Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne / Springvale and Springvale South
Lawyers and solicitors for Springvale and Springvale South
Shop and restaurant leases, buying or selling a business, homes and units near the station, wills and estates, and family law for Springvale and Springvale South clients, from our Frankston office about 25 to 35 minutes away.
How we help Springvale and Springvale South clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Springvale and Springvale South clients
Springvale takes its name from springs that watered stock and travellers on the road between Melbourne and Dandenong. Its centre is known for Asian food, grocery and restaurant trade and for the Lunar New Year festival on Buckingham Avenue, and Sandown Racecourse in Springvale opened in the 1960s. Springvale South, between Springvale and Keysborough, was subdivided for housing in the 1960s and 1970s. At the 2021 Census, 39.2% of Springvale homes were rented, and 85.8% of Springvale South homes were separate houses.
We act for landlords and tenants of shops and restaurants, for people buying or selling a business, for buyers, sellers and developers of homes and units, and for families with wills, estates or a separation. 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 planned redevelopment of Sandown Racecourse in Springvale, for about 7,500 homes, is with the Minister for Planning for a decision.
Leases, business, property, wills and family law in Springvale and Springvale South
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Retail leases for the shops, restaurants and service businesses of Springvale, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Buying or selling a shop, restaurant or other small business, and the contracts it runs on.
- Buying or selling a business: due diligence on the business, its contracts, staff and assets, the sale contract and restraint of trade, and assignment of the premises lease.
- 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.
- Unfair contract terms: since 9 November 2023 it has been unlawful to propose or rely on an unfair term in a standard form contract with a consumer or small business.
- 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.
New planning controls around Springvale station allow more housing within walking distance of the station.
- Activity centres: Springvale, Noble Park and Yarraman are in the state’s Activity Centres Program, and new planning controls took effect on 22 July 2026 through Amendment GC285.
- Springvale centre: Amendment C203, approved in April 2021, updated the Springvale local planning policy and the Design and Development Overlay for the centre.
- Catchments: in the walkable catchments around the centres, the controls allow more low-rise apartments and townhouses alongside existing homes.
- Covenants: some older subdivisions carry restrictive covenants on title, for example limiting the number of dwellings. A covenant can prevent a subdivision unless it is removed or varied.
Homes and units in Springvale and Springvale South, including investment properties.
- 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.
- Owners corporations: units and townhouses with common property are managed by an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
- 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.
Wills and estates, and separation, property settlement and parenting arrangements.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Executors: probate and administering the estate. Probate applications are filed online with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- 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.
- 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.
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 Springvale
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 Springvale
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Springvale and Springvale South
About 25 to 35 minutes by car via EastLink and the Frankston Freeway.
By train
From Springvale or Sandown Park station, change at Caulfield for the Frankston line 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.
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.
Around Springvale station, new controls allow more housing in the walkable catchment around the centre. What applies to your land depends on its zone and overlays, which the planning property report shows. We check these before you buy, sell or develop.
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.
A Magistrates’ Court matter generally goes to the court closest to where it arose or where the other party lives, which for Springvale and Springvale South is usually Dandenong. Objector appeals and appeals about permit conditions in Greater Dandenong are usually heard at VCAT Oakleigh.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 25 to 35 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.
Leasing and business insights
Updated 26 September 2026: the Bill has passed and is now the Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Vic) (Act No…
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.
Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you will make. A conveyancing lawyer guides you through contracts, Section 32 statements, stamp duty, and settlement.
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 Springvale 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.