What is actually changing
The Tax Reform (Fairness and Integrity) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026. Under that Act, new SMSF borrowing arrangements - the limited recourse borrowing arrangements, or LRBAs, that a super fund must use to borrow - over residential investment property are generally not available from 10 August 2026. From that date, new real-property LRBAs are broadly limited to business real property.
In plain English: from 10 August 2026, a self-managed super fund generally cannot start a new loan to buy a residential investment property. Borrowing over business real property - commercial premises - broadly remains available. And the legislation preserves existing arrangements, qualifying acquisitions already in progress and qualifying refinances, which matters more than most of the headlines let on.
If you want the full picture of how these loans work - the structure, the honest costs, how lenders assess the fund - that lives in my main guide: SMSF property loans in plain English. This page deals with one thing only: the deadline.
Who is affected - and who is not
Not affected:
- Existing SMSF loans. If your fund already has an LRBA in place, it is preserved. The 10 August date does not force you to sell, restructure or refinance anything.
- Contracts already exchanged. Qualifying acquisitions already in progress - including contracts exchanged before commencement - are protected under the legislation.
- Qualifying refinances. A fund with an existing SMSF loan can still refinance under the preserved rules. In practice that generally means like-for-like: a new loan of the same size replacing the old one.
- Business real property. New borrowing over business real property - commercial premises - broadly remains available after 10 August 2026.
Affected:
- A brand-new residential purchase through a new SMSF loan, where nothing has been signed. That is the door that generally closes on 10 August 2026.
Where your own situation lands is a legal and tax question before it is a lending one. Confirm it with your licensed financial adviser, accountant and solicitor before acting on anything - including this page.
The honest timeline problem
Today is 17 July 2026. That leaves about three and a half weeks. So let me say the thing a broker is not supposed to say in deadline week: for most people starting from zero, that is not enough time to do this properly. A rushed SMSF purchase is usually a bad one.
A proper SMSF property purchase runs in a set order. Advice first - whether the fund should buy property at all is a question for your licensed financial adviser and accountant, not for me. Then structure: a fund deed that permits borrowing, a corporate trustee, and a holding trust set up before anything is signed. Then the money: at least 20 per cent deposit plus stamp duty and costs, already inside the fund. Then a contract in the correct name. Get any of those wrong and fixing it afterwards is painful, and sometimes impossible.
Compressing all of that into a few weeks because a date is looming is exactly how expensive mistakes get made - inside the vehicle that is supposed to fund your retirement. If your adviser had already recommended the purchase and the structure genuinely exists, the timing question is real and worth a conversation this week. If the idea only occurred to you because of the deadline, that is the deadline talking, not the strategy.
Not sure which side of the line your fund sits on? Start with the conversation, not the contract.
Book a 20-min call with John or send John the detailsWhat to do this month
Different starting points, different moves:
- Existing SMSF loan: nothing is forced. Your arrangement is preserved. If the loan itself needs a review, a qualifying refinance remains possible - worth looking at calmly, not urgently.
- Mid-purchase right now: confirm exactly where you stand with your solicitor and adviser. A contract exchanged before commencement is protected. "We were about to make an offer" is not the same thing, so get the real answer in writing.
- Planning a residential SMSF purchase someday: speak with your licensed financial adviser and accountant now - about whether the strategy still makes sense at all, not just about the date.
- Interested in business premises: the business real property route broadly remains open after 10 August 2026. No sprint required.
- Want the lending side checked: that is my lane. I can review how current written lender policy treats your fund's position, including how the preserved refinance rules work in practice. Book a 20-minute call and we will go through it.
