First Home Owner Grant Act 2000

In this section —

The Commissioner may serve a garnishee notice on a person (the garnishee) if the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that the garnishee —

holds or may receive money for or on account of a liable person; or

is liable or may become liable to pay money to a liable person; or

has authority to pay money to a liable person.

A garnishee notice is a notice —

requiring the garnishee to pay money in the garnishee’s possession or control to which the liable person is or becomes entitled to the Commissioner up to the amount of a liability stated in the notice; and

fixing a time for payment (which cannot be before the time the liable person becomes entitled to the money).

The Commissioner may serve a garnishee notice even though the liable person’s entitlement to the money may be subject to unfulfilled conditions.

However, a garnishee notice served on the employer of a liable person can require the garnishee to pay to the Commissioner the wages payable by the garnishee to the liable person in respect of a period only to the extent of the amount by which the amount of the wages exceeds the amount of average earnings for that period calculated on the basis of statistics published in respect of the period by the government statistician.

The Commissioner must serve a copy of the garnishee notice on the liable person.

If the liability to which a garnishee notice relates is discharged wholly or partly before the time for payment under the notice and the discharge or partial discharge affects the amount to be recovered from the garnishee, the Commissioner must, by notice served on the garnishee and the liable person —

inform them of that fact; and

state whether and, if so, how the garnishee’s obligation under the garnishee notice is affected by the discharge or partial discharge of the liability.

A garnishee who does not comply with a garnishee notice commits an offence.

A garnishee who is under an obligation to pay money to the liable person is taken to have satisfied that obligation to the extent of the payment made under the garnishee notice.