| The NSW Government has released details of how the HomeBuilder program will operate for NSW homebuyers. The grant provides eligible owner-occupiers $25,000 towards the cost of building or buying a new home or substantially renovating an existing home. The grant is an Australian Government initiative that will be administered by the NSW Government through the Department of Treasury and Finance, Revenue NSW. Initial eligibility requirements for the grant have been set by the Australian Government and are available from the Commonwealth Treasury. As Revenue NSW is responsible for administering the grant it has now provided additional details for the grant. HIA has been advising the NSW Government over recent weeks on practical approaches to the implementation of HomeBuilder in this state, especially the definition of “commencement of construction” and documentary evidence options. It is therefore pleasing that according to the Revenue NSW guidelines the definition is as follows: |
- In relation to a new home, commencement of construction will be commencement of excavation and site preparation works.
- In relation to a substantial renovation, commencement of construction is when works under the renovation contract commence.
- In relation to an off the plan purchase, commencement of construction will be commencement excavation and site preparation works.
The notice of commencement that is uploaded to the NSW Planning Portal, as required under the EP&A Act, will be accepted as evidence of construction commencement.
To be eligible for the grant, construction must commence within three months of the contract date and applications must be made before 31 December 2020. However, where commencement is delayed due to unforeseen factors outside the control of the parties to the contract, a maximum extension of an additional 3 months may be provided.
In addition, if your home was destroyed in the 2019-2020 NSW bushfires, and you are rebuilding on your existing land, RevenueNSW have confirmed that the house will be considered as a substantial renovation, allowing the home to be valued up to $750,000 excluding the land.
A copy of the details including the application form and lodgement guide are avialable from RevenueNSW.
All HomeBuilder applications are to be lodged via an online portal, which will be available shortly.
