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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Home Building and Duties Amendment
(Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected
Premises) Bill 2015
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
Overview of Bill
The objects of this Bill are as follows:
(a) to amend the Home Building Act 1989 to provide a register of residential premises
containing loose-fill asbestos insulation (LFAI) and require warning signs to be displayed
at premises that are included on the register,
(b) to amend the Duties Act 1997 to provide a duty concession on a purchase of replacement
residential property by owners of residential premises that are acquired by an authority of
the State because they contain LFAI.
Outline of provisions
Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on the date of assent to the
proposed Act.
Schedule 1 Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147
Schedule 1 makes the amendment referred to in paragraph (a) of the Overview, inserting proposed
Division 1A into Part 8 of the Home Building Act 1989. The proposed Division contains the
following provisions:
(a) Proposed section 119A defines terms used in the proposed Division.
b2015-079.d15
Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
Explanatory note
(b) Proposed section 119B requires the Commissioner for Fair Trading to maintain a publicly
available register of residential premises containing LFAI (the Register). Residential
premises are to be listed on the Register if the Commissioner is satisfied that the presence
of LFAI has been verified in accordance with the regulations made under the Home
Building Act 1989. Particulars of listed premises are to be removed from the Register after
the premises are demolished and the land on which the premises were erected has been
remediated.
(c) Proposed section 119C makes it an offence for the owner of listed residential premises to
fail to ensure that a warning sign about the LFAI is displayed at the premises, and for any
person (other than a person authorised under the Home Building Act 1989 or an investigator
appointed under the Fair Trading Act 1987) to remove the warning sign. The
Commissioner can, by order published in the Gazette, extend the proposed section to other
premises if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the premises contain
LFAI.
Schedule 2 Amendment of Duties Act 1997 No 123
Schedule 2 [1] makes the amendment referred to in paragraph (b) of the Overview, inserting
proposed Division 5 into Part 8 of Chapter 2 of the Duties Act 1997. The proposed Division
contains the following provisions:
(a) Proposed section 104D defines terms used in the proposed Division.
(b) Proposed section 104E provides for a duty concession to a purchaser or transferee of
residential property if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied that the purchaser or transferee
is the owner of LFAI-affected residential property acquired by an authority of the State.
Section 308 of the Duties Act 1997 exempts the Crown in right of the State from liability to
pay duty under that Act. Proposed section 104E provides that any ad valorem duty
chargeable to the purchaser or transferee in connection with the replacement residential
property is to be reduced by the amount of ad valorem duty that (but for section 308 of that
Act) would have been chargeable to the authority of the State in connection with the
acquisition of the LFAI-affected property by the authority.
(c) Proposed section 104F deals with requirements relating to an application for a duty
concession under the proposed Division.
Schedule 2 [2] inserts a savings and transitional provision consequent on the amendment made
by Schedule 2 [1].
Page 2
First print
New South Wales
Home Building and Duties Amendment
(Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected
Premises) Bill 2015
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
Schedule 1 Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147 3
Schedule 2 Amendment of Duties Act 1997 No 123 5
b2015-079.d15
New South Wales
Home Building and Duties Amendment
(Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected
Premises) Bill 2015
No , 2015
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Home Building Act 1989 and Duties Act 1997 in connection with residential
premises affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation; and for other purposes.
Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos 3
Insulation Affected Premises) Act 2015. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act. 6
Page 2
Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
Schedule 1 Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147
Schedule 1 Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147 1
Part 8, Division 1A 2
Insert after Division 1: 3
Division 1A Premises affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation 4
119A Definitions 5
In this Division: 6
affected residential premises means any residential premises that are listed on 7
the Register, but does not include any premises of a class that is excluded from 8
this definition by the regulations. 9
loose-fill asbestos insulation means loose-fill amosite or crocidolite asbestos 10
used as ceiling insulation. 11
Register means the register required to be maintained under section 119B. 12
residential premises means any building that is wholly or partly used (or is 13
wholly or partly designed, constructed or adapted for use) as a place of 14
residence. 15
119B Register 16
(1) The Secretary is to maintain a register of residential premises that contain or 17
have contained loose-fill asbestos insulation. 18
(2) Residential premises are to be listed on the Register if the Secretary is satisfied 19
that the presence of loose-fill asbestos insulation at the premises has been 20
verified in accordance with the regulations. 21
(3) Other residential premises may be listed on the Register in the circumstances 22
prescribed by the regulations. 23
(4) The Register is to include the following particulars in relation to residential 24
premises that are listed on the Register: 25
(a) the address and title particulars (such as the Lot and DP numbers) of the 26
land where the premises are located, 27
(b) any other particulars that are prescribed by the regulations. 28
(5) The names of owners or occupiers of residential premises who are individuals 29
are not to be included on the Register. 30
(6) The Register is to be in the form determined by the Secretary and is to be 31
available for inspection by the public. 32
(7) The Secretary is to remove the following particulars relating to affected 33
residential premises from the Register: 34
(a) all particulars if the Secretary is satisfied that the premises have been 35
demolished and the land on which the premises were erected has been 36
remediated, 37
(b) any particulars that the Secretary is satisfied: 38
(i) are false, erroneous or misleading, or 39
(ii) have been erroneously included in the Register, 40
(c) any other particulars in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations. 41
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Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
Schedule 1 Amendment of Home Building Act 1989 No 147
119C Warning signs 1
(1) The owner of affected residential premises must ensure that a compliant 2
warning sign is displayed at any place at the premises that is prescribed by the 3
regulations. 4
(2) This section does not require the owner of a lot in a strata scheme to display a 5
compliant warning sign at any part of the premises that is not comprised in the 6
lot. 7
(3) If affected residential premises are the subject of a strata scheme, the owners 8
corporation for the scheme must ensure that a compliant warning sign is 9
displayed at any place at the premises that is prescribed by the regulations and 10
consists of common property. 11
(4) A person must not remove, or cause or permit to be removed, a compliant 12
warning sign from affected residential premises. 13
(5) Despite subsection (4), a compliant warning sign may be removed from 14
affected residential premises by a person authorised under section 126 (1) to 15
enter the premises. 16
(6) The Secretary may, by order published in the Gazette, extend the application 17
of this section to any premises specified in the order if the Secretary is satisfied 18
that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the premises contain loose-fill 19
asbestos insulation. 20
(7) In this section: 21
affected residential premises includes any premises in relation to which an 22
order under this section is in force. 23
compliant warning sign means a sign about loose-fill asbestos insulation that 24
complies with any requirements (including any requirements about its display) 25
prescribed by the regulations. 26
lot, owners corporation and strata scheme have the same meanings as in the 27
Strata Schemes Management Act 1996. 28
Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 29
50 penalty units in any other case. 30
Page 4
Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Duties Act 1997 No 123
Schedule 2 Amendment of Duties Act 1997 No 123 1
[1] Chapter 2, Part 8, Division 5 2
Insert after section 104C: 3
Division 5 Concession for persons who have transferred property 4
affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation to State 5
104D Definitions 6
(1) In this Division: 7
authority of the State has the same meaning as in the Land Acquisition (Just 8
Terms Compensation) Act 1991. 9
owner, in relation to residential property, means: 10
(a) a registered proprietor of the property, or 11
(b) in the case of a land use entitlement--a person having ownership of 12
shares or units through which the entitlement is conferred. 13
residential property means: 14
(a) a parcel of land (including a strata lot) on which a dwelling is erected, 15
or on which there is a building under construction that, when completed, 16
will constitute a dwelling, or 17
(b) a land use entitlement--if it entitles the holder of the land use 18
entitlement to occupy a building, or part of a building, as a separate 19
dwelling. 20
vacant residential land means a parcel of vacant land that is zoned or 21
otherwise designated for use under an environmental planning instrument 22
(within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979) 23
for residential or principally for residential purposes. 24
(2) For the purposes of this Division, residential property is LFAI-affected if the 25
dwelling erected on the land comprised in the residential property (or to which 26
the residential property relates) contains, or is part of a building containing, 27
loose-fill asbestos insulation (within the meaning of Division 1A of Part 8 of 28
the Home Building Act 1989). 29
104E Concession 30
(1) The purchaser or transferee under an agreement for the sale or transfer, or the 31
transfer, of residential property or vacant residential land is entitled to be 32
granted a duty concession under this Division in respect of the agreement or 33
transfer if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied that: 34
(a) the purchaser or transferee (or at least one of the purchasers or 35
transferees if there is more than one purchaser or transferee) is the 36
owner of residential property that will be acquired by an authority of the 37
State (or was the owner from whom the authority of the State acquired 38
the property), and 39
(b) the authority of the State has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 40
(or has acquired) that residential property because it is or was 41
LFAI-affected. 42
(2) Despite subsection (1) (a), the Chief Commissioner may grant a duty 43
concession under this Division to a purchaser or transferee who is not or was 44
not (at any time or at the applicable time) the owner (or the only owner) of the 45
LFAI-affected property concerned if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied that 46
Page 5
Home Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Bill 2015 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Duties Act 1997 No 123
it would be fair and reasonable for the duty concession to be granted to the 1
purchaser or transferee. 2
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the Chief Commissioner may be satisfied that 3
it would be fair and reasonable for a duty concession to be granted to a 4
purchaser or transferee who is or was an owner, but not the only owner, of the 5
LFAI-affected property concerned if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied that 6
each other owner has consented to the making of the application for the duty 7
concession. 8
(4) If a duty concession is granted under this Division in respect of an agreement 9
or transfer, any ad valorem duty chargeable under this Chapter on the 10
agreement or transfer is to be reduced by the amount of ad valorem duty that 11
(but for section 308) would be (or would have been) chargeable to the 12
authority of the State on: 13
(a) the transfer to the authority of the State of the LFAI-affected property 14
concerned, or 15
(b) any other dutiable transaction effected to acquire the LFAI-affected 16
property. 17
(5) Duty cannot be reduced under this Division to less than $0. 18
(6) Only one duty concession may be granted under this Division for each 19
acquisition of LFAI-affected property by an authority of the State. 20
104F Application 21
(1) An application for a duty concession under this Division is to be made to the 22
Chief Commissioner in the approved form and contain, or be accompanied by, 23
such particulars and other information as the Chief Commissioner may 24
require. 25
(2) The Chief Commissioner may at any time (whether before or after the 26
approval of an application) require the applicant or applicants to provide such 27
further information as the Chief Commissioner may consider necessary for the 28
proper administration of the concession scheme established by this Division. 29
[2] Schedule 1 Savings, transitional and other provisions 30
Insert at the end of the Schedule, with appropriate Part and clause numbering: 31
Part Provision consequent on enactment of Home 32
Building and Duties Amendment (Loose-fill 33
Asbestos Insulation Affected Premises) Act 2015 34
Availability of duty concession 35
A purchaser or transferee under an agreement or transfer is entitled to a duty 36
concession under Division 5 of Part 8 of Chapter 2, in respect of the agreement 37
or transfer, only if the agreement is entered into, or the transfer occurs, on or 38
after the commencement of that Division. 39
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