EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987 NO. 287
FIRST HOME OWNERS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Community Services and Health.
The First Home Owners Act 1983 (“the Act”) provides that assistance shall be paid to eligible persons in accordance with the regulations. The existing regulations require that that an eligible person own and occupy or intend to occupy the dwelling for the whole or part of each month for which a payment of assistance is to made. The regulations provide a schedule of annual amounts from which the monthly payments are drawn.
The amending regulations delete the monthly eligibility period and substitute an annual eligibility period. The regulations create a procedure whereby an eligible person is required to declare each year that he or she owns and occupies or intends to occupy the dwelling as a principal place of residence.
Where a person fails to make the declaration or provides information which indicates that the applicant no longer owns and occupies or intends to occupy the dwelling as a principal place of residence, the proposed regulations prevent the payment of instalments for the next year.
The amending regulations also provide that instalments of less than ten dollars shall not be made. Where an instalment would be less than ten dollars that instalment is increased to ten dollars by drawing from later instalments. The regulations will enable instalments in a year to be drawn, where necessary, from the later year’s entitlement notwithstanding that no declaration had been furnished in relation to that later year.
The regulations eliminate payments of minimal amounts over the five year period.
The amending regulations also provide that where a sole applicant or each of joint applicants to an application dies, assistance is not payable.
Finally, the amending Regulations preserve the operation of the Principal Regulations in relation to a person who has ceased to be eligible for assistance prior to the commencement of the amending regulations. That person can again become eligible for assistance by owning and either occupying or intending to occupy the dwelling within twelve months of having ceased to be eligible. The amending regulations will become applicable when that event occurs.