Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne
Lawyers and solicitors for south-east Melbourne
Property and new estates, building contracts, leases and business, wills and estates, and family law for clients in Kingston, Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia, from our Frankston office. In English or Polish.
How we help south-east clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Lawyers for Kingston, Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia
Our south-east pages cover four councils: the City of Kingston on the bay, the City of Greater Dandenong, the City of Casey and the Shire of Cardinia. Casey and Cardinia are among Melbourne’s growth areas, with new estates from Clyde North to Pakenham, while central Dandenong is the region’s court and business centre.
Kingston: Chelsea, Carrum and Patterson Lakes; Mordialloc, Parkdale and Aspendale; Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett; Moorabbin, Braeside and Dingley Village.
Greater Dandenong: Dandenong; Keysborough; Springvale and Springvale South; Noble Park and Noble Park North.
Casey: Cranbourne; Berwick and Narre Warren; Clyde North and Clyde; Narre Warren South, Hampton Park and Lynbrook; Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton.
Cardinia: Pakenham.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, usually 10 to 45 minutes from the south-east by car. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, and we meet in Frankston when a meeting or a signature in person is needed. Before any work starts, we tell you in writing how we will charge and give you an estimate.
Local note
There is no Magistrates’ Court in Cranbourne or Pakenham. Dandenong has the region’s court hub: the Magistrates’ Court, the Children’s Court and a registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Across the south-east
Where our clients are
Clients come to our Frankston office from across Kingston, Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia. Choose a place to see what comes up there.
Tap or point to the gold markers on the map.
Property, business, estates and family law in the south-east
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Land and house-and-land in the growth areas, established homes and investment properties across Casey, Cardinia and Greater Dandenong.
- Off-the-plan: the deposit is capped at 10% and held in trust until registration, and buyers have rights if the plan changes materially or is not registered in time.
- First home buyers: pay no land transfer duty on homes up to $600,000 and reduced duty up to $750,000. A $10,000 first home owner grant may apply to a new home valued at $750,000 or less.
- Precinct structure plans: most new estates in the growth areas of Casey and Cardinia are planned under a precinct structure plan. It forms part of the planning scheme and sets out how the land is expected to be developed and where roads, services and infrastructure will go, and planning permits must generally follow it.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
Building contracts for new homes, variations, progress payments and defects, for owners and builders.
- Changing your mind: for a major domestic building contract, you can usually withdraw by signed written notice within 5 clear business days after receiving a copy of the signed contract.
- Variations: a change to the plans or specifications in a major domestic building contract must be recorded in writing and signed. A builder who does not follow the process may be unable to recover the cost.
- Changes due by 1 December 2026: the Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Act 2025 (Vic) will change the rules on deposits, progress payments, variations and ending a contract when it starts. Check which rules apply before you sign.
- Disputes: for most domestic building disputes, VCAT will not accept an application until the Building and Plumbing Commission’s dispute resolution service issues a certificate of conciliation.
Retail and industrial leases, contracts and unpaid invoices for south-east businesses, from Dandenong’s shops to the industrial estates of Dandenong South.
- Disclosure: for a retail lease, the landlord must give the tenant the Small Business Commission’s information brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
- Retail or not: the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) covers many shops and service businesses. Offices, warehouses and factories are often outside it, and then the lease itself governs.
- Terms of trade: credit terms, late payment interest, personal guarantors and retention of title clauses, which generally need registering on the Personal Property Securities Register.
- Unpaid invoices: start with a clear letter of demand. The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000, and VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
Wills, powers of attorney and medical treatment decision makers, probate, and family provision claims.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
- Executors: probate and administering the estate. Probate applications are filed online with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
Separation, property settlement and parenting arrangements for south-east families.
- Separation and divorce: are separate legal steps under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). You do not need to be divorced to settle property or parenting arrangements, and a divorce does not settle them for you.
- Time limits: married couples must apply to the court within 12 months after their divorce takes effect, and de facto couples within 2 years after the relationship ends.
- Parenting: before applying for parenting orders you generally need a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner, unless an exception applies, such as family violence, child abuse or urgency.
- Courts: the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has a registry at 53-55 Robinson Street, Dandenong.
Documents for use overseas?
Radek Dajer is also a notary public, in English or in Polish. Notarial appointments are held in person at our Frankston office.
Separating in the south-east
Separation, step by step
What happens after you separate, from the first weeks to a final agreement. We explain each step as it comes, in English or in Polish.
01
Get advice early
Arrangements made quickly or informally in the first weeks can be hard to change later. You can be separated while living under the same roof.
02
Children
Before applying for parenting orders you generally need a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner, unless an exception applies, such as family violence or urgency.
03
Property and debts
We identify everything either of you owns or owes, whatever name it is in, including real estate, superannuation and business interests.
04
Agreement
Once you agree, the court can make your agreement into binding consent orders, usually without anyone attending court. A financial agreement is the other option.
05
Time limits
Married couples must apply to the court within 12 months after their divorce takes effect, and de facto couples within 2 years after the relationship ends.
How we work
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
No. Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, usually 10 to 45 minutes from the south-east 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.
Dandenong is the region’s court centre, with the Magistrates’ Court at 35 Pultney Street, the Children’s Court at 153 Foster Street and a registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court at 53-55 Robinson Street. For the Kingston suburbs, Magistrates’ Court matters usually go to the Moorabbin Justice Centre in Highett or to Frankston, depending on the suburb. Most VCAT planning cases are heard at VCAT’s Melbourne CBD venue, 308 La Trobe Street. Objector appeals and appeals about permit conditions are usually heard at VCAT Frankston for Kingston, Casey and Cardinia, and at VCAT Oakleigh for Greater Dandenong.
It is an off-the-plan contract. We check the deposit, the plan of subdivision, the registration deadline and any sunset clause, and the covenants, restrictions and design guidelines that apply to the lot, so your plans comply before they are drawn.
If you are an eligible person, you may be able to make a family provision claim, which must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate. A will can also be challenged if there are doubts about how it was made or signed. Get advice early, because the time limit is strict. See probate and estate administration.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
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Talk to a lawyer about your south-east 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 6:00pm.