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National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2020

On 1 April 2020 the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2020 (2020 Regulations) came into effect replacing the 2008 Regulations that ceased operating under the sunsetting provisions in the Legislation Act 2003.

There are a number of new and updated provisions in the 2020 Regulations. These are summarised in the Regulations 2020 Summary of Changes document.

Notice of serious breach determination against National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) approved participant BRAL Investments Pty Ltd (BRAL)

Particulars of serious breach

On 16 September 2019, a Deputy Secretary of the Department of Social Services (the department) made an official determination that BRAL had committed a “serious breach” as set out at regulation 22BB(1)(b)(ii) of the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 (NRAS Regulations).

BRAL’s breach resulted from its failure to comply with an obligation to provide information to a gaining approved participant as requested by the Secretary of the department under regulation 22D(3) of the NRAS Regulations.

Consequences of serious breach determination

A determination under regulation 22BB(2)(b) that a “serious breach” has occurred means that any investor who owns an approved NRAS dwelling for which BRAL is the approved participant may make a request to transfer the NRAS allocation attached to that dwelling to another approved participant. Such a request must be in writing and addressed to the Secretary of the department. Written requests to transfer should be sent by email to nras@dss.gov.au.

In your written request to transfer please provide the following:

Note, you will not need to provide grounds for the transfer request as this is established by the serious breach determination.

Amendments to the NRAS Regulations to create additional protections for investors

The Australian Government amended the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 on 9 March 2019.  The amendments introduce a new compliance framework for approved participants including an approved participants code of conduct (the code of conduct).  Further information about the amendments is available.

For more information relating to the NRAS legislative framework please visit the NRAS Legislation, Resources and Reporting page.

Independent Inquiry

In December 2017, Deloitte was engaged by the Department of Social Services to investigate complaints from NRAS investors and applications made by investors to transfer the allocation attached to their rental dwelling to another approved participant. The Deloitte work was conducted in two stages, the first looking into complaints and the second assessing individual investor transfer applications.

In February 2018, Deloitte completed their Stage 1 report of an analysis of complaints about the conduct of approved participants in the NRAS. Deloitte found the Department’s responses to investor complaints accurately reflected the legislative and regulatory environment at the time. The Stage 1 report has not been made public.

The findings from Deloitte’s investigation of individual investor transfer applications have informed the Departments’ approach to assessing investor transfer applications. The Department is currently progressing these applications. Deloitte’s investigation of individual investor transfer applications has also not been made public.

Further details of the independent investigation are available on the Department’s website.

How do I apply for the allocation attached to my approved rental dwelling to be transferred to another approved participant?

Please complete the application form below to make an application to the Department to transfer your allocation to another approved participant. If you require any assistance completing the form, please contact nras@dss.gov.au

Form for investor requests for transfer

NRAS incentive claims report for investors

The Department has published a new report for investors to advise when incentive claims have been processed by the Department. The NRAS incentive claims report is available at the links below for the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 NRAS years.

Who can become an NRAS Investor

As announced in the 2014-15 Budget, there will be no further funding rounds or new allocations of NRAS incentives beyond those currently allocated in the Scheme and held by approved participants. This means the only dwellings eligible for NRAS incentives are those that have been or are currently being built by approved participants in the Scheme.

However, you may be involved in the Scheme as an investor by:

  • purchasing properties from approved participants as an individual or as part of a consortium arrangement (the list of approved participants can be found at NRAS Performance Reporting); or
  • purchasing an existing NRAS dwelling from a current NRAS investor.

Investors are encouraged to seek independent financial, legal and taxation advice before purchasing NRAS properties.

Information for Private Individual Investors

The information sheet below includes information for potential as well as existing NRAS investors. It also includes advice for investors who may be Centrelink or Child Support customers.

Consent to release information to investor’s forms

This form is required to seek an approved participant’s consent for the Department to release information about the incentive payment for the investor’s approved rental dwelling directly to an investor.

Contact information for State Offices

If you are seeking information relating to your NRAS state incentive payment, please contact the State Office Government Office relevant to the location of your NRAS dwelling.

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