Late surge in applicants gives $250m boost to NT government’s BuildBonus housing stimulus scheme

A surge of last-minute home builders has boosted the local investment from the NT government’s BuildBonus scheme to over $250m as it officially closes.

A SURGE of last-minute home builders has boosted the local investment from the NT government’s BuildBonus scheme to over $250m as it officially closes.

In new figures released yesterday, an additional 200 applicants for the scheme are currently being processed, with 680 grants valued at a total of $13.6m being paid up to this point.

The scheme, which was announced in February 2019, provides financial aid to Territorians to build their own home and to stimulate the local construction industry.

Submissions for the scheme have now officially closed.

According to the latest figures, around half of the new homes are being built in the Palmerston suburb of Zuccoli, a quarter are in Northcrest and Muirhead and the remaining applications have been in Kilgariff, Durack and rural and regional areas.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he was pleased with how the scheme had gone.

“This scheme was a spectacular success and I thank Territorians for backing it,” he said.

Kate Johnson, 21, was a beneficiary of the NT government’s Build Bonus program, building her first home in Zuccoli last year. Picture: Che Chorley

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“It means hundreds of new slabs and flat out tradies, and it also means hundreds of families building their dream homes and owning their own piece of the Territory.

“There’s a whole pipeline of work up for grabs for local businesses now as frames go up and these homes take shape.

“The comeback is well and truly on and I thank Territorians for literally buying in and boosting the local economy while they’re at it.”

The NT News earlier this month reported the number of certificates for new homes in the Northern Territory was almost 300 per cent up in March compared to the same month last year.

There was also a healthy increase in home extensions, with 23 certificates last month, 18 more compared to the same time last year.

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Master Builders NT chief executive officer Dave Malone said the boost was largely due to the NT government’s BuildBonus scheme and the federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme.

Nationally the building and construction workforce increased by 10.5 per cent between January 2 and February 13 this year, equivalent to an estimated 107,381 jobs.