A private ruling is binding on the Commissioner in your favour on the facts you describe. That makes it the single most useful certainty tool available on a genuinely uncertain position. It also makes the application itself the whole ballgame: the ruling is only as good as the scheme description, and an unfavourable ruling is very hard to unwind.
The judgement call is often not how to draft the application. It is whether to lodge one at all. Some positions are better documented and defended. Others are better resolved through early engagement, or through a class of ATO product that does not commit you to a single set of facts.
Where we act
What we do
- Private binding ruling applications — scheme description, contentions and supporting authority
- Advising on whether to apply, and on the risks of an adverse ruling
- Objecting against an unfavourable private ruling
- Early engagement and pre-lodgment discussions on significant transactions
- Applications for the Commissioner to exercise a discretion — including Division 7A section 109RB relief
- Requests for extensions of time and administrative relief
- Reviewing existing rulings for whether the arrangement actually implemented matches the scheme ruled on
Common situations
What we are usually brought in on
The transaction will not proceed without certainty
Where a deal turns on a rollover, a concession or a valuation-dependent threshold, a ruling can be the difference between the transaction closing and not closing.
The law is genuinely unsettled
Where there is a recent decision, a draft ruling, or a divergence between an ATO view and the case law, an application forces the issue rather than leaving it to be discovered in an audit years later.
The scheme description does not match what happened
A ruling protects the arrangement described in it. Where implementation drifted from the plan, the protection can quietly disappear. This is worth checking before it is tested.
A discretion needs to be exercised
Several integrity provisions turn on the Commissioner exercising a discretion. Those applications are evidence-led, not argument-led, and are usually strongest when made promptly.
How we work
Our approach
The facts are the product. Most of the work in a ruling application is in the scheme description — complete enough to bind, precise enough not to describe something you are not going to do.
Know the downside before you ask. We give a clear view on the likely outcome before lodging, so the decision to apply is a commercial decision made with open eyes.
Fixed fee. Ruling applications are well suited to a fixed fee, and we quote them that way.
Common questions
How long does a private ruling take?
The ATO aims to deal with most private ruling applications within 28 days of having all the information it needs, but complex applications commonly take considerably longer, and the clock effectively restarts each time further information is requested. A well-prepared application with the facts and supporting material complete on lodgment is the main lever on timing.
What happens if the ruling goes against us?
An unfavourable private ruling can be objected against, and the objection decision can then be reviewed. But it is a materially worse starting position than not having asked. That is why the decision to apply should be made only after a considered view on the likely answer.
Related insights
Further reading
Division 7A
Bendel is decided. Now mind the window
The High Court has held an unpaid present entitlement is not a Division 7A loan. What it means, what must be unwound, and why 1 July 2028 changes things.
Trusts
Section 100A: when trust distributions come undone
How section 100A applies to trust distributions, what the ordinary family or commercial dealing exclusion requires, and what Guardian and BBlood decided.
Have a matter you want a straight answer on?
Most engagements start with a short conversation about the issue, what the exposure looks like and what it would cost to deal with it properly. There is no charge for that conversation.