00:00 The Halls call it their $25,000 sink.
00:05 This is the little bit that the builder wouldn't do, can you see that?
00:08 And that's our ginormous sink.
00:10 The family lives in Leburn on the Southern Downs and applied for the Home Builder Grant.
00:15 Their builder couldn't install the sink they wanted, so they called in somebody else.
00:19 And because of that, their application was knocked back.
00:23 We've actually had to now borrow the money and refine it,
00:26 which means we're now paying interest on that $25,000 we thought we would be entitled to for the next 30 years.
00:35 It was a federal scheme, but run by the states.
00:38 To get the grant, you needed a comprehensive contract,
00:42 but it wasn't spelled out that you couldn't use more than one contractor.
00:47 Don Alexander's builder couldn't guarantee his foundations would be poured in time to get the grant,
00:52 so he got another company to do it. Halfway through the build, he learnt it made him ineligible.
00:59 I had to source money elsewhere to finish off the home more or less, yeah.
01:04 Several rejected applicants have appealed to the state's administrative tribunal.
01:08 Those cases have focused on what a comprehensive contract actually means.
01:13 Ignorance of the law is no excuse for most cases that come before the courts,
01:18 but in this case, it was a question of what are you ignorant about?
01:23 Mr Alexander appealed the decision to QCAT and lost.
01:27 His lawyer says he respectfully disagrees.
01:30 As to the vibe of Don's case, there was a significant opportunity to interpret that,
01:36 to look at the intent of the legislation.
01:38 The Queensland Revenue Office, which administers the funds,
01:41 says it can't accept applications that don't meet the Commonwealth's criteria.
01:46 There's no monetary value, no one gained anything out of it.
01:50 It's just a sink at the end of the day.
01:53 the day.
01:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments