Moving Property in QLD
Between Trusts Without Stamp Duty

Duty exemption for
QLD trust restructures

Under the Duties Act 2001 (QLD), a transfer of dutiable property from one trust to another trust may be exempt from transfer duty — where the trusts have the same beneficiaries and the transfer is made for no consideration. This exemption is available for genuine restructures that do not change the beneficial ownership of the property.

Unlike NSW and Victoria, Queensland does not treat unit trusts as corporate entities for most duty purposes — meaning the corporate reconstruction provisions do not apply to trust-to-trust transfers in QLD. Instead, the dedicated trust restructure exemption under the Duties Act is the primary relief mechanism.

• Both trusts must have the same beneficiaries — identical beneficiary class, not merely the same Primary Beneficiary
• The transfer must be for no consideration — the receiving trust must not assume any liability of the transferring trust
• The purpose must be a genuine restructure — not a step in a broader transaction changing beneficial ownership
• Application to the Queensland Revenue Office is required before or at the time of the transfer
• CGT consequences must be separately addressed — the QLD duty exemption does not provide CGT relief
• GST treatment of the transfer must be confirmed — where the trust holds business assets, going concern analysis applies
• QLD also offers a small business restructure duty exemption (available from 7 September 2020) — but for trust-to-trust transfers the dedicated trust exemption remains the primary relief mechanism