Public Ruling DA232.2.3 Inclusion of chattels in AFAD residential land

What this ruling is about

1. Under Chapter 4 of the Duties Act 2001 (the Duties Act), an additional amount of duty (additional foreign acquirer duty, or AFAD) applies to direct or indirect transactions in land that are liable to transfer duty, landholder duty and corporate trustee duty where the land is ‘AFAD residential land’¹ and the acquirer under the transaction is a foreign person.²
2. AFAD residential land is land in Queensland that is or will be used solely or primarily for residential purposes; and on the land there is, or will be constructed, a building or part of a building (for the separate area a lot comprises) that is designed or approved by a local government for human habitation by a single family unit.
3. Section 232(2) of the Duties Act provides that for the purpose of imposing AFAD relating to transfer duty, a reference to AFAD residential land includes a reference to a chattel in Queensland if both the following apply:
   1. the chattel and the land are included in the same dutiable transaction under sections 29 or 30, whether or not the chattel is the subject of a separate agreement for transfer
   2. the use of the chattel can be directly linked to, or is incidental to, the use and occupation of the land.
4. The purpose of this public ruling is to provide examples of chattels that may be considered to be directly linked to, or incidental to, the use and occupation of land (and, therefore, be included as AFAD residential land) for the purposes of imposing AFAD.

Ruling and explanation

5. Examples of chattels that may be directly linked to, or incidental to, the use and occupation of AFAD residential land for the purposes of s.232(2) of the Duties Act include:
   1. household furniture
   2. household furnishings (e.g. curtains, blinds, carpets)
   3. household appliances (e.g. refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine)
   4. home entertainment systems (e.g. television, DVD player, sound system)
   5. household recreational equipment (e.g. home gym, billiard table)
   6. home gardening equipment (e.g. mower)
   7. BBQ settings
   8. swimming pool cleaning equipment (e.g. pool filtration pumps)
   9. mobile air conditioners.
6. Examples of chattels that would not generally be considered to be directly linked to, or incidental to, the use and occupation of AFAD residential land for the purposes of s.232(2) of the Duties Act include:
   1. car, boat, caravan, truck
   2. farm equipment (e.g. tractor)
   3. chattels used for commercial purposes.

Date of effect

7. This public ruling takes effect from 28 August 2023.

Amy Rosanowski
Acting Commissioner of State Revenue
Date of issue: 24 August 2023

References

Footnotes

1. Section 232 of the Duties Act
2. Section 240 of the Duties Act