00:00Determined to provide for herself and her kids, for single parent Kathy Whedon, the
00:07ACT Government's Home Buyer Concession Scheme looked like a lifeline.
00:11I'd gone through a family law separation and had consent orders ratified through the
00:16courts and so I genuinely believed I was eligible on those grounds.
00:20Eighteen months after getting a concession and buying a home, she received sudden and
00:25brutal notice that she wasn't eligible.
00:28What did the Revenue Office claim that you owed?
00:31Somewhere in the vicinity of $50,000.
00:33As well as the debt, Kathy objected to the conduct of the Revenue Office.
00:38The correspondence that was sent out was absolutely appalling.
00:42You know, the way they spoke in that correspondence, the way that made individuals feel, the complete
00:47lack of concern, regard for people's wellbeing.
00:53Despite having provided reams of information explaining her situation, her appeals were denied.
00:58You know, you're 18 months into a healing journey coming out of not great circumstances and
01:03it takes you straight back.
01:04In the middle of this year, Kathy paid the debt in full.
01:08If you live in endless hope, it just puts you in a cycle of an emotional spiral.
01:14Today, Kathy's voice was heard, along with others, by an Assembly Committee inquiry into
01:20the scheme.
01:21I knew that I had no capacity to go anything further.
01:25The Government acknowledges parts of the program need to be fixed.
01:29We absolutely recognise that there have been some people who have had a really significant
01:33impact from the way that this process has been implemented.
01:36We're working on providing more reasons for decisions, be more trauma-informed in our approach
01:42and how we lay out those notices.
01:44Kathy is clear on what should come from the inquiry's report in December.
01:49I really hope that someone's going to be held to account.
01:52The ACT Revenue Office, and in fact the Minister's Office, can't pretend that they aren't aware
01:56of this.
01:57Calls for a fairer system in a tough housing market.
02:11All right.
02:20Thank you for joining us.
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