Buying an apartment off-the-plan can look deceptively straightforward. You choose a property that may exist only in architectural plans and glossy renders, sign the contract, pay your deposit and wait for the building to take shape.
Behind the scenes, though, the developer may be putting together a far more complicated financing arrangement. Pre-sales help demonstrate demand and can be used to satisfy conditions imposed by construction lenders. NSW itself recognises that selling homes off-the-plan can help developers finance residential projects.
The Toplace affair shows what can happen when that process goes seriously wrong.
Former Toplace executive and solicitor Ashlyn Nassif pleaded guilty in June 2026 to publishing false or misleading material to obtain an advantage. On 7 September, she received a six-month community corrections order without supervision. The court heard that she sent a document falsifying the number of apartments that had been pre-sold to satisfy requirements connected with a $150 million Westpac construction loan for three towers at Skyview in Castle Hill. She also admitted knowing that deposits on some apartments represented only 5% of their value.
Her father, developer Jean Nassif, is separately wanted under an outstanding arrest warrant in relation to alleged fraud offences. Those allegations against him remain allegations.
It is tempting to turn this into a simple formula — developers need 60%, 70% or 80% of a project pre-sold before the bank releases the money — but construction finance does not work according to one universal percentage. Requirements vary between lenders, projects and market conditions. What the Toplace case establishes is much more specific: this particular $150 million facility depended on a pre-sale requirement, and information supplied about those sales was falsified.
| Issue | What the evidence shows | Why it matters to buyers |
| Pre-sales | Can form part of development finance arrangements | Your purchase may sit within a much larger funding structure |
| Skyview finance | $150m Westpac construction loan | Major projects can depend heavily on finance conditions |
| False information | Ashlyn Nassif admitted supplying material falsifying required pre-sales | Problems behind a development may not be visible to buyers |
| Deposits | NSW off-the-plan deposits must remain in trust or controlled money | Developers cannot simply spend that cash during construction |
| Disclosure | Purchasers receive prescribed development information | Certain changes can trigger statutory remedies |
| Sunset clauses | Vendor rescission is restricted | A developer cannot simply cancel a qualifying contract whenever it chooses |
Your deposit has more protection than you might realise
This is where NSW law changes the story considerably.
Under the current off-the-plan regime, deposit and instalment money must be retained by the stakeholder in a trust or controlled money account during the contract period. It cannot simply be handed to the vendor before settlement. One purpose of that protection is obvious: if the developer becomes insolvent, the purchaser’s cash has not already disappeared into the project’s day-to-day expenses.
So the idea that a modern NSW off-the-plan contract can casually allow a developer to take a buyer’s cash deposit and use it as construction funding is outdated. Section 66ZT of the Conveyancing Act 1919 provides the statutory framework, while alternatives such as deposit bonds and bank guarantees may also be used where accepted.
There are other safeguards. Developers must provide a disclosure statement and prescribed documents, including a proposed plan. Material changes can, in qualifying circumstances, give purchasers rights to rescind or seek compensation. Those rights are not automatic, however. Not every alteration — or every problem affecting a development — gives the purchaser an immediate exit.
Sunset clauses are also regulated. Under section 66ZS, a vendor generally needs the purchaser’s written consent or an order from the NSW Supreme Court before rescinding an off-the-plan contract under a sunset provision. Purchasers exercising their own contractual sunset rights do not face that same court-approval requirement.
Before signing, buyers should therefore know • who the contractual vendor is • where the deposit will be held • what the disclosure statement and draft plan contain • when the sunset date falls • how much the developer can change • what happens if construction is delayed • who the developer and builder are • and what rights apply if the project does not proceed as expected.
The Skyview case offers a rare glimpse at the financial machinery sitting behind an apartment sale. NSW’s deposit protections exist so that, whatever is happening with the developer’s construction finance, the purchaser’s deposit does not simply become another source of working capital.
Flash Conveyancing Advice
Before exchanging an off-the-plan contract, confirm who will hold your deposit and spend some time on the clauses dealing with sunset dates, variations, completion and termination. Developer insolvency does not automatically release a purchaser from every contract, but neither should your cash deposit simply be available to finance construction. Under current NSW law, applicable off-the-plan deposits and instalments must remain protected in trust or controlled money until settlement.
Flash Conveyancing, led by Julian & Renee, specialises in property transactions throughout NSW. With an off-the-plan purchase, much of the important work happens long before settlement — while you still have the opportunity to understand what you are signing and decide whether the risks make sense for you.
That means looking closely at the contractual vendor, disclosure statement, proposed strata plan, schedule of finishes, sunset provisions, anticipated completion arrangements and the developer’s ability to make changes. A beautiful display suite can tell you what the apartment is supposed to look like. The contract tells you what you have actually agreed to buy.
Flash Conveyancing can also check how the contract deals with the deposit and identify the stakeholder holding it. This is not about creating a special condition to stop a developer accessing money that NSW legislation already requires to be protected. Good conveyancing is about making sure the transaction reflects those protections while helping the purchaser understand the many other obligations hidden within a lengthy off-the-plan agreement.
Julian and Renee personally oversee files as part of Flash Conveyancing’s boutique, human-led service. According to the practice’s own procedures, sensitive payment instructions are voice-verified and confidential client information is supported by offline local-storage measures.
Flash Conveyancing assists purchasers and vendors throughout Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, as well as Blacktown, Hawkesbury, the Blue Mountains, The Hills, Hornsby and Parramatta. Its service area includes Acacia Gardens, Angus, Arndell Park, Blacktown, Colebee, Glendenning, Glenwood, Grantham Farm, Kellyville Ridge, Kings Langley, Marsden Park, Melonba, Oakhurst, Parklea, Quakers Hill, Riverstone, Schofields, Seven Hills, Stanhope Gardens, Tallawong, The Ponds, Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Kenthurst, North Rocks, Northmead, Rouse Hill, Vineyard, Windsor, Annangrove, Box Hill, Cattai, Dural, Gables, Galston, Glenhaven, Glenorie, Maraylya, Middle Dural, Nelson, North Kellyville, Norwest and Winston Hills.
You may never see the developer’s construction loan. But you can understand your own contract, know exactly where your deposit is being held and make sure the protections are clear before you sign.
