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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
First Home Owner Grant (Housing Grant Reforms) Amendment
Bill 2012
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the First
Home Owner Grant Act 2000.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1Short
title
2Commencement
3Amendment
provisions
Part 2—Amendment of First Home Owner
Grant Act 2000
4Amendment of long title
5Amendment of
section 1—Short title
6Amendment of
section 3—Definitions
7Amendment of section 5—Ownership of
land and homes
8Substitution of heading to Part 2
Part 2—Grants
9Amendment of
section 7—Entitlement to grants
10Amendment of
section 10—Criterion 3—Applicant (or applicant's spouse
etc) must not have received earlier grant
11Amendment of
section 11—Criterion 4—Applicant (or applicant's spouse
etc) must not have had relevant interest in residential property
12Amendment
of section 14—Application for grant
13Amendment of
section 17—Commissioner to decide applications
14Amendment of
section 18—Amount of first home owner grant
15Amendment of
section 18BA—Bonus grant for transactions on or after
17 September 2010 but before 15 October 2012
16Substitution of
section 18BAB
18BABHousing construction grant
17Substitution of
section 18C
18CAmount
of grants must not exceed consideration
18Amendment of
section 31—Administration
19Amendment of
section 32—Delegation
20Amendment of section 41—Protection of
confidential information
Schedule 1—Transitional
provisions
1Interpretation
2Transitional
provisions
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the First Home Owner Grant (Housing Grant
Reforms) Amendment Act 2012.
This Act will be taken to have come into operation on 1
July 2012.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of First Home Owner Grant
Act 2000
After "first home owners" insert:
; to promote housing construction within the State; and for other
purposes
5—Amendment
of section 1—Short title
Delete "First
Home Owner Grant Act 2000" and substitute:
First
Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000
6—Amendment
of section 3—Definitions
(1) Section 3—after the definition of home
insert:
housing construction grant means a grant authorised under
section 18BAB;
(2) Section 3—after the definition of new home
insert:
new home grant scheme means the scheme for the payment of
housing construction grants established by this Act;
new home transaction means an eligible transaction that
is—
(a) a contract for the purchase of a new home; or
(b) a comprehensive home building contract for a new home; or
(c) the building of a new home by an owner-builder;
7—Amendment
of section 5—Ownership of land and homes
(1) Section 5(3)—delete "subsection (4)" and
substitute:
subsections (4) and (6)
(2) Section 5(5)—after "first home owner grant" insert:
or housing construction grant
(3) Section 5—after subsection (5) insert:
(6) In the case of housing construction grants—
(a) subsection (3)(b) does not apply; and
(b) no equitable interest may constitute a relevant interest in any
circumstances.
8—Substitution
of heading to Part 2
Heading to Part 2—delete the heading and substitute:
Part 2—Grants
9—Amendment
of section 7—Entitlement to grants
Section 7—after subsection (3), insert:
(4) A housing construction grant is payable on an application under this
Act if the requirements of section 18BAB are satisfied.
(5) Only 1 housing construction grant is payable in relation to a
particular new home.
10—Amendment
of section 10—Criterion 3—Applicant (or applicant's spouse
etc) must not have received earlier grant
(1) Section 10(1)—after "an application" insert:
for a first home owner grant
(2) Section 10(3)—after "An applicant" insert:
for a first home owner grant
11—Amendment
of section 11—Criterion 4—Applicant (or applicant's spouse
etc) must not have had relevant interest in residential
property
(1) Section 11(1)—after "An applicant" insert:
for a first home owner grant
(2) Section 11(3)—after "An applicant" insert:
for a first home owner grant
12—Amendment
of section 14—Application for grant
Section 14(1)—after "first home owner grant" insert:
or a housing construction grant
13—Amendment
of section 17—Commissioner to decide
applications
(1) Section 17(1)—after "first home owner grant"
insert:
or a housing construction grant
(2) Section 17(2)—after "first home owner grant"
insert:
or a housing construction grant
14—Amendment
of section 18—Amount of first home owner grant
(1) Section 18(1)(b)—delete paragraph (b) and
substitute:
(b) —
(i) in the case of an eligible transaction other than a new home
transaction—
(A) if the commencement date of the eligible transaction is before the
2012 statutory date—$7 000; and
(B) if the commencement date of the eligible transaction is between the
2012 statutory date and 30 June 2014 (both dates
inclusive)—$5 000;
(ii) in the case of an eligible transaction that is a new home
transaction—
(A) if the commencement date of the eligible transaction is before
15 October 2012—$7 000; and
(B) if the commencement date of the eligible transaction is on or after
15 October 2012—$15 000.
(2) Section 18—after subsection (4) insert:
(4a) To avoid doubt, a first home owner grant is not payable under this
section in relation to a contract made on or after 1 July 2014 unless
the contract is a new home transaction.
(3) Section 18(5)—after the definition of special
eligible transaction insert:
2012 statutory date is the date on which the First
Home Owner Grant (Housing Grant Reforms) Amendment Act 2012 is
assented to by the Governor.
15—Amendment
of section 18BA—Bonus grant for transactions on or after
17 September 2010 but before
15 October 2012
(1) Section 18BA(1)(a)—delete "1 July 2012" and
substitute:
15 October 2012
(2) Section 18BA(1)(b)—delete paragraph (b) and
substitute:
(b) the eligible transaction is a new home transaction; and
(3) Section 18BA(1)(d)(iii)—after "new home" insert:
entered into before 1 July 2012
(4) Section 18BA(1)(d)—after subparagraph (iii)
insert:
and
(iv) if the eligible transaction is a contract for an "off-the-plan"
purchase of a new home entered into on or after 1 July 2012 and before
15 October 2012—
(A) the contract states that the eligible transaction must be completed on
or before 14 April 2014; or
(B) in any other case, the eligible transaction is completed on or before
that date.
16—Substitution
of section 18BAB
Section 18BAB—delete the section and substitute:
18BAB—Housing construction
grant
(1) Subject to this section, a grant (the housing construction
grant) is payable on an application under this Act if—
(a) the application relates to an eligible transaction that is a new home
transaction; and
(b) the commencement date of the eligible transaction is on or after
15 October 2012 but before 1 July 2013; and
(c) the market value of the home to which the eligible transaction relates
is less that $450 000; and
(d) —
(i) if the eligible transaction is a comprehensive home building contract
for a new home—the contract states that the eligible transaction must be
completed within 18 months after the laying of the foundations for the home is
commenced or, in any other case, the eligible transaction is completed within 18
months after the laying of the foundations for the home is commenced;
and
(ii) if the eligible transaction is the building of a new home by an
owner-builder—the transaction is completed within 18 months after its
commencement date; and
(iii) if the eligible transaction is a contract for an "off-the-plan"
purchase of a new home—
(A) the contract states that the eligible transaction must be completed on
or before 31 December 2014; or
(B) in any other case, the eligible transaction is completed on or before
that date; and
(e) the transaction for which the grant is sought has been
completed.
(2) The amount of
the housing construction grant under this section is as follows:
(a) if the market value of the home to which the eligible transaction
relates does not exceed $400 000—$8 500;
(b) if the market value of the home to which the eligible transaction
relates exceeds $400 000 (but is less than $450 000)—an amount
calculated in accordance with the following formula:
where—
A is the amount of the housing construction grant
B is $8 500
C is 17
D is the market value of the home to which the eligible
transaction relates, rounded down to the nearest $100
E is $400 000.
(3) The Commissioner may, in a particular case, if he or she considers
there are proper reasons for doing so, extend the time within which an eligible
transaction must be completed under this section.
(4) This section does
not give rise to an entitlement to a housing construction grant if the
Commissioner is satisfied that a contract that formed the basis of an eligible
transaction for the purchase (or purported purchase) of a new home does not
constitute a genuine sale of the new home.
(5) For the purposes of
subsection (4), the
Commissioner may take into account the following:
(a) whether the parties to the contract are close associates;
(b) whether the parties are otherwise not at arms length;
(c) such other matters as the Commissioner considers
appropriate.
(6) For the purposes of
subsection (5), 2
persons are close associates if—
(a) 1 is a relative of the other; or
(b) they are related bodies corporate (within the meaning of the
Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth); or
(c) 1 is a body corporate and the other is a director, manager or officer
of the body corporate; or
(d) 1 is a body corporate (other than a public company whose shares are
quoted on a financial market) and the other is a shareholder in the body
corporate; or
(e) 1 has a right to participate (otherwise as a shareholder in a body
corporate) in income or profits derived from a business conduced by the other;
or
(f) they are in partnership; or
(g) 1 is a beneficiary under a trust or an object of a discretionary trust
of which the other is a trustee; or
(h) they fall within a class of persons prescribed by the regulations for
the purposes of this subsection.
(7) For the purposes of
subsection (6), 1
person is a relative of another if the other person is—
(a) a spouse or domestic partner; or
(b) a parent or remoter lineal ancestor; or
(c) a son, daughter or remoter descendant; or
(d) a brother or sister; or
(e) related in any other way prescribed by the regulations for the
purposes of this subsection.
(8) This section does
not give rise to an entitlement to a housing construction grant if the
Commissioner is satisfied that the contract that formed the basis of the
eligible transaction replaces a contract made before 15 October 2012
(the earlier contract), and that the earlier contract
was—
(a) a contract for the purchase of the same home; or
(b) a comprehensive home building contract to build the same or a
substantially similar home.
(9) A reference to a first home owner grant or to a first home bonus grant
in a following section of this Act (other than section 20 or 22(3))
will be taken to include a reference to a housing construction grant under this
section.
17—Substitution
of section 18C
Section 18C—delete the section and substitute:
18C—Amount of grants must not exceed
consideration
If, by virtue of an additional payment under section 18(2), a first
home bonus grant or a housing construction grant, the total amount payable in
relation to a home would, but for this section, exceed the consideration for the
eligible transaction, the additional payment, first home bonus grant or housing
construction grant will, as determined by the Commissioner, be adjusted so that
the total amount payable under this Act is equal to the amount of the
consideration.
18—Amendment
of section 31—Administration
Section 31—after "first home owner grant scheme"
insert:
and the administration of the new home grant scheme
19—Amendment
of section 32—Delegation
(1) Section 32(1)—after "first home owner grant scheme"
insert:
or to the administration of the new home grant scheme
(2) Section 32(2)(a)—delete "first home owner scheme" and
substitute:
first home owner grant scheme or the new home grant scheme
20—Amendment
of section 41—Protection of confidential information
Section 41(3)—after paragraph (a) insert:
(ab) in order to let a person know whether a housing construction grant
has been paid in relation to a particular home; or
Schedule 1—Transitional
provisions
(1) In this Schedule—
principal Act means the First
Home Owner Grant Act 2000 (being, if the context requires, the
First
Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000).
(2) Terms used in this Schedule that are defined in the principal Act have
the same respective meanings as in that Act.
(a) a person is entitled to a first home owner grant of $15 000 under
section 18(1)(b)(ii)(B) of the principal Act as amended by this Act;
and
(b) the person has
received a benefit constituted by an ex gratia payment by the State
equal to the difference between $15 000 and $7 000 in order to provide
for the payment of the higher amount under section 18 of the principal Act
as amended by this Act for the period between 15 October 2012 and the
day on which this Act is assented to by the Governor,
no further amount will be payable under section 18(1)(b)(ii)(B) on or
after the enactment of this Act.
(2) If—
(a) a person is
entitled to a first home bonus grant under section 18BA of the principal
Act as amended by this Act in relation to an eligible transaction with a
commencement date that is on or after 1 July 2012; and
(b) the person has received—
(i) a first home bonus grant under repealed section 18BAB of the
principal Act (as in force before the commencement of this Act); or
(ii) a benefit constituted by an ex gratia payment by the
State in order to provide for the first home bonus grant under section 18BA
of the principal Act as amended by this Act for the period between
1 July 2012 and the day on which this Act is assented to by the
Governor,
the amount of the entitlement referred to in
paragraph (a)
will be reduced by the amount of the grant received by the person under
section 18BAB or the amount of the ex gratia payment (including
so as to fully set off the amount of the relevant entitlement).
(3) If—
(a) a person is entitled to a housing construction grant under
section 18BAB of the principal Act as enacted by this Act; and
(b) the person has received a benefit constituted by an
ex gratia payment by the State in order to provide for a housing
construction grant under section 18BAB enacted by this Act for the period
between 15 October 2012 and the day on which this Act is assented to
by the Governor,
the amount of the relevant entitlement will be reduced by the amount of the
ex gratia payment (including so as to fully set off the amount of
the relevant entitlement).
(4) If—
(a) a person—
(i) applies for a first home owner grant of $15 000 under
section 18(1)(b)(ii)(B) of the principal Act as amended by this Act;
or
(ii) receives an ex gratia payment contemplated by
subclause (1)(b);
and
(b) the Commissioner is satisfied (whether before or after the enactment
of this Act) that the contract that formed the basis of the eligible transaction
replaces a contract made before 15 October 2012 (the earlier
contract), and that the earlier contract was—
(i) a contract for the purchase of the same home; or
(ii) a comprehensive building contract to build the same or a
substantially similar home,
then—
(c) if the Commissioner has not made a payment under section 18 or an
ex gratia payment contemplated by
subclause (1)(b)—the
amount of the first home owner grant under section 18 will be $7 000
rather than $15 000; or
(d) if the Commissioner has made a payment under section 18 or an
ex gratia payment contemplated by
subclause (1)(b)
(whether before or after the commencement of this Act)—the Commissioner
may recover the amount of $8 000 as a debt due to the Crown from the person
who received the payment.
(5) To avoid doubt, any set off or right of recovery under this clause
extends to a benefit or payment obtained or made before the commencement of this
clause.