Changes to lease variation fees, extended timelines for commence and completion charges and the release of civil works contracts in Canberra’s north are at the centre of a two-year stimulus package announced by the ACT government.
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Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the measures unveiled on Thursday would buffer Canberra’s building and construction industry during an expected period of decline caused by ongoing public sector job losses.
Welcomed by the Property Council and Master Builders Association as the first step to injecting millions to the ACT economy, the package includes civil works contracts for the greenfield suburb of Moncrieff, near Amaroo, being brought forward.
Works originally planned for a four-year period will be completed concurrently in the area, also providing a boost to housing supply.
Territory lease variation fees and remission schedules will be frozen at current rates until March 2016, while remission rates for non-codified variations will be doubled to 50 per cent.
Developers who incorporate high standards of sustainable design into housing projects will be eligible for a further 25 per cent remission rate.
Extension of time fees will only be applied to completion breaches from April 1, and not charged on the first four years.
Ms Gallagher said extension of time fees accrued for the period July 1 2012 to March 31 this year would be waived and some developers would be able to seek refunds for fees already paid in the same period.
A review of fees and government plans was announced in February and she said more efforts would come after the federal budget in May. The total package is worth about $13 million, while the Moncrieff civil works would cost an estimated $100 million to $150 million.
Legislation allowing identified priority projects, including a secure mental health unit for the ACT, will be brought to the Legislative Assembly later this month.
“We are going to look at our planning laws, but basically [the government will seek] the capacity to provide certainty about major projects or precincts where we want to see development go ahead and manage that in a particular way,” she said.
Ms Gallagher said the package had been developed in consultation with the Master Builders Association, Canberra Business Council, the Property Council, Housing Industry Association and the ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Property Council ACT executive director Catherine Carter said the extension of time for commence and complete fees and lease variation changes were much needed for the industry.
“We welcome the ACT Government’s focus on ensuring immediate short term relief to provide confidence and economic stimulus, and looking forward to continuing work on the detail and delivery, and to achieve long lasting reform,” she said.
Opposition planning spokesman Alistair Coe said some elements of the package came too late for business.
He described the package as an admission that government charges and regulations were ‘‘strangling Canberra builders’’.
‘‘The construction sector should not need a stimulus package; the sector simply needs the certainty and security of a level playing field with a reasonable level of government involvement,’’ Mr Coe said.