April 2024: depreciation reform proposals surface
A discussion paper out of Treasury floated tightening Division 40 depreciation rules on residential. Nothing changed — but the signalling was unmistakable.
Why I flagged it on air
Whenever Treasury floats a tax-policy paper, the probability of a future change rises materially. Investors who acted on the April 2024 signal — locking in current-rules depreciation schedules on new-build assets — got an extra two years of certainty before the 2026 Budget reshaped the entire landscape.
The principle
Tax-policy uncertainty is itself a yield. Locking certainty by acquiring under current rules is a hedge — and on new-build product specifically, the rules were always more likely to harden in your favour than against.
Dax Stanley
Founder & Principal Strategist, Hera Property. #1 international bestselling author of Real Estate Investing Using ChatGPT.