STATE
REVENUE
OFFICE
.
www.sro.v1c.gov.au
Duties Online
User Guide
Version 3.1 October 2014
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 1
Table of Contents
04 I Introduction
04 I What Is Duties Online?
04 I Who Can Apply?
04 I Governance of Users
OS I Access To Duties Online
OS I Registration Process
OS I Usernames and Passwords
06 I Profiles
06 I Administrator
06 I Lodger
06 I Approver
06 I Subscriber Support
07 I Processing a Duties Online Transaction
07 I Creating and Amending a Transaction
08 I Land Transfers - Data Elements Explained
08 I Volume and Folio
08 I Lot and Plan
09 I Book and Memorial or Crown Allotment
09 I Total Interest Passing
09 I Nature of Transfer
09 I Data Accuracy
10 I Paying a Transaction
12 I Search and Report Functionalities
2 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
13 I Assessment and Evidence of Duty Payment
13 I Assessment and Objection Rights
14 I Duty Estimate Statement
14 I Duty Statement
14 I Electronic Land Transfer Duty Verification by Land Victoria
14 I Non-Electronic Duty Verification by Land Victoria
14 I Evidence Of Duty Assessment- Declarations of Trust
14 I Data Entry Standards - Instructional Help Text
15 I Record-Keeping Requirements
16 I Duties Online Transactions
16 I Transactions Available In Duties Online
21 I Exemptions and Concessions
21 I Sub-Sales between Unrelated Parties/Related Parties
21 I Pension Card Holder (PCH) Concession
21 I Pension Concession Pre-check
22 I Primary Card Holder Requirement for Most Card Types
22 I Primary Card Holder and Secondary Card Holder Requirement for a
Centrelink Family Allowance or a Parenting Payment Card Type
22 I Restricted Duties Online Transactions
22 I Penalty and Interest
23 I Declarations of Trust Transactions
23 I Duties Online Contact Detail
23 I Duties Online e-Learning Module
24 I General SRO Contact Details
25 I Glossary o f Terms
27 I Appendix
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 3
Introduction
This guide is an introduction to the Duties Online system, which provides for the assessment
and payment of duties transactions in an electronic environment. This document should be
read in conjunction with the Notice of Approval of a Special Tax Return Arrangement (Notice of
Approval) and other available Training Materials.
What is Duties Online?
The State Revenue Office (SRO) has developed Duties Online for use by commercial entities
that attend the SRO's Customer Service Centre in person or who post duty documents to the
SRO for assessment and payment.
Duties Online allows users to electronically submit for assessment the most common types of
property transfers and declarations of trust.
The system is designed to:
1. capture, validate and store data entered by users
2. assess duty on a specified range of transactions, or make a determination that no duty is
payable
3. facilitate the payment of duty; and
4. evidence the duty assessed.
Who can apply?
Any partnership, business, corporation, company or society engaged in property
conveyancing can apply to use Duties Online.
In review of your application to become a Registered Organisation, the SRO may take into
consideration a range of factors including your prior lodging history with the SRO, the suitability of
your organisation and staff and any other relevant matter.
Governance of users
The Taxation Administration Act 1997 (TAA) makes provision for the administration and
enforcement of taxation laws. Part 6 sets out the conditions under which the Commissioner may
enter into a special tax arrangement with users of Duties Online for the payment of tax.
The approval of an application is subject to the applicant's agreement to the terms and
conditions of use specified in the Notice of Approval.
The terms and conditions in the Notice of Approval address such matters as data entry, recordkeeping standards, payment obligations and confidentiality. The terms and conditions in the
Notice of Approval can be viewed on the SRO website.
4 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
Access to Duties Online
Duties Online is a web-based system that is accessible through the SRO's website.. Duties Online is
available for use only by organisations approved by the SRO.
Duties Online Users will have full access to the System between the hours of 7.00am and 10.00pm
Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
At this stage, the system is available on most weekends from 9am to 5pm.
Weekend availability will be scheduled and communicated to you on a regular basis.
Registration Process
Organisations interested in becoming Users are able to apply for registration directly through Duties
Online.
Figure 1.0
Click register to begin
registration process
Usernames & Passwords
Once your organisation has been approved by the SRO to use Duties Online, each individual User
specified in your application will receive a unique username and temporary password.

When a User logs into Duties Online for the first time, they will be prompted to set a new
password.

This password must be at least 7 characters with 1 capital and lower case alpha and at least
1 numeric

eg. Elephant21
Passwords will expire after 90 days and will be required to be changed by the User.
Registered Organisations should ensure that usernames and passwords are handled
appropriately and in accordance with the requirements of the Notice of Approval.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 5
Profiles
Each Registered Organisation can nominate individual Users to have specific User profiles.
Available profiles are Administrator, Lodger and Approver. A User can have all three profiles or
any combination of profiles.
Administrator
The Administrator is the general point of contact between your organisation and the SRO. This
profile allows the User to:
• submit and amend a registration at any stage (e.g.: make a change to the organisation's
address, or submit the details of an additional User)
• reset User passwords, and
• at least one User must have Administrator access.
Lodger
The Lodger is the operational profile. This User is responsible for:
• the data entry associated with a duty transaction
• reconciling that all information entered is an accurate reflection of what has been compiled
in the appropriate SRO duties forms and other supporting documentation
• acknowledging the duty estimate, and
• at least one User must have Lodger access.
Approver
The Approver profile is a payment reconciliation and sign-off profile and is responsible for:
• Assigning payments for transactions that are ready for payment. This can be done on an
individual transaction basis or the Approver also has the option to assign a bulk payment
for several transactions,
• Finalising transactions after ensuring all data is correct,
• Generating any available reports, and
• At least one User must have Approver rights.
Subscriber Support
For any assistance or questions you may have in relation to Duties Online, you have direct access
to the Duties Online Subscriber Support team by contacting 03 9628 0857 or
dutiesonline@sro.vic.gov.au.
6 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
Processing a Duties Online Transaction
Duties Online data fields are presented to Users in a pre-defined order that allows the system to
validate that the nature of the transaction is of an allowed type.
The system allows a User to progressively enter, save and amend data over a period of time until
they are satisfied with the data entered, at which point they can request an 'Estimate' of the duty
and then 'Acknowledge' the duty estimated. You are also able to print an “Estimate of Duty” for
future settlement dates. The ‘Estimate of Duty’ is a reliable indicator of duty payable for
financial institutions or the taxpayer.
A User can amend the transaction at any stage up until they "Commit to Pay" the transaction.
For a detailed step-by-step guide on how to create, amend and pay a transaction in Duties
Online, please refer to the instructional videos on the SRO website.
Creating and Amending a transaction
Once a User logs into the Duties Online system, those with a 'lodger' profile will be able to create
transactions under the ‘New Transaction’ tab.
Figure 2.0
Create a Land Transfer or a Declaration of Trust
The lodger, depending on their access rights, can select either a Land Transfer or a Declaration of
Trust transaction. If a Land Transfer transaction is chosen, the system guides the User through an
easy to follow nine step process, which takes approximately three minutes or so to complete.
Similarly, a Declaration of Trust transaction can be completed in a three step process which
requires minimal data entry.
The nine steps for a Transfer of Land transaction are:
1. Nature of Transfer
2. Property Details
3. Transferor Details
4. Transferee Details
5. Purchaser Details (only required if Purchaser is different from Transferee)
6. Transaction Details
7. Duty Deductions, Concessions and Exemptions (if applicable)
8. Acknowledge Estimate.
9. Commit to P ay/Finalise
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 7
The system has several time-saving features designed to minimise data entry. For example, there is no
need to enter the same address twice; simply select the previous address from the drop- down list.
When entering a company as either transferee or transferor, simply enter the ACN/ABN and Duties
Online will pre-populate the company name.
The Duties Online system will automatically save a transaction once a User has generated an
estimate by clicking the ‘Estimate’ button. If the User wishes to save a transaction prior to the
‘Estimate’ stage, then the User must manually select the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of each screen.
Land Transfers - Data Elements Explained
Volume and Folio
Apart from a property’s street address, volume and folio references are, by far, the most common land
identifier. The accurate and complete data entry of the volume and folio associated with the purchased
property is a critical element of the Duties Online system. The User will not be able to register a
transfer at Land Victoria unless it is has a valid and complete land identifier recorded in the Duties
Online system. The land identifier should reference all current volume and folios.
In the case of subdivisions, Users should ensure that they record in the Duties Online system the
most up-to-date ‘child’ volume and folio reference at time of settlement. You may need to insert
leading zeros to allow the system to validate the property identifier correctly.
Lot and Plan
Only in rare cases where the plan of subdivision has not been registered with Land Victoria prior to the
transaction being processed in the system can a User submit a lot and plan reference. The User
should not, however, use the parent title as the property identifier in these cases.
When selecting Lot and Plan as the relevant property identifier, you must provide the entire Lot and
Plan reference, including any leading or trailing letters, which also must be capitalised. See the table
below for examples of the property identifier and how it should be input into Duties Online.
Example descriptions
Input into Duties Online
Lot No.
Plan No.
Lot 1 on Title Plan 818298X.
1
TP818298X
Lot 4 on Plan of Subdivision 406543X.
4
PS406543X
Lot 13G on Plan of Subdivision 074245.
13G
LP074245
Reserve 1 on Plan of Subdivision 052642
RES1
LP052642
Road R1 on Plan of Subdivision 022352.
R1
LP022352
Roads on Plan of Subdivision 074298
RD
LP74298
Common Property 2 on Plan of Subdivision 308129F.
CM2
PS308129F
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 8
Book and Memorial or Crown Allotment
Transfers of Land with a Book/Memorial or Crown Allotment reference cannot be transacted
in the Duties Online system and must be brought to the SRO for assessment.
Total interest passing
The Duties Online system requires the User to enter the total interest in the property that is
being transferred. In all cases, you will need to enter details pertaining to ALL Transferors and
ALL Transferees as opposed to only those who are changing interest. T h e full interest in the
property must be shown in Duties Online as per the title and transfer of land. This m u s t be shown
as 100 per cent. This can be expressed as either 1 of 1 or 100 of 100. If a Transferor will also
be a Transferee, their details must be entered in both the Transferor and transferee fields
in Duties Online. By selecting that the Transferor will be remaining on title in Step 3, their
details will then come across under the Transferee details.
In situations where multiple Transferees are listed you may have different shares. The interest
acquired by each of the multiple Transferees must equal the total interest passing in the property
being 100 per cent.
A detailed step-by-step video is available on the SRO website as a further guide on how to process
transactions in Duties Online.
Nature of Transfer
The Nature of Transfer field provides a broad indication of the type of transfer being processed.
The SRO will determine whether the Nature of Transfer selected will apply to the transaction,
based on the answers provided to the subsequent questions in the transaction.
Data accuracy
It is important that the information supplied in the Duties Online system is sourced directly from
the appropriate supporting documents. For example, the consideration associated with a Duties
Online transaction will usually be sourced from the SRO Goods Statement form or the submitted Letter
or Appraisal or Valuation.
Instructional text i s v i e w a b l e by clicking onto the question mark beside most data fields in
the Duties Online screens will explain where the Lodger must source the information from. This
instructional text also provides further guidance about the meaning of certain data fields. More
detailed information on data entry standards can be found later in this document.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 9
Payment of transactions can be made either individually or in a bulk payment. A user with ‘Approver’ rights
can complete payment for duty transactions. Once the payment method has be nominated and the transaction
has been ‘Acknowledged’ you are able to commit the payment all in one screen. Bulk payments can also be
committed to pay via the ‘Approve Transaction’ tab.
Figure 2.1
Bulk payments can be made
via ‘Approve Transaction’ tab
or selecting Commit to Pay
transaction
Acknowledgement Confirmation Screen
Commit to Pay
Finalise single transaction
Approve Transaction
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 10
The User has the choice of three payment methods:



BPay (payment must be made within 24 hours of finalising the transaction)
Eftpos (payment must be made within 24 hours of finalising the transaction)
Cheque (payment must be made within seven days of finalising the transaction)
In the case of an electronic payment, Registered Organisations must hold cleared funds form their clients
when the ‘Commit to Pay’ a transaction. On the other hand, if a User holds the liable party’s cheque when the
‘Commit to Pay’ is made, then cleared funds are not required to be held by the User. Under no circumstances
should a User bank a cheque made payable to the SRO into the Registered Organisation’s own bank account.
Once ‘Commit to Pay’ has been selected, the transaction is considered to be finalised and cannot be edited or
adjusted by the User. Any errors identified after this point must be resolved by contacting the SRO.
Once the commitment to pay has been made, the Registered Organisation must remit the payment to the
SRO within the timeframe specified in the Notice of Approval.
Commit to Pay
Finalise a transaction
A detailed step-by-step video is available on the SRO website as a further guide on how to process payments
in Duties Online.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 11
Search and Report functionalities
The search function has been spilt into ‘Transactions’ and ‘Payments’, which allows Users to run
detailed reports. The Data elements that can be filtered and reported i n c l u d e s :
• Transaction Status (in progress, ready to pay, finalised, completed and overdue), and
• Transaction Identifier (your reference, transaction ID, date finalised, User ID, transaction type).
• Under the ‘Transaction’ search tab by clicking on 'Advanced search', in the top right hand corner,
you can also bring up an expanded search function with more search options.
Figure 2.4
Search transactions
Figure 2.5
Search Payments
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 12
Advanced Search
Figure 2.6
Assessment and Evidence of Duty Payment
Assessment and Objection Rights
A finalised transaction in Duties Online is deemed to be a valid assessment of duty. At the point
where a transaction is committed for payment by a User, an assessment is deemed to have been
made by the Commissioner of State Revenue and is also deemed to have been served. This ensures
that taxpayers do not need to possess a physical Notice of Assessment in order to object to the
assessment under the TAA.
An objection must be lodged by the taxpayer or their representative in writing within 60 days from
when the transaction was finalised. For more information on objection rights, visit the SRO
website, or contact the SRO on 132 161.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014I 13
Duty Estimate Statement
If you or your client requires written confirmation of a land transfer duty assessment prior to
settlement, Users can generate and print a Duty Estimate Statement. The Duty Estimate Statement is
a printable statement advising the estimated duty amount payable. The estimate is printable from the
Duties Online system only after the user has entered all relevant information to the transaction.
Duty Statement
If you or your client requires written confirmation of a land transfer duty assessment, Users can
generate and print a Duty Statement. The Duty Statement is a printable statement which confirms
that a transaction has been submitted to and assessed by the SRO. A Duty Statement can only be
printed once the transaction has been committed for payment.
Electronic Land Transfer Duty Verification by Land Victoria
In the case of a property transfer, it will no longer be necessary to have the Transfer of Land
stamped or marked with a physical impression. Instead, when the electronic transaction is
finalised and paid (or exempted}, Duties Online will instantly transmit confirmation of the duty
assessment to the Registrar of Titles. The confirmation details are stored with the Registrar of
Titles until the Transfer of Land is lodged for registration, at which time the details are used
to confirm that the duty obligations have been met.
In order for this confirmation to be successful, it is important that the correct land identifier
is used in Duties Online. The land identifier should reference the current volume and folio. If
multiple land identifiers are transferred in one transaction, you must record all identifiers in
Duties Online.
Non-Electronic duty verification by Land Victoria
In the unlikely event that the electronic evidencing interface with Land Victoria is offline, the
option to print a system generated certificate will be enabled. This Duty Certificate contains all
necessary details for the Registrar of Titles to verify the transaction. A Duty Certificate can only
be printed once the transaction has been committed to pay.
Please note that for land transfer duty transactions, this certificate is only available for Land
Victoria evidencing purposes. If you require a confirmation of duty assessment for your client or a
third party, please print the duty statement as described above.
Evidence of Duty Assessment - Declarations of Trust
For Declarations of Trust, Users can always print a certificate directly from Duties Online as
evidence of payment of duty for their clients.
Data Entry Standards - Instructional Help Text
Duties Online has been developed so as to limit the requirement for Users to make difficult
judgments on what the duty payable is, or to make any duty calculations.
Users are not liable for any duty underpayments resulting from incorrect information provided
to the User by the taxpayer or their agent. In other words, the SRO does not ask you to verify
taxpayer information.
14 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
Users are, however, required to accurately enter the information provided by the taxpayer into
Duties Online. Therefore it is very important to source the information from the right sections of
the supporting documents.
Instructional Text appears in the system as clickable 'help text' wherever Users see a question
mark beside a data field.
The purpose of the Instructional Text is to:
• describe the purpose and meaning of the field
• explain any tax or system details relevant to the field
• refer the User to the appropriate SRO Form where the field value can be found, and
• provide technical clarification, especially for new Users.
The SRO will conduct regular audits to ensure the quality of data entry by all Users, as well as the
timely payment of duty.
Record-keeping Requirements
A User must keep or cause to be kept records to show that Duties Online transaction data was
correctly sourced from the information provided by the liable party or their agent. The period for
keeping these records is five years.
Records that need to be kept are:
• copy of any supporting SRO forms and statutory declarations, and
• copy of any other document that Duties Online data is sourced from (a valuation, or a will/
probate, proof of purchase financial document).
To see which SRO form(s) are required to be kept for a particular transaction, please refer to the
Evidentiary Requirements Manual, which is available on the SRO website.
Copy of all supporting documents for transactions over $2.5 million will need to be submitted in
full to the SRO after the transaction is finalised.
You may choose to store documents either in hardcopy or in an electronic format. If choosing to
store documents electronically, the User will need to discuss terms and be approved by the SRO
to do so. In both formats, when storing documents, the User must comply with the following
guidelines:
Preservation
The records must be in a form that can be physically preserved. For example, In the case of
hardcopy records the User must ensure records are kept in a safe and dry environment. In the
case of electronic records, the documents must be able to be easily copied from one media to
another without loss of quality. Users should also have a back-up system in place to ensure no
data is lost.
Accessibility
This means the User must have an accurate document tracking system in place. In the case
of electronic records, the User is required to demonstrate who created the electronic record,
when it was created, and be able to show that the record was not altered in an unauthorised or
undocumented fashion since creation.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 15
Readability
Records must be able to be viewed as the creators and Users originally saw them. All documents
retained must be the original signed documents, or an image of the original signed document, if
documents are stored electronically.
Duties Online Transactions
Most common, high volume land transfer duty transactions can be processed through the
Duties Online system in addition to the basic $200 duty declaration of trust transactions
that do not contain landholdings.
Transactions available in Duties Online
Table 1 below lists the 12 transaction types Users will be able to process in Duties
Online. Table 2 outlines 7 combination transactions which can also be processed in
the system.
Further reference material in relation to the allowable transaction types can be found in
the SRO Evidentiary Requirements Manual located on the SRO website.
Table 1
Duties Online Transaction
Section & Short Title
s10(1)(a)&(d)
Transfers of Property for Full
Interest between Unrelated
Parties
Description

For sales involving transfers of land
used for private residential
purposes between non-associated
persons transferring the full interest
in the property for the
unencumbered market value.
Transaction Rules
Contract Date must be on
or after 1 October 2008

No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement

Contract Date must be on
or after 1 October 2008

No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement
For sales involving transfers of land
between non-associated persons
for the unencumbered market
value, excluding sales of:
 private residential premises
 licensed premises – see
Revenue Ruling DA.029
 fractional interests
s10(1)(a)&(d)
Fractional Interests or Related
Party Transfers
For sales involving transfers of land
to associated persons, or fractional
interests, or for less than market
value.
16 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
s21(3)&(4)&(4A)&(5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land
and Building Packages and
Refurbishments – Concession
S42(1)(a)
Deceased Estates – Exemption
s54
Change in the Manner of
Holding from Tenants in
Common in Equal Shares to
Joint Proprietors and Vice
Versa – Exemption
Sales of 'land and building
packages' or refurbishments
between unrelated parties
Contract Date must be on
or after 1 October 2008

Sale must be for the
unencumbered Market
value

No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement

Between unrelated parties
only
Entitled under a Will or Intestacy. A
transfer is made to a beneficiary in
accordance with the terms of the
will of the deceased for no
consideration.
A transfer from joint tenants to
tenants in common in equal shares
or vice versa.
s32A – 32X
Transactions with nominations
(Sub-sales)

N/A

Maximum of two
transferees only

Contracts between
unrelated parties dated on
or after 1 October 2008

Sale must be for the
unencumbered Market
value

No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement

Restricted Subs-sale
transactions involving:
- Options
For transfers to a person other than
the purchaser named in the
contract of sale.
The transferor(s) and transferee(s)
must be unrelated.
Only those transfers involving Form
6A, where the taxpayer has
indicated that no options, land
development or additional
consideration was involved – Parts
F, G , H and I of the form.
* Only those transfers involving
Form 6A, where the taxpayer has
indicated that no options and or
additional consideration involved.
However land development
occurred and was included in the
contract price.
-
Additional
consideration
(including parallel
arrangements)
-
Land development
(included in the
contract price)
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 17
s43(3)Ongoing Marriage and
Domestic Relationships –
Exemption
s44(1)(a)(b)(i)&(c)(i)
Breakdown of Marriage and
Domestic Relationships –
Exemption
s56
Transfers of farm to relative(s ) –
Exemption
s57H-I, s57J – S57JA
Principal Place of Residence
(PPR)– Concession and/or First
Home Buyer Duty Reduction
(FHBDR)

Maximum of two
transferees only

Transferee(s) must be
Individual – Natural
Person

Transferor(s) must be
Individual Natural Peron
(s)

Maximum of two
transferees only

Transferee(s) must be
Individual – Natural
Person (s)

Transferor(s) must be
Individual- Natural Person
(s)
s56
Transfers of farm to relative(s )
between natural persons

Transferee(s) must be
Individual – Natural
Person (s)
*DOL only allows transfers under
this section that are between
natural persons.

Transferor(s) must be
Individual -Natural Peron
(s)
Where the land purchased is
intended to be occupied as a
principal place of residence (PPR)
by at least one transferee.

Contract Date must be on
or after 1 October 2008

Sale must be for the
unencumbered Market
value

No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement

Transferee (s) must be
Individual – Natural
Person(s)

Between unrelated parties
only
A transfer between persons who
are married to each other or
domestic partners to each other
and no other person takes or is
entitled to take an interest in the
property under the transfer.
A Transfer of dutiable property
made solely because of a
breakdown of a marriage or
domestic relationship is exempt
where:
(a) the transferor and transferee:
are both parties to the
breakdown in marriage or
domestic relationship and;
(c) no other person takes or is
entitled to take an interest in
the property
First Home Buyer Duty reduction
applies for unrelated party
transactions for which

Contracts for EXISTING
HOMES entered into and
settled after 1/7/2013

Contracts for NEWLY
CONSTRUCTED HOMES
entered into and settled
after 1/7/2013 provided
that applicant supplied a
valid FHOG UIN
18 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
s58-60
Eligible Pensioner Concession or Exemption
Transferee is an eligible pensioner
where the contract of sale is
entered into on or after 1 July 2011
between un-related vendor and
purchaser/transferee







S41
Transfer to a Superannuation
fund
Transfer a property to a trustee of
superannuation Fund by the
member of the fund for no
consideration


Contract Date must be on
or after 1 July 2011
Sale must be for the
unencumbered Market
value
No sale of:
- Water Entitlement
- Business
- Land Use Entitlement
Maximum of Two
Transferee (s) only
Residential Property type
only (Dwelling)
Transferee (s) must be
Individual – Natural
Person(s)
Between unrelated parties
only
Consideration must be nil
Transferor must be a
natural person
Table 2
Duties Online combination Transactions
Transaction Combinations
Combination Transaction 1
Sub-sales not involving options, land development or additional
consideration
&
s57H-I, , s57J – S57JA
Principal Place of Residence (PPR)– Concession and/or First home
buyer duty reduction (FHBDR)
Combination Transaction 2
Sub-sale not involving options, land development or additional
consideration
&
s58-60 Pensioner exemption and concession
Combination Transaction 3
s21(3)&(4)&(4A)&(5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land and Building Packages and
Refurbishments – Concession
&
* Sub-sale not involving Options or Additional Consideration with the
Contract Price inclusive of Land Development
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 19
Combination Transaction 4
s21(3)&(4)&(4A)&(5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land and Building Packages and
Refurbishments – Concession
&
*Sub-sale not involving Options or Additional Consideration with the
Contract Price inclusive of Land Development
&
s57H-I, , s57J – S57JA
Principal Place of Residence (PPR)– Concession and/or First home
buyer duty reduction (FHBDR)
Combination Transaction 5
s21(3) and (4) and (4A) and (5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land and building packages and
refurbishments concession
&
*Sub-sale not involving Options or Additional Consideration with the
Contract Price inclusive of Land Development
&
s58-60 Pensioner exemption and concession
Combination Transaction 6
Combination Transaction 7
s21(3)&(4)&(4A)&(5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land and Building Packages and
Refurbishments – Concession
&
s57H-I, s57J – S57JA
Principal Place of Residence (PPR)– Concession and/or First home
buyer duty reduction (FHBDR)
s21(3) and (4) and (4A) and (5)
Off-the-plan transfers – Land and building packages and
refurbishments concession
&
s58-60 Pensioner exemption and concession
20 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
Exemptions and Concessions
Duties Online allows its Users to process the following duty exemptions and concessions:
• Principal Place of Residence concession
• First Home Buyer concession
• Pension Card Holder concession
• Land and Building (Off-the-Plan) concession
• Deceased Estates exemption (only where the transfer is in accordance with the
will or probate)
• Marriage and Domestic Relationships exemption
• Breakdown of Marriage/Domestic Relationship exemption
• Changes in the Manner of Holding in Equal Shares exemption
• Transfers of Farm to Relatives’ exemption (only for natural persons)
• Sub-sale – Subsequent Transaction to Relatives exemption, and

Transfers to trustees or custodians of Superannuation Fund or Trusts.
Sub-Sales between Unrelated Parties/Related Parties
Duties Online users can process straightforward transactions involving sub-sales
between related and unrelated parties, in cases where the following three conditions
are fulfilled
• No options
• No additional consideration (including parallel arrangements)
• No land development (unless included in the contract price)
Pension Card Holder (PCH) Concession
User will be able to process pensioner concession or exemption transaction in the system.
The User will be required to provide a valid Centrelink or Department of Human Services
(DHS) registration card number (CRN) and the name of the cardholder. Duties Online will
make a system-to-system call to DHS and verify if the applicant is a valid cardholder.
Duties Online will further confirm if the applicant has previously received the pensioner
concession or exemption.
Pension concession Pre-check
Users will be able to obtain an estimate in relation to a Pensioner Exemption or concession
with a future settlement date. A further validation will be performed on the morning of
settlement date.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 21
Primary Card Holder Requirement for most Card Types
In most cases, a pensioner applicant for a concession or exemption of duty on a land transfer must be
the Primary Card Holder of a Centrelink or Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Card. In order to
confirm the Primary Card Holder as an eligible pensioner, the Duties Online Centrelink enquiry will
verify the Primary Card Holder's card entitlement at the date of settlement of the transfer.
Primary Card Holder and Secondary Card Holder Requirement for a
Family Allowance or a Parenting Payment card type
If a pensioner applicant is a secondary card holder on a Family Assistance (FA) or a Parenting
Payment (PP) card type, the SRO may also accept them as a pensioner applicant in the transfer. This
exception is subject to DHS recognising the secondary card holder as a partner of the primary card
holder (on their FA or PP card), at the date of settlement of the transfer. The primary card holder on
an FA or PP card must have a valid entitlement at the date of settlement of the transfer, regardless of
whether the primary card holder (on the FA or PP card) is a transferee on the transfer or not.
Where a pensioner applicant is a secondary card holder on an FA or PP card type, the primary
card holder's customer reference number (CRN) and name (exactly as it appears on the card) must
be entered into the appropriate fields of the Duties Online transaction. This is required regardless
of whether the primary card holder is transferee on the transfer or not. Entry of the primary card
holder's details enables a Centrelink enquiry on the secondary card holder.
A detailed step-by-step video is available on the SRO website as a further visual guide on how to
process this and other exemptions in Duties Online.
Restricted Duties Online Transactions
Any transaction that cannot be processed in Duties Online will need to be submitted to the SRO
for assessment via existing customer service channels.
Penalty and Interest
Transactions that have not been finalised in Duties Online within 30 days after the settlement date may attract
late lodgement interest. Any interest under $20 is waived as per section 26 of the Taxation Administration Act
1997.
When the interest is greater than $20, Duties Online will allow Users with the payment approver profile the
ability to calculate the late lodgement interest in order to finalise the transaction.
The late lodgement interest calculation will remain valid for 4 business days from the date of
acknowledgment to allow for payment including interest to be arranged. If the transaction is not finalised
within 4 business days, you will then be required to re-estimate, acknowledge then finalise the transaction
with additional interest if applicable.
22 I State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014
Declarations of Trust Transactions
Duties Online will allow Users to transact the standard $200 duty declaration of trust transaction.
There are certain Trust transaction types which are not permitted transactions in the system and must
be manually lodged at the SRO for assessment. These include:
• declarations of trust over identified or dutiable property
• any disability or child maintenance trusts
• declarations of trust with an execution date older than three months
• declarations of trust not executed in Victoria
• declarations of trust where deeds have not been signed by all relevant parties involved, and
• hybrid trusts
To have the system assess a trust for duty, the User must enter the following details:
• Trust Name, date of execution and trust type (Fixed, Unit or Discretionary)
• Trustee details - including name and address,
• In addition, for fixed trusts the User must enter the details of the beneficiary/ies and unit
holder(s) along with the two steps above.
Duties Online Contact Details
Internet:www.sro.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 9628 0857
Email: dutiesonline@sro.vic.gov.au
Assistance is available between normal business hours. Appointments and training for technical
issues can be arranged where required between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm on Victorian
business days.
Duties Online e-Learning Module
The State Revenue Office has produced an e-Learning module located in the Duties Online section of the
SRO’s website, which is designed to assist registered users of Duties Online. Before using the system, Users
should complete this module along with viewing all video clips in the Duties Online video library.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 23
General SRO Contact Details
Internet:www.sro.vic.gov.au
Phone: 13 21 61
Fax:03 9628 0021
Email:sro@sro.vic.gov.au
Mail: State Revenue Office
GPO Box 1641
Melbourne VIC 3000
Glossary of Terms
Administrator - a User profile designation which allows holder of the profile to make
amendments to the organisation's registration, update details and refreshing usernames and
passwords. The Administrator will usually be the main point of contact for enquires and
communication with the SRO.
Approver - a User profile designation which allows the holder of the profile to reconcile
transactions and make payments of duty to the SRO.
Commit to Pay - the User's notification to the SRO that they have agreed with the estimated
duty, have the cheque or cleared funds available in their account and have produced a payment
schedule to submit with payment to the SRO.
A User has the ability to enter, change, estimate, or edit transactions up until they commit to pay
the transaction. Once commit to pay has been selected, the transaction is finalised and deemed
to have been assessed for duty. Any required changes to either the estimated duty calculation or
data input errors must be submitted to the SRO for processing.
Declaration of Trust Transaction - a standard $200 duty declaration of trust, which does not
involve:
• declarations of trust over identified or dutiable property
• any disability or child maintenance trusts
• declarations of trust with an execution date older than three months
• declarations of trust not executed in Victoria, and
• declarations of trust where deeds have not been signed by all relevant parties involved.
Duties Online - an internet-based system developed by the SRO, which provides a platform for
the creation, assessment and payment of Duties transactions for approved users.
Duties Online Transaction- permitted land transfer duty transactions as specified in the Duties
Online section of the Evidentiary Requirements Manual in addition to Declaration of Trust
transactions.
Duty Certificate - is the printable certificate which indicates that duty has been assessed on a
land transfer or declaration of trust transaction. For land transfers, this function will only be
enabled where necessary, for use as evidence at Land Victoria. (Also see: Duty Statement). For
Declarations of Trust, the duty certificate will always be printable. The Duty Certificate can only
be printed once the User has finalised a transaction.
Duty Statement- is a printable statement of duty which indicates that duty has been assessed
on a land transfer transaction. The duty statement can be used as an evidence measure for clients
and other parties at settlements. The duty statement can only be printed once the User has
selected 'commit to pay' on that transaction (also see Duty Certificate).
Electronic Evidencing - is a System-to-System electronic link between the SRO and Land Victoria
allowing the transfer of land to be checked for duty assessment and lodged at Land Victoria
without the need for a physical stamp or impression on the transfer of land.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 25
Evidentiary Requirements Manual - is a manual available on the SRO website which sets out the
necessary evidentiary requirements associated with each type of property transfer.
Finalised Transaction - a Duties Online transaction which has been committed for payment. A
finalised transaction is deemed to have been assessed for duty. Any required changes to either the
estimated duty calculation or data entry errors must be submitted to the SRO for processing.
Help and Resources - All Users of the Duties Online system can access assistance directly by
contacting 03 9628 0857 or dutiesonline@sro.vic.gov.au. Additionally, detailed help can be found
on the SRO website (www.sro.vic.gov.au ) which includes instructions, help videos, tutorials FAQ's,
Terms & Conditions and duty calculators.
Instructional Text - the text which appears in Duties Online as clickable 'help text' next to
each data field, providing supporting explanations to enable the User to process a transaction
correctly, by providing tax technical background as well as indication where to source relevant
Duties Online data from.
Lodger - a User profile designation which allows the holder of the profile to process land
transfers and declarations of trust.
Notice of Approval - is the Notice of Approval of a Special Tax Return Arrangement which sets
out the conditions of use governing Users of Duties Online.
Record-keeping - is the User's obligation to retain all documents that Duties Online data were
sourced from, for a period of five years, for audit purposes. The user must comply with standards
of accessibility, readability and preservation. Retention in an electronic form is also permitted
upon agreement. All supporting documents for transactions over $2.5 Million dollars will need to
be supplied to the SRO.
Registered Organisation - a partnership, business, corporation, company or society approved
by the SRO to process transactions in the Duties Online system.
Registration - Approval to use the Duties Online system. See Registration Process above.
Restricted Transaction - Any transaction which is not an allowable Duties Online transaction
and must be submitted to the SRO for assessment.
Volume and Folio - the most common land identifier used in Duties Online land transfer
transactions. The correct referencing of the volume and folio of the purchase property is a critical
element of the Duties Online system. The User will not be able to register a transfer at Land
Victoria unless all valid volume and folios have been entered into Duties Online. The land
identifier should reference the current volume and folio.
User - Individual approved User of a Registered Organisation. Will have their own unique
username and password and User profile.
Appendix
The User Guide should be read in conjunction with the following documents which can be
accessed via the SRO website. You may also contact Duties Online Support to have the relevant
documents emailed to you.
• Duties Online Evidentiary Requirements Manual - A list of all allowable transaction
Duties Online transaction types, along with an explanation of common restricted
transaction types)
• Duties Online Notice of Approval of a Special Tax Return Arrangement - The
agreement setting out the terms and conditions a Registered Organisation must comply
with.
• How to Register video clip - Short instructional video on how to proceed with an
application to becoming an SRO Duties Online Registered Organisation.
• How to process a Land Transfer video clip - Short instructional video on how to process
a basic land transfer within the Duties Online System.
• How to process a Declaration of Trust video clip - Short instructional video on how to
process a basic Declaration of Trust within the Duties Online System.
• How to process Exemptions and Concessions video clip- Short instructional video on
how to process exemptions and concessions in the Duties Online system.
• How to process Late payment interest video clip- Short instructional video on how to
process transactions involving late lodgment interest in the Duties Online system.
• How to Pay video clip - Short instructional video on how to finalise transactions, commit
to pay and make a payment of duty for assessed transactions.
• Training Modules- Short modules containing key Duties Online information followed by
2-3 multiple choice revision questions.
State Revenue Office Victoria I Duties Online User Guide 2014 I 27