Eligible impacted properties: Loose-fill asbestos buyback concession scheme

In 2015, the ACT Government announced the Eligible Impacted Property Buyback Program under the Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Eradication Scheme. The program enables the ACT Government to make an offer to purchase a home not affected by asbestos directly, but if purchased will facilitate the safe and efficient demolition of an asbestos affected home acquired under the Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Eradication Scheme. The ACT Revenue Office oversees the scheme.

If you’re eligible and you surrender your home under the voluntary Eligible Impacted Property Buyback Program, you’re entitled to a conveyance duty concession when you buy another home in the ACT. The maximum value of the concession will be equal to the amount of duty that would have been payable on the purchase of the Eligible Impacted Property.

You should apply for the Scheme before the title to your new home is registered at Access Canberra.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Eligible Impacted Property Buyback Concession Scheme, you must meet the following criteria:

Questionnaire

To determine your eligibility for the Eligible Impacted Properties: Loose-fill asbestos buyback concession scheme complete the online questionnaire.

Conditions

There’s one duty concession per household. You need to use the concession in one transaction to buy a home in the ACT.

You cannot divide the concession; we provide it to the registered owner of a home. If the home has more than one registered owner, you need the consent of all the other registered owners to use the concession.

You don’t have to use the duty concession on your next purchase of land in the ACT. If you’re planning to buy back your former home (the eligible impacted property) you may want to hold on to the concession to do that even if you buy a new home in the meantime.

You can’t use the concession to buy a home outside the ACT.

Concession amount

We cap the value of the concession at the value of the duty you would've paid on the home you're handing over. We calculate your maximum concession based on the duty rates that applied on:

The maximum concession is equal to the amount of duty you'd owe if you had purchased your eligible home on the relevant date for an amount equal to the sale sum. We’ll calculate the duty due on the new home you’re buying at the rate on the date of purchase.

Please note the transaction date is the date of grant, transfer, or agreement for transfer of your new home (whichever is first – not the settlement date).

Example 1

You sell your current home to the ACT Government for $600,000. The duty on a home of this value is $19,600. Now, say you want to buy a new home for $800,000; the duty on this home is $30,350. The concession applied is the lower duty amount: $19,600. To calculate the duty on the purchase of your new home, subtract the lower duty amount ($19,600) from the higher duty amount ($30,350) to determine what you’ll pay in duty when you buy the new home ($10,750).

Example 2

You sell your current home to the ACT Government for $700,000. The duty on a home of this value is $24,600. Now, say you want to buy a new home for $500,000; the duty on this home is $14,600. The concession applied is the lower duty amount: $14,600. You’ll pay no duty on the new home purchase, but you’ll need to make your application for the Scheme before you register. You will not receive a refund of the difference.

How to claim?

The ACT Government introduced the Barrier Free model for duty as part of its tax reform on 18 September 2017. Scheme applications must now be made by SmartForm. However, the eligibility requirements of the Scheme have not changed.

Applications

You can apply for the Scheme at any time but you should apply as early as possible to avoid delays.

To apply for the concession, complete the SmartForm and attach a scanned copy of the dated and signed contract for sale of your current home.

We may require additional information to prove eligibility and process the application. We cannot confirm the concession until you have completed your Application SmartForm and claimed the concession at Access Canberra.

Registration

For transactions dated on or after 18 September 2017 duty is usually payable within 14 days after your title to the new home is registered at Access Canberra.

Before you lodge the title to your new home for registration at Access Canberra, you should claim the concession code number for the scheme on the Buyer Verification Declaration.

If you need more time to pay duty for your new home before you exchange the deed of surrender for your affected home (or before you sell your unit) you can apply to us to postpone your duty payment.

Once you exchange the deed of surrender for the affected home, we can calculate the concession amount and apply it to your new home purchase in a Notice of Assessment.

If you fail to complete the surrender of your home, you’ll have to pay back any concession to us.

For transactions dated before 18 September 2017, you have a limited window to apply for the Scheme. We have to receive your completed application by the date the duty must be paid, which is either:

  • within 90 days of the transaction date, or
  • for an off-the-plan agreement, within 14 days of whichever comes first:
    • the agreement is completed
    • the buyer’s interest is transferred
    • it’s been one year since the date of the agreement, or
    • a Certificate of Occupancy and Use has been issued.

Please use the SmartForm to submit your application along with all the necessary supporting documents.

For more information about transactions dated before 18 September 2017, visit our Transactions before 18 September 2017 page.

We may require additional information to prove eligibility and process the application.

Please allow five working days from when we receive your completed application for us to complete a reassessment. If you’re getting a refund, we’ll call you to ask how you would like to receive it.