Page 5408 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 16 November 2010
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The ACT already has a much more targeted and effective assistance scheme. That is the stamp duty concession scheme. The scheme is capped at the median price and is means tested. This is a much more effective way of providing assistance.
I asked the government in a briefing about the links between these two schemes, and their response was that they had no idea. The information is on separate databases and no cross-referencing has been done. It does seem odd that we would not want to know who is accessing the respective schemes and how much crossover there is.
As I said, a cap on the scheme is a good first step. What we need to do now is have a genuine and thorough inquiry into affordable housing in the ACT, including inquiring into the effectiveness of the first homeowners grant.
MS GALLAGHER: (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Health and Minister for Industrial Relations) (11.08), in reply: I thank members for their comments and for their support for this bill. This bill makes three changes to the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000. The changes to the First Home Owner Grant Act are designed to ensure the grant remains available to first homebuyers in the ACT most in need and that the administration of the scheme continues, where possible, to be uniform across jurisdictions.
These changes are also consistent with the principles of the intergovernmental agreement on federal financial relations, and the ACT government continues to provide various housing affordability initiatives, such as the homebuyer duty concession scheme, deferred duty options, land rent and mortgage relief. These financial concessions to first homebuyers help to ease the up-front costs of homeownership in these difficult times.
Housing affordability remains a priority for this government. Since the release of the affordable housing action plan in 2007, the government has successfully worked together with the community and industry to deliver all 62 initiatives. We have seen record releases of residential land, with 20 per cent of all new developments now required to deliver house and land packages for $328,000 or less. The homebuyer concession scheme and the pensioner duty concession scheme are updated every six months to ensure they remain current. A $40 million equity boost has been injected into community housing, and a $50 million loan facility will allow more Canberrans to access affordable housing.
The government is continuing to build on these achievements to meet the housing needs of older Canberrans and the homeless. The first amendment to the First Home Owner Grant Act will allow an applicant to be eligible to apply for a further grant if the original grant, together with any penalties and interest, has been repaid. An applicant is still required to meet other eligibility criteria of the grant.
The second amendment is aimed at discouraging homebuyers from providing false or misleading information. If an applicant has previously been convicted of an offence under the ACT’s First Home Owner Grant Act or a first homeowner grant act in another jurisdiction, they are ineligible to receive a further grant.
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