The Commonwealth Rules That Govern Property Across Australia
Planning and land use in Australia are governed mainly by State and Territory law and by council planning schemes. Commonwealth law reaches property through building standards, tax, foreign investment, national environmental protection and native title. The 12 instruments on this page apply across Australia, so they are listed once here rather than on every area’s page.
Each entry records the version in force, a plain-English description and a link to the official text. Every instrument is checked against its official publisher each month, and a new version is recorded when it takes effect. Descriptions are APN’s own and are not legal advice; the official version of each instrument prevails.
The rules for a particular council area are on its own page, reached from the Planning Rules index →
2 of the 12 instruments have a version that took effect in the 90 days to 17 September 2026. They are:
- 24 August 2026: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Official →
- 1 July 2026: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Official →
The National Construction Code sets the technical standards for new buildings and building work. It is published by the Australian Building Codes Board and takes legal effect through each State and Territory's building laws, which can vary it or choose when to adopt a part. The Livable Housing Design Standard applies where a State or Territory has adopted it.
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010Promotes the disclosure of energy efficiency information about buildings, with the aim of contributing to Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. It provides for accredited assessors, auditors and an auditing authority. | Cth | Act | 14 Oct 2024 | Official → |
| ABCB Housing Provisions Standard 2025Sets out construction requirements for housing under the National Construction Code, arranged in sections that each carry their own scope and application, covering matters such as structural provisions, earthworks, drainage, termite risk management, and footings, slabs and associated elements. It includes schedules of variations for the Commonwealth and individual States and the Northern Territory. | Cth | Code | Current edition | Official → |
| Livable Housing Design Standard 2025Sets livable housing design requirements for dwellings, covering access to the dwelling, the dwelling entrance, internal doors and corridors, sanitary compartments, showers, and reinforcement of bathroom and sanitary compartment walls. | Cth | Code | Current edition | Official → |
| National Construction Code 2025 Volume OneForms Volume One of the National Construction Code, containing part of the Building Code of Australia together with introductions to the Code and to this volume, a list of NCC Specifications and a history of the volume's adoption, published by the Australian Building Codes Board. | Cth | Code | Current edition | Official → |
| National Construction Code 2025 Volume ThreeForms Volume Three of the National Construction Code, containing the Plumbing Code of Australia together with introductions to the Code and to this volume, a list of NCC Specifications and a history of the volume's adoption, published by the Australian Building Codes Board. | Cth | Code | Current edition | Official → |
| National Construction Code 2025 Volume TwoForms Volume Two of the National Construction Code, containing part of the Building Code of Australia together with introductions to the Code and to this volume, a list of NCC Specifications and a history of the volume's adoption, published by the Australian Building Codes Board. | Cth | Code | Current edition | Official → |
Commonwealth tax law reaches property through income tax on rent and capital gains, including the main residence exemption and deductions for investment property, and through goods and services tax on sales of new residential premises and commercial property. Land tax, stamp duty and council rates are State, Territory and local matters, listed on each area's page.
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999Imposes a goods and services tax on supplies and provides for input tax credits, with net amounts worked out and paid or refunded for each tax period. It sets out the basic rules, exemptions, special rules and interpretative provisions, binds the States and Territories, and records the Commonwealth's intention that GST revenue be granted to the States and Territories. | Cth | Act | 1 Jan 2026 | Official → |
| Income Tax Assessment Act 1997Imposes annual Commonwealth income tax and sets out who must pay it, how the tax payable on taxable income is worked out, and related obligations of taxpayers. It restates provisions of the earlier income tax assessment Act in a clearer style without changing their meaning, extends to the external Territories, and deals with matters including particular kinds of assessable income. | Cth | Act | 1 Jul 2026 | Official → |
Foreign persons generally need approval before acquiring an interest in Australian residential land, and acquisitions of agricultural and commercial land above set thresholds need approval or notification. Several States and Territories also charge foreign purchasers additional duty or land tax, listed on each area's page.
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975Regulates the acquisition by foreign persons of certain interests in Australian land, and foreign acquisition and control of business enterprises and mineral rights, through a regime of significant and notifiable actions. It imposes record-keeping obligations, limits the use and disclosure of protected information, and maintains a Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets to which foreign persons must give notice of specified actions. | Cth | Act | 5 Dec 2025 | Official → |
| Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015Prescribes detailed matters supporting the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act, including definitions used in that Act and rules for interpreting it. These cover when an Australian entity or business counts as an agribusiness, how the assets of entities and businesses are valued, and how amounts stated in foreign currencies are converted. | Cth | Regulation | 1 Nov 2025 | Official → |
An action likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, such as a listed threatened species, a World Heritage property or a Ramsar wetland, needs Commonwealth approval in addition to any State or local approval.
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999Protects the environment at the Commonwealth level, with particular focus on matters of national environmental significance. It also promotes ecologically sustainable development through the careful conservation and use of natural resources, and supports the conservation of biodiversity. | Cth | Act | 24 Aug 2026 | Official → |
Native title can coexist with some other interests in land. Where it may exist, government acts affecting the land, such as granting an interest in the land or acquiring it compulsorily, follow the procedures the Act sets out.
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Title Act 1993Recognises and protects native title and provides for its extinguishment and for approved determinations of native title. It validates past and intermediate period acts attributable to the Commonwealth, States and Territories, confirms past extinguishment, and provides entitlements to compensation, with a preamble setting out the considerations Parliament took into account in relation to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. | Cth | Act | 12 Jun 2024 | Official → |
Provides for planning and land management in the Australian Capital Territory. It establishes an Authority with functions and powers, subject to ministerial direction, and governs how the National Capital Plan is prepared, consulted on, approved by the Minister, scrutinised by Parliament and amended, with works in Designated Areas required to conform to the Plan and gain the Authority's approval. It requires the Territory Plan to be consistent with the National Capital Plan and deals with the administration of National Land and Territory Land, including minerals and the taking of water.
Sets out the National Capital Plan, a legislative instrument made under the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 for planning the national capital. The Plan is arranged in four volumes and has been amended a number of times since the Minister first approved it.
These apply in the Australian Capital Territory only, and are listed on the Australian Capital Territory page →
Commonwealth legislation information is sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation under CC BY 4.0. National Construction Code information is sourced from the Australian Building Codes Board under CC BY 4.0. Links lead to each instrument’s official publisher.
