The Commonwealth National Lease (CNL) is a leasing template intended to be used by Commonwealth tenant entities. It is designed to assist Commonwealth tenant entities with lease negotiations as using standard form documents can reduce the time and costs associated with negotiations. In addition, using standard form documents assist the commercial office market’s understanding of the Commonwealth’s preference and requirements in leasing transactions. In both instances, resulting in Commonwealth preferred outcomes.
The CNL is primarily intended for office leasing transactions and some parallel ancillary uses. The CNL may be used for non-office leases, however Commonwealth tenant entities should seek appropriate advice on the form of the proposed lease before doing so.
The CNL is not mandatory for corporate or non-corporate Commonwealth tenant entities, however using the CNL is encouraged to facilitate consistency of risk allocation in leasing and lease management activity by Commonwealth tenant entities.
The CNL has been drafted with reference to Commonwealth policy or legislative requirements and the Commonwealth's preferred risk and lease management positions (e.g. – in respect of maintenance requirements and green leasing credentials). Any amendments to the CNL potentially increase risk for Commonwealth tenant entities and should only be pursued with the benefit of appropriate advice and in justifiable circumstances.
The CNL Suite is a suite of documents developed by Finance to supplement the CNL on a range of leasing transactions. The CNL Suite includes:
- CNL User Guide
- CNL Template
- CNL Heads of Agreement Template
- Lease Divestment Guide
- Deed of Surrender of Lease Template
- Deed of Assignment of Lease Template
- Sublease Template
Additional guidance material is available to entities at request via propertyframework@finance.gov.au.
