Disability duty concession scheme

The ACT Government announced the Disability Duty Concession Scheme (DDCS) as part of the 2016-17 Budget. The DDCS encourages adults with a long-term and permanent disability, who may otherwise rely on government accommodation, to find long^‑term accommodation to suit their needs.

If you’re eligible, the DDCS exempts you from having to pay conveyance duty if you have a long-term and permanent disability and you want to purchase a home as your principal residence under the eligible property threshold. It’s available to ACT residents who have qualified for an individual funding package under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). NDIS participants are individuals with a long-term and permanent intellectual, physical, sensory or psychiatric disability that significantly impacts their level of function.

Eligible transactions

The DDCS can apply to the purchase of a home (new or established) or a block of vacant residential land with a transaction date of 1 July 2016 or later. The transaction date is the date of grant, transfer, or agreement for transfer (whichever is first - not the settlement date).

Eligibility

To claim the DDCS, you need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

• you must qualify for an individual funding package as an NDIS participant
• you must lodge your DDCS application - see ‘How to Claim?’ below
• the total value of the home (or vacant land) must be $1,000,000 or less for a transaction on or after 1 July 2022, or $750,000 or less for a transaction in the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2022
• you must acquire at least a 51 per cent interest in the home
• you and your domestic partner (if any) must meet the home ownership test
• you must meet the residence requirements.

A partner includes your spouse, civil union partner, civil partner or de facto partner.

Property requirements

You and your partner cannot have owned any land or property - other than the home you’re buying under the DDCS - in the two years leading up to the transaction date.

This requirement doesn’t apply to the property that you or your partner must give up ownership in because of any of the following:

• a court order
• a financial agreement or part VIIIAB financial agreement under the Commonwealth’s Family Law Act 1975
• a written domestic relationship agreement or termination agreement under the Domestic Relationships Act 1994
• an agreement to purchase another home in the two years leading up to the transaction date that was subsequently cancelled.

Please note these orders or agreements must be made before the transaction date.

Residency requirements

If you’re eligible for the DDCS, you must live in the home as your principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least one year, beginning within one year of the settlement date or the date the construction of your new home is complete.

The Commissioner for ACT Revenue can exempt you from the residence requirements, in full or in part, but only if:

• you cannot live at the home because of an unforeseen circumstance, such as a health-related issue; and
• you request an exemption in writing no later than 18 months after:
  • the settlement date (for an eligible home)
  • the date you receive the Certificate of Occupancy and Use once construction of the new home is finished (for vacant land).

If you have any concerns about your residency, you should contact us as early as possible.

Previous concessions

To be eligible for the DDCS, you also cannot have previously received a concession under the:

• Disability Duty Concession Scheme;
• Home Buyer Concession Scheme;
• Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme; or
• Over 60s Home Bonus Scheme (which ceased on 31 December 2016).

How to claim?

If you're eligible, to claim the DDCS you will need to reference the concession code number shown on your completed questionnaire on the Buyer Verification Declaration before you register the title transfer with Access Canberra. You do not need to give us any other documents at this time. You can find out your eligibility for the DDCS and the documents you need to keep by completing the online questionnaire.

If you do not claim the concession code number on the Buyer Verification Declaration before you register your transfer, you can submit a late claim using the Application for concession, exemption or correction of duty after registration of title form. When we receive your claim, we will issue you a notice of reassessment with the concession applied.

What happens next?

When you claim the DDCS on your Buyer Verification Declaration, we’ll issue you a Notice of Assessment for duty with the concession applied. This will reduce the amount of duty you have to pay to zero and you do not have to take further action.

After you’ve received your assessment, we may contact you to verify your eligibility for the concession. For example, we may require you to give us copies of any documents that support your eligibility, or we may ask you to prove your residency at the home. You need to keep copies of your supporting documents for at least five years after the transaction.

We review claims and conduct investigations into the DDCS on an ongoing basis.

The standard time for processing applications is 10 working days once you’ve supplied all the necessary documentation. Please also allow 10 working days before checking on your application’s status. We’ll let you know the result of your application in writing.