Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, upon notice, on 16 March 2011:

Most recent National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) figures

(1) How many NRAS project incentives have been awarded since the scheme began.

(2) (a) Can a breakdown be provided, by state and territory, of the total approvals so far; and (b) in relation to each state and territory total can the figure be divided into inner metro and outer metro, regional and rural areas.

(3) What is the average time it takes to have applications processed from the time of application to final approval stage.

(4) What percentage of Round 3 applications have been processed to the notification stage.

(5) Can an update be provided on the progress of Round 4.

(6) Why do developers benefit from indexation of the NRAS incentive but recipients of Commonwealth rent assistance do not.

Not for profit housing providers and NRAS

Given that, in order to receive their tax offset or cash grant (for NFPs), NRAS recipients must use the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) Online Funding Management System (FOFMS) to provide information required by the Australian Government about their management of NRAS incentives:

(1) Is FOFMS still a FaHCSIA system, which has as yet not been transferred to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) management.

(2) Has the NRAS team, or anyone else at SEWPaC, requested access to FOFMS.

(3) Can SEWPaC officers make changes to the way that FOFMS operates, for example, the type of information collected.

(4) Has any officer from SEWPaC been able to access information provided by NRAS recipients to FOFMS since the machinery of government changes.

Ministerial representation at the Housing Ministers' Conference of 16 December 2010

(1) Was there a representative from SEWPaC or the Minister's office at the Housing Ministers' Conference.

(2) Was there a representative from SEWPaC or the Minister's office at the meeting of the Housing Ministers' Advisory Committee.

(3) Did either of the abovementioned meetings discuss any matter pertaining to the SEWPaC's portfolio, for example, NRAS or the Housing Supply Council; if not: (a) is there another forum where SEWPaC officers can discuss these issues with their state counterparts; and (b) how is this information shared between FaHCSIA and SEWPaC.

Coordination across Departments following portfolio split

With reference to the split of the Housing portfolio between three ministers and its coordination across two departments:

(1) Can an outline be provided as to what mechanisms are now in place to facilitate communication between people within the SEWPaC and FaHCSIA portfolios, with relation to: (a) interdepartmental meetings; (b) interdepartmental memos; (c) joint seminar series/training days etc; and (d) secondment programs.

(2) What mechanisms are now in place to facilitate communication between people within the SEWPaC, FAHCSIA and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) portfolios.

(3) Recent changes to NRAS to better facilitate institutional investment were announced at just about the same time as the proposed cuts – is this evidence of a lack of communication between Treasury and SEWPaC.

The transitional safety net to cover charities participating in NRAS

Given that in November 2008 the Government introduced a transitional safety net to cover charities participating in the NRAS, that this safety net amended both charity and tax law to ensure that charitable organisations, such as not-for-profit housing providers, would not have their charitable status jeopardized and lose tax concessions because of their participation in NRAS, and that this safety net was targeted to charitable organisations participating during the establishment phase of the NRAS that is for dwellings built in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and would expire at the end of that establishment phase.

(1) What is current situation for charitable organisations participating in NRAS.

(2) Did the transitional safety net expire as noted; if so, are those charitable organisations currently participating in NRAS in danger of losing their charitable status and loss of valuable tax concessions.

Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) Housing Supply and Affordability Reform agenda

Given that Treasury's brief to the incoming Government (the 'Red Book') warned of Australia's worsening housing affordability, and said this, along with problems of low density living, declining amenity and growing congestion, results from fractured and ineffective governance arrangements, and that the brief advised the incoming Government to enhance the effectiveness of funding to help Australians in housing need, to investigate taxation and planning reforms, and to expedite a National Urban Policy Reform, which includes a Housing Supply and Affordability Reform agenda:

(1) How is the SEWPaC looking at implementing COAG's Housing Supply and Affordability Reform agenda, which as the 'Red Book' advised, includes examining the ways under-utilised government land could be reallocated to affordable housing.

(2) What specific resources within SEWPaC are devoted to the agenda.

(3) Can a description be provided of any interdepartmental groups, or units, training days, or programs that have been specifically set-up between SEWPaC, Treasury and FaHCSIA to progress the agenda.