Areas we serve / Mornington Peninsula / Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach
Lawyers and solicitors for Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach
Rural and coastal property, building in bushfire country, and wills and estates for Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach clients, from our Frankston office about 35 to 40 minutes away.
What we do for Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach clients
Between Rye and Cape Schanck, the Peninsula’s ocean coast runs past St Andrews Beach and Gunnamatta, with golf courses and hot springs at Fingal, market gardens on the Boneo Flats and the Cape Schanck lighthouse, built in 1859, at the southern tip. Much of the land is next to Mornington Peninsula National Park.
We act for owners of rural land and coastal homes, for buyers and sellers, for owners building or renovating, and for families with wills and estates. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish, and we meet at our Frankston office or by video.
Getting here
Bus route 786 to St Andrews Beach was removed on 5 July 2026, so most clients here drive. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email.
Rural land, coastal homes and estates
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Buying, selling and building on rural land, including land in the Green Wedge Zone.
- Green wedge: rural land on the Peninsula is generally in the Green Wedge Zone, which encourages farming and discourages other development.
- Dwellings: in the Green Wedge Zone a dwelling needs a planning permit, and generally only one is allowed on each lot. The Mornington Peninsula Shire says there is no entitlement to build a house on rural land.
- Subdividing: the minimum lot size is set by the zone schedule and is generally 40 to 80 hectares on the Peninsula, so most rural lots cannot be split.
- Septic systems: some properties are not connected to sewer. The Shire must consent before a building permit is issued for work that installs or alters a septic system, and adding bedrooms or fixtures can require an upgrade.
Contract and section 32 review, settlement and holiday letting for homes near the ocean beaches.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any bushfire, landslide or other overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Sewer or septic: South East Water’s pressure sewer is available to connect now at St Andrews Beach. Elsewhere, check whether a home is connected to sewer or relies on a septic system.
- Short stay levy: since 1 January 2025 a 7.5% levy applies to bookings of less than 28 days, unless the property is someone’s principal place of residence. The booking platform collects it, or the owner for direct bookings.
- Shire registration: short stay rentals must be registered each year under the Shire’s Short Stay Rental Accommodation Local Law 2022, with a contact person and the registration number in your advertising.
Permits and contracts for new homes and extensions near the national park and on rural land.
- Bushfire: rural land here is in a Bushfire Prone Area, so new homes and extensions must generally meet bushfire construction standards, and a Bushfire Management Overlay applies to some land.
- Older landslide overlays: Erosion Management Overlays also apply to parts of the hinterland from Arthurs Seat south to Cape Schanck and Flinders, and permit applications there usually need a landslide risk assessment by a geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist.
- Statutory warranties: every domestic building contract includes warranties that the work will be done in a proper and workmanlike manner, with good and suitable materials and in line with the plans and the law. They pass to later owners and generally cannot be contracted out of.
- The building contract: for a major domestic building contract you can usually withdraw within 5 clear business days after receiving a signed copy.
Wills, powers of attorney and estates for families with rural or coastal property.
- Wills: executors, gifts and the residue of your estate. For blended families, life interests and protective trusts can balance a surviving partner against children from earlier relationships.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, or both, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
- Farms and family land: your will does not deal with land owned by a company or trust, and land held as joint tenants passes to the surviving owner. We check how the land is held before we draft.
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
Buying rural land?
There is no entitlement to build a house on rural land on the Peninsula. Check the zone, the overlays and whether a dwelling permit exists or is likely before you buy.
Buying rural land
Buying rural land, step by step
From the first check of the land to settlement. We explain each step, in English or in Polish.
01
Check the zone
We check the zone and overlays in the planning property report, and whether the lot has, or is likely to get, a permit for a dwelling.
02
Services
Check access, water supply and whether the land is connected to sewer or relies on a septic system.
03
Bushfire
In a Bushfire Prone Area, a new home must meet bushfire construction standards, which affects the cost and the design.
04
The contract
We review the contract and the section 32 statement and suggest special conditions, such as making the purchase subject to a permit, while you can still negotiate.
05
Settlement
Settlement happens electronically through a platform such as PEXA, so you do not need to attend.
How we work
Visit us from Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, by appointment
From Cape Schanck, Fingal and Boneo
About 35 to 40 minutes by car via Boneo Road, the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Peninsula Link.
By phone or video
Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
Not as of right. In the Green Wedge Zone a dwelling needs a planning permit, and generally only one is allowed on each lot. The Shire says there is no entitlement to build a house on rural land, so check before you buy.
Most land on the Peninsula is in a Bushfire Prone Area, except some urban land along the bay and in Western Port towns. The planning property report and the state’s bushfire prone area map show what applies to a property.
Often. South East Water says its pressure sewer is available to connect now at St Andrews Beach. The owner arranges a licensed plumber, pays a connection fee and decommissions the septic tank.
Yes. Much of the work can be done by email, phone and video, and we can arrange signing when you are next on the Peninsula or near our Frankston office.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 35 to 40 minutes by car. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language services.
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Talk to us about your Cape Schanck, Fingal, Boneo and St Andrews Beach matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm.