Land will be taken to be used for residential purposes where the Commissioner, after taking into account information provided by the Valuer-General, determines that:

• it is being predominantly used for residential purposes;
• although the land is not being used for any particular purpose at the relevant time the land should be taken to be used for residential purposes due to improvements that are residential in character having been made to the land; or
• land that is vacant, or vacant with only minor improvements, that the land is within a zone established by a Development Plan under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 that envisages the use, or potential use, of the land as residential, and that the land should be taken to be used for residential purposes due to that zoning (subject to the qualification that if the zoning of the land indicates that the land could, in a manner consistent with the Development Plan, be used for some other purpose (other than for primary production) then the vacant land will not be taken to be used for residential purposes).

The following categories of land coded as Residential are considered by the Commissioner to be commercial in nature (and thus entitled to the relevant qualifying land reduction as from 7 December 2015) and may be self-determined via RevenueSA Online:

• Hotel;
• Motel; and
• Hotel/Motel Community

The following categories of land are coded as Residential but may be considered by the Commissioner to be commercial in nature (and thus entitled to the relevant qualifying land reduction as from 7 December 2015):

• Hostels;
• Serviced apartments;
• Short term unit accommodation; and
• Vacant land for commercial use.

To obtain the qualifying land exemption, a conveyance of land with any of these Land Use Codes (LUCs) must be submitted to the Commissioner for assessment with a submission detailing why the land should be considered as commercial in nature.

Land will be taken to be used for primary production purposes where the Commissioner, after taking into account information provided by the Valuer-General, determines that:

• it is being predominantly used for primary production purposes; or
• although the land is not being used for any particular purpose at the relevant time the land should be taken to be used for primary production purposes due to a classification that has been assigned to the land by the Valuer-General.

The Land Use Codes (LUCs) within the following LUC headings are therefore considered to be residential land or primary production land:

• Residential (LUC 1100-1999 with some exceptions);
• Primary production (LUC 9100-9990);
• Vacant Land – Urban (LUC 4100);
• Vacant Land with minor improvements (LUC 4101);
• Vacant Land  – Rural Residential (LUC 4150); and
• Vacant Land with minor improvements – Rural Living (LUC 4151).

See full list of LUCs (PDF 562KB)

The LUC can also be obtained from the Valuation Details Product as part of the Property Interest Report or purchased separately from the Land Services Group.

The Commissioner will generally rely on Land Use Codes (LUCs) as determined by the Valuer-General to determine the use of the land. The LUCs within the following LUC headings are considered to be Qualifying Land and may be eligible for the stamp duty reduction:

• Commercial (LUC 2000-2990);
• Industrial (LUC 3100-3909);
• Vacant Land* (with some exceptions) (LUC 4110-4600)
• Institutions (LUC 5100-5990);
• Public Utilities (LUC 6400-6990);
• Recreation (LUC 7100-7900);and
• Mining and Quarrying (LUC 8100-8409).

The following residential Land Use Codes will also be taken to be qualifying land:

• Hotel (LUC 1810);
• Motel (LUC 1820); and
• Hotel/Motel Community (LUC 1831).

*where the land is within a zone established by a Development Plan under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 that envisages the use, or potential use, of the land as non-residential and non-primary production.

See full list of LUCs (PDF 562KB)

The LUC can also be obtained from the Valuation Details Product as part of the Property Interest Report or purchased separately from the Land Services Group.

For a conveyance of land which you consider to be qualifying land but does not have a LUC from the above categories, the conveying document must be submitted to the Commissioner for assessment advising the LUC, the actual use of the land as at the date of the conveyance and any other details to evidence that the land should be regarded as qualifying land.

Examples of such land include:

• Hostels;
• Serviced apartments;
• Short term unit accommodation; and
• Vacant land for commercial use.

The Land Use Codes (LUCs) within the following LUC headings are not considered to be qualifying land:

• Residential (LUC 1100-1999 with some exceptions);
• Primary production (LUC 9100-9990);
• Vacant Land* – Urban (LUC 4100);
• Vacant Land* with minor improvements (LUC 4101);
• Vacant Land*  – Rural Residential (LUC 4150); and
• Vacant Land* with minor improvements – Rural Living (LUC 4151).

*unless the land is within a zone established by a Development Plan under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 that envisages the use, or potential use, of the land as non-residential and non-primary production.

Foreign persons who acquire an interest in residential property in South Australia are required to pay a surcharge of 7% on the value of the residential land.

RevenueSA Online will reflect the FOS value based on the data provided in the Commonwealth Reporting Portal Workspace. Where the FOS is applicable, the Workspace will need to reflect the fractional interest to be acquired by the foreign person. For example, if a foreign person is acquiring a 100% interest in the property then the Party Interest Transferred field will be completed as 1/1. If the interest is 50%, then enter ½. RevenueSA Online will then determine and display the FOS value.

For further information, including definitions of foreign persons, refer to RevenueSA’s Foreign Ownership Surcharge page.

For information on visa descriptions and to determine whether a visa is a permanent visa (FOS does not apply) or a temporary visa (FOS does apply) refer to: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing

If the conveyance is for multiple titles comprising both land coded as Residential (liable to the FOS) and non-residential the conveying document(s) must be submitted to the Commissioner for assessment with advice as to the apportionment of the consideration for the land coded as Residential and the land coded as Non-Residential.