Only transfers of property between natural persons were considered for the purpose of accepting participation in RAFS.
Where a private company owned the farm [3] or farms [3], the farm(s) and relevant farm assets [3] it was necessary to firstly transfer the farm assets from the company to the farmer. The farmer could then transfer the land to the younger generation as a transfer between natural persons in order to take advantage of RAFS.
Where a company owned the farm(s), there must have been a transfer of legal title of the land before participation in RAFS was permitted. Transfer of the private company shares by the farmer to an eligible descendant was not permitted. To participate in the scheme the transfer of the property must have been between natural persons.
Where the farm(s) was owned by a trust, it was possible for the farmer to qualify under RAFS by transferring their trusteeship of a private trust to the descendant(s). Under trust law, a trust is the legal owner of land held within a trust. Alternatively, the trustee may have chosen to transfer the farming assets to the farmer, who then transferred the farm assets to the eligible descendant(s).
A farmer who was trustee of a trust that owned the farm and farm assets had a qualifying interest [3] in the farm(s). A retiring farmer who was a beneficiary only and not a trustee did not satisfy the rules relating to qualifying farmer [3].
More ? [4]
According to subsection 5P(1) [7] of the VEA, a farm means any land that is used:
According to subsection 5P(1) [7] of the VEA, a farm means any land that is used:
According to subsection 5P(1) of the VEA [7], a relevant farm asset in relation to a farm, means any livestock, crop, plant or equipment that is a produce of, or is used for the purposes of, the farm enterprise.
A farmer holds a qualifying interest in a farm [3] if they:
Refer to section 5P(5) of the VEA [7] for the full definition.
A person is considered to be a qualifying farmer if they have:
During either period the person or their partner must have derived a significant part of their income [3] and contributed a significant part of their labour [3] to the development of a farm.
Refer to subsection 5P(3) and subsection 5P(4) of the VEA [7] for the full definition.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/16273%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/service-eligibility-assistant-updates/all-determinations-order-date-signed-oldest-most-recent/determinations-under-vea
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/%23
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16273#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn132
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-10-types-income-and-assets/103-business-structures-and-trusts
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16273#ref-cspol_part5_ftn132
[7] http://clik.dva.gov.au/legislation-library