Update:
The Australian Government announced a First Home Owner Boost on 14 October 2008, which supplements the Queensland Government funded First Home Owner Grant Scheme.
According to the announcement from the Federal Government:
- First home buyers who purchase established homes will receive a boost of $7000 that will double the grant to $14,000.
- First home buyers who build a new home or purchase a newly constructed home will receive an extra $14,000 to take their grant to $21,000, provided the home meets their relevant state or territory energy efficiency and sustainability standards.
The boost will be available for eligible applications relating to contracts executed on or after 14 October 2008 and on or before 30 June 2009.
For owner builders, the boost will be available to owner builders who commence laying the foundation of their home on or after 14 October 2008 and on or before 30 June 2009.
Prescribed building periods will apply to new homes and newly constructed homes.
Eligible applications relating to contracts signed and dated prior to 14 October 2008 will be entitled only to the standard rate of the grant ($7,000), as they do not involve contracts entered into on or after 14 October 2008 and on or before 30 June 2009.
According to the Office of State Revenue, an anti-avoidance provision will be implemented as part of the new scheme in respect of contracts dated prior to 14 October 2008 that have been cancelled.
More information on the First Home Owners Boost is available from the Office of State Revenue's website.
First Home Owners Grant
To offset the impact of the GST, the State and Territories assist first home buyers to the tune of $7000 through the administration of a uniform First Home Owners Grant (FHOG). The grant, administered in Queensland by the Office of State Revenue, commenced on 1 July 2000 and applies to people who are buying or building their first home.
Who is eligible?
Applicants are eligible if:
- They are buying/building their first property as a person, not as a company or trust;
- They (or a joint applicant) are an Australian citizen or permanent resident;
- They or their spouse have not previously owned an interest in land in Australia that had a residence on it prior to July 1 2000.
If the applicant has been married or living in a de facto relationship for more than two years, neither they nor their spouse can have owned a home, individually or with any other person.
What type of property is eligible?
It does not matter if the applicant is building a new home or purchasing an established home. The home can be a house, unit, flat or any other type of self-contained, fixed dwelling that meets local planning standards.
The transaction is eligible if:
- The contract to buy a home in Queensland was made on or after 1 July 2000; or
- The owners of the land in Queensland made a comprehensive building contract on or after 1 July 2000 to have a home built; or
- An owner builder started building a home in Queensland on or after 1 July 2000.
When is the grant payable?
The grant is paid:
- For the purchase of a home - when the title is registered in the purchaser's name; or
- For the construction of a home - when the building is ready for occupation as a home.
It is important to note that all applicants must occupy the home as their principal place of residence within one year of this event.
For more detailed information visit the Office of State Revenue's website or email FirstHomeOwnerGrant@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au
