The rules changed on 10 August. The opportunity didn’t.

For commercial property, yes. New residential borrowing inside superannuation ended on 10 August 2026. Commercial property that satisfies the business real property definition remains available under the same limited recourse borrowing arrangement rules. Confirm the current legislative position with your adviser before acting.

Broadly, land and buildings used wholly and exclusively in one or more businesses. It is the test that allows a fund to acquire property from a related party and to lease it back to a member’s own business. Not every non-residential property qualifies, and the assessment belongs with your accountant and adviser. We structure the lending around their conclusion.

Where the property is business real property, yes, and your trading entity can lease it from the fund at market rates. It is one of the few arrangements superannuation law specifically permits between a fund and a related party.

Up to 80% LVR is achievable against business real property, subject to fund liquidity, lender criteria and eligibility. The lender pool for SMSF lending is materially smaller than for standard commercial, which is why lender selection matters more here than almost anywhere.

Existing arrangements are protected. The practical issue is refinancing: the pool of lenders willing to take on residential SMSF loans is shrinking, and pricing on a shrinking pool tends to move one way. A structural review now tells you where you stand.

Because they involve more parties than any other transaction: fund, bare trust, accountant, auditor, adviser, lender and conveyancer. Most of the delay is sequencing rather than assessment, which is exactly what we manage.

An SMSF in Australia can buy business real property you already own, personally or through your company or trust, at market value supported by a valuer’s report, and lease it back to your business at market rent under a written lease. It is one of the few related-party acquisitions superannuation law permits, and the lending is arranged the same way as any other SMSF commercial purchase: up to 80% of valuation under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, subject to the fund’s liquidity after settlement. The transfer can trigger stamp duty and capital gains tax depending on the state and your circumstances, and that arithmetic belongs with your accountant before contracts are drawn. Checked September 2026; subject to lender criteria and eligibility.

SMSF loans in Australia cannot fund construction, improvements or a fit-out: under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement the borrowed money can pay for the acquisition of a single asset, its purchase costs, and repairs and maintenance, and nothing that changes the character of the asset. A fund can improve a property it already holds using its own cash, within limits your accountant will set out, and a tenant business usually funds its own fit-out under the lease. If the plan is to buy land and build, or to buy a shell and fit it out on borrowed money, the fund is the wrong vehicle for the borrowing, and we will say so on the first call. Checked September 2026; confirm the current rules with your adviser.

Yes. Under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement the property is held by a separate holding trust, usually called a bare trust, with the fund as beneficial owner, so that the lender’s recourse is limited to that property. A non-bank on our panel sets the bare trust up at no charge as part of the loan. The order in which the trust is established, the contract is signed and the purchaser is named on it differs by state and can decide whether duty is paid once or twice, so your solicitor sets the sequence before anything is signed; getting it wrong is the most expensive mistake in this transaction. Checked September 2026; subject to lender assessment. We arrange credit; we do not give financial product advice.

It can, on terms the ATO treats as arm’s length. For real property, the safe harbour in Practical Compliance Guideline 2016/5 is a maximum 70% loan-to-value ratio, a term of no more than 15 years, monthly principal-and-interest repayments, a registered mortgage over the property, and the ATO’s published rate for the year: 9.35% for 2026–27, up from 8.95% in 2025–26, with an option to fix for up to five years. A related-party loan outside those terms risks the fund’s income being taxed as non-arm’s-length income at the top rate. Against that, a lender on our panel writes the fund to 80% of value on a 30-year term. Which is right for you is a question for your accountant and adviser; we arrange the credit around their answer. Checked September 2026.

The deposit, the costs and a buffer. At 80% of value the fund contributes 20% of the price plus stamp duty, legal, valuation and set-up costs, and the lender then tests whether rent and contributions carry the repayments with cash to spare: on our panel one lender counts 100% of market rent and tests debt service cover at 1.0×. Liquidity after settlement is the test that decides most files, because a fund with every dollar in the building cannot pay a vacancy, a rate rise or a member’s pension. There is no legislated minimum balance; there is a practical one, and we run it with your accountant before the fund looks at a property. Checked September 2026; subject to lender assessment.

Most of the major banks stopped writing new SMSF loans years ago, which is why this market sits with non-bank and specialist lenders and why lender selection matters more here than anywhere else. On our panel a self-managed fund borrows to 80% of value against business real property on a 30-year term, with the bare trust set up at no charge; larger assets are placed case by case. Since 10 August 2026 new borrowing inside a fund is for business real property only; existing residential loans continue and can be refinanced. Checked September 2026; subject to lender assessment. We arrange credit; we do not give financial product advice.