Justen Nixon appeared for the Chief Commissioner in Nunc Coepi Pty Ltd atf Vieira Family Unit Trust v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] NSWCATAP 299.  The Appeal Panel upheld the Chief Commissioner’s assessment and dismissed the appeal.

The matter concerned the proper construction of a trust deed and whether or not the trust was a “fixed trust” under either or both of s 3A(2) and s 3A(3A) of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) by reason of an override clause contained in cl. 2.9 of the trust deed.

In reaching its decision, the Appeal Panel had regard to the principles that guide the interpretation of trust deeds and the incorporation of terms into a document from another instrument.  The Appeal Pannel also considered how s 3A(3) of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) was to be read in light of the seminal decision of the High Court in CPT Custodian Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue (2005) 224 CLR 98.

The Appeal Panel ultimately concluded that even if cl. 2.9 of the trust deed had been intended to incorporate terms into the trust deed to override the other clauses, there was uncertainty as to the precise identification, on an objective basis, of what terms were to be incorporated.

The decision can be found here.