On 25 June 2014, the Senate referred the question of the need
for a national approach to retail leasing arrangements to the
Economics References Committee for inquiry and report. The
Committee released its report on 18 March 2015.
In this alert, Partner Catherine Wheeler and Law Graduate
Kimberley Truong present the Committee's findings and
recommendations and highlight some of the issues which the
Committee considered.
Background
Retail tenancy leases in Australia are currently governed by
different legislation and regulations in each state and territory.
There is no specific retail tenancy legislation at Commonwealth
level.
The Economics References Committee was to consider whether a
national approach would create a fairer system and reduce the
burden on small to medium businesses with associated benefits to
landlords.
