Master Builders Australia chief executive officer Denita Wawn answers your questions
Thousands of home builders and tradies around the country are set to benefit from the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme. Master Builders Australia’s chief executive officer, Denita Wawn, is online today to answer readers’ questions.
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Master Builders Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of the HomeBuilder scheme today, saying it will be a massive relief to thousands of home builders and tradies around the country.
CEO Denita Wawn said the scheme was well targeted and should maximise the number of builders, tradies, workers, apprentices and households that will benefit,
“HomeBuilder will be a lifeline for an industry facing a valley of death in the coming months. It will mean more new homes, more small businesses and jobs are protected and provide a stronger bridge to economic recovery for our country,” she said.
“Based on the government’s estimated 27,000 grants, we think the scheme will be used for $10 billion in building activity, supporting the viability of 368,000 small builders and tradies – the businesses which employ 800,000 people in communities around Australia.
“Supporting the home building industry is essential to strengthening the economy and helping Australia recover from the impacts of the pandemic.”
Ms Wawn said residential building activity gave back more than double to the communities that sustain it with every $1 invested in home building activity providing $3 to the wider economy.
“This means that HomeBuilder will provide a boost for thousands of tradies; the cafes, pubs, and ute dealerships that they frequent; as well as the thousands of building supply businesses that depend on the industry,” she said.
“The scheme is well targeted and should maximise the number of builders, tradies, workers, apprentices and households that will benefit.”
The eligibility criteria meant that the vast majority of Australians would be able to access the scheme, given the fact that more than 80 per cent of households had income of $200,000 or less, Ms Wawn said.
“The scheme is structured to get building activity going immediately and to provide safeguards around quality and consumer protection,” she said.
“Making HomeBuilder grants accessible through state and territory channels should streamline its rollout and building work must be carried out by a registered or licensed builder.”
Ms Wawn was online today to answer readers’ questions in an hour-long Q&A.
Here’s what she had to say:
Q. We have been thinking about a renovation for a while and this is making us get a bit more serious. Do you think the state governments are going to offer additional grants to add to the scheme?
A. We certainly hope so and some have already. Tassie made an announcement last Thursday and WA made an announcement yesterday. It’s worth checking with your own state government as to what they have available.
Q. After speaking to a number of builders they have raised concerns about the time frames given engineers reports and full council approval are required within 3 months from the date of signing the contract. Do you think the current proposed time frames are realistic? Some lenders are taking a month to assess a loan application.
A. The three months have been put in to make sure construction starts as quickly as possible so the industry keeps working otherwise work was running out fast. We are mindful of some of the delays by lenders or councils for approvals and are aware that governments are in discussions with them to speed up approvals if some one is an applicant under this scheme. We have also suggested to government that there could be exemptions if there are delays beyond the control of the client or builder. We understand that discussions are occurring between governments this week to finalise the details and we hope there can be some flexibility announced.
Q. If I already have a principal place of residence, can I access the scheme to build another home?
A. It cannot be used to build or renovate an investment property but of course if you were building it to move into as a new principal place of residence it can be used. Interestingly there is nothing in the advice from the government as yet as to holiday homes if they are not rented out – we will need to look at the fine print when more details are released.
Q. Do you know if there was a consideration that it will mainly only be true volume builders who can build to the $750,000 house-and-land price point in our region, and it will make it harder for smaller custom builders to compete at this time? Will this have an impact on local supply chains in your opinion?
A. The great thing about this scheme is that it is client driven – so they have a choice between volume builders or smaller builders. Builders – big and small – were telling us that work was fast running out so this will hopefully drive up demand and/or bring those who have shelved plans back into consideration. This not only helps the builder but their tradies and the local supply businesses as well.
Q. I have a property but don’t live in it. Why am I not eligible to use the HomeBuilder scheme?
A. The Federal Government made the decision not to include investment properties – we are unsure as to why. The issue of investment properties is interesting as you can claim through negative gearing the maintenance of an investment property but not renovations instead the cost of renovations reduce the capital gain when you sell. We have recommended to Government over the years, and continue to do so, that to improve investment properties there should be the capacity to claim renovations as a deduction as an alternative.
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