Whose name goes on the contract when an SMSF buys property?

The buyer is the fund's trustee, named "as trustee for" the fund, for example "ABC Pty Ltd as trustee for the Smith Super Fund". If the fund is borrowing, the property is held by a separate custodian (bare trustee) until the loan is repaid, and how the contract should name the buyer then depends on the state.

How should the buyer be named?

The ATO says an SMSF must be the legal owner of its assets, held separately from members' personal assets. Where possible, fund assets should be held in the name of the individual trustees "as trustees for" the fund, or the corporate trustee "as trustee for" the fund, and documents such as sale agreements should be signed that way too. Some state laws don't let a title show the fund's name. Where that happens, the fund's ownership has to be clearly established another way, such as a declaration of trust or a caveat.

Individual or corporate trustee: what changes?

With individual trustees, every trustee is a buyer and signs. If a trustee later joins or leaves, the ATO says the ownership documents for every fund asset must be changed, which for land means a transfer. With a corporate trustee, a change of directors doesn't change the owner, so nothing needs to be transferred. That is one reason many property-owning funds use a company. Our article on SMSF ownership structures compares the options, and 6 traps when changing SMSF trustees covers the switch.

What if the fund is borrowing?

Under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement the property is held on trust by a separate custodian, often called a bare trustee, and the ATO says the holding trust must be listed as the owner while the loan is in place. The SMSF trustee is the borrower; the custodian holds the title and gives the lender a mortgage. Since 10 August 2026, a new arrangement for real property can only be used to buy business real property.

How the contract should read depends on the state, because each state's duty exemptions assume a particular structure:

• Victoria: the State Revenue Office describes the custodian buying the property, paying duty and declaring that it holds the property for the fund. The declaration, and the later transfer to the fund, can be exempt, but only if it can be shown that the fund provided all the purchase money.
• New South Wales: the custodian signs the contract. Its declaration of trust attracts concessional duty of $750 only if the fund provided the purchase money and the fund already existed when the custodian signed.
• Queensland: the exemption works the other way round. The contract is between the seller and the SMSF trustee as buyer, duty is paid on it, and the transfer is then directed to the custodian. For an SMSF the loan must come from a third-party lender.

More on the trust itself is in Decoding the bare trust.

What goes wrong when the name is wrong?

Common mistakes are a member signing in their own name, the fund being named without its trustee, the custodian company not yet being registered, or the contract naming the SMSF trustee where the state's exemption needs the custodian (or the reverse). Any of these can mean the property has to be transferred again to put it in the right name, which can attract duty a second time if no exemption fits. The lender may refuse to settle, and the fund's auditor will want evidence that the fund really owns the property.

Can a contract be fixed after signing?

Sometimes the seller will agree to vary the contract or accept a nominee before settlement. Whether that attracts extra duty depends on the state and the facts, so it has to be done with advice and before settlement. It is far cheaper to check the name before anyone signs.