National Rental Affordability Scheme

The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS or the Scheme), which commenced in 2008, aims to increase the supply of new and affordable rental dwellings by providing an annual financial incentive for up to ten years. This incentive is issued to housing providers to provide affordable rental dwellings at least 20 per cent below market rates.

Up to 38,000 NRAS properties will be delivered in the Scheme and will continue to be rented for up to 10 years provided they continue to meet eligibility requirements. There are no further application rounds planned for NRAS.

There are 133 housing providers, including property developers, not-for-profit organisations and community housing providers, participating in the Scheme throughout Australia. Information for NRAS approved participants is available on the NRAS approved participants and tenancy managers page.

Individual private investors also participate in the Scheme either as part of a joint venture arrangement with an NRAS approved participant, or by purchasing NRAS dwellings from an approved participant. Information for individual investors is available on the NRAS Investors page.

The target group for NRAS is low to moderate income Australians – people who may find it hard to pay market rental rates. Potential and existing NRAS tenants must meet income eligibility criteria and be assessed by the approved participant or the tenancy manager of a particular property, not by the Australian Government. Information for existing and potential NRAS tenants is available on the NRAS Tenants page.

More information about the Scheme is available on the NRAS resources, documents and information page.

Latest news and events

30 January 2018 – Update to 2016-17 payments processing

As at 30 January 2018, 124 approved participants have notified the Department that their Statements of Compliance (SOCs) are ready for assessment. Of these, 124 approved participants have now been assessed and paid, in total or part, resulting in 34,060 incentives issued (100 per cent) of all SOCs paid.

Please note that the Department has been processing and issuing incentives for approved participants based on the date the Department was advised they were ready for assessment.
As the Department’s relationship with approved participants relates to their business affairs, investors should discuss the status of the SOC process with respect to their dwelling with their approved participant.

29 January 2018 – Update to the NRAS Explanatory Guide

The NRAS Explanatory Guide has been updated to reflect the recent amendments to the NRAS Regulations. The NRAS Explanatory Guide can be found on the Information on NRAS legislation, regulation and policy guidelines page.

21 December 2017 – Further Amendments to the NRAS Regulations to place obligations on Approved Participants

Amendments to the NRAS Regulations have been introduced to place new obligations on approved participants to provide additional protections for the NRAS investors.

It is important to note the new obligations inserted by the amendments will only apply prospectively, that is, they will apply in relation to an investor who enters into a contractual arrangement with an approved participant on or after 21 December 2017.

21 December 2017 – Independent inquiry

On 14 December 2017, the Government announced an independent investigation into complaints against approved participants in the Scheme.

The investigation is in direct response to the concerns raised by NRAS investors that include delays in passing on incentives and the business practices of some approved participants.

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

20 November 2017 - Amendments to the NRAS Regulations to create protections for investors

The National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 have been amended to provide, for the first time, protections for NRAS investors.

The amendments introduce a power for the Secretary of the Department of Social Services (or her Delegate) to transfer an allocation attached to an approved rental dwelling from one approved participant to another, if certain grounds exist. These grounds include, but are not limited to, instances where approved participants are not passing on the NRAS incentive to the NRAS investor (where there is a contractual arrangement to do so) within a reasonable time of receiving the incentive, or where the actions of an approved participant have contravened a consumer protection law in relation to the NRAS allocation.

The transfer can be initiated by the Department or at the request of an investor.

The information sheet Investor Protection Regulatory Amendments describes the amendments in detail.

See also the information sheet Process for an investor to request a transfer of an NRAS allocation to another approved participant.

11 October 2017 – Update to 2016-17 payments processing

As at 11 October 2017, 123 approved participants have notified the Department that their Statements of Compliance (SOCs) are ready for assessment. Of these, 120 approved participants have now been assessed and paid, in total or part, resulting in 32,515 incentives issued (95 per cent) of all SOCs paid; 105 approved participants have had their SOCs fully assessed and paid.

Please note that the Department has been processing and issuing incentives for approved participants based on the date the Department was advised they were ready for assessment.

As the Department’s relationship with approved participants relates to their business affairs, investors should discuss the status of the SOC process with respect to their dwelling with their approved participant.

15 September 2017 – NRAS Incentive claim report

The Department has published a new report for investors to update them on their incentive claim for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 NRAS years. The reports can be found at NRAS Investors.

14 September 2017 – Amendments to the NRAS Act

Amendments to the National Rental Affordability Scheme Act 2008 were introduced in Parliament on 14 September 2017 as part of the Social Services Legislative Amendment (Housing Affordability) Bill 2017. For more information in relation to the amendments, please refer to the following letter.

21 August 2017 –Information sheets

The Department has published a new information sheet regarding claiming the NRAS tax offset. The information sheet sets out who is eligible to claim the Commonwealth component of the NRAS incentive as an RTO from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) through the income tax system. It also provides guidance on the information the eligible person or entity will need to provide to the ATO to support their claim.

Please also note the updated version of the information sheet Amendments to the NRAS Regulations – Vacancy Period. There was a minor typographical error in the original version where the last example in the table on page two recorded the cumulative vacancy as 175 days instead of 185 days. The minor typographical error has now been corrected.

28 July 2017 – The NRAS Regulator Performance Framework Annual Self-Assessment Report 2015-2016

The Australian Government Regulator Performance Framework was developed to encourage regulators to undertake their functions with the minimum impact necessary to achieve regulatory objectives.

The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) Regulator Performance Framework (NRAS and the Regulatory Performance Framework) was introduced in July 2015 and outlines key measures against six key performance areas in accordance with the Regulator Performance Framework.

The National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulator Performance Framework Annual Self-Assessment Report 2015-2016 outlines performance against these measures for the 2015-16 financial year and highlights areas where progress has been made against the performance indicators, as well as areas where further work is required.

14 July 2017 – Amendments to the NRAS Regulations

The NRAS Regulations have been amended to address provisions that result in disproportionate penalties for non-compliance with certain conditions, the consequences of which are contrary to the intent of the Scheme. The amendments represent the first stage in a staged approach to amending the NRAS legislative framework to provide for the efficient administration of the Scheme until it ceases operation in 2026-27.

The first amendment introduces greater flexibility around issuing proportional incentives for dwellings with vacancy periods across two NRAS years. This amendment will come into effect as of 15 July 2017, and will apply retrospectively as of the NRAS year that commenced on 1 May 2016. For more information, please see the information sheet Amendments to NRAS Regulations – Vacancy Periods.

The second amendment gives the Secretary the discretion to amend the conditions of a reservation in relation to the size of (or number of bedrooms in) a dwelling after a provisional allocation has been made. This amendment will come into effect as of 15 July 2017, and will apply in relation to reservations of allocation that were made before 15 July 2017. For more information, please see the information sheet Amendments to NRAS Regulations – Bedroom Size.

About NRAS

• About the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS)

NRAS Frequently Asked Questions

• Frequently asked questions about NRAS

Contact details

If you have any feedback, concerns or complaints about the administration or delivery of NRAS or actions of NRAS Approved Participants, please contact the NRAS Helpdesk.

Email: nras@dss.gov.au

Last updated: 2 February 2018 - 3:57pm