48Repayments of grants

48 Repayments of grants

(1) This section applies where a grant has been paid in respect of a dwelling‑house the purchase of which had not been completed, or the construction of which had not been completed, on the date on which the application for the grant was made. (2) Where: (a) in the case of a dwelling‑house the purchase of which had not been completed on the date on which the application for the grant was made: (i) the purchase of the dwelling‑house is not completed within 3 months after the date specified in the application as the date on which it was expected that the purchase would be completed or, if no date was so specified, within 3 months after the date of payment of the grant; or (ii) the contract for the purchase of the dwelling‑house is discharged otherwise than by performance of the contract; or (b) in the case of a dwelling‑house the construction of which had not been completed on the date on which the application for the grant was made: (i) the construction of the dwelling‑house is not completed within 6 months after the date specified in the application for the grant as the date on which it was expected that the construction would be completed or, if no date was so specified, within 6 months after the date of payment of the grant; (ii) if the dwelling‑house was being, or was to be, constructed by a building‑contractor—the contract for the construction of the dwelling‑house is discharged otherwise than by performance of the contract; or (iii) before the expiration of 12 months after the prescribed date, the applicant, in the case of a sole applicant, does not become the owner, or none of the applicants, in the case of joint applicants, becomes the owner, of the land on which the dwelling‑house was being, or was to be, constructed; the Secretary shall forthwith be notified in writing of the fact and if he is not so notified then the sole applicant, or each of the joint applicants, as the case may be, is guilty of an offence and is punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding $500. (2A) Subsection (2) is an offence of strict liability. (3) Upon the occurrence of any of the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b), the Secretary may require the sole applicant or each of the joint applicants, as the case may be, by notice in writing served by post on the applicant, or each of the applicants, as the case may be, at the address of the applicant last known to the Secretary, to pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the amount of the grant and, in that case, the amount so payable is recoverable by the Commonwealth in a court of competent jurisdiction from the applicant, or jointly or severally from the applicants, as a debt due to the Commonwealth. (4) The reference in subsection (3) to each joint applicant shall be read as not including a reference to a joint applicant who has died. (5) The Commonwealth is not, by virtue of subsection (3), entitled to recover from the persons referred to in that subsection amounts that, in the aggregate, exceed the total amount of the debt due to the Commonwealth.