Introduction In Australian construction financing, a lender faces significant risks (a theme that reflects the broader risks in the Australian private credit market) especially if a borrower defaults on their loan or if the builder becomes insolvent during the project. A…
Introduction As the landscape of growth and risks in the Australian private credit market evolves, it faces greater regulatory scrutiny from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). With “poor private credit practices” designated as a key enforcement priority for 2026, the…
Introduction In March 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) initiated a significant review of the financial requirements for operators of managed funds, one of several recent regulatory changes for non-bank lenders. The regulator released Consultation Paper 388 to consult…
Introduction The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is intensifying its focus on the private credit sector, signalling a significant shift from surveillance to active enforcement in 2026. This heightened scrutiny follows the rapid expansion of the market and the…
Introduction The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) has been a central part of Australia’s personal property law since 2012, unifying the approach for creating and enforcing a security interest. Now, after a decade of operation, the government is introducing…
Introduction The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has established its strategic priorities for 2025-26, outlining a clear enforcement agenda for the Australian capital market. These priorities are designed to protect consumers and uphold market integrity, reflecting the regulator’s response…
Introduction The private credit market in Australia has expanded rapidly, prompting increased scrutiny from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). In its recent Report 820 (REP 820), ASIC details the results of its extensive private credit surveillance covering both…
If you lease or own retail premises in Western Australia within a strata complex (for example, a small shop in a strata shopping centre or mixed-use building), the question of who pays the strata levies can be surprisingly complex.
Landlords naturally want to pass on as much as possible as “outgoings”. Tenants are rightly concerned not to pay more than the law allows. The problem is that strata law and WA retail leasing law use different concepts – and they don’t line up neatly.
This article explains, in practical terms:
When strata levies can be recovered from a retail tenant;
The difference between the Administration Fund and Reserve (Sinking) Fund; and
Which parts of those levies must remain a landlord’s cost under WA’s Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 (WA) (the CT Act).
When the Seller Is Late, the Buyer Doesn’t Wear the Cost: GRM LAW Secures Default Interest for Client.
Settlement was scheduled, the Buyer was ready, and the Seller wasn’t—because of a caveat they needed to resolve. Rather than let time drift or absorb the cost of delay, we issued a formal default notice under General Condition 34 (GC 34) of the LIV/REIV (Jan-2024) contract, reserving all of the Buyer’s rights and confirming that default interest would accrue.
When a retail lease is signed, the landlord must disclose the first-year outgoings—what categories are recoverable, how they’re calculated and apportioned, and when they’re payable. That opening disclosure is not a promise that the dollar amount stays the same for the entire term. Costs move—council rates, water/sewerage, body corporate administration levies, shared services, etc.—and the RSLA is designed to handle that movement on a period-by-period basis.
From the second year onward, the regime resets each financial year via two documents:
an annual outgoings estimate (provided at least a month before the period starts), and
an audited annual statement (provided after the period ends).
If either document arrives late, the tenant can withhold outgoings until it’s provided. That is a timing right, not a permanent waiver.
Key principle: The Act fixes the types and method of recovery, but not a term-wide dollar cap.
The report uses a broad definition of private credit: non-bank, non-consumer lending that is not publicly traded or widely issued, covering everything from senior secured loans through to mezzanine, special situations and real estate development finance.
Globally, private credit now sits at around US$2.5 trillion of assets under management and has roughly quadrupled over the decade to 2023.
In Australia, estimates put the market at roughly $200 billion, with:
40–60% in real estate (much of it construction and development)
20–40% in corporate/commercial lending
10–30% in asset-backed/securitised structures.
Private credit emerged as banks pulled back from higher-risk lending after the GFC and as superannuation and private wealth chased higher yields in a low-rate world. Done well, it fills a genuine funding gap for businesses and projects that can’t access bank or bond markets on acceptable terms.
NSW: Since 1 Jan 2023, gyms/fitness studios (including yoga, barre, pilates and dance) are expressly listed as retail shops under the Retail Leases Regulation 2022 (NSW). NSW retail leasing rules apply.
QLD: Not automatically retail. In Queensland, fitness uses are not on the prescribed “retail” list. A gym/yoga/pilates lease in QLD is only a retail shop lease if it sits inside a “retail shopping centre” (location test) and no exclusion applies (e.g., large floor plate over 1,000 m², etc.).
Stand-alone QLD sites (like many Toowoomba sheds/warehouses converted to gyms) are usually commercial / non-retail, so landlords can pass through the full suite of outgoings if the lease says so (including land tax and management fees, which are typically restricted under the retail regime).
