On 29 November 2020, the Commonwealth Government announced the extension of the Commonwealth HomeBuilder Grant Scheme from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021.
The grant has been reduced from $25,000 to $15,000 for eligible contracts signed between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2021. The grant availability for eligible contracts signed between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 remains unchanged at $25,000.
Licencing and registration requirements will also be introduced for all contracts entered into from 29 November 2020, whereby builders and developers to eligible contracts will have to ensure they comply with licencing and registration requirements (details of which are yet to be announced) as at the time the eligible contract is signed.
As the scheme is administered by State and Territory governments through a funding arrangement with the Commonwealth Government, we expect the Tasmanian State Revenue Office will publish further guidance on these requirements shortly. At present, in Tasmania, to be eligible for the grant, builders and developers are already required to be licenced under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005.
The duration of the $20,000 Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant remains unchanged, with eligible contracts needing to be entered into between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 inclusive. It is unclear at this stage whether the Tasmanian Government will also extend the Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant in response to the announcement by the Commonwealth Government.
We will continue to publish more information on both the Commonwealth and Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant Schemes at it becomes available.