Professor Bill Duncan

Background Professor Duncan, who was admitted as a solicitor in 1970, has been a member of the Law Faculty staff since 1986, and was from 1990 to 2000, the Feez Ruthning Professor of Property Law (later known as Allen Allen & Hemsley Professor of Property Law). 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. Since July 1989 he has been a specialist consultant in property law matters at Feez Ruthning, Allen Allen & Hemsley and presently, Allens Linklaters, Solicitors. Professor Duncan’s main research interests include Property Law, particularly Land Contracts, Commercial Leases, Real Property Mortgages and Real Estate Agency Law. 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. 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 is currently (2013),with other  Faculty colleagues, undertaking a research consultancy to update Queensland property laws. He was a part-time member of the Queensland Law Reform Commission for three years from September 1997 until September 2000. With Professor Sharon Christensen, he has been retained to review the Conveyancing Protocol for Queensland since 2006.He has been an Academic Fellow of the Australian College of Community Assocaition Lawyers since 2008 and a Member of the  National Community Titles Institute.He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law in 2012. Professor Duncan’s books include Land Contracts in Queensland (with S Christensen, WM Dixon and SE Jones (3rd ed, 2011), Professional Liability and Property Transactions (with S Christensen, 2004), The Standard Land Contract in Queensland (with SE Jones, 4th ed, 1996), Commercial Leases (6th ed, 2011), The Law of Real Property Mortgages  (with WM Dixon,  2nd ed.2013), Due Diligence (with S Traves, 1995), Sale of Businesses in Australia (with S Christensen, 2nd ed, 2009) and Real Estate Agency Law in Queensland (4th ed, 2006). He has also co-authored the books Foreign Investment Law in Australia 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