New Build Investment Properties in Queensland

New builds give Queensland investors full depreciation schedules, 6 to 7-year builder warranties, modern layouts tenants want, and lower maintenance in the early years. FAA handles the sourcing, the numbers and the build coordination through to tenant placement.

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General information only. Not financial advice. Depreciation benefits depend on individual circumstances.

Most Queensland new builds take 6 to 12 months, so one signed now finishes around the time negative gearing on residential property is limited to new builds, from 1 July 2027. Treasury says new builds keep negative gearing before and after that date. What legally counts as a new build is in consultation until 21 August 2026.

Last reviewed 12 August 2026. Treasury's consultation on the new-build definition closes 21 August 2026, and this page gets updated when it does.

THE 2026 TAX CHANGE

Negative gearing after 1 July 2027, and where a new build sits

If you're weighing an established property against a new build, the tax rules under that choice moved in June. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (No. 49, 2026) received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026, so it's already law. The Federal Register of Legislation gives its Schedule 2 the title "Limit negative gearing for residential property to new builds", and those are the legislature's words rather than ours.

Take an established residential investment property bought after Budget night, 12 May 2026. From the 2027-28 income year, the losses on it can only be deducted against other income from residential property, including capital gains. Anything left over carries forward to later years. Those losses stop coming off your salary and wait for residential property income to absorb them.

Property you held before that moment is grandfathered. The Treasurer put it plainly in the second reading speech: properties held at announcement will be allowed to be negatively geared in future years until sold. Which group you're in turns on that timestamp, so have your accountant confirm your acquisition date.

The new-build carve-out is what brings most people to this page. Treasury's published line is that new builds can continue to be negatively geared before and after 1 July 2027. You'll see it quoted on most pages selling new builds. The sentence that rarely comes with it: what legally counts as a new build hasn't been settled. Treasury's Tranche 2 consultation on the capital gains tax and negative gearing legislation opened on 4 August 2026 and closes on 21 August 2026, and it was still open when we reviewed this page. What's law is the principle. What's still in draft is the qualifying test that decides whether a given house and land contract sits inside it, and no agent, builder or developer has that test in front of them yet.

The same Act carries a second change, in Schedule 1, on the same date: the 50% capital gains tax discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships gives way to cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on gains accruing after 1 July 2027. We've set that out on the negative gearing changes page.

What's settled

It's law, not a proposal

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 is Act No. 49 of 2026. Royal Assent, 26 June 2026.

The limit starts 1 July 2027

It applies from the 2027-28 income year.

The cut-off is a timestamp

7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026, Budget night. It's a moment on the clock rather than a financial year, so your acquisition date is the one to have confirmed.

Where the quarantined losses go

For established residential property bought after the cut-off, losses come off other residential property income, including capital gains, and the excess carries forward.

This income year is untouched

Interest on a residential rental is deductible the way it has been.

What isn't

What legally counts as a new build

Treasury's Tranche 2 consultation on the capital gains tax and negative gearing legislation opened on 4 August 2026 and closes on 21 August 2026. Until it lands, the qualifying test can still move.

Whether one specific property passes that test

Nobody can confirm that today, us included, because the test isn't published yet.

What the change does to your own return

That depends on your income and your structure. A registered tax agent answers it. FAA gives no personal financial, tax or SMSF advice.

One more thing, and it belongs next to the argument rather than in the fine print. FAA Property earns commissions from builders and developers when a property purchase proceeds. This change puts new builds in the advantaged category, and new builds are what we sell. Because we're paid by the supply side, you should weigh our recommendations with that in mind. The strategy session itself costs you nothing.

Why New Builds for Investment

Established properties can't offer these. New builds come with advantages that directly affect your holding cost and long-term return.

Maximum Depreciation

Capital works on a residential rental where construction started after 15 September 1987 are deductible at 2.5% a year across 40 years, once construction is finished and the property is rented or genuinely available for rent. Deductions for second-hand depreciating assets in a residential rental are generally unavailable, and newly built property acquired from a developer is the exception.

Builder Warranty Protection

QBCC's Queensland Home Warranty Scheme covers structural defects for 6 years and 6 months from the date of contract, or 7 years where the build runs past 6 months. Non-structural cover runs 6 months from completion, with any claim due within 7 months of completion. Less risk of surprise repair bills in the early years of ownership.

Tenant Appeal

Modern layouts, energy-efficient appliances and current finishes attract quality tenants faster. New properties tend to lease quicker and may support higher weekly rent.

Lower Maintenance

Everything's at the start of its lifecycle. Roof, plumbing, electrical, appliances, hot water. That means fewer repair calls in the first 10 years.

Energy Efficiency

Current building codes require higher energy ratings. Better insulation, efficient hot water and lower power bills make the property more attractive to tenants.

Construction Oversight

FAA coordinates the build from deposit to handover. You get progress updates at each stage without having to chase the builder yourself.

Workers building a new residential property frame

What FAA Handles for You

Buying a new build involves property sourcing, finance, construction coordination, leasing and management. FAA handles all of it so you don't have to piece it together yourself.

Property Sourcing

FAA sources new-build opportunities from vetted builders in Queensland growth corridors like Flagstone, Palmview and North Lakes.

Numbers and Cost Analysis

Cash flow, weekly holding cost, depreciation schedule, rental projection and 10/20-year growth scenarios. All modelled before you commit.

Finance Pathways

Connected finance support to help you understand what you can borrow and how to structure the loan.

Build Coordination

Progress updates at each construction stage, payment coordination and quality oversight. You don't have to manage the builder.

Tenant Placement

FAA starts leasing and tenant screening before handover so you're earning rent as soon as possible after completion.

Property Management

Ongoing management from FAA's Maroochydore office. Inspections, maintenance, compliance and rent collection handled locally.

BUILD PROCESS

The Six Stages of Construction

Knowing what happens at each stage helps you plan your cash flow and avoid surprises during construction.

Deposit

You sign the build contract and pay the initial deposit. FAA reviews the contract and inclusions with you before you sign anything.

Slab

Site preparation, footings and concrete slab poured. Your lender releases the first progress payment once it's certified.

Frame

Walls, roof trusses and window frames go up. Second progress payment is released by your lender.

Enclosed

Roofing, cladding, windows and doors installed. The building is weather-tight and internal work begins.

Fixing

Plumbing, electrical, cabinetry, tiling and painting. The house starts looking like a house.

Final

Practical completion inspection, any defects fixed, keys handed over. FAA begins the leasing process so you're earning rent quickly.

DATES TO HOLD IN WRITING

Put your build dates next to the policy dates

Every stage above is a date. Contract, slab, frame, enclosed, fixing, final. The policy has dates too: the 7:30pm AEST 12 May 2026 acquisition trigger, which has passed, and the 2027-28 income year the limit starts in. Putting the two lists side by side is worth doing, and so is holding your own dates in writing rather than in an email.

Most Queensland new builds run 6 to 12 months from contract to practical completion, and that moves with the builder, the location and how complex the build is. On that range, a build contracted in August 2026 reaches practical completion somewhere between February and August 2027.

What those dates can't do is settle the tax question. Anyone signing a build now is buying after the 12 May 2026 trigger, so what decides the position is whether the property counts as a new build rather than established residential, and that qualifying test hasn't been published. No completion date answers it early, and neither can we.

FAA coordinates the build from deposit to handover and sends progress updates at each stage, so the dates get tracked rather than assumed. What any of it does to your own return is a question for a registered tax agent.

Your build dates are sitting in an email rather than in the contract

Build timelines get quoted in conversation and firm up later. Most Queensland new builds run 6 to 12 months from contract to practical completion.

The limit starts in the 2027-28 income year, and whether a property is treated as a new build turns on a qualifying test that hasn't been published. Whatever that test ends up asking for, contract date, settlement date and expected practical completion are facts you want to be able to show rather than recall.

FAA reviews the build contract and inclusions with you before you sign anything, which is the point to get the stage-by-stage timeline in writing.

You already own an investment property and don't know whether this reaches you

The exemption is set by a timestamp, 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026, rather than by a financial year.

Property held before that moment can keep being negatively geared in future years until it's sold. Property bought after it, where it's established residential, moves onto the new treatment from 2027-28.

Take the contract to your accountant and have them confirm the acquisition date. FAA gives no personal tax advice.

You're diarising the handover date and nothing else

Under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, QBCC puts structural cover at 6 years and 6 months from the date of contract, rising to 7 years where the build takes more than 6 months. Non-structural cover runs 6 months from completion, with the claim due within 7 months of completion.

The contract date starts one clock and completion starts another, so both dates keep working after handover.

FAA reviews the contract at the deposit stage and coordinates through to the practical completion inspection, where defects get raised.

You want confirmation that the property qualifies as a new build before you sign

The qualifying test is still being drafted. Treasury's Tranche 2 consultation opened on 4 August 2026 and closes on 21 August 2026.

Treasury's published position is that new builds can continue to be negatively geared before and after 1 July 2027, so the test is the part that decides whether a property is in that group.

We tell you what's published and what isn't, and this page gets updated when the rules update. Ask your accountant to confirm a specific property once the consultation closes.

You need to know what all this does to your own return

The rule is public. Its effect depends on your income, your structure and the property.

A tax outcome is personal, and FAA gives no personal financial, tax or SMSF advice.

FAA Property Pty Ltd is a licensed Queensland real estate agency, Office of Fair Trading licence 4220395, current to 5 June 2027, and that licence covers acting for you in a property purchase. A registered tax agent covers your return.

The dates only tell you where a purchase sits in the calendar. They say nothing about whether you can carry it. Holding cost, rent, deposit and repayments are the part you can test before you sign, and that's what the calculator models. Run a specific build through it, then take the output and your contract dates to your accountant.

Find out if a new build works for your budget and goals

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THE FAA INVESTMENT PATHWAY

The FAA New Build Investment Pathway

Your path from strategy to steady rental returns, step by step.

Strategy Session

We map your goals, timeline and risk comfort to find the right investment path

Finance / Equity / SMSF Review

Check borrowing capacity, equity position and SMSF eligibility before sourcing

Property Sourcing

Access selected new-build and investment-grade opportunities across Queensland

Numbers Modelled

Cash flow, tax, depreciation and growth projections run before you commit

Build / Settlement Support

We coordinate builders, conveyancers and lenders through to handover

Tenant Placement

Thorough screening, professional leasing and fast placement to start your returns

Property Management

Local Sunshine Coast management covering inspections, maintenance and compliance

Start Here

01.

Strategy Session

We map your goals, timeline and risk comfort to find the right investment path.

02.