Treasury is consulting on whether and how retail tenancy and related commercial leasing laws should be made more consistent across the states and territories. The consultation paper asks 27 questions covering coverage, disclosure, rent and rent review, outgoings, fit-out and make-good, dispute resolution and the options for a national model.

API attended Treasury’s technical roundtable on 18 September and has prepared a draft submission, linked below. API submits that the rent determination machinery is the part of the framework that most needs national alignment and has had the least attention. The same task is done under eight sets of rules, and Treasury’s illustrative baseline leaves it out.

We want your feedback on the draft. Treasury has asked for practical examples and evidence of cost, so experience from your own practice is especially useful: delays, disputes, appointment clauses that do not work, or anything the draft has missed.

Send comments to Harriet Warr, General Manager Policy and Standards, at [email protected] by Sunday 4 October 2026.

Submissions to Treasury close 12 October 2026.

 

Read API Draft Submission

Read Treasury Consultation paper