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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (27 November) . . Page.. 4786 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

legislation. Since the act commenced on 1 July 2000, the ACT has maintained and administered the legislation as required by the IGA and has applied the agreed eligibility criteria.

The current eligibility criteria for the grant does not impose a minimum occupation period of the home as the principal place of residents and applicants can be of any age. However, treasurers of all states and territories and the Commonwealth have now indicated that they support an age restriction. Without an age limit, potential abuse of the scheme for the grant can arise. For example, minors may apply for the grant, but the real purchaser could be the parent who is ineligible for the grant or has already received it. This bill will therefore amend the First Home Owner Grant Act to require an applicant to be at least 18 years of age.

To cater for genuine applications by a minor, the bill will give the Commissioner for ACT Revenue a discretion to approve the grant in appropriate cases. This discretion is consistent with the discretion given to the commissioner in some other states that have enacted or have recently introduced legislation imposing an age restriction. An example of where discretion may be exercised is if a 17-year-old child has used funds from an inheritance to purchase a home in which they will live. It is proposed that this change to the First Home Owner Grant Act be made retrospective to 14 October 2003, the day I announced the government's intention to impose an age limit.

Mr Speaker, this bill contains another change to the eligibility criteria for the grant. Currently, applicants seeking to qualify for a grant must satisfy a residence condition. This condition requires an applicant to move into the home as their principal place of residence within one year of acquiring the property or any longer period approved by the commissioner. The problem with this condition is that it does not state a minimum period in which an applicant must live in the property.

Case law provides guidance as to whether a home is used as a principal place of residence. However, it is difficult for an investigator to determine whether an applicant has resided in the property as the principal place of residence. This is especially the case where an applicant has occupied the home for a short period of time.

At the same time, there is also the risk of abuse of the scheme by an applicant moving in for a short period before leasing or selling the home. Introducing a time period will overcome these difficulties. A six-month residence period has been agreed to by all states and territories and communicated to the Commonwealth. A six-month residence requirement will therefore be added to the existing residence requirement.

In addition, a discretion for the commissioner to accept a lesser period or waive the six-month residence requirement is included. This discretion will only be exercised where there are good reasons to do so. Two examples of good reasons are where an applicant's employer requires the applicant to relocate out of the ACT and where the applicant's home is destroyed.

The amendment with respect to the residence requirement will commence on 1 January 2004; that is, it will apply to eligible applications received from 1 January 2004. This commencement date will allow time for applicants and financial institutions to prepare for the change.

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