Income tax: capital gains: for capital gains purposes is the unit held by a unit holder in a unit trust the relevant CGT asset?

Yes. The unit in the unit trust is the relevant CGT asset irrespective of any interest the unit holder has in the property of the unit trust.

The scheme of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 is to treat units in a unit trust as the relevant asset for capital gains purposes rather than any interest a unit holder might have in the underlying property of the unit trust. Note 1 to section 108-5 specifically identifies units in a unit trust as examples of CGT assets.