Australia is entering a period of significant intergenerational wealth transfer. The Productivity Commission has estimated that around $3.5 trillion in assets will transfer between generations in Australia by 2050, driven by an ageing population and the continued growth of household wealth. It has also noted that inheritances and gifts have more than doubled since 2002 and could rise four-fold in real terms by 2050.
For owners of family businesses, this is not an abstract economic trend. It is a practical issue involving ownership, leadership, governance, tax, estate planning and family dynamics, often all at once.
Many business families understand that succession is important. Fewer have done the work properly. PwC reported that only 25% of Australian family businesses have a robust, documented and communicated succession plan. More recently, the Family Business Association’s 2025 Barometer found that while 45% of respondents identified a successful exit strategy as a long-term goal, only 23% had a formal plan in place, and 37% said they found the process complex.
That gap matters.
A poorly managed transition can create real problems: uncertainty around control, disputes between active and non-active family members, avoidable tax exposure, leadership instability, and erosion of business value. In some cases, the business survives the founder but not the handover.
What should family business owners be considering now?
- Ownership is not the same as management
The next generation may inherit equity without necessarily being the right people to run the business day to day. Many families blur the distinction, and that is where poor decisions start. A workable succession plan separates who owns, who governs, and who leads. - Fair does not always mean equal
One child may work in the business. Another may not. One may want control. Another may want passive ownership or an eventual exit. Trying to “split everything evenly” can sound fair but produce a dysfunctional ownership structure. The better question is whether the outcome is commercially workable and family-aware. - Governance needs to mature before transition happens
If decision-making still depends on one founder, the business is exposed. A proper succession process should address shareholder arrangements, trust structures, family governance, board oversight, delegated authority and dispute-resolution mechanisms. The handover should not begin with ambiguity. - Tax and estate planning should not be left to the end
Succession planning is not just about writing a will or appointing a successor. It often requires a review of trusts, companies, business structures, estate documents, funding arrangements and tax consequences. Late changes tend to be more expensive and less effective. - Successor readiness is often overestimated
Being “next in line” is not the same thing as being ready. Capability, credibility and commitment matter. Some transitions work best with a phased handover. Others require external executives, independent advisers, or a structure where ownership remains in-family but management does not. - Silence is not a strategy
A common failure point is avoidance. Families delay difficult conversations because they are uncomfortable, then end up making major decisions under pressure illness, retirement, death, conflict or commercial stress. By then, the options are narrower and the cost of getting it wrong is higher.
The real objective: transfer well, not just transfer wealth
The point of succession planning is not simply to move assets from one generation to the next. It is to protect value, preserve optionality and reduce the risk of conflict.
There is also a necessary counterpoint here: not every family business should remain family-managed. In some cases, the best outcome is a staged transfer of ownership, professional external management, or even a sale. Families that treat succession as a legacy issue only, rather than a strategic and commercial one, often end up protecting sentiment at the expense of value.
Looking ahead
These issues are explored in more detail in Family Built, a forthcoming book by Tony Dormer, Owner and Managing Director of Cuthberts and Taural Rhoden, expected to be published later this year. A public update on the book describes it as focusing on lessons in Australian family business leadership and the realities of navigating succession, continuity and long-term stewardship.
Need Help? Speak With Us.
If you own a family business and are starting to think about succession, intergenerational wealth transfer, governance, restructuring, or estate and tax planning, speak with our team.
We help family businesses work through the practical issues that matter: who should own, who should lead, how control should be structured, and what needs to be done now to protect both the business and the family behind it.[email protected]