Michael Ferguson,Minister for Finance
Tasmanians have taken advantage of a range of grant schemes and support measures introduced by the Tasmanian Liberal Government, providing a lifeline to our construction and building industries at a critical time, while helping more Tasmanians build or buy a home.
We recognised a need to address the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 which is why we announced a $20,000 Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant, which complemented the Australian Government's $25,000 HomeBuilder grant, providing Tasmanians with a significant amount of financial support to help them build or buy a home.
These grants meant that residential building activity was bought forward, and supported the thousands of jobs within the building and construction sectors during a crucial time for our economy.
Tasmanians clearly took advantage of these schemes with 2,034 applications for the Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant having been conditionally approved with 776 grants already paid and 3,438 HomeBuilder Grant applications conditionally approved, 1,294 of which have been paid as of 13 August 2021.
Given the nature of the schemes, the majority of grant payments are expected to be funded in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 years, with the full cost of the Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant estimated to be $41.4 million.
We also wanted to support Tasmanians wanting to enter the housing market for the first time, which is why we increased our First Home Owner Grant from $20,000 to $30,000 for contracts entered on or after 1 April 2021. In the 2020-21 year, there was an increase in applicants for the First Home Owner Grant with 891 grants paid, up from 690 in the prior year.
In addition to these grants, our Government has increased the cap for stamp duty concessions from $400,000 to $500,000 to help those buying their first home and pensioners downsizing to a smaller dwelling, providing over $15 million of relief for Tasmanians entering the market.
We will continue to secure Tasmania's future by stimulating activity in the building and construction sector, keeping Tasmanians in jobs, and helping more Tasmanians to build or buy a home.
