The proprietor of a waterfront estate in Point Piper was unable to persuade the NSW Land and Environment Court that the land’s valuation had been excessive, leaving unresolved assessments amounting to tens of millions of dollars. The entity behind 92 Wolseley Road, formally known as Point Piper One Pty Ltd, is linked to John Changjin Li, a prominent figure involved in substantial gold-mining ventures in Indonesia, and Zhirou Li, identified in reports as his daughter.
The business entity is now under external administration, with liquidators from DVT Group appointed in the first weeks of September, followed by the installation of receivers later that month. The long-running saga of the waterfront address is a tale of trophy homes, marital collapse and Indonesian gold heist allegations, and highlights the ongoing tension with land valuations and their subsequent tax implications.
Complex History of Point Piper Home
The Wolseley Road property accommodates Edgewater, a high-end duplex development. The five-storey structure, designed in 1984 by film industry figure Michael Edgley, was later sold to the founders of the apparel label Katies. These founders, Joe Brender and the late Sam Moss, divided the building into separate residential units.
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John Changjin Li, together with estranged spouse Maria Meihong Yang, purchased the estate in 2020 for $95 million through the auction house Sotheby’s. This address ranks among only two waterfront residences in the area featuring a tennis court, and it also includes a deepwater jetty and sightlines to the Sydney Opera House.
Valuation Dispute
But in 2023, after marital strife and an investigation into Li’s gold mining operations in Borneo over allegations of illegal mining activity, things started to fall apart. Li’s Indonesian mine-shared with former partner Athena Changren Cheng-has reportedly been sealed by Indonesian authorities since 2021 after authorities seized a 3000-tonne gold reserve, which was subsequently moved unlawfully to Jakarta.
Point Piper One petitioned the NSW Land and Environment Court to revise land valuations for the 1816sq m plot for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024. The NSW Valuer General had assessed the land at $76.8 million in 2022 and 2023, but dramatically raised the 2024 valuation to $90.2 million, issuing a land tax notice accordingly.
Court Ruling
In the NSW Land and Environment Court, Point Piper One argued for reductions to $60.7 million in 2022, $63.3 million in 2023, and $65.9 million in 2024. The State Revenue Office rejected all but the 2024 adjustment, permitting a decrease to $80 million for that year. Consequently, the company pursued legal action in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
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The hearing included testimony on comparable transactions, such as the $27-million sale of a 739.8sq m parcel at 42 Wolseley Road in 2022, a 1308sq m block at 120-122 Wolseley Road sold in 2024 for $81.5 million, and the 2023 transaction of a 383.2sq m lot at 49 Wunulla Road within Point Piper for $68 million. The valuer representing Point Piper One applied a rate per square metre of “net land area,” favoring vacant or notionally vacant sales, while excluding the Maritime Lease Area.
The commissioner deemed several comparisons “unconvincing” and identified deficiencies in the appraisal methodologies and supporting evidence. The commissioner employed the court’s own adjusted analysis, which produced higher valuations than those formally recorded, though the Valuer General did not seek an upward revision. Consequently, the commissioner upheld the Valuer General’s valuations, confirming the land’s worth at $76.8 million for 2022 and 2023, and $80 million for 2024.
The commissioner concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated the valuations were inflated, dismissing all three appeals—one for each year. This ruling leaves unresolved assessments totaling tens of millions of dollars related to the Point Piper property.