Areas we serve / Mornington Peninsula / McCrae
Lawyers and solicitors for McCrae
Buying and selling, building under the landslide overlay, land and water disputes, and wills and estates for McCrae clients, from our Frankston office about 25 to 30 minutes away.
What we do for McCrae clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for McCrae clients
McCrae runs along the bay below the Arthurs Seat escarpment, between Dromana and Rosebud, with the McCrae Homestead, home of the artist Georgiana McCrae, and a white lighthouse on Point Nepean Road. On 14 January 2025 a landslide destroyed a house in the town, and a Board of Inquiry found it was caused by water leaking from a burst water main.
We act for McCrae home owners, buyers and sellers, for owners building or renovating on sloping land, for owners in disputes about damage to their land, 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.
Landslide overlay
The interim landslide overlay (EMO7) runs until 6 January 2027. In August 2026 the Shire asked the Minister to approve new mapping that would cut it from about 33,000 properties to about 6,000.
Before you buy or build
Checking land on the escarpment
Below Arthurs Seat, the land can matter as much as the house. Check these points before you buy, build or renovate in McCrae.
Tap or point to the gold markers on the drawing.
Property, disputes and estates in McCrae
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Contract and section 32 review, auctions and private sales, and settlement for homes in McCrae.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including the landslide overlay and any vegetation or other overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- The inquiry: the McCrae Landslide Board of Inquiry reported in September 2025 and made 30 recommendations, including an interim landslide overlay and a state review of how planning deals with landslide risk.
- Section 32: the section 32 statement must disclose the planning controls, including any Erosion Management Overlay. We check it against the planning property report before you sign.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. There is none at a publicly advertised auction.
Title, planning and drainage checks for new homes, extensions and renovations on sloping land.
- Landslide controls: since 6 January 2026, an interim Erosion Management Overlay (EMO7) has covered land the Shire has mapped as highly susceptible to landslides. Most works will likely need a planning permit, usually with a geotechnical report.
- Mapping under review: the interim overlay runs until 6 January 2027. In August 2026 the Shire asked the Minister to approve new mapping that would cover about 6,000 properties instead of about 33,000.
- Drainage: altering drainage on land under the landslide overlay usually needs a permit.
- Before you spend: we review the title and planning controls with your designer, surveyor or engineer before you commit to costs.
Disputes with neighbours and others about water, fences and damage to land.
- Water between properties: disputes about the unreasonable flow of water between properties can go to VCAT under the Water Act 1989 (Vic).
- Damage to your land: if your land or home has been damaged, get advice early about who may be responsible, what insurance may respond and the time limits that apply.
- Fences: fencing disputes between neighbours are decided in the Magistrates’ Court under the Fences Act 1968 (Vic). We can prepare a fencing notice, negotiate with your neighbour and act for you in the Magistrates’ Court.
- How we act: we act for owners in negotiations and mediation and at VCAT or in court, and brief a barrister where the matter needs one.
Wills, powers of attorney and estates, including holiday houses.
- 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).
- Is a grant needed? A holiday house in the deceased’s sole name usually needs a grant of probate before it can be sold or transferred. Property owned as joint tenants passes to the surviving owner.
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
Is your property in the overlay?
The Shire’s online map shows whether the interim landslide overlay applies to an address. If you are buying, we check it with the section 32 statement before you sign.
Building on a slope
Building or renovating in McCrae, step by step
From the first check of the land to handover. We review the contracts and explain each stage, in English or in Polish.
01
Check the land
We review the title and the planning controls, including any landslide or vegetation overlay, before you commit to plans.
02
Permits
Your designer or building surveyor confirms the planning and building permits the work needs. Under the landslide overlay, expect a geotechnical report.
03
The contract
We review the building contract before you sign. For a major domestic building contract you can usually withdraw within 5 clear business days after receiving a signed copy.
04
During the build
Deposits are capped and progress payments are tied to stages of the work. Any change to the plans or specifications must be recorded in writing and signed.
05
Handover
Final payment is not due until the work is complete and you have the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection. List any defects in writing.
How we work
Visit us from McCrae
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, by appointment
From McCrae
About 25 to 30 minutes by car via the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Peninsula Link.
By bus
Route 788 runs along Point Nepean Road through McCrae to Frankston station, a short walk from our office.
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.
No. The interim overlay (EMO7) applies to land the Shire has mapped as highly susceptible to landslides, not to whole suburbs. Check the planning property report or the Shire’s map for the address, or ask us to check it before you sign.
It found that the landslide on 14 January 2025 was caused by water leaking from a burst South East Water main over several months. Its report, released in October 2025, made 30 recommendations.
Disputes about the unreasonable flow of water between properties can go to VCAT under the Water Act 1989 (Vic). Record the damage with photographs and dates, and get advice before the problem gets worse. We can act for you.
Often. It depends on the height of the wall and the land. A building permit may be needed, and on land under a landslide or vegetation overlay a planning permit may be needed too. Your building surveyor can confirm what applies.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 25 to 30 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 McCrae 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.