Time to complete Home Improvement Scheme work quitely extended

The three month time limit to complete works under the NT Government’s home renovation stimulus scheme has been quietly extended to six months.

THE three month time limit to complete works under the NT Government’s hugely popular but highly criticised home renovation stimulus scheme has been quietly extended to six months.

It comes as the NT Government revealed all 19,576 Home Improvement Scheme applications have been assessed, with 18,800 vouchers issued to homeowners.

This means $92.9m of the Home Improvement Scheme’s $100m funding pot has been allocated, with the remainder yet to be used as a bureaucrats chase up further information for a number of applications.

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If the remainder of the funding isn’t distributed, Small Business Minister Paul Kirby gets to decide where it goes.

Mr Kirby, during budget estimates late on Thursday night, also confirmed under questioning by the Opposition that people could apply to extend their vouchers for a further three months “if that is needed to get the work done in that period of time”.

Small Business Minister Paul Kirby. Picture: Che Chorley

It comes after the NT News in August revealed tradies were crying out for more time as voucher approval rates ramped up, drowning them with work that needed to be completed very quickly.

Opposition small business spokeswoman Marie-Clare Boothby took aim at the government over the HIS during estimates, saying there were “a lot of businesses who say the whole experience has made them wish they had never got involved”.

It was also revealed during estimates that of the vouchers issues, 12,573 had been successfully redeemed.

According to the NT Government, the total estimated economic impact of the Home Improvement Scheme, the Business Improvement Grants and the Immediate Work Grant schemes will be $292.3m.

The Home Improvement Scheme – introduced in light of the coronavirus crisis in the hopes of adding a huge injection of cash into the Territory economy by supporting tradies – had to be trebled from $30 million to $100 million in May after a tsunami of applications was received.