Interview with Clinton Maynard, 2GB Money News

Event: Interview with Clinton Maynard, 2GB Money News

Date: 8.10pm AEDT 14 October 2026
Speakers: Denita Wawn, Master Builders Australia CEO

Topics: Trust taxation increases

E&OE

Clinton Maynard, 2GB Money News host: The issue, both across politics and the business world, remains the Federal Government’s planned changes to discretionary trusts, family trusts, a minimum 30 per cent tax on these trusts, trusts that have been used in many cases for decades when small businesses have been set up. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has introduced the legislation in Parliament today… Jim Chalmers in Parliament a little earlier, he claims it will be a fairer system. He has announced some exclusions and some changes to introduction. CPA Australia, the chartered accountants, they say, look, the tax bill is improved, but it is still not ready for family businesses. It’s not just going to sail through Parliament. The Greens want changes to go further; they want the legislation referred to a Senate inquiry. The Opposition wants it examined by the House Economics Committee. How do these changes affect small businesses? This is a country built on, for instance, tradespeople, tradespeople who set up small family businesses. It will affect them. It will affect small builders, for instance. Denita Wawn is the Chief Executive of Master Builders Australia and joins us. Hi, Denita.

Denita Wawn, Master Builders Australia CEO: Hello.

Host: How will these changes affect a small builder, for instance?

Denita: It’s pretty massive. We’ve estimated of the 450,000 odd businesses in building and construction, about 20 per cent of them will be affected by these changes, which is quite remarkable. Whether it’s builders or their subbies and their tradies. So, we’re concerned that if you look at a builder or tradie who, in good faith, has set up a trust arrangement for their business structure will now be stuck in making two difficult decisions. One is to stay in the trust arrangement and pay the higher tax, or that they change over to a corporate structure, which our accountants have estimated will be anywhere between 100,000 to 180,000 in costs. So, we say that this is not fair to Australian tradies, and changing the rules halfway through a game is just simply un-Australian.

Host: Is there a way that the rules could be grandfathered effectively?

Denita: Well, that’s what we’ve called for. We’ve said to the Treasurer time and time again that if you want to change policy, that’s fine. But making it retrospective to businesses who have taken tax advice and structured their businesses accordingly and making them make that really difficult decision is simply unfair. And we, at the least, say that the Government should grandfather these arrangements for existing businesses and instead apply it for new businesses once the legislation comes into effect.

Host: If more changes are made, if what’s been presented to Parliament today, whether it goes through a Senate Inquiry or not, and it does eventually pass through Parliament in its current form, what effect is that going to have? Will it mean that some will actually have to leave their businesses, jack up prices for customers?

Denita: Well, there’s going to be two options. You either leave your business because it’s becoming too hard, and we’ve got to remember that this is a compounding impact of regulatory burden on our sector. We’ve already had the capital gains tax changes, the negative gearing tax changes, the self-managed super fund tax changes, the list goes on. So, people are either threatening to walk away, or they’re going to have significant cost impost, which they’re going to have to pass on to the consumer. Now, of course, the consumer is already reeling from 50 per cent increases in construction costs over the last five years, and that is just going to make the cost of building homes worse. And we say to Jim Chalmers, you know, this is incredulous. So, you’re wanting the industry to build 1.2 million homes over five years. We’re already falling behind, and you’re about to make it more costly and more complex for both the builders, the tradies, and the customers.

Host: Look, there’s a fair bit of opposition to this, and of course the Coalition is opposed, the Greens have opposed from another aspect, so it looks like there will have to be significant amendments I would think.

Denita: Well, we say there’s got to be an Inquiry. The lack of consultation on this and the 10-year approach that’s being taken by Government has just been sort of frustrating, so we need an open and transparent Senate Inquiry into this legislation, and we’re seeking that government MPs, in particular, really start  listening to their local constituency about what this means to small business around the country.

Host: Good luck with the campaign. I think you have a lot of support. Thank you, Denita.

Denita: Thank you,

Host: Denita Wawn, who’s the boss of the Master Builders Australia Group.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Adviser, Media & Government Relations

0497 330 064 |  dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au