Partners Toby Eggleston, Nick Heggart and Ryan Leslie discuss Treasury’s 10 April 2026 exposure draft legislation implementing and expanding the 2024 budget proposals on when non-residents pay Australian CGT. The draft materially broadens “taxable Australian real property” beyond general law real property (post the YTL and Newmont decisions) to include rights over land, contractual rights, and fixed or installed assets expected to be on land for most of their useful life (e.g., wind/solar assets, pipelines, mining equipment, tenant fixtures), plus water entitlements, with some elements proposed to apply retrospectively to 12 December 2006. It also includes a treaty-override via the International Tax Agreements Act, changes the principal asset test to a 365-day lookback, introduces a limited 50% CGT discount for certain renewable generation disposals to 1 July 2030, and tightens the non-resident CGT withholding/declaration and clearance certificate processes, all amid a 14-day consultation period.

Want to go deeper? Read our briefing note here: https://www.hsfkramer.com/insights/2026-04/australias-non-resident-cgt-changes

00:10 Welcome and agenda

00:32 Budget shock announcement

02:34 Overview of reforms

02:57 Expanded real property definition

06:25 Assets newly in scope

09:07 Uncertainty and edge cases

11:25 Retrospective start dates

14:39 Treaty override explained

23:26 Indirect interest test changes

27:54 Renewables CGT discount

31:14 Withholding and notifications

34:18 Consultation and wrap up