NRAS Policy Guidelines 

Table of Contents

• Foreward
• i. Preface

Part 1 - General Information about the National Rental Affordability Scheme

• 1. What is the National Rental Affordability Scheme?
• 2. Legislation
• 2.1. The NRAS Act
• 2.2. The Consequential Amendments Act
• 2.3. The NRAS Regulations
• 3. Participants in the National Rental Affordability Scheme - Responsibilities and Obligations
• 3.1. Government
• 3.1.1. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)
• 3.1.2. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• 3.1.3. State and Territory Governments
• 3.2. Approved Participants
• 4. What is the National Rental Incentive?
• 4.1. Australian Government Contributions
• 4.2. State and Territory Contributions
• 4.2.1. Payment of Incentive contributions by State and Territory Governments
• 4.2.2. Other Forms of State and Territory Contributions
• 4.2.3. State and Territory Contributions in Advance
• 4.3. Tax Treatment of the National Rental Incentive
• 4.4. Duration of Payment of the National Rental Incentive

Part 2 - Information for Applicants for Incentives under the National Rental Affordability Scheme

• 5. Who can apply to be a Recipient of the National Rental Incentive?
• 5.1. Financial Institutions
• 5.2. Property Developers
• 5.3. Not for Profit Organisations
• 5.4. Local Governments
• 5.5. Small-Scale, Private Individual Investors
• 6. Applying for National Rental Incentives
• 6.1. Assessment Criteria
• 7. Rental Dwellings
• 7.1. Subsidiary dwellings
• 7.2. Dwellings for retirees or aged tenants
• 7.3. Student accommodation
• 7.4. Boarding houses
• 7.5. Studio and Dual Key Apartments
• 7.6. 'Granny Flats'
• 7.7. Relocatable homes
• 7.8. Rehabilitated dwellings
• 7.9. What Does Not Constitute a Rental Dwelling?

Part 3 - Information for Successful Applicants/Approved Participants in the National Rental Affordability Scheme

• 8. Receiving the National Rental Incentive
• 8.1. Mandatory conditions
• 8.2. Receiving the Australian Government component of the Incentive as a Refundable Tax Offset
• 8.3. Receiving the Australian Government component of the Incentive as a Payment
• 8.4. Receiving the State and Territory contributions of the Incentive as a Payment
• 8.5. Receiving the State and Territory contributions of the Incentive as in-kind support
• 8.6. Advertising
• 8.7. Reporting Requirements
• 8.7.1.Tenant Demographic Assessments
• 8.7.2.Non compliance with Scheme requirements
• 9. Rents
• 9.1. When is a Dwelling First Available for Rent?
• 9.2. Setting Rent Levels
• 9.3. Determining Market Value Rent
• 9.3.1.Independent written valuations
• 9.3.2. Variations to Market Rents
• 10. Tenancy Management
• 10.1. Tenancy and Property management organisations
• 10.2. Role of Tenancy Management Organisations
• 10.3. Leases
• 10.4. Tenants
• 10.4.1. Eligibility
• 10.4.2. Determining a household's income
• 10.4.3. Tenant Selection
• 10.5. Assessing Tenants' Continuing Eligibility
• 11. Transfer of allocations, substitutions of approved dwellings and changes to approved dwellings
• 11.1. Transferring the Incentive for Approved Rental Dwellings
• 11.2. Substituting an Approved Rental Dwelling
• 11.3. Changes to accepted offers
• 11.4. Changes to Charitable Organisations
• 12. Revocation of Allocations and Reserved Allocations
• 12.1. State and Territory Government Incentive Contributions
• 13. Evaluation Framework
• 13.1. Post Implementation Review (PIR)
• 13.2. Evaluation
• 14. Review Mechanisms
• 14.1. Administrative Decisions Judicial Review Act
• 14.2. Independent merits review of the Secretary's decisions under Regulations 22, 28 and 30(1)
• 15. Glossary of Terms