Changes to transfer duty from 1 May 2025

• Transfer duty concessions forms
• QRO Online
• Web content and calculator
• Public rulings and practice directions.

I’m Bronwyn and I’m one of the senior revenue officers here at Queensland Revenue Office and I’ll be taking us through today’s session.

Today will be full of information, so if you have any questions throughout the session, I will ask you just to send them through in the chat box, please. At the end of our session I will collate them and answer them and send you a full copy. Please remember we can only provide information and not specific advice.

Our session is being recorded today and will be available on our self assessors news hub along with a copy of today’s presentation.

So today we’re going to review the Revenue Legislation Amendment Act, starting with an overview of the Act, its effects on the Duties Act and what it means for home concessions and the renting of a room, and the changes to home concessions from 1 May 2025. Here we can see a timeline of events.

The Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill of 2024 was introduced into the Legislative Assembly on the 12th of December 2024. The Bill amends legislation to implement revenue measures that were announced during the 2024 state election campaign. Royal Assent was received on the 28th of February 2025 and the Bill was formally enacted, meaning it became the Revenue Legislation Amendment Act of 2025.

With the number of Acts being referenced today, I am going to refer to this particular Act as the ‘Amendment Act’ just for ease of distinction.

So now we have the background. Let’s have an overview of the changes before we take a deeper dive.

So the Amendment Act contains 3 commencement dates: 6th of December 2024; the 28th of February 2025, which was the date of Royal Assent; and the one I’m sure you are all waiting to hear about—the 1st of May 2025.

So let’s start with the amendment that commenced as of the 6th of December 2024. And that is the rent-a-room measure under section 153 of the Duties Act. This is where recipients of a transfer home concession are able to rent part of their property during the 1-year occupancy and retain the full benefit of the relief.

Now please remember the rent-a-room measure is still available between the 10th of September and the 5th of December of 2024—but that is under an administrative arrangement, which is Public Ruling DA000.18. We’ll cover these changes and how they affect specified foreign retirees a little later in our presentation.

So the amendments for commencing on 1 May 2025 will be the introduction of the first home (new home) concession.

The first home (new home) concession will provide full transfer duty relief for eligible or first home buyers entering into eligible transactions from 1 May 2025 to purchase a new home to live in. Other eligibility criteria will apply.

A ‘new home’ will be introduced as a definition in section 86 subsections 4 and 5; and a new section 92A will be created, and that will be the ‘concessions first home and new home residential land’. While it is called ‘first home new home residential land’, it will be generically known as ‘first home (new home)’ in all of our web content, forms and QRO Online.

The next amendment commencing on 1 May 2025 are the changes to the first home vacant land concession. The changes will provide full transfer duty relief for eligible first home buyers entering into eligible transactions from 1 May 2025 to purchase vacant land on which they will build a home to live in. Again, other eligibility criteria will apply.

For eligible transactions entered into before 1 May 2025, the existing first home vacant land rates and eligibility criteria will continue to apply.

‘Residential vacant land’ is introduced as a definition under section 86C subsection 2, and a new section of 92B will be created being ‘concession first home vacant land’.

A little reminder for first time vacant land transactions: the concession applies to the land that is attributed to the residence. If there is any additional land that doesn’t form part of the residential land, normal rates of duty will apply to that proportion. In these instances, a valuation or market appraisal detailing the separate values of the residential and non-residential land will be required. This will most likely be purchasers who are acquiring larger blocks of land, more so than your normal suburban house block.

The amendment also refreshes the first home concession. The existing first home concession will still be available for first home buyers purchasing an existing home. The rate threshold and eligibility criteria all remain the same. The existing section 92 will be amended, to separate out the first home vacant land concession.

There is also a new reassessment provision, section 154A, that will apply to first home vacant land concessions under section 92B or 93B; and provides for a reassessment where there is a change to the residential land on which transfer duty was originally calculated.

That brings us to the end of our overview. We’ll now start looking a little deeper at some of the amendments.

Starting with the rent-a-room measure, as it has now become known. This has been in place for a little while now and is legislated from the 6th of December 2024. It allows recipients of the transfer duty home concession to rent, lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession of part of their property during their 1-year occupation period and retain the full benefit of the concession. To be eligible, the leasing arrangements must start on or after the 10th of September 2024 and the recipient must occupy the property before the leasing arrangement starts and continue to live in the property. The recipient may lose the concession if the leasing arrangements start before the 10th of September 2024; or if they lease, rent or otherwise grant exclusive possession of part or all of the property before moving in; or all of the property within 1 year after moving in.

The rent-a-room measure also applied to recipients of the additional foreign acquirer duty (or AFAD) exemption for specified foreign retirees—the AFAD exemption. This was for a limited period between the 10th of September 2024 and the 5th of December 2024.
All leasing arrangements entered into between these dates are not covered by the Amendment Act; however, they are covered under the Public Ruling DA000.18.

Now let’s compare the changes for the rent-a-room and key dates. So between the 10th of September and the 5th of December 2024 is covered by the administrative arrangement, which is the public ruling. From the 6th of December 2024, section 153 has been amended with the new section of 153(1C), which provides for an exception for the renting of a room.

And who does the rent-a-room measure apply to? We can see here it is the recipients of home concessions and AFAD exemptions; and then, from the 6th of December, it is recipients of home concessions.

That brings us to the end of the rent-a-room changes. Now for the one I am sure you are all waiting for: first home (new home) concession.

Let’s start with some key eligibility criteria.

So the first home (new home) concession will provide full transfer duty relief for eligible first home buyers entering into eligible transactions on or after 1 May 2025 to purchase a new home to live in. There is no value cap on the purchase price; however, the recipients must be paying market value for the new home. If all or part of the property is gifted, or the recipients pay less than market value, they will not be eligible for this concession.

All other eligibility criteria remain the same as the existing first home concession and must be met.

On the 1st of May 2025 a new concession 92A ‘first home and new home residential land’ will be created and commence operating. The concession will be generically referred to as ‘first home (new home) concession’. To receive the full benefit of this concession, all transferees must be eligible for the first home (new home) concession and all of the land must be residential land. When there are 2 or more transferees and not all are eligible for the first home (new home) concession, mixed and multiple claims can still be applied if the eligibility criteria is met for the relevant concessions.

I cannot emphasise enough about the importance of ‘transaction date’. We know that there will be some people who are unhappy because they have entered into transactions before the 1st of May 2025, regardless of when these transactions settle. The transaction was signed before 1 May 2025 and therefore is not eligible and the concession simply cannot be claimed. They may, however, be eligible to claim one of the other concessions.

And, finally, remember the concession will be known as first home (new home) and you will be able to see this option available in the Form D2.1 and QRO Online as of 1 May 2025.

Now we know what the eligibility is, what actually is a ‘new home’?

A ‘new home’ is a home that has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, or is a substantially renovated home. A ‘substantially renovated home’ is if the sale or lease of the home under the transaction is under A New Tax System Goods and Services Tax Act of 1999, which is Commonwealth, a taxable supply as a sale or supply of new residential premises as defined under sections 40 to 75 (1)(b) of that Act; and the home, as renovated, has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence since the renovations.

So before moving on, there is one point I would like to clarify. Where I mentioned the sale or the lease of the home, that is not referring to a standard residential lease.

Section 86 of the Duties Act 2001 will be amended to include the definition of a new home.

If you have had experience with the First Home Owner Grant and Other Home Owner Grants Act of 2000, you will see the definition of new home aligns perfectly. As you might imagine, with a concession providing full transfer duty relief, we need to be confident that the home meets our definition of new home and all the eligibility criteria is met. That is why for this concession, recipients are required to provide evidence that the home is a new home. Therefore, for a new build, a vendor statement from the seller confirming the home has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence is required.

A vendor statement is not required, however, for off-the-plan purchases. For a substantially renovated home, a vendor statement from the seller confirming the sale of the home was a taxable supply under the GST Act and was sold in the course of the seller’s business; the home has not been sold or occupied as a place of residence since the renovations; and the type and extent of the renovations; along with a tax invoice that shows the GST component of the home purchase price to evidence that the sale is a taxable supply.

So when you’re applying this concession, you must ensure that you have actually received the correct evidence from the recipient, and you must keep a copy of that evidence on file as your part of your normal ordinary record keeping requirements. The evidentiary requirement for a new home will be specified in the guide that accompanies the Form D2.1 Claim a home, first home or first home (new home) concession.

Drawing on the similarities and to highlight the differences, let’s have a look at the table and the differences between the first home and the first home (new home). As you can see, the first 4 lines are identical for both concessions. The next line differentiates the type of property. First home is now for existing homes, and first home (new home) is just that: for new homes.

However, when you go to the next row, the first home has a value cap of $800,000 opposed to the unlimited for first home (new home). One big difference is where the first home recipients must be paying market value between $700,001 to $799,999. However, for the first home (new home), they must be paying market value for the residential land. So if they are gifted part or all of the property, they are not entitled to the concession.

And lastly, there is the 1 May 2025 commencement date for the first home (new home). I appreciate it may be a pressure point for some clients who have signed their contract prior to 1 May 2025. However, the legislation only comes into effect from that date.

Shortly we will have a look at some transitional provisions, which will clarify what concession applies when, as well as the anti-avoidance provisions.

As we touched on earlier, mixed and multiple claims will include the first home (new home) concession from 1 May 2025. On this date, section 93A will be replaced and will provide for vacant land, mixed and multiple claims; while 93B will commence as a new section to provide for first home (new home) mixed and multiple claims. The calculator will be updated on the 1st of May; however, until then the transfer duty estimator is available online now. So if you visit www.qro.qld.gov.au/duties, on that page you will see the link to the estimator.

To quickly clarify on one point: the estimator calculates on full concession types only. So if there is a mixed or multiple claim, or there is something slightly more complex, the estimator will refer you to the calculator and we know that that won’t be updated until 1 May.

Here we can see all 3 home concessions that will be available as of 1 May 2025.

• For home concession, there is absolutely no change.
• First home is now simply for existing homes with all other criteria remaining the same.
  First home (new home)—everything will be new:a new concession for a new home for a new home first time buyer.

So just to recap the primary takeaways for the first home (new home) concession:

• It is for a new home.
• The eligibility is for a new home.
• The eligible dutiful transaction must be entered into on or after 1 May 2025.
• There is no value cap on the purchase price; however, they must be paying market value—no gifts or discounts.

Let’s have a sneak peek at some of the changes you can expect to the Form D2.1 Claim a home, first home or first home (new home) concession. I am sure you will have already noticed the form guide looks very different. Let’s start at the top.

The guide and the form will include the first home (new home) in its title. Both will have a new version number and effective date of one May 2025. With 3 home concessions on offer, we wanted to make it really clear and easy for buyers to understand the eligibility requirements of each and be able to make the best informed decision for themselves. We then extended the same consideration to the requirements of each concession.

Again, it is a very different look and feel, but by grouping the requirements by the event allows buyers to easily identify an event and find the requirements for keeping the concession. They can also inform themselves by reading the table and understanding what they need to do after moving in. If the buyer does not comply with the requirements, they may lose all or part of the concession benefit they claimed. Again, this table clearly sets it all out for the buyers.

It’s really important to draw your client’s attention to the eligibility criteria and requirements as they must notify the Commissioner within 28 days of not complying.

There are 2 new fields in the form you need to be aware of. With the changes taking effect on 1 May, we have included a document date field. You provide this detail in QRO Online. However, now the transferees who are signing the declaration must confirm the document date is true and correct. The other new field is for the purchasing of a property that is subject to a current residential lease, so it is not being sold as vacant possession. The field is a ‘yes or no’ answer and if you answer ‘yes’ that there is a lease, you will be asked what the expiry date is.

And that is all the changes to concessions for homes, and we will now have a look at vacant land.

So eligibility requirements for first home vacant land have changed from 1 May 2025. The first time vacant land concession will provide full transfer duty relief for eligible first time buyers entering into eligible transactions on or after 1 May 2025 to purchase vacant land on which they will build a home to live in. For eligible dutiable transactions entered into from 1 May 2025, there is no value cap on the purchase price of the vacant land. However, the concession will only apply to residential vacant land. So recipients of the concession must be paying market value. If all or part of the land is gifted or otherwise paying less than market value, they will not be eligible for this concession. Otherwise, all other eligibility criteria remain exactly the same.

First home vacant land concession—for eligible dutiful transactions entered into before 1 May 2025, the existing first home vacant land concession eligibility continues to apply; and on the 1st of May 2025, a new section 92B ‘first home vacant land’ will be created.

As you can see, the document date is highly important to have right. For eligible dutiable transactions entered into from 1 May 2025, this concession will only apply to residential land. Section 86C will be amended to include the definition of ‘residential vacant land’ on the 1st of May 2025. Residential vacant land is land or part of vacant land on which the residence will be constructed and includes the curtilage that is to be attributed to the residence, if the curtilage is used for residential purposes.

As of the 1st of May, a new reassessment provision, section 154A, will be created and commence operation. This new provision applies to the first home vacant land concession under sections 92B or 93B and provides for reassessment where:

• transfer duty is assessed on the basis that all of the land is residential land, but this changes when a residence is constructed
• transfer duty is assessed on the basis that a certain percentage of the vacant land is residential land, but this changes when the residence is constructed.

The Form D2.4 Notice of reassessment—home, first home, first home (new home) or vacant land concessions will be updated to include section 154A and all other existing reassessment provisions remain the same.

Let’s compare the before and after 1 May differences. So before 1 May of 2025 vacant land is capped at $500,000 opposed to after that date where it is limitless. Again, before 1 May the buyer must pay market value between $350,001 and $499,999, but there is no requirement if over $500,000. And for the for those after 1 May, they must be paying market value and again, no gifts or discounts just like the first home (new home) concession. The last change is for 1 May, and that is the concession only applies to residential vacant land. Essentially, it is the same concession just with different eligibility criteria before and after 1 May 2025.

As we have mentioned, an updated guide to the Form D2.7 will be released on the 1st of May, but we can have a sneak peek now.
In keeping with our aim to make things as easy and clean as possible, you will have noticed the look and feel of the guide has changed too.

Starting at the top, the guide and the form names remain the same. We do have different version numbers and the effective date will be 1 May 2025. We have made the eligibility requirements as simple as possible. The general criteria have not changed at all; and where there are specific eligibility requirements, we have simply divided them by the commencement date of changes—so before or after the 1st of May. Just like the first home (new home) concession, we have looked at the requirements for first home vacant land and grouped them by events and set out the requirements as before or after moving in for ease. This provides the buyer with a very clear understanding of their obligations and if they wanted to change direction from what their initial plans were, they will understand what is needed to be done.
In short, if the buyer acquires a residence to live in—however, before moving in, they want to consider if they should sell or rent the property, this table will make it super easy for them to make a very informed decision.

As we are on the topic of those, there are also updates to the guide and Form D2.4 Notice of reassessment—home, first home, first home (new home) or vacant land concessions. When considering the changes for this form, we chose to separate homes and vacant land for easier identification to accommodate the administration of the Act. Under the heading for all of the home concessions, you will see new home requirements added for home concessions for specified foreign retirees and the AFAD exemption. And in the second column for first time vacant land, there are 2 new requirements added: one to notify us of any change to the proportion of residential vacant land, and one for the specified foreign retiree and AFAD exemption. Again, the guide and form will be released with a new version number and effective date of 1 May 2025.

And this might be a good time to mention another new section being introduced, and that the Form D2.4 supports. A new section 687, ‘application of concession provisions to transactions’, will be inserted to ensure the new relief for first time buyers appropriately interacts with existing home concessions and that all concessions operate as intended. The former concession provisions apply in relation to a dutiful transaction if liability for transfer duty arose before the 1st of May 2025. Subject to section 687, subsection 3, the new concession provisions apply in relation to dutiable transactions if liability for transfer duty arises on or after 1 May 2025. This section will also include anti-avoidance provisions in relation to arrangements where the sole or main purpose is to defer an agreement or transfer until on or after 1 May 2025 in order to gain the benefit of the relief.

Existing general anti-avoidance provisions of the Duties Act will also apply to arrangements for the sole or dominant purpose of creating a circumstance to which this relief would apply so that the benefit can be claimed. We understand some of your clients will be disappointed and their transaction date will be prior to the 1st of May 2025, which is why it’s so important that you understand section 687, which includes anti-avoidance provisions where an agreement has been deferred or the date of the contract has been altered purely to gain the benefit of the new concession.

On a slightly different note, the Duties Regulations of 2023 currently only prescribes for sections 91 and 92 for the purposes of electronic conveyancing, not our new sections of 92A and 92B for first home and first home vacant land respectively. An amendment is proposed to commence on the 1st of May 2025, and will include the sections 92A and 92B in the list of prescribed concessions for electronic conveyancing.

We will update you further when the amendments to the regulation is approved by the Executive Council. Now that’s a great segue to another change.

So the Amendment Act also impacts our public rulings and practice directions. To accommodate this, the following changes are being made.

So these public rulings are going to be converted into practice directions and updated to reflect the concession changes. While the following public rulings will be updated to reflect the new concessions, no changes will be made to how the rulings apply. You might notice a public ruling you use has become a practice direction, and [wonder] what does that mean in real terms. Previously public rulings dealt with both the Commissioner’s interpretation and the administrative practices. Now public rulings set out the Commissioner’s interpretation of the laws we administer, while practice directions deal with our assessment practices and evidentiary requirements.

Prior to this session, we have been receiving a number of questions, so I have collated a few of the high-volume frequently asked questions, which we’re now going to go through. I’ll run through these reasonably quickly.

• My contract is signed before the 1st of May 2025, but it settles after this date. Can I still claim the first home (new home) or new first home vacant land concession?
  Unfortunately no.
• The next question was: Can I cancel my contract if it’s before the 1st of May 2025 so I can get the first home (new home) or ‘new’ first home vacant land concession?
  No, the Duties Act will be amended to include the anti-avoidance provisions (which is what we’ve just spoken about) where the sole main or purpose is to defer the agreement or transfer until 1 May in order to get the benefit.
• Next question was: This is my new home, do I get the first home (new home) concession?
  You only get it if you are buying a home that meets the definition of ‘new home’.
• I’m buying a home that I’m going to renovate, can I still get the first home (new home) concession?
  No, you only get the first home (new home) concession if you are buying a substantially renovated home that meets the definition of ‘new home’. And so remember for the substantially renovated, there is that evidentiary requirement that must be provided as part of their eligibility.
• If I buy a new home, but I entered into the eligible dutiable transaction before 1 May 2025, do I need to provide a vendor statement?
  That’s a really good question. The answer is no. The vendor statement is only required for those who are claiming the first home (new home) concession.
• The next question was: If the client has already completed an old version of the QRO form for a contract signed on or after 1 May, will this be accepted?
  Our preference is for a new version of the form to be used. An old version may not be acceptable if the client’s situation does not relate to the new provision affected under the Amendment Act. So basically if you use an old form, you won’t be able to indicate that you are claiming a first home (new home) concession. So it is our preference that you do update your records and use the new approved forms that will be available from 1 May 2025.

My goodness, we are just about finished.

We only have one more friendly little reminder for you and that is we are here to help you and to keep you updated on all changes. Our webinar and presentation will be available in our self assessment hub and our web content, I should say, with approved forms and QRO Online will be updated as of 1 May 2025 to include the changes.

We will send eAlerts for any important updates as they arise. If you are not receiving our eAlerts, please email us and we will contact you to arrange that.

And if you need to contact us, please do so on 1300 300 734 or email us at selfassessment@treasury.qld.gov.au.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Please make sure any questions have been sent through the chat box so I can respond.

Otherwise, you can always reach out to us at our self assessment email.
I look forward to seeing you on our next webinar.

Take care. Bye.