New South Wales Consolidated Acts

DUTIES ACT 1997 - SECT 11

11 What is “dutiable property”?

(1) "Dutiable property" is any of the following:

(a) land in New South Wales,

(b) "transferable floor space" (also known as heritage floor space), being floor space area that:

(i) is recorded on a register kept by a local government council in New South Wales, and

(ii) derives from the unutilised development potential of land in New South Wales that contains improvements of heritage value, and

(iii) may, subject to obtaining all necessary consents and approvals, be utilised in the development of other land in New South Wales,

(c) a land use entitlement,

(d) shares:

(i) in a NSW company, or

(ii) in a corporation incorporated outside Australia that are kept on the Australian register kept in New South Wales,

Note: "Shares" is defined in the Dictionary to include rights to shares.
Some shares (namely, shares quoted on the ASX or a recognised stock exchange) are not dutiable property-see subsection (2).

(e) units in a unit trust scheme, being units:

(i) registered on a register kept in New South Wales, or

(ii) that are not registered on a register kept in Australia, but in respect of which the manager (or, if there is no manager, the trustee) of the unit trust scheme is a NSW company or is a natural person resident in New South Wales,

Note: "Units" is defined in the Dictionary to include rights to units.
Some units (namely, units quoted on the ASX or a recognised stock exchange) are not dutiable property-see subsection (2).

(g) a "business asset", being, at any relevant time:

(i) the goodwill of a business, if the business has supplied goods in New South Wales, or provided services in New South Wales, to a customer of the business during the previous 12 months, or

(ii) intellectual property that has been used or exploited in New South Wales during the previous 12 months, but only if the intellectual property is the subject of an arrangement that includes a dutiable transaction over goodwill referred to in subparagraph (i), or

(iii) a statutory licence or permission under a Commonwealth law, if the rights under the licence or permission have been exercised, during the previous 12 months, in respect of New South Wales or in an area that includes New South Wales or a part of New South Wales,

Note: "Intellectual property" is defined in the Dictionary. Business assets are subject to apportionment under section 28.

(h) a statutory licence or permission under a New South Wales law,

(h1) a gaming machine entitlement within the meaning of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 ,

(i) a "partnership interest", being an interest in a partnership that has partnership property that is dutiable property elsewhere referred to in this section,

(j) goods in New South Wales, if the subject of an arrangement that includes a dutiable transaction over any dutiable property (other than intellectual property) elsewhere referred to in this section, not including the following:

(i) goods that are stock-in-trade,

(ii) materials held for use in manufacture,

(iii) goods under manufacture,

(iv) goods held or used in connection with land used for primary production,

(v) livestock,

(vi) a registered motor vehicle,

(vii) a ship or vessel,

(k) an option to purchase land in New South Wales,

(l) an interest in any dutiable property referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this section, except to the extent that:

(i) it arises as a consequence of the ownership of a unit in a unit trust scheme and is not a land use entitlement, or

(ii) it is, or is attributable to, an option over dutiable property, or

(iii) it is an interest in a marketable security, being an interest that is traded on the Sydney Futures Exchange.

Note: In relation to interests in land, see clause 4 of the Dictionary.

(2) Despite subsection (1), the following marketable securities are not dutiable property:

(a) shares, or units in a unit trust scheme, that are quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange or a recognised stock exchange,

(b) an interest in shares, or an interest in units in a unit trust scheme, if:

(i) the shares or units are quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange or a recognised stock exchange, or

(ii) the interest is quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange or a recognised stock exchange.

(3) In the definition of "business asset" in this section, a reference to services provided to a customer includes a reference to anything done for a customer pursuant to a contractual obligation.

Note: Part 4 of this Chapter provides for the abolition, in stages, of duty on some of the types of dutiable property listed above.
The duty imposed on dutiable transactions involving shares and units referred to in section 11 (1) (d) and (e) is abolished on 1 July 2012. Marketable securities cease to be dutiable property on that date.
The duty imposed on dutiable transactions involving business assets referred to in section 11 (1) (g), statutory licences or permissions referred to in section 11 (1) (h) and poker machine entitlements referred to in section 11 (1) (h1) is abolished on 1 July 2012. Those things cease to be dutiable property on that date.