Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne / Dandenong
Lawyers and solicitors for Dandenong
Shop and industrial leases, business contracts and unpaid invoices, property, wills and family law for Dandenong and Greater Dandenong clients, from our Frankston office about 25 to 30 minutes away.
What we do for Dandenong clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Dandenong clients
Central Dandenong is the south-east’s court and council centre, with the Magistrates’ Court, the Children’s Court and a registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court within a few streets. Its businesses range from the Dandenong Market, trading since 1866, and the shops of Little India and the Afghan Bazaar, to the industrial estates of Dandenong South.
We act for landlords and tenants, business owners and manufacturers, and for families buying homes, making wills or separating. 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.
Local note
Greater Dandenong Council’s customer service centre is at Level 2, 225 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong.
Leases, business, property and family law in Dandenong
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Retail leases for shops, restaurants and service businesses, for landlords and tenants.
- 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.
- Minimum term: a retail lease, including options, must generally run for at least 5 years, unless the tenant obtains a certificate from the Small Business Commission and gives it to the landlord.
- Assignment: a retail landlord may refuse consent only on limited grounds, and is taken to consent if it does not respond within 28 days of a complete request.
- Disputes: most retail lease disputes must go to mediation at the Victorian Small Business Commission before VCAT can hear them. We act for landlords and tenants at the mediation and, if it does not settle, at VCAT. Non-retail lease disputes are generally heard in the courts.
Leases of factories and warehouses, and the contracts manufacturers and suppliers rely on.
- 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.
- Outgoings and land tax: under a non-retail lease, whether you pay land tax and how your share of outgoings is calculated depends on the lease. We review the lease and explain these terms before you sign.
- Make-good: the obligation to return the premises to a defined condition varies widely between leases, and the cost can be substantial.
- 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.
Getting paid, and what to do if you receive a demand.
- 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.
- Default judgment: in the Magistrates’ Court, if no defence is filed within 21 days after the claim is served, we can apply for judgment without a hearing.
- Statutory demands: a creditor owed a due and payable debt of at least $4,000 can serve a statutory demand on a company. The company has 21 days from service to pay or apply to court to set it aside, and the court cannot extend that time.
- Bankruptcy notices: under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), a creditor with a final judgment of at least $10,000 that is no more than six years old can apply for a bankruptcy notice. If the debtor does not comply within 21 days, the creditor can petition the court to make them bankrupt.
Buying and selling homes, and separation, property settlement and parenting arrangements.
- 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.
- 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.
- Courts: the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has a registry at 53-55 Robinson Street, Dandenong.
Selling your business?
The lease is usually assigned to the buyer, which needs the landlord’s consent. Under a retail lease, if you give the landlord and buyer an accurate disclosure statement, you and your guarantors are released from liability for the buyer’s defaults.
Leasing in Dandenong
A shop lease, step by step
From the first offer to the end of the lease. We act for landlords and tenants and explain each step, in English or in Polish.
01
Agree the terms
Rent, term, options, outgoings, incentives and make-good are agreed in principle, often in a letter of offer, before the lease is drafted.
02
Disclosure
For a retail lease, the landlord gives the tenant the Small Business Commission’s brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
03
Review and negotiate
We review the lease and the disclosure statement and negotiate the clauses that cause most disputes: rent reviews, outgoings, make-good and options.
04
During the lease
Outgoings must be estimated in advance and reconciled each year, and the landlord must remind a retail tenant of an option deadline at least 3 months before it closes.
05
Ending or selling
At the end of the lease the make-good clause applies. To leave early, the usual routes are a negotiated surrender or an assignment to the buyer of your business.
How we work
Visit us from Dandenong
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Dandenong
About 25 to 30 minutes by car via EastLink.
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.
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. 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 Casey and Cardinia, and at VCAT Oakleigh for Greater Dandenong.
Usually, if the premises are used wholly or mainly for selling or hiring goods or providing services to the public, such as a shop or restaurant. There are exclusions, including where occupancy costs exceed $1 million a year or the tenant is a listed company. See commercial leases.
Start with a clear letter of demand setting out the amount, how it arises and a deadline. If that fails, we can issue a claim in the Magistrates’ Court or at VCAT, depending on the debt. Most claims for a debt under a contract must be started within six years of the date payment fell due.
The lease is usually assigned to the buyer, which needs the landlord’s consent. Under a retail lease, the landlord can refuse only on limited grounds, and if you give the landlord and buyer an accurate disclosure statement, you and your guarantors are released from liability for the buyer’s defaults.
Yes, review it promptly. Separation alone does not revoke your will or a gift to your former partner. Divorce revokes gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor, but only once the divorce takes effect. Check your superannuation nominations too.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
Leasing and business insights
The Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) gives retail tenants in Victoria important protections. Learn about disclosure statements, minimum lease terms, rent reviews, and how to resolve disputes at VCAT.
When a debtor fails to pay, knowing the correct legal steps can mean the difference between recovering your money and writing off the debt entirely.
Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial commitments a business can make. A lawyer can identify risks before you are locked into a long-term obligation.
Talk to us about your Dandenong 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.