Warren Aylward, Qld Treasury clash over denied HomeBuilder Grant

A regional home builder has been left frustrated by the HomeBuilder grant, saying under the system he would have had to enter a rental market in crisis despite already owning a perfectly good home.

Warren Aylward has been left frustrated by a decision by the state government to refuse his application for the $25,000 Home Builders Grant to help with a new construction, saying they require him to have knocked down his own home first before starting construction, a move which would have left him seeking a rental in a market continually declared in the grips of a crisis.

A Gympie couple whose claim for the $25,000 government grant to build their new home was rejected say they are “disappointed” by a system which wants them to destroy a house in the midst of a housing crisis.

Stonemason Warren Aylward and his wife Desley started construction on a new home on their Kin Kin Rd, Canina property in early 2021 after about a dozen years living in the house already on the block.

They lived in the timber Queensland-style home for the year-long duration of the build on the new house.

Mr Aylward said he was told during his inquiries into the HomeBuilder grant he would be eligible.

“They confirmed at the start I was right to get it, and then when I came to claim the money of course they’re saying, ‘no, no, it wasn’t demolished prior’,” Mr Aylward said.

The stalling point was the existence of the old house on the block, he said.

Warren Aylward wanted to relocate his home rather than demolish to help someone else get into the housing market.

The rejection he said, was based on the fact it had not been demolished before work started on the new house.

Mr Aylward said he kept the house because he did not want to add to a rental and housing crisis already gripping the region, and it was still liveable.

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The plan was to sell for removal of the old house for a “nominal amount” of about $10, and allow someone else to take it and get their own foot in the housing market.

It was environmentally better than ““wastefully demolishing it,” he said.

“At no point did anyone say the old home had to be demolished prior to the new one being built,” Mr Aylward said.

A Queensland Revenue Office spokesman said the department was unable to comment on individual cases owing to privacy reasons.

“The eligibility criteria for the HomeBuilder grant and associated deadlines, including for demolition and rebuild, were set by the Australian Government under the National Partnership Agreement,” the spokesman said.

“Under the agreement, there is no discretion for Queensland Revenue Office to accept applications that don’t meet the criteria.”

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A federal Treasury spokesman said it did not comment on specific applications either.

“It is a matter for the relevant state or territory to determine whether an applicant meets the eligibility criteria, including what evidence it requests from applicants to substantiate this,” the spokesman said.

Community groups and leaders have flagged concerns about a continuing rental and housing shortage in not only Gympie, but across Queensland.

Mr Aylward said he had been told he could challenge it in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal but faced a 45 week wait to be heard, and Gympie Regional Council would not give final approval for the new home until the old one was gone.

He was “incredibly disappointed” by the experience.

“They’re just trying to use a loophole,” Mr Aylward said.

“(I’m) disappointed that every night I turn on the news … there’s (Premier) Annastacia (Palaszczuk) and co standing up there saying what they’re doing to alleviate the housing crisis.

“(There’s a) rental crisis in Gympie, here’s a perfectly good house, we all want to save the environment, but … they want me to tear it down and move into town while my house is being built.”