{"id":"sa:help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025","name":"Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2025","slug":"sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":438032,"registerId":"sa:help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025-seed-1775954626845-tcn4at","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2025","content":"South Australia\nHelp to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2025\nAn Act to adopt specified provisions of the Help to Buy Act 2024 of the Commonwealth for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, to refer legislative power of the State in the form of an amendment reference to the Parliament of the Commonwealth to make amendments to the Help to Buy Act 2024 of the Commonwealth for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, to make related amendments to various Acts, and for other purposes.\n\nContents\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\nPart 2—Adoption of versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act\n4\tAdoption\n5\tCommonwealth laws not otherwise affected\n6\tAmendment reference\n7\tTermination of adoption and amendment reference\n8\tEffect of termination of amendment reference before termination of adoption of primary version or residual version\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n9\tDeclaring certain matters to be excluded matters\n10\tState's objection to matters\n11\tRegulations\nSchedule 1—Related amendments\nPart 1—Amendment of Emergency Services Funding Act 1998\n1\tInsertion of section 15A\n15A\tLand under Help to Buy arrangement\nPart 2—Amendment of First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000\n2\tInsertion of section 6B\n6B\tLand under Help to Buy arrangement\nPart 3—Amendment of Land Tax Act 1936\n3\tInsertion of section 9A\n9A\tLand under Help to Buy arrangement\nPart 4—Amendment of Stamp Duties Act 1923\n4\tInsertion of section 60AB\n60AB\tLand under Help to Buy arrangement\nPart 5—Amendment of Taxation Administration Act 1996\n5\tInsertion of section 78A\n78A\tDisclosure of information in connection with Help to Buy arrangement\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2025.\n2—Commencement\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it is assented to by, or on behalf of, the Crown.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act—\nadoption means the adoption under section 4(1)(a) or (b);\namendment matters—\n\t(a)\tmeans matters relating to the provision of Commonwealth financial assistance for the purpose of assisting individuals to buy a home, where the financial assistance is provided under a Help to Buy arrangement that—\n\t(i)\trelates to residential property located in a State; and\n\t(ii)\tis entered into while the State is a participating State; and\n\t(b)\twithout limiting paragraph (a), means matters relating to—\n\t(i)\tentering into Help to Buy arrangements that satisfy the conditions mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) and (ii); and\n\t(ii)\tadministering Help to Buy arrangements of that kind; and\n\t(iii)\tmonitoring compliance with Help to Buy arrangements of that kind; and\n\t(iv)\tdoing anything incidental or conducive to anything mentioned in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii);\namendment reference means the reference of matters under section 6(1);\nCommonwealth Help to Buy Act means the Help to Buy Act 2024 of the Commonwealth;\nexpress amendment of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act means the direct amendment of the text of that Act (whether by insertion, omission, repeal, substitution or relocation of words or matter) by another Commonwealth Act or by an instrument under a Commonwealth Act, but does not include the enactment by a Commonwealth Act of a provision that has or will have substantive effect otherwise than as part of the text of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act;\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act;\nHelp to Buy program has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth;\nprimary version means the relevant version of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time before the commencement of section 4, other than—\n\t(a)\tDivisions 2 and 3 of Part 2 of that Act; and\n\t(b)\tsections 24(1)(a)(ii), 25(3)(b) and (c) and 38 of that Act;\nresidential property has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act;\nresidual version means the relevant version of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time before the commencement of section 4, other than—\n\t(a)\tDivisions 1 and 3 of Part 2 of that Act; and\n\t(b)\tsections 24(1)(a)(i), 25(3)(a) and (c) and 38 of that Act.\n\t(2)\tUnless the contrary intention appears, words defined in the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act and otherwise used in this Act have the same meaning in this Act as they have in the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\nPart 2—Adoption of versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act\n4—Adoption\n\t(1)\tThe following versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act are adopted within the meaning of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth:\n\t(a)\tthe primary version;\n\t(b)\tthe residual version.\n\t(2)\tThe operation of each paragraph of subsection (1) is not affected by the other paragraph.\n\t(3)\tThe adoption has effect for a period—\n\t(a)\tbeginning when subsection (1) comes into operation; and\n\t(b)\tending at the end of the day fixed under section 7(1)(a) or (b).\n5—Commonwealth laws not otherwise affected\nTo avoid doubt, it is the intention of the Parliament of the State that the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act may be expressly amended, or have its operation otherwise affected, at any time after the commencement of section 4—\n\t(a)\tby a provision of a Commonwealth Act the operation of which is based on legislative power that the Parliament of the Commonwealth has apart from under the amendment reference; and\n\t(b)\tby a provision of an instrument made under the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act or under a provision referred to in paragraph (a).\n6—Amendment reference\n\t(1)\tThe amendment matters are referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth, but only to the extent of making laws with respect to those matters by making express amendments of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(2)\tThe reference in subsection (1) to making laws does not include making a law that would have the effect of—\n\t(a)\tgiving Housing Australia, after a State stops being a participating State, the function of entering into, or the power to enter into, shared equity arrangements that relate to residential property located in the State; or\n\t(b)\tsubstantively removing or overriding—\n\t(i)\ta provision of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act that requires approval of the State before certain things are done; or\n\t(ii)\tsection 41, 41A or 42 of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(3)\tThe reference of a matter under subsection (1) has effect only—\n\t(a)\tif and to the extent that the matter is not included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth (otherwise than by a reference for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth); and\n\t(b)\tif and to the extent that the matter is included in the legislative power of the Parliament of the State.\n\t(4)\tThe amendment reference has effect for a period—\n\t(a)\tbeginning when subsection (1) comes into operation; and\n\t(b)\tending at the end of the day fixed under section 7(1)(c).\n7—Termination of adoption and amendment reference\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may, at any time, by proclamation, fix a day on which—\n\t(a)\tthe adoption of any or all of the primary version is to terminate; or\n\t(b)\tthe adoption of any or all of the residual version is to terminate; or\n\t(c)\tthe amendment reference is to terminate.\n\t(2)\tThe Governor may, by proclamation, repeal a proclamation made under subsection (1), in which case the repealed proclamation is taken (for the purposes of section 4 or 6) never to have been made.\n\t(3)\tA repealing proclamation made under subsection (2) has effect only if made and published before the day fixed under subsection (1).\n\t(4)\tThe repeal of a proclamation referred to in subsection (1) does not prevent the making and publication of a further proclamation under that subsection.\n8—Effect of termination of amendment reference before termination of adoption of primary version or residual version\n\t(1)\tIf the amendment reference terminates before the adoption of the primary version is terminated, the termination of the amendment reference does not affect—\n\t(a)\tlaws that were made under that reference before that termination (whether or not they have come into operation before that termination); or\n\t(b)\tthe continued operation in the State of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act as in operation immediately before that termination or as subsequently amended or affected by—\n\t(i)\tlaws referred to in paragraph (a) that come into operation after that termination; or\n\t(ii)\tprovisions referred to in section 5.\n\t(2)\tAccordingly, if the amendment reference terminates, it continues to have effect for the purposes of subsection (1) unless the adoption of the primary version is terminated.\n\t(3)\tIf the amendment reference terminates before the adoption of the residual version is terminated, the termination of the amendment reference does not affect—\n\t(a)\tlaws that were made under that reference before that termination (whether or not they have come into operation before that termination); or\n\t(b)\tthe continued operation in the State of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act as in operation immediately before that termination or as subsequently amended or affected by—\n\t(i)\tlaws referred to in paragraph (a) that come into operation after that termination; or\n\t(ii)\tprovisions referred to in section 5.\n\t(4)\tAccordingly, if the amendment reference terminates, it continues to have effect for the purposes of subsection (3) unless the adoption of the residual version is terminated.\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n9—Declaring certain matters to be excluded matters\n\t(1)\tThe following matters are declared to be excluded matters for the purposes of section 41A of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act in relation to the Help to Buy program:\n\t(a)\tany grant under the First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000;\n\t(b)\tany South Australian shared equity home buyer scheme (such as the HomeStart Shared Equity Option provided by HomeStart Finance);\n\t(c)\tthe administration and governance, including by the exercise of compliance functions, of the grants and schemes referred to in the preceding paragraphs;\n\t(d)\tany matter prescribed by the regulations.\n\t(2)\tThe declaration of a matter to be an excluded matter under subsection (1) for the purposes of section 41A of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act applies only to the extent to which the excluded matter would, but for this section, be inconsistent with the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act in relation to the Help to Buy program.\n\t(3)\tIn this section—\nHomeStart Finance means the statutory corporation of that name established under the Urban Renewal Act 1995 by the Housing and Urban Development (Administrative Arrangements) (HomeStart Finance) Regulations 1995 (and continued in existence under the Urban Renewal (HomeStart Finance) Regulations 2020).\n10—State's objection to matters\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of section 46(1) of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act, the Minister on behalf of the State, by notice given to the Commonwealth Minister during either the minimum consultation period or the extended consultation period, may object to a matter for the purposes of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(2)\tAfter giving notice to the Commonwealth Minister under subsection (1), the Minister must ensure the notice is published in the Gazette as soon as practicable.\n\t(3)\tA notice under subsection (1) is to be taken as constituting the State's objection to a matter for the purposes of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister on behalf of the State, by notice given to the Commonwealth Minister, may withdraw an objection to a matter under subsection (1).\n\t(5)\tAfter giving notice to the Commonwealth Minister under subsection (4), the Minister must ensure the notice is published in the Gazette as soon as practicable.\n\t(6)\tA notice under subsection (4) is to be taken as constituting the State's withdrawal of an objection to a matter for the purposes of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(7)\tFor the purposes of section 46(4) of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act, the Minister on behalf of the State, by notice given to the Commonwealth Minister during the minimum consultation period, may require an additional 15 business days to consider a matter for the purposes of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n\t(8)\tAfter giving notice to the Commonwealth Minister under subsection (7)—\n\t(a)\tthe Minister must ensure the notice is published in the Gazette as soon as practicable; and\n\t(b)\tthe extended consultation period applies for the purposes of giving notice to the Commonwealth Minister under subsection (1).\n\t(9)\tThe validity of a notice given to the Commonwealth Minister under subsection (1), (4) or (7) is not affected by a failure to publish the notice in the Gazette.\n\t(10)\tIn this section—\nCommonwealth Minister means the Minister referred to in section 46 of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.\n11—Regulations\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\n\t(2)\tThe regulations may—\n\t(a)\tbe of general or limited application; and\n\t(b)\tmake different provision according to the matters or circumstances to which they are expressed to apply; and\n\t(c)\tmake provisions of a saving or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of this Act or on the commencement of specified provisions of this Act or on the making of regulations under this Act; and\n\t(d)\tprovide that a matter or thing in respect of which regulations may be made is to be determined according to the discretion of the Minister or any other specified person or body.\nSchedule 1—Related amendments\nPart 1—Amendment of Emergency Services Funding Act 1998\n1—Insertion of section 15A\nAfter section 15 insert:\n15A—Land under Help to Buy arrangement\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of assessing the levy in respect of land purchased under a Help to Buy arrangement, an interest the Commonwealth or Housing Australia has in the land is to be disregarded.\n\t(2)\tIn this section—\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Help to Buy Act of the Commonwealth;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.\nPart 2—Amendment of First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000\n2—Insertion of section 6B\nAfter section 6A insert:\n6B—Land under Help to Buy arrangement\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of assessing eligibility for any grant under this Act in respect of land purchased, or to be purchased, under a Help to Buy arrangement, an interest the Commonwealth or Housing Australia has, or will have, in the land is to be disregarded (and the Commonwealth or Housing Australia will be taken not to be an interested person for the purposes of section 15).\n\t(2)\tA person engaged in work related to the administration of this Act is authorised to disclose information obtained in the course of that work to the Commonwealth or Housing Australia to assist in determining whether a person is ineligible to be a participant in a Help to Buy arrangement.\n\t(3)\tSection 41 does not apply to information obtained under subsection (2).\n\t(4)\tIn this section—\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Help to Buy Act of the Commonwealth;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.\nPart 3—Amendment of Land Tax Act 1936\n3—Insertion of section 9A\nAfter section 9 insert:\n9A—Land under Help to Buy arrangement\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of assessing land tax on land purchased under a Help to Buy arrangement, an interest the Commonwealth or Housing Australia has in the land is to be disregarded.\n\t(2)\tIn this section—\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Help to Buy Act of the Commonwealth;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.\nPart 4—Amendment of Stamp Duties Act 1923\n4—Insertion of section 60AB\nAfter section 60A insert:\n60AB—Land under Help to Buy arrangement\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of assessing liability for duty on the conveyance or transfer of land purchased under a Help to Buy arrangement, an interest the Commonwealth or Housing Australia has in the land is to be disregarded.\n\t(2)\tAn instrument that records or effects a change in an interest in land that occurs as a result of an increase in a person’s share percentage in land purchased under a Help to Buy arrangement is exempt from duty.\n\t(3)\tIn this section—\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Help to Buy Act of the Commonwealth;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.\nPart 5—Amendment of Taxation Administration Act 1996\n5—Insertion of section 78A\nAfter section 78 insert:\n78A—Disclosure of information in connection with Help to Buy arrangement\n\t(1)\tA tax officer is authorised to disclose information obtained under or in relation to the administration of a taxation law to the Commonwealth or Housing Australia to assist in determining whether a person is ineligible to be a participant in a Help to Buy arrangement.\n\t(2)\tSection 80 does not apply to information obtained from a tax officer under this section.\n\t(3)\tIn this section—\nHelp to Buy arrangement has the same meaning as in the Help to Buy Act of the Commonwealth;\nHousing Australia has the same meaning as in the Housing Australia Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2025\n66\nHelp to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2025 \n4.12.2025\n4.12.2025: s 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":8,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope is to adopt specified Commonwealth text and to refer narrowly defined amendment matters to the Commonwealth for express amendment of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act (see s 4 and s 6). It also makes targeted State law adjustments (Schedule) to treat Commonwealth/Housing Australia interests as disregarded for certain levies, taxes and grants and to permit specified information sharing. The Act includes explicit limits and excluded matters (s 6(2), s 9), so it does not broaden the subject‑matter beyond those defined referral and adoption purposes."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional referral and adoption mechanism under s 4 and s 6 (use of s 51(xxxvii)) creates intergovernmental dependency and termination windows (s 7–8).","Dual adoption of two distinct ‘versions’ (primary and residual) with different excluded Divisions and sections increases textual complexity (Interpretation—definitions of primary version and residual version).","Express limits on what the Commonwealth may amend under the reference (s 6(2)) require detailed cross-checking against the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act.","Savings for other Commonwealth legislative powers and instruments (s 5) creates parallel sources of law that may interact or override in practice.","State-declared excluded matters for Commonwealth s 41A (s 9) narrow Commonwealth reach and require operational coordination between programs and State schemes.","Ministerial notice, objection and consultation procedures with publication rules and an ability to extend consultation (s 10) create procedural compliance obligations and timing risks for both levels of government.","Proclamation power to terminate adoptions or the amendment reference (s 7) and transitional preservation of laws made under a terminated reference (s 8) produce contingent legal states that agencies must track.","Delegated regulation-making and discretionary determinations permitted (s 11(d)) increase administrative discretion and secondary-law complexity.","Multiple State statutory amendments in the Schedule create discrete tax/levy/duty treatments and information‑sharing exceptions (Emergency Services Funding s 15A; First Home and Housing Construction Grants s 6B; Land Tax s 9A; Stamp Duties s 60AB; Taxation Administration s 78A).","Overrides of confidentiality or secrecy provisions for eligibility checks (Schedule s 6B(2)–(3) and s 78A(1)–(2)) raise practical data‑handling and compliance tasks for agencies and tax officers."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act adopts specified versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act into South Australian law under section 51(xxxvii) and refers defined “amendment matters” to the Commonwealth Parliament so it can make express amendments to that Commonwealth Act. It affects prospective Help to Buy participants, Housing Australia, State and Commonwealth agencies and landowners by disregarding Commonwealth/Housing Australia interests for certain levies, taxes and grants, authorising information sharing for eligibility checks, and creating consultation, objection and termination procedures."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: enabling South Australia's participation in the federal Help to Buy scheme through constitutional referral mechanisms. While it amends five separate state Acts, these are purely consequential amendments necessary to integrate the scheme with existing state tax and grant systems. There is no significant mission creep or expansion beyond the core objective of facilitating the federal-state housing arrangement."},"complexity_factors":["Dual version adoption mechanism (primary vs residual versions) with overlapping but distinct exclusions requiring cross-referencing to the Commonwealth Act","14 defined terms in interpretation section, many incorporating external definitions from the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act and Housing Australia Act 2018 by reference","Nested conditional logic in the amendment reference (section 6): three layers of limitations (subsection 2 exceptions, subsection 3 threshold conditions, and temporal limits in subsection 4)","Complex termination mechanics (section 7-8) with interdependent expiry dates, proclamation repeal provisions, and 'zombie' effect provisions where the amendment reference continues post-termination for certain purposes","Extensive cross-referencing to Commonwealth legislation (Constitution s 51(xxxvii), Help to Buy Act 2024, Housing Australia Act 2018) requiring parallel reading of multiple statutes","Mirror amendment provisions across five separate Acts (Emergency Services Funding, First Home Grants, Land Tax, Stamp Duties, Taxation Administration) with near-identical but slightly varied drafting","Safeguards and exclusions (sections 9-10) creating carve-outs from federal scheme operation with their own internal definitions and procedural requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets South Australia opt into the federal \"Help to Buy\" shared‑equity home scheme by referring limited legislative power to the Commonwealth so the federal law can operate in SA. It adopts the federal framework while preserving state oversight, exit rights, and existing SA housing programs, and adjusts state taxes and information‑sharing so the scheme works in practice. It primarily affects eligible first‑home buyers, Housing Australia, and SA agencies."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025","history":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/sa-help-to-buy-commonwealth-powers-act-2025/documents"}}