ACT government amends stamp duty concession policy

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government announced on Saturday (22 June) that it will be increasing the maximum income threshold on its home buyer concession scheme to $250,000, up from $170,000.

The scheme allows buyers who have not purchased or owned a home in the past five years to access a stamp duty exemption on properties that are valued at $1 million or less, subject to buyers meeting the income thresholds.

The concession previously required buyers to have not owned a property in the previous two years of applying for the scheme.

The changes to the home buyer concession scheme will come into effect from 1 July 2024.

The stamp duty exemption allows for an increase in the maximum income threshold if the buyers have dependent children. For every child under the buyers’ care, the maximum income threshold increases by $4,600, up from $3,330 under the previous policy.

Buyers who are fleeing from domestic and family violence are exempt from the requirement to have not owned a property in the previous five years.

The territory government has also increased the stamp duty exemption property price cap for those purchasing an off-the-plan apartment to $1 million, up from $800,000.

The government will extend the Disability Duty Concession Scheme from 1 July 2024, providing those with a disability with a full exemption on the first $1 million of the property value, supporting those with permanent or long-term disabilities.

A partial concession will become available for properties over $1 million. Previously, the scheme was limited to properties valued at up to $1 million.

The ACT government will be introducing a Severe Disability Duty Exemption from 1 July 2025 to help people with a severe disability and their carers find a home. The new scheme will exempt those with a severe disability from paying stamp duty on a property if it will be their principal place of residence without requiring the home to be bought by a Special Disability Trust.

The ACT government’s chief minister and treasurer Andrew Barr commented on the reforms: “The new and expanded stamp duty concessions and exemptions outlined in this year’s ACT Budget will support more Canberrans to find a home that suits their needs, including first home buyers, downsizers and people with a disability.

“We know stamp duty can be a significant barrier to home ownership. That’s why we have cut stamp duty in every ACT Budget since 2012, and this Budget continues that work.”

Stamp duty exemptions for pensioners

The territory government announced that it has extended the Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme to provide a full stamp duty exemption on the first $1 million of the property value, up from $550,000 under the existing scheme.

The scheme will enact a partial concession on properties over $1 million.

The Retirement Living Council (RLC) said that the government should “go back to the drawing board” to support retired Australians, rather than “rehash” its existing stamp duty exemption scheme.

Daniel Gannon, RLC’s executive director, commented: “While stamp duty relief is important for some home buyers, it’s not incentivising older Canberrans to rightsize into a retirement community because buyers typically won’t pay stamp duty.

“We’d encourage the ACT Government to better understand how these communities operate, who and why people live in them, and the types of benefits and efficiencies that can be derived.”

The executive director called for the government to streamline planning systems and minimum land allocations for retirement villages, particularly in greenfield and master-planned locations, and should set targets for retirement village housing, similar to targets that the government sets for social and affordable housing.

Greg Weller, Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) executive director in ACT and Southern NSW, said that the ACT should invest more into planning reforms to speed up the delivery of housing to Canberrans.

“We encourage the ACT government to look at what policy decisions it is making that contribute to the cost and shortage of housing in the Territory,” Weller commented.

“Much vaunted changes to the planning system have so far failed to meet expectations to kickstart new building, while changes to building laws and red tape have seen significant escalations in build costs and times for projects to be completed.

“If the ACT improved the cost and speed of housing delivery through reducing red and green tape, while increasing land supply, there would be less pressure on public and affordable housing programs.”

The announcement of the stamp duty reforms follows a slew of stamp duty policy changes made by the Queensland, South Australian, and Tasmanian governments.

[Related: Tasmania introduces stamp duty concession for apartment buyers]