Thanks for your comments Terryw.  I think the concepts are starting to set in my head, but I'm still a bit puzzled about whether I'm likely to be better off purchasing in my name or under a trust.

I'm currently looking at a short list of properties with cash flow (after accounting for rental management, repairs, rates, etc) of between a few hundred and 2.5k. Because this is pretty small I'm guessing that depreciation and other deductions will shrink this to negative – in which case I'd assume it's better to be personal ownership rather than trust? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?