Update from the Department on 2013-14 Payment Processing This open letter provides you with an update on the processing of 2013-14 National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) incentive claims by the Department of Social Services (the Department). NRAS incentives are provided to persons or entities known under the NRAS legislation as Participants”. To be eligible for an incentive, an Approved Participant “Approved must satisfy all the legislative requirements including satisfying all the conditions of allocation applicable to the approved rental dwelling in question. Under the NRAS legislation, decisions are made that apply to holders of reservations of allocations (Applicants) or to holders of allocations (Approved Participants). Decisions do not explicitly apply to investors and the National Rental Affordability Scheme Act 2008 does not refer to investors. The National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 contain two provisions that emphasise that the Commonwealth does not deal directly with investors. It follows that arrangements for NRAS properties are a matter for the Approved Participants and the investor to negotiate and manage. The Department is aware that the delay in the processing of 2013-14 claims for incentives is concerning for NRAS investors. Please be assured that we have been striving to work with Approved Participants to address the issues so that as many incentives can be processed as quickly as possible. To reduce delays in payments to individual investors, the Department has commenced issuing interim Refundable Tax Offset certificates covering some, but not all, of the claims for some Approved Participants where feasible to do so. A total of 47 Approved Participants have been paid in full, an additional nine Approved Participants have received interim Refundable Tax Offset certificates combined they cover 12,472 – incentives. The delays in processing of 2013-14 incentives have been partially due to implementation of recent amendments to the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 which were intended to address some compliance issues in relation to claims for NRAS incentives. In many cases this has necessitated the Department seeking (and assessing) further information from Approved Participants. Further to the changes to the NRAS Regulations, the Department has depended on Approved Participants to fully and accurately update and submit their documentation before we can successfully assess claims for payment. We have actively and regularly communicated the changes and requirements to Approved Participants since before the changes took effect. We have also given Approved Participants multiple opportunities to submit and correct their claims, in recognition that this has involved a change in practice and additional work for some Approved Participants.
Update from the Department on 2013-14 Payment Processing This open letter provides you with an update on the processing of 2013-14 National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) incentive claims by the Department of Social Services (the Department). NRAS incentives are provided to persons or entities known under the NRAS legislation as “Approved Participants”. To be eligible for an incentive, an Approved Participant must satisfy all the legislative requirements including satisfying all the conditions of allocation applicable to the approved rental dwelling in question. Under the NRAS legislation, decisions are made that apply to holders of reservations of allocations (Applicants) or to holders of allocations (Approved Participants). Decisions do not explicitly apply to investors and the National Rental Affordability Scheme Act 2008 does not refer to investors. The National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 contain two provisions that emphasise that the Commonwealth does not deal directly with investors. It follows that arrangements for NRAS properties are a matter for the Approved Participants and the investor to negotiate and manage. The Department is aware that the delay in the processing of 2013-14 claims for incentives is concerning for NRAS investors. Please be assured that we have been striving to work with Approved Participants to address the issues so that as many incentives can be processed as quickly as possible. To reduce delays in payments to individual investors, the Department has commenced issuing interim Refundable Tax Offset certificates covering some, but not all, of the claims for some Approved Participants where feasible to do so. A total of 47 Approved Participants have been paid in full, an additional nine Approved Participants have received interim Refundable Tax Offset certificates – combined they cover 12,472 incentives. The delays in processing of 2013-14 incentives have been partially due to implementation of recent amendments to the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 which were intended to address some compliance issues in relation to claims for NRAS incentives. In many cases this has necessitated the Department seeking (and assessing) further information from Approved Participants. Further to the changes to the NRAS Regulations, the Department has depended on Approved Participants to fully and accurately update and submit their documentation before we can successfully assess claims for payment. We have actively and regularly communicated the changes and requirements to Approved Participants since before the changes took effect. We have also given Approved Participants multiple opportunities to submit and correct their claims, in recognition that this has involved a change in practice and additional work for some Approved Participants.
open_letter_providing_an_update_about_the_processing_of_2013-14_nras_incentive_claims_10_april_2015_-_accessible_format_0.docx