Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne / Keysborough
Lawyers and solicitors for Keysborough
Buying and selling family homes, building contracts, industrial leases, wills, family law and Polish-language services for Keysborough and Bangholme clients, from our Frankston office about 20 to 25 minutes away.
How we help Keysborough clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Keysborough clients
Keysborough takes its name from George Keys, who farmed in the area from about 1844, and by 1859 the land north of the Carrum Swamp was known by his name. Market gardens gave way to houses from the late 1970s, and Keysborough South was planned for about 2,225 households under its 2008 development contributions plan. At the 2021 Census Keysborough had 30,018 residents, and 46.7% of its homes were owned with a mortgage.
The suburb has its own council service counter at Parkmore Shopping Centre, the 48-hectare Tatterson Park and a community hub on Villiers Road, and the Divine Mercy Shrine on Greens Road is a Polish Catholic centre for Melbourne’s south-east. 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
The Divine Mercy Shrine at 337-343 Greens Road was built by the Polish community, who bought the land in 1998 for a church for the many Poles in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. It was consecrated in 2006.
Property, building, Polish-language services, wills and family law in Keysborough
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Family homes in established Keysborough and the newer streets of Keysborough South.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Selling: most sellers now need an Australian Taxation Office clearance certificate by settlement, whatever the price. Apply early, because it can take some weeks to issue.
Building contracts for new homes, extensions and knock-down rebuilds, variations and defects.
- 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.
- 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, in line with the plans and the law, and with reasonable care and skill.
- 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.
Leases and contracts for businesses in the Keysborough industrial area around Greens Road and Perry Road, and for retailers at Parkmore.
- 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.
- Variation: a deed of variation for changes to rent, term, permitted use or area, with advice on whether the change affects disclosure, an option or a guarantor.
- Surrender: a deed of surrender to end the lease early by agreement, covering any surrender payment, make-good and the return of security.
- 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.
Wills, powers of attorney, estates and documents for Poland, explained in Polish.
- Habitual residence: under Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, the law of the country where the person was habitually resident at death generally governs the succession as a whole. For someone living in Victoria, Polish law, including the forced share (zachowek), may still apply to land or a flat in Poland, because the Regulation also applies Australian rules that refer land to the law of the place where it is (art 34).
- Signed in Australia: a power of attorney signed before an Australian notary, with an apostille, is often used in Poland. Whether it meets the notarial deed requirement is for the notary in Poland to decide, so we check the form with them before you sign.
- Certified copies: of passports, birth and marriage certificates, diplomas and other documents, with an apostille for use in Poland.
Wills for families, and separation, property settlement and parenting arrangements.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Superannuation: usually not covered by your will unless you have a valid binding death benefit nomination.
- 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.
Documents for Poland?
Radek Dajer is a notary public who speaks Polish. Powers of attorney and certified copies for use in Poland are signed in person at our Frankston office, and DFAT then adds the apostille.
Separating in Keysborough
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
Visit us from Keysborough
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Keysborough
About 20 to 25 minutes by car via EastLink and the Frankston Freeway.
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.
Yes. Radek Dajer is a notary public who speaks Polish. Documents for Poland, such as powers of attorney and certified copies, are signed in person at our Frankston office, and DFAT then adds an apostille. See power of attorney for property in Poland.
A Magistrates’ Court matter generally goes to the court closest to where it arose or where the other party lives, which for Keysborough is usually Dandenong. Objector appeals and appeals about permit conditions in Greater Dandenong are usually heard at VCAT Oakleigh.
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. The builder may keep $100 plus approved out-of-pocket expenses and must refund the rest. Some exceptions apply, so act quickly.
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.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 20 to 25 minutes by car via EastLink. 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 page.
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Talk to us about your Keysborough 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.