DECEASED ESTATE AND PROBATE
The cost base depends on when the deceased bought it
If the deceased acquired the property before 20 September 1985, the first element of the beneficiary's cost base is the market value of the asset on the day the person died. If they acquired it on or after that date, the beneficiary generally inherits the deceased's cost base.
There is an important exception. The first element is the market value at the date of death where the property passed to you after 20 August 1996 (but not as a joint tenant) and, just before the deceased died, it was their main residence and was not being used to produce income. It also applies where the asset passed to the trustee of a special disability trust.
Separately, a full main residence exemption can apply where the disposal settles within two years of death; the Commissioner has a discretion to extend that period in circumstances outside the beneficiary's control, and a safe-harbour concession may apply. Executors also frequently need a date-of-death figure for probate and for dividing the estate, whether or not CGT ultimately bites.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
The ATO reviews the process, not just the number
Market valuations are used across CGT, GST margin scheme calculations, employee share schemes and consolidations. The ATO's guide sets out that the valuation must be objective, supported by appropriate evidence, specific to the provision being applied, and prepared as at the date the legislation specifies.
Its stated expectations include: adopting the most relevant methodology for the available data, using a secondary method as a cross-check where possible, and making impartial judgments about the reliability of inputs and assumptions. Where a valuation results in an asset being over- or under-valued and tax is underpaid, interest charges apply.
The common residential triggers are a main residence that started earning income, a property transferred between related parties, and an inherited property sold outside the two-year window.
SMSF ANNUAL VALUATION
Market value every 30 June, and one piece of paper is not enough
Trustees must value all fund assets at market value when preparing the fund's financial statements each year, to comply with regulation 8.02B of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994, and must give the approved SMSF auditor relevant, objective and supportable evidence on request.
The ATO's guidance is that, unless the property was recently purchased, trustees should consider a variety of sources, and that it is generally not sufficient for a valuation to rest on only one item of evidence. A valuation by a property valuation service provider — including an online service or a real estate agent — is acceptable, but if it is the sole source relied on it must specify the supportable data, for example the comparable sales used. Evidence should support a value as close as possible to 30 June, which matters more in a volatile market.
Where an auditor cannot obtain sufficient appropriate evidence, the consequence is a modified audit report and, potentially, an Auditor Contravention Report to the ATO.
FAMILY LAW AND SEPARATION
One expert, instructed by both sides
In the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, expert evidence in family law matters is governed by Part 7.1 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021. The intended course is a single expert witness on an issue such as the value of a property, appointed by agreement or by order, and instructed jointly — usually by a letter of instruction prepared by one solicitor and confirmed by the other.
If a party disagrees with the report, the rules provide the sequence: a conference with the expert (rule 7.25) and written questions to clarify the report (rule 7.26), which must be put within 7 days of a conference or, if there is no conference, within 21 days of receiving the report. Under rule 7.08 a party cannot tender another expert's report on the same issue without the court's permission, and the Full Court in Salmon & Salmon [2020] FamCAFC 134 held that the questioning and conference processes must be used first.
Practical consequence: the valuer's independence and the quality of the letter of instruction do most of the work. Shopping for a second opinion is not a strategy the rules accommodate.
TRANSFER DUTY — RELATED PARTIES
Duty is charged on value, not on what changed hands
Across the states and territories, duty is charged on the dutiable value of the transaction: broadly the higher of the consideration paid and the unencumbered value of the property. Duty can therefore apply even when no money changes hands, or the transfer is a gift — which is why a valuation is the ordinary requirement for a family or related-entity transfer.
The evidence each office wants differs. Queensland requires a market appraisal or valuation less than three months old, and for residential property that evidence must include three recent comparable sales (Public Ruling DA505.1, which also lets the Commissioner recover the cost of obtaining its own valuation). New South Wales requires appropriate evidence of value for related-party agreements and transfers, under Revenue Ruling DUT 012 v4, with DUT 044 v2 setting out who the Chief Commissioner regards as a suitably qualified valuer. Victoria accepts either an agent's letter of appraisal with a rate notice, or a valuation by an API Certified Practising Valuer or an REIV member with sworn valuer accreditation, dated within six months of the transfer or contract — and notes that rating values are rarely acceptable and that a matter can be referred to Valuer-General Victoria.
Lodgement clocks are separate from evidence rules — in Queensland, documents generally must be lodged for assessment within 30 days of signing. Requirements in SA, WA, Tasmania, the NT and the ACT follow the same logic but differ in detail; the jurisdiction table below is the starting point and your own revenue office is the authority.
LAND TAX AND RATING OBJECTIONS
Sixty days, and evidence you only get to file once
Statutory land valuations drive council rates and land tax. In Queensland an objection must be made within 60 days of the date of issue of the valuation notice, under the Land Valuation Act 2010; a late objection may be accepted within one year of issue in limited circumstances. If an objection is not "properly made", a correction notice gives 28 days to fix it. For valuations of $5 million and under, an objection conference may be offered, and an appeal to the Land Court must be made within 60 days of the written decision.
In New South Wales, land is valued as at 1 July each year, objections to a Notice of Valuation must be lodged within 60 days of issue, and all supporting evidence must be provided at the time of lodgement — there is no later opportunity to add to it. The Valuer General aims to decide within 90 days, and an unsatisfied objector may appeal to the Land and Environment Court.
Elsewhere the window is 60 days almost everywhere, but it starts from a different event: Victorian land tax objections run 60 days from the date on the assessment notice; South Australia runs 60 days from the first rate notice of the financial year; Western Australia 60 days from the date of issue on a rates, water, land tax or pastoral rent notice; and the ACT 60 days from receipt of the valuation notice, with an appeal to ACAT available after the decision. Tasmania and the Northern Territory run their own timeframes from the notice issued to you — confirm those two directly with the Office of the Valuer-General in that jurisdiction before relying on a number.
One rule holds in every jurisdiction: an objection is an evidence exercise, not a complaint. What moves a valuer is comparable land sales analysed against your parcel's constraints — flooding, contamination, topography, planning overlays — and, in leasehold or unimproved-value jurisdictions, land sales rather than house sales.
