Emeritus Professor
Bill Duncan
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Biography
Background Professor Duncan, who became an Emeritus Professor upon retirement in 2019, was admitted as a solicitor in 1970, was a member of the Law Faculty staff from 1986-2019. He was a Director of the Centre for Commercial and Property Law within the Faculty from 1990-2002 inclusive. Prior to joining the Faculty he practised as a solicitor in Queensland from 1978 to 1985, and from 1973 to 1978 was a lecturer in law at the University of Queensland.He was Co-Director (with S Christensen) of the Commercial and Property Law Centre at QUT from 2013-2018. Specialist Consultancies From July 1989 he was a specialist consultant in property law matters at Feez Ruthning until 1996, Allen Allen & Hemsley until 2001, Allens Arthur Robinson until 2012 and , until June 2014, Allens Linklaters, Solicitors. He was a member of the Queensland Law Society Property Law and Practice Committee from 1979 to 1997 and participated actively during that time in the development of three editions of the Standard Land Contract in Queensland. He consulted on the 1996 REIQ contract for Houses and Land Conveyancing. With Professor Sharon Christensen, he has been retained by Lexon Insurers to review the Conveyancing Protocol for Queensland since 2006. Government Consultancies He was in 1999 a specialist consultant to the Queensland Office of Fair Trading on real estate marketing practices and in 2002 in respect of the regulation of body corporate managers for the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.He has (2013-2017 incl ),with other Faculty colleagues, undertaken a research consultancy for the Queensland Attorney General to update Queensland property laws specifically the Property Law Act 1974 and aspects of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. He was a part-time member of the Queensland Law Reform Commission for three years from September 1997 until September 2000. Awards He has been an Academic Fellow of the Australian College of Community Association Lawyers since 2008 and a became a Life Member of the Strata Community Association in 1997.He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law in 2012. Major Publications Professor Duncan's books include Land Contracts in Queensland (with S Christensen, WM Dixon and SE Jones,)Federation Press, 4th ed, 2016, 615pp. The Construction and Performance of Commercial Contracts ,2nd ed.,(with S Christensen) ,Federation Press,2018, 605pp Professional Liability and Property Transactions (with S Christensen), Federation Press,2004, 464pp . The Standard Land Contract in Queensland (with SE Jones), Lawbook C0 Ltd.,4th ed, 1996, 397 pp Commercial Leases in Australia(with S Christensen) ,Thomson Reuters, 9th ed, 2020, 633pp. The Law of Real Property Mortgages (with WM Dixon)Federation Press,, 2nd. ed.2013, 478pp. Due Diligence (with S Traves) Lawbook Co Ltd., 1995, 473pp. Sale of Businesses in Australia (with S Christensen), Federation Press,2nd ed, 2009, 427pp. Real Estate Agency Law in Queensland (with S Christensen) .Thomson Reuters,5th ed, 2016, 367pp. He has also co-authored the books Foreign Investment Law in Australia (1994)and edited the books Planning and Environment Law in Queensland (1993) and Joint Ventures Law in Australia (3rd ed, 2012). He co-authored the major loose-leaf service Property Law and Practice (with Anne Wallace) since 1982. and from 2012 co-authored the on line service Commercial and Retail Leases in Australia for Thomson Reuters.Professor Duncan has also published over 50 major journal articles and 80 notes on Real Estate Law and Transactions and related matters since 1974. Research Interests- Property Law
- Land Sale Contracts
- Commercial Leases
- Real Estate Mortgages
- Real Estate Agency Law
- Commercial Contracts
Details of his ARC Discovery Grants participation appear under the tab Research Projects.
Personal details
Positions
- Emeritus Professor
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Keywords
Commercial leasing, Land Transactions, Mortgages, Property law, CPLRC
Research field
Law
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- LLM (University of London)
- LLB (University of Queensland)
Teaching
Experience
Publications
- Christensen, S. & Duncan, B. (2014). The construction and performance of commercial contracts. The Federation Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/75037
- Duncan, B. & Christensen, S. (2014). Commercial leases in Australia (7th Edition). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/76242
- Duncan, B. & Dixon, B. (2013). The law of real property mortgages, 2nd edition. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/65185
- Duncan, B., Phillips, A., O'Connor, P. & Christensen, S. (2013). Issues in negotiating a carbon sequestration agreement for a biosequestration offsets project. Australian Property Law Journal, 21(3), 195–226. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/58768
- Duncan, B., Christensen, S., Hoban, A., Pallavicini, S. & Bedelis, J. (2012). Commercial and retail leases in Australia [Online]. Thomson Rueters. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/56753
- Duncan, B., (2012). Joint Ventures Law in Australia. The Federation Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/56715
- Christensen, S. & Duncan, B. (2012). Aligning sustainability and the Torrens register: Challenges and recommendations for reform. Australian Property Law Journal, 20(2), 112–144. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/49803
- Christensen, S. & Duncan, B. (2012). Unfair terms in residential land contracts - Will the Australian Consumer Law improve a buyer's bargaining position? Competition and Consumer Law Journal, 20(1), 56–83. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/50667
- Christensen, S. & Duncan, B. (2012). Unlocking risk allocation and equitable conversion: Reform of the passing of risk in the sale of land. Property Law Review, 2(1), 3–21. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/50127
- Jones, S., Christensen, S., Dixon, B. & Duncan, B. (2011). Land Contracts in Queensland, 3rd edition. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/43461
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Bill, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Selected research projects
- Title
- An Integrated Legal Regime for a Sustainable Carbon Cycle
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP1094061
- Start year
- 2010
- Keywords
- Sustainable Development; Property Rights; Natural Resources Law; Climate Change Regulation; Environmental Law
- Title
- A legal framework for specifying and defining carbon property rights
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP130100607
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- Carbon Trading; Property rights in carbot; Commercial Transactions
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Making Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Successful in Vietnam: A Need for a Better Procurement Legal Mechanism (2017)
- Should Retail Lease Legislation in Australia Be Simplified? (2017)
- Social Media in Emergencies: An examination of government accountability for risk communication and warning (2017)
- The Authentication of Electronic Evidence (2016)
- Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Are the Rules Appropriate? (2013)
- Judicial intervention in the affairs of unincorporated religious associations in New South Wales (2012)
- The use of technology to automate the registration process within the Torrens System and its impact on fraud: An analysis (2008)