New rules in force since 15 September change how the Commissioner decides whether land is residential. Vacant sites in mixed zones, short stay properties and part built projects are all affected, and a new refund path opens for land developed for commercial use.

South Australia has quietly changed one of the most important questions in its property tax system.

It is not the rate of duty. It is the test that decides whether any duty is payable at all.

On 15 September 2026, the Stamp Duties (Residential Purposes and Residential Land) Amendment Act 2026 came into operation. It rewrites how land is classified as residential, primary production or neither. For anyone buying development sites in South Australia, that classification is the difference between paying full duty and paying nothing.

South Australia only charges duty on residential and farming land

South Australia is unusual among the states.

Since 1 July 2018, transfers of land used for purposes other than residential or primary production have attracted no stamp duty. That untaxed category is called “qualifying land”. Commercial, industrial and most other land sits inside it.

Residential and primary production land still attracts duty at standard conveyance rates. Foreign purchasers of residential land also pay the 7 per cent foreign ownership surcharge on top.

So the line between residential and qualifying land carries real money. The amendment moves that line.

What is qualifying land in South Australia?

Qualifying land is land used for any purpose other than residential purposes or primary production, as defined in section 2 of the Stamp Duties Act 1923 (SA). Transfers of qualifying land executed on or after 1 July 2018 attract no stamp duty. Since 15 September 2026, vacant land is taken to be residential, and so not qualifying land, if its Planning and Design Code zone or subzone allows a residence or other accommodation, even where other uses are also allowed.

Vacant land is now judged on whether a home is allowed

Under the old approach, RevenueSA’s guidance described a test built around zoning under the former Development Plans. Vacant land in a zone envisaging residential use was treated as residential. But there was an important qualification. If the zoning indicated the land could also be used for some other purpose, other than primary production, it was not taken to be residential.

That qualification is gone.

Under the new section 2(1a) of the Stamp Duties Act 1923, vacant land is taken to be residential if it sits within a zone or subzone under the Planning and Design Code that allows a residence or other accommodation. The Act says this applies even where the zoning also allows the land to be used for something else.

That matters most for mixed use zones.

A vacant site where the Code permits apartments alongside shops or offices could previously fall outside duty. It now falls inside it. The test is no longer what else the land could become. It is whether a home is one of the options.

Buildings are judged on what they could be used for

For land that is not vacant, the test has also widened.

Land is now taken to be residential if it is, or is capable of being, occupied as a residence or as accommodation. It also captures land that will be capable of that occupation once building work already under way at the date of transfer is completed.

The Act says this applies regardless of how long occupation lasts or what other purpose the land is used for. It also states that land can be residential whether or not it is rented for short stay accommodation.

New regulation 5A lists the features the Commissioner may treat as indicating residential capability. They include a room designed for overnight occupation, bathroom facilities, a kitchen or kitchenette, and laundry facilities or the plumbing needed to install them. Shared facilities count.

In practical terms, a half finished townhouse project changing hands is now clearly in scope. So is a house used as a holiday let.

The test is no longer what else the land could become. It is whether a home is one of the options.

Some accommodation is carved out

The new regulation 4A excludes certain land from the residential category.

Purpose built student accommodation is excluded, provided it is developed and managed exclusively for enrolled students with communal areas and facilities. So is land carrying the Valuer General’s land use codes for hotels, motels, serviced apartments, short term accommodation with multiple units, and nursing homes and similar health facilities.

Those exclusions also flow through to the foreign purchaser surcharge and the foreign landholder surcharge.

Retirement villages, caravan parks and boarding houses do not appear on the list.

Unused farming land is judged on the Valuer General’s classification

The primary production test follows a similar pattern.

Land is taken to be primary production land if it is predominantly used that way. Land not currently in use is also caught if the Valuer General has assigned it a primary production classification.

This mirrors the approach RevenueSA has applied since the 2015 reforms. It now sits in the Act’s definitions section, alongside the new residential test.

A refund path exists for land developed for commercial use

The wider net comes with a release valve.

New sections 60D and 60E, supported by regulations 10C and 10D, give relief where duty is charged on vacant land that is then developed for a purpose that would make it qualifying land. In plain terms, that means development for a predominantly commercial, industrial or other non residential, non farming use.

There are two routes.

The refund route applies after the event. Duty is paid at transfer, and the purchaser later applies for a refund once the land has been developed for the qualifying purpose.

The exemption route applies up front. The purchaser applies at or before transfer and declares the land will be developed for a qualifying purpose.

Both routes share the same conditions. The qualifying purpose must be the first new predominant purpose the land is developed for after the transfer. The development must be completed within three years, or five years if the Commissioner agrees on application. A change of use on its own does not count as development, and neither does subdividing the land.

The exemption carries a sting. If the declared development will not happen in time, the purchaser must notify the Commissioner. The exemption can be revoked, and duty then becomes payable from the date of transfer, with interest and penalty tax on top.

What the change means for builders and developers

The effect is not evenly spread.

For residential builders buying a standard block in a neighbourhood zone, little changes. That land was dutiable before and remains dutiable now. First home buyer relief on new homes and vacant land operates as a separate scheme.

The shift lands on the edges of the market. Mixed use sites, part completed projects, short stay stock and any site where the zoning left room for argument.

Colliers data we reported earlier showed nearly 90 per cent of the Adelaide development land transactions handled by its local investment team in 2025 involved residential and accommodation sites. That is the part of the market where the zoning question now carries the most weight.

For a developer planning apartments on a mixed use site, the refund path offers no help. Housing is not a qualifying purpose. Duty that may once have been argued away is now a cost to be priced into the land deal and the feasibility.

For a developer planning a warehouse or shopfronts on the same site, the position is different. Duty can be avoided or recovered, but only if the build is finished within the window. That puts program risk squarely on the tax outcome.

Timing on site now has a direct line to the tax bill.

The bottom line

South Australia has not raised its duty rates. It has redrawn the map of what counts as residential.

The practical effect is more certainty for the Commissioner and less room for argument by purchasers. Land where a home is allowed is now treated as land for homes, unless it is developed for something else, on time.

For anyone pricing a South Australian site, the zoning map and the construction program now matter to the duty calculation as much as the purchase price does.

We will keep tracking how RevenueSA applies the new rules as guidance is published. Follow The Good Builder for more on the policy settings shaping Australian construction industry trends.

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Frequently asked questions

Last updated 30 September 2026. RevenueSA guidance may be updated as the new rules bed in.

General Information Only. This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. It does not take into account your particular circumstances. You should seek advice from a qualified professional before making any decision based on this information. The Good Builder accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this content.

Author: TGB Editorial