First Home Owner Grant Act 2000

This Act may be cited as the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000.

This Act comes into operation on 1 July 2000.

In this Act:

Agency employee means an employee within the meaning of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993 of the Agency administering this Act and includes the Chief Executive

Officer within the meaning of that Act of that Agency.

Australian citizen, see section 4 of the Australian

Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth).

building includes part of a building.

commencement date, in relation to an eligible transaction, has the meaning in section 13(5).

Commissioner means the Commissioner of Territory

Revenue or a person acting in that position.

completion, in relation to an eligible transaction, has the meaning in section 13(6).

comprehensive home building contract means a contract under which a builder undertakes to build a home on land from the inception of the building work to the point where the home is ready for occupation and if, for any reason, the work to be carried out under such a contract is not completed, includes any further contract under which the work is to be completed.

consideration, in relation to an eligible transaction, has the meaning in section 13(8) to (9).

corresponding law means an Act of a State or another

Territory of the Commonwealth corresponding to this Act.

eligibility criteria means the criteria prescribed in

Division 2 of Part 2 for determining whether an applicant for a first home owner grant is eligible for the grant.

eligible transaction has the meaning in section 13(1).

first home owner grant means a grant authorised under section 17.

first home owner grant scheme means the scheme for payment of first home owner grants established under this Act.

GST, see section 195-1 of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth).

guardian, in relation to a person under a legal disability, includes a trustee who holds property on trust for the person under an instrument of trust or by order of a court or tribunal.

home has the meaning in section 4.

new home has the meaning in section 4A.

option to purchase includes a right of pre-emption or a right of first refusal.

owner means:

in relation to land, a person who has a relevant interest in the land; and

in relation to a home, a person who has a relevant interest in the land on which the home is built.

owner builder means an owner of land who builds a home, or has a home built, on the land without entering into a comprehensive home building contract.

permanent resident means:

the holder of a permanent visa within the meaning of section 30 of the Migration Act 1958 of the Commonwealth; or

a New Zealand citizen who holds a special category visa within the meaning of section 32 of the Migration Act 1958 of the

Commonwealth.

relevant interest has the meaning in section 5(2), (3) and (4).

residence requirements means the requirements under section 12.

residential property means land in Australia on which there is a building lawfully occupied as a place of residence or suitable for occupation as a place of residence.

statutory interest rate, see section 35 of the Taxation

Administration Act 2007.

threshold amount, for an eligible transaction, means:

if the commencement date for the transaction is before

4 December 2012 – $750 000; or

if the commencement date for the transaction is on or after

4 December 2012 – $600 000.

A home is a building (affixed to land) that:

may lawfully be used as a place of residence; and

is, in the Commissioner's opinion, a suitable building for use as a place of residence.

A home is a new home if:

the home has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence; or

all of the following apply:

the home is the subject of a contract for the purchase of the home;

the sale of the home is, under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), a taxable supply as a sale of new residential premises as defined in section 40‑75(1)(b) of that Act;

the home has not, since being renovated, been occupied or sold as a place of residence; or

the Commissioner declares the home to be a new home under subsection (2).

Note for subsection (1)(b)(ii)

Section 40-75(1)(b) of the

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), relates to residential premises that have been created through substantial renovations of a building.

The Commissioner may declare a home that is the subject of a transaction and would not otherwise be a new home, to be a new home in relation to that transaction if satisfied that:

it would be a new home but for the fact that it has previously been sold as a place of residence; and

doing so would not have the effect of circumventing limitations on, or requirements affecting, eligibility for or entitlement to a first home owner grant imposed by or under this Act.

In this section:

place of residence includes a building occupied as residential accommodation (regardless of the duration of the occupation).

Examples for subsection (3)

A building occupied as residential accommodation might include a hotel, serviced apartments or workers accommodation.

A person is an owner of a home or a home owner if the person has a relevant interest in land on which a home is built.

Each of the following is, subject to subsection (3), a relevant interest in land:

an estate in fee simple in the land;

a life estate in the land approved by the Commissioner;

a perpetual lease of the land granted by the Commonwealth or the

Territory;

a leasehold interest in the land granted by the Commonwealth or the Territory that may be converted under the terms of the lease or by statute into an estate in fee simple;

an interest as purchaser under a contract for the purchase of an estate in fee simple in the land by instalments;

a licence or right of occupancy granted by the Commonwealth or the Territory that gives, in the Commissioner's opinion, the licensee or the holder of the right reasonable security of tenure;

an interest as lessee or sublessee of the land under a long-term registered lease granted by the Commonwealth or the Territory where the term of the lease is 15 years or more;

an interest as lessee or sublessee of the land under a registered lease or sublease granted under section 19 or 19A of the Aboriginal

Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) if the term of the lease is 15 years or more.

Subject to subsection (4):

an interest is not a relevant interest at a particular time unless the holder of the interest has, or will have within 12 months after that time (or a longer period allowed by the Commissioner), a right to immediate occupation of the land; and

an interest is not a relevant interest in the hands of a person who holds it subject to a trust; and

an equitable interest is not a relevant interest unless it is the interest of a person under a legal disability for whom a guardian holds the interest in trust; and

an interest is not a relevant interest if the holder of the interest is the lessor or sublessor under a lease or sublease mentioned in section 5(2).

The Regulations may provide for recognition of an interest (a non‑conforming interest) as a relevant interest:

even though the interest may not conform with the above provisions; and

even though the interest may not be recognised at law or in equity as an interest in land.

If a first home owner grant is to be paid in consequence of the recognition of a non-conforming interest as a relevant interest, the

Commissioner may impose appropriate conditions on the payment of the grant to ensure its recovery if criteria prescribed in the

Regulations about future conduct or events are not satisfied.

An applicant for a first home owner grant must be:

a natural person; and

at least 18 years of age at the commencement date of the eligible transaction.

The Commissioner may exempt an applicant from the requirement in subsection (1)(b) if the Commissioner is satisfied:

the applicant will comply with the residence requirements; and

the application does not have the effect of circumventing limitations on, or requirements affecting, eligibility for or entitlement to a first home owner grant imposed by or under this Act.

If an application is made by joint applicants and one of the applicants complies with subsection (1)(b), it is not necessary for the other or others to comply with that paragraph.

Subject to subsection (2), an applicant for a first home owner grant must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident at the time of making the application.

If an application is made by joint applicants and one of the applicants is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident at the time of making the application, it is not necessary for the other or others to be Australian citizens or permanent residents.

Subject to subsection (2), an applicant is ineligible for a first home owner grant if:

the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner has been a party to an earlier application under this Act or a corresponding law; and

a grant was paid on the application.

However, an applicant is not ineligible under subsection (1) if:

the grant was later paid back; and

any amount payable as a penalty or as interest was also paid in relation to the earlier application.

An applicant is ineligible for a first home owner grant if the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner:

could have successfully applied for a first home owner grant under this Act or a corresponding law in respect of an earlier transaction to which he or she was a party but did not do so; or

could, assuming that he or she had then been an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, have successfully applied for a first home owner grant under this Act or a corresponding law in respect of an earlier transaction to which he or she was a party.

An applicant is ineligible for a first home owner grant if:

the applicant, or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner, received the first home owner discount under section 89AA of the

Stamp Duty Act 1978 in relation to an earlier conveyance; and

the duty that would have been payable under that Act but for that discount has not been paid.

An applicant is ineligible for a first home owner grant if the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner held before

1 July 2000:

a relevant interest in residential property in the Territory; or

an interest in residential property in a State or another

Territory of the Commonwealth that is a relevant interest under the corresponding law of that State or Territory.

In working out for the purposes of subsection (1) whether an applicant held a relevant interest (within the meaning of this Act or a corresponding law) in residential property at a particular time, any deferment of the applicant's right of occupation because the property was subject to a lease is to be disregarded.

An applicant is ineligible for a first home owner grant if the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner has, on or after 1 July 2000 and before the commencement date of the eligible transaction to which the application relates, held an interest in property used at any time on or after 1 July 2000 as the residence of the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner, being:

a relevant interest in residential property in the Territory; or

an interest in residential property in a State or another

Territory of the Commonwealth that is a relevant interest under the corresponding law of that State or Territory.

However, for subsection (3), the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner is taken not to have used the property as the residence of the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner if:

the property was the subject of an earlier application under this

Act or a corresponding law by the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner; and

a first home owner grant was paid under the earlier application;

and

the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner repaid the grant.

Also, for subsection (3), the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner is taken not to have used the property as the residence of the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner if:

the property was the subject of an earlier application under this

Act or a corresponding law by the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner; and

a first home owner grant was not paid under the earlier application because the Commissioner did not exempt the applicant or the applicant's spouse or de facto partner from the requirement in section 8(1)(b).