{"id":"sr:first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021","name":"First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021","slug":"first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":183383,"registerId":"vic-sr:first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021","content":"Version No. 002\n\n**First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021**\n\n**S.R. No. 176/2021**\n\nVersion incorporating amendments as at  \n25 June 2025\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objectives 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Revocation 1\n\n4 Definitions 2\n\n5 Recognition of relevant interest in land 2\n\n6 Certain persons exempted from joining in applications 3\n\n7 Time for VCAT to re-open and review matter 3\n\n8 Authorised disclosure of protected information 3\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 4\n\n1 General information 4\n\n2 Table of Amendments 6\n\n3 Explanatory details 7\n\n**Version No.** **002**\n\n**First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021**\n\n**S.R. No. 176/2021**\n\nVersion incorporating amendments as at  \n25 June 2025\n\n\t1 Objectives\n\nThe objectives of these Regulations are—\n\n(a) to provide that certain interests are recognised as a relevant interest in land for the purposes of section 5(4) of the **First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000**; and\n\n(b) to exempt certain owners of land from having to join in a first home owner grant application; and\n\n(c) to provide for the time within which VCAT may re-open and review a matter when an objector is in default of appearance; and\n\n(d) to authorise the disclosure of protected information to certain members of the New Zealand police force.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 54 of the **First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000**.\n\n\t3 Revocation\n\nThe First Home Owner Grant Regulations 2021[[1]](#endnote-1)  are **revoked**.\n\n\t4 Definitions\n\nIn these Regulations—\n\n***housing co-operative*** means a non-distributing co-operative registered as a co-operative under the Co-operatives National Law (Victoria);\n\n***member of the New Zealand police force*** means a person who is a Police employee within the meaning of the Policing Act 2008 of New Zealand;\n\n***the Act*** means the **First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000**.\n\n\t5 Recognition of relevant interest in land\n\n(1) For the purposes of section 5(4) of the Act, a person has a relevant interest in land that is owned by another person if—\n\n(a) the person has—\n\n(i) entered into a comprehensive home building contract for the building of a home on that land; or\n\n(ii) as an owner builder, commenced building a home on that land; or\n\n(iii) acquired a share in, or entered into a sale agreement with, a housing co‑operative that owns the land on which the person's home is built; and\n\n(b) the owner of the land has granted to the person a licence of exclusive occupancy of the home or right of exclusive occupancy of the home; and\n\n(c) the home contains, or on completion will contain, its own kitchen, bathroom and sanitary facilities.\n\n(2) For the purposes of section 5(4) of the Act, a person has a relevant interest in land if the person has acquired the land under a home buyer scheme within the meaning of section 34A of the Act.\n\nReg. 5(3) inserted by S.R. No. 58/2025 reg. 4.\n\n(3) For the purposes of section 5(4) of the Act, a person has a relevant interest in land if the person has acquired the land under a Help to Buy arrangement.\n\n\t6 Certain persons exempted from joining in applications\n\nIf an interest is recognised under regulation 5(1) as a relevant interest, the owner of land referred to in regulation 5(1)(b) is excluded from the application of section 15 of the Act.\n\n**Note**\n\nThe effect of this regulation is that the owner of land referred to in regulation 5(1)(b) is not required to join in an application for a first home owner grant.\n\n\t7 Time for VCAT to re-open and review matter\n\nThe time prescribed for the purposes of section 33(2) of the Act is the period of 6 weeks commencing on the day on which the decision is confirmed by VCAT.\n\n\t8 Authorised disclosure of protected information\n\nFor the purposes of section 50(4)(d) of the Act, protected information is authorised to be disclosed to a member of the New Zealand police force who is also employed at the New Zealand Police National Intelligence Centre (by whatever name known) in connection with an investigation or prosecution carried out in the course of the member's duty.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021, S.R. No. 176/2021 were made on 21 December 2021 by the Governor in Council under section 54 of the **First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000**, No. 5/2000 and came into operation on 21 December 2021.\n\nThe First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 21 December 2031 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThis publication incorporates amendments made to the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Regulations 2021 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\n\nFirst Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Amendment Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 58/2025\n\n| *Date of Making:* | 17.6.25 |\n| --- | --- |\n| *Date of Commencement:* | 25.6.25: reg. 3 |\n\n\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\n\n3 Explanatory details\n\n1.  Reg. 3: S.R. No. 31/2021. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the minimal content available, there is no evidence of scope change from the original intent. The regulations appear to implement the established First Home Owner Grant framework as intended. However, the near-total absence of substantive text in the provided document makes a definitive scope assessment impossible."},"complexity_factors":["The document as provided contains almost no substantive regulatory content — largely metadata and version history — making meaningful complexity assessment very difficult","First home buyer schemes inherently involve means-testing and eligibility criteria that can be complex to navigate","Regulations of this type typically interact with multiple pieces of primary legislation (the parent Act), adding interpretive complexity","Grant schemes often involve property value caps and construction conditions that require careful reading","Low score assigned due to absence of actual regulatory text to analyse"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out the detailed rules that govern the First Home Owner Grant and related Home Buyer Schemes, specifying how eligible first‑time buyers, builders/developers and lenders interact with state revenue authorities to apply for and receive government assistance. For anyone buying or building their first home, they determine eligibility, application steps and conditions — mistakes can cost applicants significant grant payments."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly scoped to their original purpose: operationalising the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000. The 2025 amendment adding 'Help to Buy' arrangements (regulation 5(3)) is a natural extension of existing shared-equity provisions rather than scope creep. The instrument has not expanded into unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 regulations spanning 3 substantive pages","Minimal defined terms: only 3 definitions in regulation 4 (housing co-operative, member of New Zealand police force, the Act)","Straightforward conditional structure: regulation 5 uses simple 'if A and B and C' logic without nested exceptions","Limited cross-referencing: references only to the parent Act (First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000) and one New Zealand statute","Single amendment tracked: only one amending instrument incorporated (S.R. No. 58/2025 adding regulation 5(3) for Help to Buy)","No penalty provisions, offence sections, or enforcement mechanisms","Clear explanatory notes provided (e.g., regulation 6 note explaining the practical effect)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set out the practical rules for Victoria's First Home Owner Grant and related home buyer assistance schemes. They fill in the details that the main Act (the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000) leaves to be specified later.\n\n**Key things covered:**\n\n*   **Who counts as having a 'relevant interest' in land** — This matters because you need this interest to qualify for the grant. The regulations recognise three specific situations:\n    *   Someone building a home under a building contract or as an owner-builder, who has a licence to exclusively occupy the finished home (even if they don't own the land itself)\n    *   Someone who buys into a housing co-operative (a type of non-profit housing organisation) and gets exclusive occupancy rights\n    *   Someone who buys land through a government 'home buyer scheme' or the federal 'Help to Buy' shared equity arrangement\n\n*   **Who doesn't need to sign the grant application** — Normally, everyone with an interest in the land must join the application. These regulations exempt land owners who merely grant occupancy licences to grant applicants (stopping them from being dragged into paperwork unnecessarily).\n\n*   **Time limits for VCAT reviews** — If someone objects to a grant decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT, a tribunal that hears disputes) but fails to show up, VCAT has 6 weeks from when it confirms its decision to re-open and review the matter.\n\n*   **Information sharing with New Zealand police** — Allows Victorian authorities to disclose protected information about grant applicants to New Zealand police intelligence officers, but only for investigations or prosecutions related to their official duties.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nFirst home buyers in Victoria, particularly those in non-traditional ownership arrangements (co-operatives, build-to-rent with occupancy licences, or shared equity schemes). It also affects land owners who licence their land to home builders, and Victorian government staff handling grant applications.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nWithout these regulations, people in housing co-ops or those using occupancy licences wouldn't qualify for the First Home Owner Grant, even though they're effectively first home buyers. The regulations also ensure the grant system can adapt to new federal schemes like Help to Buy, and maintain appropriate law enforcement information sharing across the Tasman."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The 2025 amendment expanded the Regulations’ scope by expressly adding persons who acquire land under a Help‑to‑Buy arrangement as having a relevant interest (reg 5(3)). The instrument also revoked the earlier 2021 Regulations and retains provisions that shift application joining obligations and enable limited disclosure to specified New Zealand police intelligence staff."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple provisions of the Act (section 5(4), section 33(2), section 34A, section 50(4)(d)) requiring concurrent interpretation","Interaction with external statutory regimes (Co‑operatives National Law (Victoria); Policing Act 2008 (NZ))","Addition of a new category (‘Help to Buy’ arrangements) by S.R. No. 58/2025 increases interpretive scope","Procedural rule for VCAT (fixed six‑week re‑open window) introduces tight timing for review rights","Eligibility hinges on factual predicates (exclusive occupancy licence/right; self‑contained kitchen/bathroom/sanitary facilities) creating evidentiary and compliance tasks","Exemption from joining applications (reg 6) shifts legal obligations between applicants and landowners","Revocation of prior Regulations requires agencies and practitioners to update operational practices","Authorised disclosure to specified NZ police intelligence personnel raises cross‑border data‑sharing governance and verification duties"],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations change who counts as having a “relevant interest” for the First Home Owner Grant by recognising people who enter building contracts, act as owner‑builders, acquire interests through housing co‑operatives, or obtain land under home‑buyer or Help‑to‑Buy arrangements. They also exempt certain landowners from having to join grant applications, set a six‑week VCAT re‑open period after confirmation, and permit limited disclosure of protected information to specified New Zealand police intelligence staff. The changes affect who can apply, who must be joined, timing of reviews, and information‑sharing obligations."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021","history":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/first-home-owner-grant-and-home-buyer-schemes-regulations-2021/documents"}}