CORONAVIRUS —
BUILDING BONUS PROGRAM
400. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Finance:
I refer to the state government's
$117 million building bonus scheme announced on 7 June 2020 for the provision
of a grant of $20 000 to new home builders with an estimated processing period
of eight weeks.
(1) As of 31 July
2021, how many applications for the $20 000 grant have been registered with the
Department of Finance, and what calendar
month grant applications is the department currently processing?
(2) How many applications for the $20 000 building
bonus have been fully processed and funds paid to applicants?
(3) What is the
current average processing time from lodgement of the bonus application to
determination and delivery to applicant?
(4) How much of the $117 million
building bonus scheme remains unallocated?
Hon KYLE McGINN
replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. I provide this answer on behalf of the minister representing
the Minister for Finance.
(1) As at 31 July
2021, 25 860 building bonus grant applications have been lodged. The Department
of Finance is currently processing building bonus applications lodged up to 23 April
2021. For applicants who lodged a building bonus grant application in
conjunction with a commonwealth HomeBuilder grant application, the Department
of Finance is processing applications lodged up to 23 February 2021.
(2) A total of 8 345 applications.
(3) It is not
possible to provide an average processing time as it depends on whether the
applicant has provided all the information required to process their
application. Not all applications lodged are eligible for immediate payment
when processing is completed, as grants are paid only after evidence is
provided that foundations have been laid or off-the-plan purchasers are
registered on the certificate of title. Additionally, over 90 per cent of
applicants do not provide the necessary information for the state and commonwealth grants, such as Australian Taxation
Office notice of assessments, required for HomeBuilder applications and
proof of identification. This results in double handling, as Department of
Finance staff contact applicants to request missing or incomplete information.
(4) None; $166.9 million
has been paid to applicants. The estimated total cost of the building bonus
scheme was most recently revised up to $390 million in the 2020–21 Pre-election
financial projections statement. An updated estimate will be provided in
the 2021–22 budget.