Transactions under the Housing Act exemption (s.429) toolkit

Section 429 of the Duties Act 2001 provides an exemption from duty for certain instruments or transactions entered into or made under the Housing Act 2003 by the housing chief executive on behalf of the state.

As a registered self assessor, this is one of the exemptions you must self assess in QRO Online.

However, you cannot apply this exemption in the following cases (these dutiable transactions all involve the housing chief executive transferring, or agreeing to transfer, property on behalf of the state):

• transferring land to a person who does not have financial assistance from the housing chief executive to purchase the land
• transferring freehold title or perpetual lease of land for residential purposes to a person to help them to build a home on it (unless the consideration for the transaction includes providing future housing services)
• transferring land to a person who is currently the lessee on an existing lease (or a related person of the lessee) that enables the person to provide housing for an employee.

If the transaction you are assessing is dutiable under these circumstances, the housing chief executive or the state is not liable to pay the duty.

Read section 429 of the Duties Act for the full description of the exemption requirements.

Assessing an exemption for transactions under the Housing Act

Here are some tips to help you assess this type of transaction in QRO Online.

How to lodge online

You must complete all mandatory data fields under each tab in QRO Online. Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk. There are some specific data requirements.

• Answer Yes to the question: Is the consideration for this transaction less than the unencumbered value of the property included in this transaction?
• Enter the unencumbered value of 100% interest in property if known; if unknown, enter $0.00 (nil).
• Select Yes to the question: Is an exemption being claimed?
• Select the applicable exemption from the Exemption type drop-down list.

Non-Australian entity

A non-Australian transferor or transferee must complete an identity details annexure.

Once the transaction is lodged the transferor will receive an email asking them to complete an online identity details annexure.

Contact us for help if you cannot obtain the transferor’s email address.

Transferees must complete an identity details annexure and you must enter these details in QRO Online.

Records you need to keep

You must keep a completed dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2) for this type of transaction.

For a transaction involving real property, you must keep the identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferee.

Find out more about your record-keeping obligations.

Also consider…

• See the data entry standards for QRO Online.
• Find endorsing examples if you are unsure how to stamp the documents for this exemption.