COVID-19: navigating the national Code of Conduct for commercial tenancies

This publication is current as at 15 June 2020.  

In April 2020, the Commonwealth Government introduced a new Code of Conduct for commercial tenancies intended to aid the management of cash flow for SME tenants and landlords that are suffering financial stress or hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Code includes a set of good faith leasing principles for application to commercial tenancies where the tenant is an eligible business for the purpose of the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper program.

In this publication, we provide an in‑depth analysis of the key changes the Code will introduce, and summarise:

• what constitutes a ‘lease’ for the purposes of the Code;
  
  
• the relationship between the Code and the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper program;
  
  
• the overarching principles that will guide the conduct of negotiation and implementation of arrangements under the Code; and
  
  
• our analysis of how the leasing principles of the Code have been incorporated into the relevant emergency legislations of the States and Territories to date. 

You can access a copy of COVID-19: navigating the national Code of Conduct for commercial tenancies online, or click the ‘DOWNLOAD PDF’ button.