Labor’s controversial capital gains tax changes has ignited demand for private valuers, who will have one of the hottest jobs in the year ahead as millions of investors move to value their assets to avoid being hit with thousands in extra tax.

Professional valuers are set to be inundated with requests for valuations dated July 1, 2027 – the date the capital gains tax treatment of assets shifts from the current 50 per cent CGT discount method to a less-generous inflation-linked indexation method.

This week Treasurer Jim Chalmers lit a bonfire under future valuer demand, releasing details of how the government will allow people to value their assets without needing a third-party valuation. But the government’s apportionment method is likely to slug people tens of thousands of extra tax dollars if they use it instead of a professional valuation.

Property and accounting specialists expect demand for valuations to surge and potentially fuel fee rises, although many in the 5000-member valuation industry believe the rush will be absorbed without hefty price hikes.

The price of a desktop valuation today for a residential property is up to $350, while full walk-through valuations can cost almost double that, and the fees for larger complex properties and businesses usually start at $1000. Some business valuations can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Australian Property Institute chief executive John Winter said there had been no clarity from the government or Australian Taxation Office about what standard of valuation would be required.

“This is one of those cases where government hasn’t checked with industry about what needs to happen,” he said.

“Historically, the ATO has been very unspecific about these things and the reason is that they haven’t needed such a reliance on point-in-time valuations.

“If you don’t get a proper valuation done, the potential for wholesale tax avoidance is quite frankly terrifying, and you’re talking about massive amounts of money here.”

Mr Winter said investors could not simply “plug the property into realestate.com.au and get an answer”.

“Not when there’s tax involved … we haven’t seen a situation like this where it’s going to matter as much as it does,” he said.

Metropole Property Strategists founder Michael Yardney said more than three million investment properties across Australia were likely to need a new baseline valuation.

“Clearly as an investor you want the property to have the highest valuation you can put at that time (July 2027), so that you benefit from the 50 per cent CGT discount before the indexation system starts,” he said.

Mr Yardney said he expected valuation prices to rise. “Of course it will – it’s supply and demand,” he said.

“If you want a valuation and you want them to work nights and weekends, you’re going to have to pay them more.”

CPA Australia tax lead Jenny Wong said demand for business valuations should “increase significantly in the lead-up to 1 July, 2027, particularly for businesses and other assets where there isn’t a readily observable market value”.

“While taxpayers will have the option of using the government’s apportionment method, many business owners are likely to seek a valuation if they believe it will better reflect the value of their business at the transition date and potentially produce a fairer tax outcome,” she said.

“We’re concerned about a last-minute scramble for valuations as thousands of business owners rush to establish market values before the rules change.”

Anyone considering a side hustle as a professional valuer should think again, because there are strict education and experience requirements.

Employment giant Seek.com.au says the average salary for valuer jobs in Australia ranges from $95,000 to $115,000, and jobs typically require a specialised degree then usually two years’ experience working alongside a professional valuer.

“It actually takes more to get qualified as a valuer than it does to become fully qualified as a CPA or a chartered accountant,” Mr Winter said.

He does not expect a looming fee hike. “Nobody’s going to get rich and be buying holiday homes off it.”

Some accounting firms provide business valuations, and chartered accountant and Mr Taxman founder Adrian Raftery said he expected their numbers to rise.

He noted that many small business owners may not need valuations if they qualified for CGT small business concessions that reduced or removed all CGT payable.

As for potential rises in valuation fees, Dr Raftery said “well, the prices won’t be falling”.

Gavin Hulcombe, a senior executive at valuation company Herron Todd White, said he did not expect the tax changes to materially affect pricing.

“I think the industry is eminently capable of absorbing the volume,” said Mr Hulcombe, who runs Herron Todd White’s commercial, agribusiness and property advisory and valuation business.

He said retrospective valuations were not uncommon and the ATO had historically accepted these.

“We’re still doing valuations for 1 July, 2000, when the GST was introduced, so 26 years later,” he said.

“The closer to the date they’re done, the more the information is prevalent and current. Certainly getting the valuation done puts the owners in a far more defensible position should they be questioned by the ATO.”

Lawyer Hayder Shkara said he had not seen any issues where the ATO was unhappy with retrospective valuations “as long as it’s done by a professional valuer”.

Mr Hulcombe said he expected demand for valuations would experience “a bit of a hump, but then a tail where valuations are spread over a number of years”.

Mr Winter said valuation industry leaders were not concerned about being unable to meet demand.

“The industry is actually quietening off at the moment, ironically because of the government’s action to try and bring property prices down, and so the volume of residential sales has eased off,” he said.