Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time HomeBuilder Program HomeBuilder Program The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council HomeBuilder Program The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (14:37): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer please update the chamber on the latest changes in the federal government's HomeBuilder scheme? The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council HomeBuilder Program The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:37): I am pleased to share with members details of the announcement by the federal government in relation to the HomeBuilder scheme. As members will be aware from previous questions in this house, there has been tremendous interest by the community in the HomeBuilder scheme. It has certainly been going gangbusters, if I can use a colloquial expression, in South Australia, but there has been significant pressure from stakeholder groups and individuals. The MBA, the HIA and the UDIA have argued for a number of things. One was the period of time between the signing of a contract and the commencement of construction, which was originally three months, they wanted that to be extended to six months. As I informed the house when we last sat, the federal government agreed—let me rephrase that: the state commissioner of taxation, I suppose, technically, made a decision to blanket apply that exemption right across the board to all exemptions in the interests of assisting the residential home building industry and also homebuyers. We had applied to the commonwealth government for approval, and they were considering that at the time. The announcements on the weekend, however, are even more significant; that is, the federal government has announced a three-month extension to the scheme, from the end of this year through to 31 March. The extension of the scheme will be at a lower rate: a $25,000 commonwealth grant together with the $15,000 state grant for first-home builders or owners, so $40,000 prior to 31 December, but after 1 January it will be a $15,000 federal grant as opposed to a $25,000 grant, through to 31 March. That certainly is in accord with what the stakeholder groups had been lobbying for at the federal and state level. Allied with that is that the commonwealth has now acknowledged what has occurred in South Australia and has now agreed nationally that the time period between the signing of the contract and the commencement of construction shall be a period of six months, which was the decision our Commissioner of State Taxation had taken a week or so ago. One of the key issues for members to be aware of in discussing this HomeBuilder extension with constituents is that there will no longer be the discretion for the Commissioner of State Taxation in South Australia to, on a case-by-case basis, extend it beyond the six-month period. Under the three-month period, the Commissioner of State Taxation could consider on a case-by-case basis an extension. If, for example, there had been banking delays, finance approval delays, planning delays or problems with a particular builder, the Commissioner of State Taxation could extend it. That discretion has now been removed. There is now a blanket extension to a period of six months, but there is no longer a case-by-case process to argue for a further extension beyond the six months. Another important issue to bear in mind is that the applications can now be submitted right through to 14 April 2021. If constituents want to apply for the $25,000 grant, they will need to sign their contract prior to 31 December. They do have up until 14 April to submit it but it can only be for a contract which has been signed prior to 31 December. If a contract is signed between 1 January and 31 March, it will be for a $15,000 grant and it can also be submitted up until 14 April next year. For all those members who are probably getting calls from friends, acquaintances and/or constituents, those two particular provisions, which haven't been widely publicised, need to be borne in mind; that is, there will no longer be an extension now on a case-by-case basis beyond the statutory period of six months; and secondly, the time for applications will be extended to 14 April, but it is the contract signing date which will apply as to whether you get considered for the $25,000 grant or the $15,000 grant. In conclusion, I think they are important details and we congratulate the federal government on its willingness to listen to stakeholder groups like the MBA, the HIA and the UDIA in South Australia and also the concerns that state and territory governments and individual constituents have raised about the success of the program so far and how it would be very useful for economic recovery if the program was further extended. We congratulate the federal government and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, federal Minister Michael Sukkar and, of course, the Prime Minister on acknowledging that and on extending the program.