When you buy property through an SMSF, a trust or a company, the purchaser named on the contract must be the legal entity that will hold the title. That is usually the fund’s trustee or, where an LRBA requires a separate holding trustee or custodian, that holding trustee; otherwise it is the trust’s trustee or the company, named with its ACN. Settle that name, and the paperwork behind it, before you sign, because changing it later can cost stamp duty, time or both.
Your accountant has said ‘buy it in the fund’. You have found the property, and the agent wants a purchaser name for the contract by Friday. Whose name is it, and what has to be ready first?
Whether to buy through a super fund, a family trust or a company is a question for your accountant or licensed financial adviser. This article starts after that decision, with what changes in the conveyancing.
Who goes on the contract when an SMSF buys a property?
An SMSF cannot sign a contract as ‘the fund’. A self-managed super fund is a type of trust, so the purchaser is the fund’s trustee. A trustee is the person or company that holds property on behalf of someone else. If the fund is borrowing, a separate custodian buys instead, as the next section explains.
A fund has either individual trustees or a corporate trustee. Individual trustees are named together as the buyer, and each one signs. A corporate trustee is a company, and its directors sign for it.
Either way, the contract names the trustee in its capacity as trustee of the fund. For example: ‘Smith Super Pty Ltd as trustee for the Smith Super Fund’. Section 37 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) says the Registrar does not record any trust in the Register. So the Register and title search show only the trustee as registered proprietor; the trust itself is not recorded in the Register.
A typical SMSF property purchase here is a fund buying a rented townhouse in Clyde North or Officer with its own money. If a tenant is already there, the lease and bond bring their own steps. See the guide to buying a property with a tenant already in it.
Does an SMSF purchase need a bare trust?
An SMSF purchase does not ordinarily need the separate holding-trust structure discussed here unless the fund is using an LRBA to borrow for the acquisition. From 10 August 2026, a fund generally cannot use an LRBA to acquire a new residential investment. The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) mostly stops an SMSF from borrowing at all. The main exception is a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, or LRBA.
The Australian Taxation Office describes an LRBA as a loan the fund’s trustee takes out to buy an asset. The asset is held in a separate holding trust, often called a bare trust or custodian trust. The fund holds the beneficial interest, meaning it gets the benefit of the property. It can take legal ownership once the loan is repaid.
For acquisitions under arrangements entered into on or after 10 August 2026, real property acquired under an LRBA must be business real property. That generally means land and buildings used wholly and exclusively in a business. LRBAs are not banned. The change is to what they can pay for.
What that means for the name on the contract:
- Residential investment, acquisition under an arrangement entered into on or after 10 August 2026. The fund cannot finance it with an LRBA. The ATO says a fund can still buy residential property that meets the other rules, just not with that loan. The purchaser is the fund’s trustee, and no bare trust is needed.
- Business real property bought with a loan. The bare trust structure still applies. The custodian, or holding trustee, is the purchaser and goes on the title.
- Acquisition under an arrangement entered into before 10 August 2026. The new real-property restriction does not apply to a borrowing arrangement to the extent that the acquisition occurs under an arrangement entered into before that date, even if settlement or the borrowing occurs later.
Where an LRBA requires a holding trustee or custodian, the purchaser and holding-trust structure should be established correctly from the outset. The fund’s adviser or lawyer should settle that structure before the contract is signed. Your adviser also confirms the fund can buy the property at all.
Why the purchaser name has to be right before you sign
The purchaser name has to be right at signing, because changing it later can bring extra duty and the person who signed stays liable. Signing in your own name to ‘switch it to the fund later’ only partly works under the standard contract.
The general conditions are the standard terms in the back of the Law Institute of Victoria and REIV Contract of Sale of Land. General condition 4 lets the purchaser nominate a substitute or additional person to take the transfer. The nomination must be made at least 14 days before settlement is due. The named purchaser stays personally liable under the contract. Developer and off-the-plan contracts often set their own nomination terms.
Duty is a separate question, and the State Revenue Office of Victoria (SRO) makes three points:
- A nomination on its own does not trigger the sub-sale rules. It triggers them when it involves extra payment, called additional consideration, or land development. Duty can then be charged twice.
- Duty can apply when property moves from being held personally to being held as trustee, or the reverse, even if the title does not change.
- For a fund borrowing under an LRBA, the bare trust’s duty exemption depends on showing the fund paid all the purchase money, deposit included.
That last point is easy to trip over. For the LRBA duty exemption, the fund must provide all of the purchase money, including the deposit. The source of the deposit and purchase money should be checked before payment.
Buying a property in a family trust
When you are buying property in a trust, the buyer is the trustee, not ‘the trust’. A trust cannot sign a contract or hold a title itself. The trustee may be one or more people or a company. If it is a company, the next section applies as well.
The SRO raises two points to have your accountant confirm before the contract is signed:
- Land tax trust surcharge. The SRO says land held on trust is usually taxed at a higher rate than land owned by individuals. The surcharge applies to most discretionary, unit and fixed trusts once the trust’s taxable land is worth $25,000 or more. Trustees must tell the SRO within one month of acquiring land on trust.
- Foreign trust status. Foreign purchaser additional duty is an extra duty on foreign buyers of residential property, including foreign trusts. The SRO says a discretionary trust with any potential foreign beneficiary is generally treated as a foreign trust. It also notes that most family trusts are discretionary. So the accountant should check the trust deed before you sign.
Buying a property through a company
When you are buying property through a company, the purchaser is the company, named exactly as registered, with its ACN. That is the Australian Company Number, the number every company is given on registration.
The standard contract’s signing page provides for a company to execute under section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The required signatories depend on the company’s structure, with the signatory’s capacity noted under each signature.
This is where a signer can end up personally on the hook. Under the standard contract:
- general condition 2 makes anyone who signs for a proprietary limited company buyer personally liable, as if they were the buyer, if the company defaults
- general condition 3 lets the seller require all the directors to guarantee the company’s performance.
A proprietary limited company has ‘Pty Ltd’ in its name. If a fund or trust has a Pty Ltd trustee, these terms apply to that purchase too. Special conditions can change the general conditions, so check the contract you are given.
A company buyer also gets no cooling-off period. Section 31 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) gives a buyer three clear business days to end most private-sale contracts. Section 31(5)(d) says the section does not apply where the purchaser is a corporate body. That includes a company buying as trustee of a fund or trust, but not individual trustees. Cooling-off has other exceptions, set out in the guide to the steps from signing to settlement. For a company, it is a strong reason to have the contract reviewed before anyone signs.
Stamp duty and land tax: what to have your accountant confirm before you sign
Stamp duty and land tax are run by the State Revenue Office of Victoria, and for an entity purchase the answers depend on the structure. Take these questions to your accountant before you sign:
- If the fund is borrowing, is the property business real property?
- Does the trust deed allow the purchase?
- Could the trust have a foreign beneficiary, even a potential one?
- Which entity pays the deposit, and from which account?
- Does the purchase have to be notified to the SRO for land tax?
What the conveyancer needs from you, and when
For an entity purchase, the conveyancer needs the structure settled before the contract is signed. Have these ready:
After signing, expect to provide identity checks for each person who signs, and proof of their authority to sign for the entity. The identity steps for buyers on this website are written for individuals. An entity purchase needs more, so allow extra time.
- the exact purchaser name and capacity, confirmed in writing by your accountant
- for a fund or trust, the trust deed, or the relevant pages of it
- for a fund that is borrowing, the bare trust deed and the custodian’s details
- for a company or corporate trustee, the ACN and the directors who will sign.
The order that works is this. First, get the purchaser name and structure confirmed in writing by your accountant. Then, if you are buying as an SMSF trustee, send the contract to Conveyancing Today for review before anything is signed, with those details in hand.
When you are ready, you can request a quote for your purchase online.
Frequently asked questions
Can an SMSF still buy an investment property in Victoria?
Yes. The 10 August 2026 change limits what a fund can borrow for, not what it can own. A fund paying from its own money can still buy an investment property, provided the purchase meets the other super rules.
Can my SMSF borrow to buy a house?
Generally not. For acquisitions under arrangements entered into on or after 10 August 2026, an LRBA for real property is limited to business real property. An ordinary residential investment is not business real property. Transitional rules preserve acquisitions under arrangements entered into before that date.
What happens if the contract is signed in the wrong name?
A new buyer can be nominated under the standard contract, but no later than 14 days before settlement, and the original signer is still bound. Some changes of buyer also attract duty again, which is why the name is best fixed before signing.
Can a family trust buy a house?
Yes, through its trustee, who becomes the registered owner. Ask your accountant first about the land tax trust surcharge and whether the trust could count as foreign.
Does a company get a cooling-off period?
No. The Sale of Land Act takes corporate buyers out of the three clear business days of cooling-off, and that includes a company buying as trustee.
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. It is not financial or taxation advice either. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified conveyancer or solicitor, and speak with your accountant or licensed financial adviser about the structure itself.