Doctorate of Juridical Science - The University of Western Australia

The thesis is entitled The Taxation Implications of Insurance in Business Succession Planning in an Australian Context—A Proposal for Reform. The international comparative thesis examines the challenges in drafting an insurance-funded business succession plan, particularly concerning trusts and taxation consequences. Based on taxation benchmarks established in the thesis and a comparison with US and UK laws, the research argues that the legislation and its implementation through the Australian Taxation Office are imperfect and ambiguous. Suggested reforms are proffered. They aim to address inconsistencies and deficiencies in the current Australian taxation system and trust law, thereby ensuring greater certainty and fairness in drafting these commercial agreements.

The research is unique, as the current literature comprises single papers examining narrow approaches to succession planning, often from the perspective of a particular law firm or insurance company. The current literature rarely challenges or considers alternatives to statements issued by the taxation regulator.

Supervisors:

• Senior Lecturer George Syrota MA (Oxon), LLM (Virginia). Law School and former Staff Editor of The University of Western Australia Law Review. • Professor Glen Barton CTA, BLaws (Natal), LLM (South Africa), LLM (Harvard). Head, School of Business Law and Taxation, Curtin Business School, Curtin University

Examiners:

• Professor Lynn Oats PhD, PGCE (Warwick), PGDipBus, BBus. Professor of Taxation and Accounting, University of Exeter Business School, United Kingdom • Dr Keith Kendall BCom (Hons), LLB, LLM, SJD, CPA, FTIA. Senior Lecturer, Law School, La Trobe University, Victoria • Adjunct Senior Lecturer Gordon Mackenzie BSc, LLB, LLM, GradDip. Senior Lecturer, University of New South Wales

Dr Brett Davies - Chairs & Presentations

• Chair of the judging committee for the Burgmann College Emerging Leader Equality Prize and Equality Prize, 2026
• Group Leader of the Ethics Gym Workshop at Emerging Lawyers Conference, Law Society of Western Australia, 20 March 2026, Perth, WA
• Wills and Estates Masterclass, Chair, The Law Society of Western Australia, 11 March 2025
• Empowering accountants to lead the estate planning process, Plenary, State Conference. Institute of Public Accounts, 25 November 2024, Fremantle, WA
• Single Adjudicator, EM Cumming Essay Prize, Burgmann College, Australian National University, Canberra, 14 October 2024
• Building a Will to Escape Death Taxes, Bankruptcy and Divorce: A Comprehensive Estate Planning Guide, Keynote speaker, Avalon Financial Services, Annual Conference, 4 September 2024, Sydney
• Succession Planning in a Family Trust, 6th Annual Estate Planning Conference, TaxWise, Perth, 25 February 2021 (also Panel Discussion on Real Property at Death with Richard Norton and Jemal Zagami)
• Passing your decision-making abilities on to a trusted person in case of sudden illness or impairment, CPA Australia, WA Division, 22 September 2020
• What happens when your Business Partner dies? 13 March 2020, State Congress, Institute of Public Accountants, Optus Stadium, Perth
• Lovers & Spendthrifts in Estate Planning - Confessions of a Tax Lawyer, Wolters Kluwer CCH Learning, delivered electronically via webinar, 13 November 2019
• Family Trust Succession vs Doing it Over the Coffin, Shartru Wealth, Australia-wide pre-recorded webinar, released 20 August 2019
• Succession Planning in a Family Trust - Is it possible? CCH Learning, delivered electronically via webinar, 19 June 2019
• The Transferor Trust Regime, Division 6AAA, lecturer together with Professor Nolan Sharkey, The University of Western Australia, LAWS5237 Advanced Australian International Taxation, 31 August 2018
• Chair, Tax Intensive for SMEs, Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood, Legalwise, 20 June 2018
• Accountants as Influencers – a brave but necessary new world, Institute of Public Accountants, State Congress, plenary, 20 March 2018, with Mark Kratochvill
• Estate Planning and the Four Death Duties, Institute of Public Accountants, WA Chapter, 8 March 2018
• Taxation issues with real estate in Estate Planning, WA State Chapter, Property Club, 6 February 2018
• Legalwise Estate Planning and Superannuation Conference, two-day Chairperson, commentator and delivery Accountants Exemption and Licensing, Perth, 28-29 October 2016
• Legalwise Seminars Wills and Estates, Chair and Panel Member, Parmelia Hilton, Perth, 13 September 2016
• Business Succession Planning for the busy financial planner, ANZ Financial Planning Commercial Team, South Australia, 14 July 2016
• Accountant's Concession for Superannuation Advice, Wealth Wise, West Leederville, WA, 1 December 2015
• Re-organising the regulatory landscape - competition, standards, accountability and consumer protection - an International Perspective. Sharing panel with Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, Shadow Spokesperson, Cabinet Office. Chaired by Rt Hon The Lord Hunt of Wirral, Westminster Legal Policy Forum Keynote Seminar: The future of Legal Services Regulation, London, 4 September 2014
• Innovation in the legal services market - growth, skills and emerging business models, Panel with Lord Brennan QC, Vice-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs and Jonathan Djanogly MP et al, Westminster Legal Policy Forum Keynote Seminar, Glaziers Hall, London, 11 March 2014
• Getting your Business Property into Superannuation for no Stamp Duty, Capital Gains Tax or Fringe Benefits Tax, RSM Bird Cameron Chartered Accountants National Partners Conference, Melbourne, 5 April 2011
• Advanced Succession Planning Strategies with Superannuation, RSM Bird Cameron Chartered Accountants, Joondalup Country Club, 15 February 2011
• Strategic Planning for Professional Service Firms, Adelaide Club, South Australia, 2 December 2011
• Asset Protection for Barristers and Lawyers, Wojtowicz Kelly Legal, Perth, 17 November 2010
• Strategic Planning for the Rural Accounting Practice, Jones Middleton Bizmentor, Margaret River, 5 November 2010
• Business Overseas – Best Practice and Best Vehicle, Law Society Office Expo, Perth, 26 October 2010
• Advanced Asset Protection, Cambridge Street Accountants, Perth, 1 October 2010
• Business Structures for Businesses Going Overseas, Athenaeum Club, Melbourne, 16 September 2010
• When CRM becomes part of the Strategic Plan, Integrated Legal Holdings, Coolangatta, 10 September 2010
• Asset Protection – New Strategies using Offshore Vehicles, Queensland Club, Queensland, 9 September 2010
• Asset Protection and Offshore Structures, Commonwealth Club, Canberra, 16 June 2010

Dr Brett Davies Publications

• Deconflicting best interests - lessons from Farrugia v The King, Brief, 28 Sept 2026, together with Gad Coffie and Dr Sue Kee; fellow members of the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of Western Australia
  
• Honestly, why can’t I trust you, AI Misuse, Brief, 6 July 2026, together with Gad Coffie and Dr Sue Kee; fellow members of the Ethics Committee of the Law Society
• Submission on CGT discount and pre-CGT exemption replaced by indexation and minimum tax rate, Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, 19 June 2026, together with Barbara Smith AM and Dr Ed Koken
• LPP and regulatory investigations: The ethics of compliance, Brief, 4 June 2026, together with Gad Coffie and Dr Sue Kee; members of the Ethics Committee of the Law Society
• Mastering Estate Planning: Trusts, Taxes and Practical Strategies IPA 2006 Annual State Conference, Fremantle, WA, 26 March 2026, keynote speaker
• Can You Be Cruel to AI? Queensland Law Society Proctor, 22 January 2026 (reprinted: The Bulletin, Law Society of SA, March 2026)
• The End of the Handshake: Why the Merger Game Just Changed CCH Competition and Consumer Law, 21 January 2026
• Problems of passive and coerced directors, an argument for Reform, Thomson Reuters Weekly Tax Bulletin, Issue  49, 5 December 2025
• An Alternative to marriage and de facto relationships Registered Relationships, CCH Estate planning and trust law, 26 November 2025
• An interpretation of Shand v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (NSW) [2025] NSWSC 818 Thomson Reuters Weekly Tax Bulletin, Issue 34, 22 August 2025
• 'No free ride for beneficiaries buying assets out of a deceased estate' CCH Estate planning and trust law, 1 August 2025
• 'ATO to re-examine “double death” CGT exemptions in Draft Taxation Determination: Income tax: capital gains: application of Division 128 when a beneficiary of a deceased estate dies before a CGT asset of the deceased estate passes to them (TD 2025/DX) ', Law Week Estate planning and trust law, CCH, 23 July 2025
• 'Can you tie old people to the bed if they cause trouble in Victoria? Aged Care Restrictive Practices Substitute Decision-Maker Act 2024 (Vic)', Law Week, CCH, 29 May 2025
• Chapter Co-Author, 'Public Interest Regulation of Patents and Investment Treaties in Africa', Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property Law in Africa, (with Professor Dagbanja and Dr Sinha), Routledge, 2025
• Superannuation 'Death Tax' - Minimising Tax on Benefits Left to Adult Children, The Australian Journal of Financial Planning, Oct 2023
• Objection – Electoral Boundaries in Western Australia 2025, Moore/North West Central (“Mid West”) (with Dr Alexander R Fullarton) 28 July 2023
• Comment on Suggestions – Electoral Boundaries in Western Australia 2025, North West Central (with Dr Alexander R Fullarton) 4 May 2023
• Submission – Electoral Boundaries in Western Australia 2025, North West Central (with Adjunct Professor Dr Alexander R Fullarton) 28 April 2023
•  ‘Interview: Law Society Council Member Dr Brett Davies’, (with Thomas Camp), (2022) 49(2) Brief (East Fremantle, W.A.) 8
• SMSF Investing in Cryptocurrency: Six new requirements for your SMSF Deed,  Legalwise Taxation News, 28 February 2022
• CGT on a deceased’s assets, FS Private Wealth – Taxation & estate planning, June 2021
• Perth mum denied superannuation hardship funds due to New Zealand visa restrictions, Channel 7 News, 3 April 2019
• Operation of SMSFs by People who lack mental capacity or live Overseas Legalwise Taxation News 1 November 2018
• Draft Guidelines for ATO discretion to extend the deadline to sell a family home from Deceased Estate Legalwise Taxation News 13 September 2018
• What Constitutes a Gift versus a Loan to Your Child in Family Law? Legalwise Taxation News 30 August 2018
• Uber Drivers and Workers in App-Based Companies: Independent Contractors or Employees? Legalwise Taxation News 9 August 2018
• How to prevent an ex-daughter or son-in-law from taking your money when you die, Legalwise Taxation News, 19 July 2018
• How to Distribute to a Non-Resident Beneficiary of a Family Trust, Legalwise Taxation News, 5 July 2018
• Aussiegolfa Pty Ltd v Cmr of Taxation, case note, Australian Tax Law Bulletin Volume 4 No 4, pages 147 - 148
• Australian Estate Planning, CCH Code: WAESPG, Wolters Kluwer, CCH 2018 - current (dealing with fundamental areas of estate planning including superannuation, tax implications, estate planning and maximising social security benefits, life insurance, trusts, and family law implications of estates and wills relevant to accountants, financial planners and lawyer (2018 - current)
• Transitional rules to reset the cost base of assets that support pensions and TRIS in SMSFs using the proportionate method, Australian Tax Law Bulletin Volume 4 No 3 (LexisNexis) 2017, Volume 4, no 3, pages 39 - 43
• Why the worry with Service Trusts? (with A Conway-Mortimer); Weekly Tax Bulletin 18 Feb 2011, Thomson Reuters, paragraph: 198
• Family Trusts and ‘streaming’: life after Bamford: Weekly Tax Bulletin 28 Jan 2011, Thomson Reuters, paragraph 107
• The Future of Trust Distributions post-Bamford, Financial Planning, Volume 22, Issue 11, Dec/Jan 2011, pages 15 - 17
• Australian Financial Planning Handbook, (with JK Day et al), Chapter author, Thomson Reuters (all editions, 2005, 2008; 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021), ISSN 1448-1936
• Gearing self-managed super funds: key changes, Financial Planning, Volume 22, Issue 10, Nov 2010, pages 36-37
• Sure, no one likes time billing – but what are the alternatives? (with K Dunmill), Law Council of Australia, 36th Australian Legal Convention, Perth - 2009
• Asset Protection for Spouses, Taxation Institute State Convention, Margaret River, 2006
• Asset Protection and Trusts – A Strategic Approach, MLC Conference, Sydney, 2005
• Estate Planning, Asset Protection and Self-managed Superannuation – A Strategic Approach, Apogee Financial Planning, Darwin, 2005
• Business Succession Planning – this time it is for the Accountant, The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Perth, 2004
• Advanced Strategies on Growing a Professional Service Business, Epic Asset Management PD Day, Perth, 20 September 2002
• Tax Reform – is there light at the end of the Tunnel?, CPA Congress 2002, 16 May 2002
• Succession Planning – an untapped market opportunity for the professional Risk Adviser, Association of Financial Advisers National Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, 28 October 2001
• Advanced Estate Planning Strategies for Business and Families, Associated Planners Financial Services, Sydney, 13 September 2001
• Keeping it in the Family – Discretionary Trusts, The WA Law Society, 19 September 2001
• Succession Planning Strategies, Association of Financial Advisers National Conference, Gold Coast, 29 October 2001
• Cradle to Grave: Are you the Centre of the Universe? – A Different Vision of Strategy for the Financial Planner, Colonial Funds Management, Sydney Cricket Ground, 5 July 2001
• Planning for Centrelink Changes, Taxation Institute, Perth, 14 June 2001
• Tax Effective Retirement Strategies, (with P Nitschke and P Jagiello), Institute of Chartered Accountants, Perth, 12 June 2001
• Moving your Law Firm Online, (with J Styles), Practice Management Journal, pp 15-16, May 2001
• Identifying Business Opportunities Overseas, Aon Financial Advisers, Perth, 20 March 2001
• Business Structures that will last the Distance (with P Nitschke), Institute of Chartered Accountants, 26 April 2001
• International Business - Planning to Take Over the World, Financial Wisdom Conference, Singapore, June 2001
• Zurich Business Succession Planning Text Book, Zurich Financial Services, 2002
• Estate Planning Unit Guide and Text Book, Curtin Business School, 2001
• Business Succession Planning Course, (2-day course) Norwich Union, Perth, August 2001
• Tax Effective Retirement, The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Perth, July 2001
• Business Succession Planning, Norwich Union, Perth, 2001
• Estate Planning in an International Arena, Colonial Financial Services, Queensland, 9 February 2001
• Customer Service for the Professions, Customer Service Excellence 1998 (with R Sinnott), pp 75-82, ISBN 0 9586 181 00
• Computer Crime, Computer Excellence (with B Whitford et al.), Beaumont Publishing House, 1991

The Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, and UWA Senator Dr Brett Davies at a UWA Update, 2023

UWA Senator, Dr Brett Davies, with WA's new Governor, Chris Dawson APM. Together with other UWA Senators 29 July 2022