs state tax disputes
State tax differs by jurisdiction. Land tax, landholder duty, stamp duty, windfall gains tax, and payroll tax are all administered by state revenue offices, each with its own legislation, decision-makers, and objection pathways. Aptum advises on disputes with the Victorian SRO, Revenue NSW, the Queensland Office of State Revenue, RevenueSA and RevenueWA, with deepest experience in Victoria.
Land tax disputes.
Objections to land tax assessments including valuation disputes, failure to apply exemptions (principal place of residence, primary production, charitable use), surcharges (absentee owner, foreign owner) and incorrect attribution of ownership.
Landholder duty disputes.
Objections to landholder duty assessments, which apply when a person acquires a “significant interest” in a “landholder” entity that holds land above the relevant threshold. Michael Buscema’s comprehensive guide to landholder duty sets out when it applies and how it is calculated.
Stamp duty (transfer duty) disputes.
Objections to land transfer (stamp) duty assessments, including double duty where the SRO has assessed duty on both the underlying property transfer and a related transaction.
Windfall gains tax (Victoria).
A new Victorian tax that applies to uplift in land value from rezoning. The legislation and the SRO’s interpretation are still being tested through objection and Tribunal review.
Vacant residential land tax (Victoria).
Recently expanded VRLT applies to residential land left unoccupied. Disputes commonly turn on the exemptions available (holiday home, construction, change of ownership) and the SRO’s interpretation of “vacancy”.
Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (Victoria).
GAIC applies to land in Melbourne’s growth areas. Disputes turn on liability triggers, deferrals, and exemptions for low-impact development.
Foreign owner and absentee owner surcharges.
Surcharge land tax and additional duty applied to foreign and absentee owners. Disputes commonly turn on the surcharge attribution and the exemptions available.
Payroll tax disputes (state-specific).
Objections to payroll tax assessments including the contractor provisions, grouping provisions, and the wages base.
What stage is your ATO or SRO matter at?
State tax matters move through stages, and the right Aptum service depends on where yours is at right now.
I have a state tax issue and want to engage proactively with the SRO.
This is the right page. State tax disputes covers objections, valuation disputes, landholder duty, stamp duty, windfall gains tax and SRO engagement.
I have a federal tax issue I want to manage proactively with the ATO.
You need our Engagement with the ATO and SRO service for federal tax engagement (private rulings, voluntary disclosures, audit responses).
The ATO has issued an assessment I disagree with
You need our Objections to Tax Assessments service. Federal objections are formal challenges to ATO assessments with statutory deadlines.
I have received a Director Penalty Notice.
You need our Director Penalty Notices service. The 21-day window starts when the ATO posts the notice.
The ATO or SRO has started recovery action against me.
You need our ATO and SRO Debt Recovery service. Each recovery instrument has a defence and a window.
My objection has been disallowed or my matter is heading to court
You need our Tax Litigation service. Tax litigation covers VCAT and ART reviews, Federal and Supreme Court appeals, and judicial review.
If you are not sure which category you are in, the diagnostic call below sorts that out in 15 minutes.
What Aptum brings to your matters
Aptum’s tax disputes practice is led by Michael Buscema, our Practice Lead for Tax Disputes. For 11 years prior to joining Aptum, Michael worked for the ATO and Commonwealth Treasury, holding a range of senior positions including acting Assistant Commissioner of the ATO. Michael has published Aptum’s comprehensive guide to landholder duty, which is one of the most widely read pieces of state-tax content from a private legal advisor in Australia.
Michael is supported by Nigel Evans, Aptum’s Managing Director and Co-Founder. Before starting Aptum, Nigel spent 11 years at the commercial Victorian Bar, including work on property and tax matters. Nigel is listed in Best Lawyers in Australia for Tax Law (2026) and recognised by Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer.
That combination of federal tax-policy experience and Bar experience is not biography. It changes how we run state tax matters because state tax disputes are usually argued in front of a Tribunal (VCAT in Victoria, NCAT in NSW, QCAT in Queensland) or a State Supreme Court, and the technique is much closer to Bar advocacy than to ATO objection writing.
State Revenue Offices aren't the ATO
SRO objection processes are usually faster than ATO objections but the decision-makers are differently skilled. Land valuation disputes turn on valuation evidence and the underlying assumptions, not on broad tax principle. Stamp duty disputes turn on the precise legal characterisation of the transaction. Landholder duty disputes turn on whether the threshold has been met and whether the interest acquired is “significant”. Knowing the way each SRO assesses these issues shapes how we frame the objection.
Tribunal advocacy matters
Where the SRO does not agree the matter is referred to the State Tribunal (VCAT, NCAT, QCAT) or the State Supreme Court. The Tribunal decides the matter afresh on the evidence, not by reviewing what the SRO did. Aptum’s combined ATO and Bar experience translates into Tribunal advocacy that matches what the Tribunal needs.
Emerging Victorian regimes change quickly
Windfall gains tax, vacant residential land tax and the recent landholder duty changes have all been amended or refined in the last few years. Where the legislation is recent, the SRO’s interpretation is also recent. Both can be tested.
What clients say
“Commercial, strategic, accurate and well-thought-out advice. Incredibly easy to work with. Nothing was too much trouble. The Aptum team provides very safe pairs of hands which lead to a good result for the client.”
- Anonymous“Very grateful to Michael and the whole team at Aptum for everything they did on my case and for all their guidance and support to achieve the best outcome. Highly recommend this fantastic team. Thank you so much!”
- TaniaUnderstanding landholder duty: A simple guide
In this simple guide, Michael Buscema, Aptum’s Practice Lead (Tax Disputes), breaks down what landholder duty is, when it applies, and under what circumstances you may be able to dispute it.
Learn MoreWhat makes Aptum different
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Specialist expertise.
All we do is litigate complex commercial and tax disputes.
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Legal intelligence framework.
Practical, ongoing risk assessment to focus on the essential.
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Project management framework.
Routine documented strategy through custom project management.
What happens when you engage Aptum
Aptum runs every matter under our project management framework, with clear expectations on timing, cost and scope from the first call. Before you pay us anything, you get two points of contact, both free, so you know exactly where you stand. No surprises.
Step 1
Value conversation (free)
If the matter is one we can help with, we bring you in for a second conversation with the practice lead who would run your matter and your client experience coordinator. You get the time and expertise of a senior practitioner who has handled matters like yours, someone with real experience who can give you genuinely useful guidance on how to approach it. Real expertise before you have committed to anything, not a fake triage.
Step 2
Pathways assessment
Once you engage, you receive a documented strategy and a cost forecast aligned to the stages of your matter. For state tax matters that typically means deciding between objection, Tribunal review (VCAT, NCAT, QCAT) and Supreme Court appeal, working out the valuation or factual evidence needed, and identifying who at the SRO holds decision authority on the issues in dispute.
Step 3
Execution
Depending on the matter, this is the phase for drafting the objection, preparing valuation evidence, attending SRO conferences, filing the Tribunal application, running the Tribunal hearing, or appealing to the Supreme Court. Routine documented strategy. Regular communications. A relentless focus on the essential issues. Project management isn’t a bolt-on at Aptum, it’s a discipline embedded in every part of our practice.
How we manage cost
State tax matters cover a wide cost range, from a focused stamp duty objection to a multi-year landholder duty Tribunal review. What we commit to is one of our five client service promises: clear expectations as to the timing, costs and scope of our engagement, and updating those expectations as early as possible if anything changes.
Diagnostic call.
A 15-minute call to work out exactly what pathway is right for your matter, which SRO decision-maker is involved, and what the cost-benefit looks like.
Estimate and scope.
Once engaged, you receive a documented strategy and a cost forecast aligned to the stages of your matter. Stage-based budgets, regular reporting, and any scope changes documented and agreed in writing. Where a matter has a tight, defined scope (a single objection, a discrete valuation review, an interlocutory Tribunal step) we can give you a fixed-price option.
Investment mindset.
Aptum approaches every matter with an investment mindset: the most practical outcome in the shortest possible time, at the least possible cost, with the biggest possible return.
Recent matter outcomes
Landholder duty objection allowed in full
Land tax exemption restored on review
Stamp duty double-counting overturned
Frequently asked questions
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What is landholder duty?
Landholder duty is a state tax that applies when a person or entity acquires a “significant interest” in a “landholder” entity that holds land above the relevant threshold. It is a backup to stamp duty, designed to capture transactions that would otherwise avoid duty by transferring shares or units in an entity that owns land rather than the land itself. Michael Buscema’s comprehensive guide to landholder duty on the Aptum blog sets out when it applies, how it is calculated, and how to dispute it.
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When does landholder duty apply?
Landholder duty applies when three things line up: the entity is a landholder (it holds land above the threshold for the state), the person acquires a “significant interest” in the entity (the threshold differs by state but commonly 50 per cent for private companies and 90 per cent for listed entities), and the acquisition is not exempt. Each state has its own thresholds, its own definition of significant interest and its own exemptions.
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How is landholder duty calculated?
Landholder duty is generally calculated on the unencumbered value of the underlying land that the entity holds, scaled to the proportion of the entity that the person has acquired. The duty rates are usually the same as the standard transfer duty rates for the state. The way each SRO values the underlying land and the basis on which the assessment is calculated are both common points of dispute.
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How do I dispute a landholder duty assessment?
By objecting to the assessment. Each state has a statutory objection process with a deadline (usually 60 days from the date of the assessment in Victoria, with similar windows in other states). The objection sets out the grounds for disputing the assessment and is decided by the SRO. If the SRO disallows the objection, the next step is review at the State Tribunal (VCAT, NCAT, QCAT) or the Supreme Court. Aptum’s guide to landholder duty covers the objection pathways for each state.
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What is land tax and how is it different from landholder duty?
Land tax is an annual tax on the unimproved value of land you own. Landholder duty is a one-off tax on the acquisition of an interest in an entity that holds land. Land tax is calculated each year on the value of all the land you own (subject to exemptions). Landholder duty is a transaction tax. Both can be disputed by objection.
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What is the windfall gains tax?
Windfall gains tax is a Victorian tax that applies to the uplift in land value when land is rezoned. It applies where the rezoning increases the value of the land by more than $100,000 (with a tapered rate up to $500,000 and a flat 50 per cent rate above that). The tax has only been in operation since 1 July 2023, and the SRO’s interpretation of the legislation is still being tested through objections and Tribunal review.
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What is vacant residential land tax?
VRLT is a Victorian land tax surcharge on residential land that is unoccupied for more than six months in a calendar year. The scope was expanded from 1 January 2025 to apply state-wide (it was previously inner-Melbourne only). Exemptions are available for holiday homes, land under construction or renovation, recent change of ownership and other categories.
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Can I object to a high SRO valuation?
Yes. Valuation disputes are one of the most common types of state tax objection. The SRO uses the unimproved value or capital improved value of the land (depending on the tax) and that value can be challenged with valuation evidence. The objection succeeds or fails on the quality of the valuation evidence and the assumptions underpinning each valuation.
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What state taxes have changed recently?
Several. In Victoria: windfall gains tax (introduced 2023), expanded vacant residential land tax (state-wide from 1 January 2025), changes to the absentee owner surcharge, and changes to the corporate reconstruction concession. In NSW: changes to the foreign person surcharge land tax and surcharge purchaser duty. In Queensland, changes to land tax thresholds and the foreign acquirer duty. Where the legislation is recent, the SRO’s interpretation is also recent, which opens up real pathways for objection.
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What happens if my SRO objection is disallowed?
You can apply to the State Tribunal (VCAT in Victoria, NCAT in NSW, QCAT in Queensland) or the Supreme Court for review. The deadlines are statutory. The forum decides the matter afresh on the evidence. Aptum runs SRO objections, Tribunal reviews and Supreme Court appeals for state tax matters. The decision between Tribunal and Supreme Court usually turns on the nature of the issues, the evidence required, and the cost implications.
Offices
Aptum services state tax dispute clients across Australia from three offices, with deepest SRO experience in Victoria.
Melbourne (head office)
(03) 7020 9230
Suite 7.01, Level 7, 419 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Sydney
(02) 7202 3404
Level 1, 60 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000
Brisbane
(07) 3778 3693
Level 38, 71 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
Further Reading on Aptum
Aptum publishes regularly on state tax disputes, landholder duty, and SRO objections.
How to Challenge a Land Tax Assessment in Victoria: A Practical Guide
Learn how to object to a Victorian land tax assessment, what grounds justify a challenge, the 60-day deadline, and when specialist advice can protect your position.
Understanding landholder duty: A simple guide
If you’ve recently acquired an interest in a company or trust with land assets, you may have encountered the term ‘landholder…
State tax assessments have a clock too.
SRO objection deadlines are statutory. Once they pass, the objection is closed and the assessment stands. Most state tax assessments give you 60 days to object, and 60 days is shorter than it looks.
Aptum’s tax disputes team will tell you exactly where you stand, what the cost-benefit of objecting looks like, and what your options are. No surprises.