Current Practice

Adrian’s practice involves advising public and multinational companies on all aspects of domestic and international tax planning, with a focus on corporate head office issues such as employee share and dividend reinvestment plans, mergers and acquisitions and structured finance.

Industry Experience

Key areas of practice include:

• employee share and option plans;
• corporate dividend and capital return strategies;
• capital gains tax and other reorganisation issues associated with mergers and acquisitions;
• the taxation of public trusts and alternative structures such as stapled vehicles, partnerships and unincorporated joint ventures;
• domestic and offshore debt capital raising; and 
• structuring for inbound investment into Australia, particularly from the United States.

Adrian has had significant roles over an extended period with ANZ Banking Group, Centro Properties Group, Coles Myer, GE Capital and Transurban.

Adrian has implemented employee share and option plans for many leading companies in Australia including ANZ Banking Group, AXA, BHP Billiton, Coles Myer, Oz Minerals and Santos.

Some major transactions in which Adrian has carried tax responsibility include Transurban’s reconstruction in 2001, GE Capital’s acquisition of AGC in 2002, Canadian miner Falconbridge’s Indonesian joint venture with BHP in 2003, Centro Property Group’s 2004 merger with the Prime Retail Group, and float of the Centro Retail Trust in 2005. Adrian successfully conducted the 2006 Melbourne City Link and 2007 GE Capital Finance tax cases on behalf of the taxpayers.

Professional Background

Adrian joined Greenwoods and Freehills after 9 years as a partner with Freehills in Melbourne (when Greenwoods and Freehills merged with the Freehills Melbourne tax practice). He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Melbourne and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Taxation from RMIT University.

Adrian is known in industry through various conference speaking engagements, lecturing taxation in the Melbourne University Master of Laws and contributions to various tax journals.