Fresh off a live event in Adelaide: the proposed capital gains changes being called a “death tax” and what it means for farm succession, new proposed police powers around seizing livestock, and where the Harvest Her Power 2027 conference is headed.
#79 | The 30% "Death Tax", New Police Powers Over Livestock & Our Adelaide Recap – Agsolutely Fabulous
The 30% “death tax” that officially isn’t one
A proposed capital gains change, still at budget-proposal stage rather than law, would apply roughly 30% to assets held in family trusts as they transfer between generations. Treasury’s line is that this targets people hoarding investment properties, not ordinary families. The reality for agriculture is messier: multi-generational farm businesses are frequently structured through family trusts precisely because that structure has, until now, made generational transfer and finance leveraging workable. A 30% hit on transfer doesn’t just touch wealthy investors, it touches every farming family relying on that structure to pass the business to the next generation intact, and accountants are reportedly struggling to get enough detail from government to properly advise clients while the proposal remains unsettled.
A second, related proposal would tax unrealised gains within superannuation, meaning the value of a fund could be taxed before an asset is even sold. For a country that has spent decades telling people to build their retirement savings through super, taxing gains that haven’t yet been converted to actual cash is a significant shift in how that promise works in practice.
Whatever your view on tax reform generally, this is a case where getting professional advice matters more than usual: talk to an accountant or a rural financial counsellor (most states have a rural business support or rural financial counselling service, generally free) before making any changes to succession or trust structures based on what’s still an unpassed proposal. Don’t restructure based on a TikTok explainer, and don’t assume backdating is or isn’t coming; nobody currently knows for certain.
New police powers to seize livestock
Proposed New South Wales laws would give police the power to treat a property as a scene when seizing livestock for welfare concerns, including restricting the owner’s access before any wrongdoing has been proven. The animal welfare intent is legitimate, mistreatment of livestock is a real problem and should be enforced. The risk sits in execution: livestock condition varies enormously by breed, season, and reproductive cycle in ways that aren’t always obvious to an assessor without production animal experience, drought-time breeders and working stock can look alarmingly lean while being genuinely healthy, and there’s documented history of these kinds of complaints being weaponised in neighbour disputes.
The stronger case is for investment in training and community-embedded expertise within whichever body enforces this, alongside the same courtesy any other workplace inspection would extend: advance notice, a reason for the visit, and appropriate biosecurity protocols, rather than broader unannounced entry powers layered onto an already under-resourced system.
Harvest Her Power 2027: heading to Adelaide
The Harvest Her Power conference, a not-for-profit supporting the people behind family farming businesses rather than the business itself, will be held in Adelaide in 2027, reflecting strong South Australian attendance over the past two years. Regional events will continue to run in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to keep supporting members outside South Australia. Expressions of interest for attendees, presenters and sponsors will open on the socials shortly, numbers are capped intentionally to keep sessions genuinely candid rather than a large, impersonal crowd.
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