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

asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice, on 4 April 2011:

With reference to the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS):

(1)   What is the name of the unit within the department which advises the Treasurer on the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), and how many people is it comprised of.

(2)   Does the department still consider the NRAS program to be undersubscribed.

(3)   What industry consultation took place prior to the providing of advice to the Government that the target should be capped at 30 000.

(4)   How does the department work with the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities on NRAS.

(5)   Given that, in November 2008, the Government introduced a transitional safety net to cover charities participating in NRAS, targeting charitable organisations that participate during the establishment phase of NRAS (dwellings built during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 financial years), thereby expiring at the end of that establishment phase:

  (a)   what is the current situation for charitable organisations participating in NRAS; and

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

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

Various units within the Treasury advise the Treasurer on different elements of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS):

Based on current data (March 2011) NRAS will achieve the revised 35,000 incentives by 2013-2014 or 50,000 incentives over the extended time period.

Treasury has consulted industry in relation to various housing matters, which included NRAS.

Depending on the specific issue, the Treasury works with the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) in a number of ways.

The November 2008 amendment to the Extension of Charitable Purposes Act 2004 related specifically to stage one (the establishment phase) of NRAS. However, as a result of the 2008 High Court decision (Federal Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia v Word Investments Limited [2008] HCA55), a charity is able to undertake unrelated commercial activity. The Government announced in the 2011-12 Budget that it will reform the tax concessions provided to NFP entities to ensure they are targeted only at those activities that directly further not-for-profit entities altruistic purposes. The Government has announced that the existing 50,000 NRAS allocations will be unaffected by the measure. Therefore, charitable organisations can fully participate in NRAS, without any further amendments to the law.