News

Property, Planning & Environment: 2025 Year in Review

16/12/2025

As we come to the end of another busy year, our national Property, Planning & Environment team reflects on significant achievements, developments, and industry trends, and looks forward to what 2026 may have in store.

“I am delighted to announce several significant appointments within our national team. Having recently assumed the role of Practice Team Leader, following 11 years as Managing Partner at Piper Alderman, I look forward to leveraging my leadership experience to further advance our team’s success.

Effective 1 January 2026, Kylie Maxwell will be promoted to Partner in Brisbane, further strengthening our leadership presence in Queensland. In Sydney, Alicia Chryssochoides will be elevated to Partner in Planning & Environment. Although based in Sydney, Alicia’s expertise and experience will continue to benefit our team on a national scale.

I am also proud to highlight the notable achievements of our Perth property practice, which assists to distinguish Piper Alderman as a firm which delivers comprehensive real estate services across all mainland states of Australia.”

Tony Britten-Jones – Practice Team Leader

Industry insights 

Australia’s real estate sector in 2025 continued to grow through policy evolution, market resilience, and technological transformation, as governments and industry stakeholders respond to affordability challenges, sustainability imperatives, and shifting consumer expectations.

Legislative and Regulatory Changes

2025 introduced significant reforms across multiple fronts:

  • Rental Reforms: States strengthened tenant protections, including limits on rent increases, enhanced eviction safeguards, and mandatory disclosure of digital alterations in property advertising. Privacy protections were expanded under the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025, aligning with Australian Privacy Principles.
  • Seller Disclosure Regime: Queensland introduced mandatory seller disclosure requirements from August 2025. This change has been on the horizon for quite sometime and the real estate market has been very receptive to the additional information within seller disclosure provided to buyers.

Housing Affordability and Rental Market Pressures

Housing affordability remains a critical issue. Despite modest improvements from interest rate cuts earlier in the year, affordability metrics are still near record lows. The median dwelling value sits around $860,000, with households spending 45% of income on mortgage repayments and 33% on rent. Saving a 20% deposit for a house now takes approximately 11–12 years. Rental markets remain tight, with vacancy rates hovering near 1.2% nationally, and affordability stress persists for low-income households, particularly in Perth, Sydney, and regional Queensland.

Sustainability and Environmental Standards

Sustainability remains a cornerstone of property development policy. The passage of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and state-level initiatives such as NSW’s Sustainable Buildings SEPP reinforce requirements for energy efficiency, water conservation, and reduced emissions in new and retrofitted buildings. Developers are incentivised through tax breaks for eco-friendly projects, while ESG compliance and climate-related disclosures have become mainstream expectations.

Market Performance and Outlook

The residential market showed strong growth, supported by the Australian Government 5% deposit and Help to Buy schemes. In addition, many state Governments have measured the threshold for the payment of stamp duty to provide many first home buyers with full relief from stamp duty.

Electronic Contracting , Pexa and other technology innovations have improved efficiency in the contract execution and conveyancing process.

Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide led price growth, while Sydney and Melbourne saw more subdued conditions due to affordability constraints and higher listings. National dwelling values rose by 4–5%, with units gaining popularity as buyers seek more affordable options. Rental inflation eased to 4.5% annually, down from pandemic highs, but remains elevated.

Key Takeaways

The 2025 reforms and market trends underscore Australia’s commitment to affordability, sustainability, and innovation. For home buyers, renters, investors, and developers, success hinges on understanding these regulatory shifts and leveraging technology to navigate the competitive and evolving property landscape. As housing supply initiatives and ESG compliance gain momentum, the sector is positioned for long-term resilience and consistent growth.

Team movements 

In addition to the Partner appointments, the national property, planning & environment team was delighted to see the promotions of Lauren Abbott (Special Counsel) and Andrew Zhao (Associate) in Brisbane, and Alexandra Turner (Associate) in Adelaide.

We also welcomed Angela Markotich (Associate), Giorgia Robertson (Lawyer) in Brisbane and Jasmine Sinclair (Conveyancer) in Adelaide.

Significant matters 

Throughout the year, we continued to act for our clients, across various industries in a number of transactions and developments, including:

Alceon Group – Northshore Office Building

The Alceon Group recently completed an additional office building at Northshore Hamilton (QLD). Piper Alderman provided comprehensive legal support to Alceon throughout the leasing process, securing commercial tenancies for the new development.

Acure Asset Management

Piper Alderman provided legal advice for the acquisition of two office buildings by Acure Asset Management, a leading commercial property investor: Varsity One at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast, and 339 Coronation Drive in Milton, Brisbane.

Charter Hall

Piper Alderman advised on the sale of 23 childcare centre’s across four states. The team managed regulatory compliance, triple net lease structures, and coordinated transactions across several jurisdictions, preserving asset quality and delivering strategic portfolio optimisation.

Our team also advised on reciprocal transactions between Charter Hall funds involving logistics assets. The team addressed lease compliance and third-party development risks, ensuring alignment across fund mandates.

CS Development Group

The role out of Apartment Projects for CSDG has continued with over 1000 apartments under construction in 2025 and the acquisition of further development sites.

Piper Alderman provides a comprehensive legal service to CSDG which includes preparation and negotiation of contracts to acquire development sites; the preparation of off the plan disclosure statements and contracts, together with off the plan conveyancing.

Glen Carpark Pty Ltd

Piper Alderman assisted in the acquisition of a council site through a competitive EOI. The team navigated VicTrack covenants, FIRB approval, and Section 173 Agreement negotiations, securing a record-value purchase.

Jumbuck Pastoral

Piper Alderman advised Jumbuck Pastoral on the sale of Rawlinna Station, Australia’s largest sheep station spanning over 1 million hectares, to UK-based Consolidated Pastoral Company. The transaction involved multiple pastoral leases, vendor entities, and regulatory approvals, including FIRB and WA government requirements.

KM Property Funds

Piper Alderman handled the successful disposal of The Stables Shopping Centre at Golden Grove in South Australia as well as the Westpac building in Bedford Park in South Australia.

Port of Brisbane

Piper Alderman continues to advise on significant commercial matters for the Port of Brisbane. This year included work on the renewal and extension of key long-term quay line agreements that support ongoing Port operations.  We also saw the fruition of complex agreement for lease work with the completion of an award winning 6-star facility in the Port West precinct. This facility highlights the Port’s continued commitment to sustainability, innovation and collaboration with its many customers and contractors and we are very proud to be part of this.

Sekisui House Australia

Piper Alderman acted on the sale of “The Greenhouse” office building in the West Village project in Brisbane for Sekisui House Australia, an innovative, sustainable, residential property developer.

Sunkin Property Group

Piper Alderman acted on Victoria’s first net-zero medium-density community, advising on project structuring, FIRB exemptions, and subdivision. The team coordinated with architects and agents to deliver sustainable, high-volume sales documentation.

Super Retail Group

Piper Alderman represents SLG in managing a portfolio of 750+ stores and has streamlined SRG’s leasing documentation and processes across all jurisdictions. The team addressed post-COVID rent relief, compliance, and operational efficiency, delivering a tailored national suite of documents to support strategic growth and risk mitigation.

Vanderbilt Private Equity

Piper Alderman acted for Vanderbilt on the acquisition of residential development parcels and following subdivision on the sale of over 300 house and land packages and apartments in Toowoomba and the City of Moreton Bay.

Recognition 

This year, we have achieved outstanding recognition – both on a team and individual basis as detailed below. We are grateful to our clients and colleagues for the feedback given to the organisers of these awards and look forward to another successful year in 2026.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific

In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Piper Alderman was recognised across 15 areas of law including Real Estate with John Wu and Janet Wong named as key lawyers.

The Best Lawyers in Australia

In the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia, 57 of our lawyers have been named a ‘Best Lawyer’ and 17 of our senior lawyers have been named in the ‘Ones to Watch’ list, including the following in our real estate team:

We were also delighted to receive some very kind feedback from clients and contacts during the research process for the legal directories, including the following testimonials from The Legal 500 Asia Pacific: Australia, 2025 edition:

‘The Piper Alderman team are a perfectly balanced outfit. They are genuinely good people to work with.’

‘Their response time is excellent, advice is commercial, and their depth of knowledge is thorough.’

‘They provide clients with practical advice and develop strategies to resolve matters in the most efficient and cost effective way. The team is very accessible, friendly, and takes the time to get to know their client on a personal level and to understand what is important to the client’s business.’

‘In my dealings with Piper Alderman I can say that their extensive knowledge and experience gives myself great comfort that the matters are dealt with in a professional manner to deliver the best possible outcomes. The team of experienced individuals give excellent, straight forward sound advice.’

‘The people in the real estate team clearly have significant experience. Their communication is always thorough regardless of the size of the matter.’

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