The amended regulations establish the process for compulsorily transferring an allocation from one approved participant to another.
The grounds under which the Secretary may transfer an allocation include where:
a) the approved participant fails to comply with a condition of the allocation, which includes a new condition of allocation which prohibits an approved participant from providing false or misleading information to the Department, or failing to provide information to the Department it knows or ought reasonably to know is relevant
b) the approved participant fails to comply with its obligations in relation to incentives, including a requirement to pass on the incentive to the investor where there is a contractual arrangement to do so (refer page 3 for full details of approved participants’ obligations in relation to incentives)
c) the approved participant provides false or misleading information about the Scheme to an investor in relation to the investor’s approved rental dwelling
d) the conduct of the approved participant in relation to the allocation has contravened a consumer protection law
e) the approved participant claims the tax offset in respect of an approved rental dwelling to which it was not entitled
f) the approved participant is likely to be de-registered as a company by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or a court has ordered the de-registration
g) the approved participant becomes bankrupt
h) any application under the Regulations by the approved participant includes false or misleading information or fails to include information the approved participant knew or ought reasonably to have known was relevant.
The grounds for transfer (excluding (f) and (g)) will apply regardless of whether the conduct giving rise to the grounds occurred before, on or after the date the amendments commence.
The grounds for transferring an allocation to another approved participant are also grounds for the revocation of an allocation.
The grounds for revocation (excluding (f) and (g)) will apply regardless of whether the conduct giving rise to the grounds mentioned in these paragraphs occurred before, on or after the date the amendments commence.
NRAS INVESTOR PROTECTION REGULATORY AMENDMENTSLoddon Mallee Services Limited trading as Haven; Home, Safe (“HHS”) is an Approved Participant in the NRAS Scheme.
We are a not-for-profit community based charity.
In 2005, we became Victoria’s first registered Affordable Housing Association, creating new housing options for those in our community seeking affordable housing alternative.
Separate to our NRAS compliance operations we provide an integrated continuum of housing services and support programs. As is the nature of such programs, a collaborative approach to service delivery is essential and Haven; Home, Safe’s strong links to service providers, our customer base, and investors has laid foundation to a great deal of respect and recognition within the sector and ensured our services reach a wide and diverse range of people in need.
Our clients and tenants are at the heart of what we do.
We will endeavour to provide the best service possible so you can improve your circumstances, and have a place to call home.
For more information, please refer to the link below.
We are the second largest Approved Participant under the National Rental Affordability Scheme in Victoria. The majority of our incentives are attached to dwellings owned by private investors however a proportion are allocated to properties that we own.
Refer to the link below for further information.
Haven; Home Safe is responsible for managing the compliance obligations for 1,138 NRAS dwellings on behalf of the investor and also features in the top 10 for Australia wide list (Source: DSS’s Quarterly Performance Report, 31 December 2017). This constitutes 11% of NRAS allocations in Victoria (3% Australia wide).
Within Haven; Home, Safe, we have a dedicated NRAS team comprising of a Program Manager, a Senior Compliance Officer and 5 Compliance Officers with collective NRAS experience/expertise of around 12 years.
Central to our philosophy is our total commitment to investors’ needs. We put people first, especially our investors. We believe it’s what sets us apart.
We have in place robust systems and processes including well documented internal controls framework to achieve this. We do what we say and always make a difference.
At Haven; Home, Safe, it is our mission to ensure that our investors receive their incentives in a timely manner. Our policy is to comply with the “Act” and the “Regulations” and to pass on the incentives to the investors within a 30-day time frame of receiving the incentives.
We build and maintain strong partnerships with the property managers and other key stakeholders so that our investors’ needs are consistently met at all times. We have built great relationships with over 40 different property managers.
Since the start of the NRAS program, the number of property managers has increased rapidly due to our flexible approach in allowing our investors to choose their own property managers. We have proactively built great relationships with the new property managers as we are fully aware that this is fundamental to our “putting investors first” model.
We do things differently to get the best results. Our holistic and personalised service approach goes beyond mere compliance of the NRAS Regulations to include educational workshops with the property managers to continuously educate them on the rules underpinning NRAS and an on- going communication with our investors which includes an implementation of a user friendly NRAS website.
The National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 (the Regulations) have been amended on 18 November 2017 to create protections for investors of approved rental dwellings in NRAS. Refer to the ‘Investor Protection Regulatory Amendments’ information sheet for more information. It is attached here.
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. The transfer can be initiated by the Secretary or at the request of an investor.
The grounds on which the Secretary can make a decision to transfer an allocation include:
- the approved participant has failed to comply with a condition of the allocation
- the approved participant has failed to pass on the NRAS incentive to the investor, where there is a contractual arrangement to do so, within a reasonable time after receiving the incentive
- the approved participant provided false or misleading information about the Scheme to the investor in relation to the investor’s approved rental dwelling
- the conduct of the approved participant in relation to the allocation has contravened a consumer protection law
- the approved participant claimed the tax offset for the investor’s approved rental dwelling, when it was not entitled to do so
- the approved participant is likely to be de-registered as a company by the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission or a court has ordered the de-registration - the approved participant becomes bankrupt
- any application under the Regulations by the relevant approved participant included false or misleading
information or fails to include information the approved participant knew or ought reasonably to have known was relevant
The Investor must complete the ‘Investor Application to Transfer an Allocation to another Approved Participant’ form in order to make an application to transfer the allocation attached to their approved rental dwelling to another approved participant. This form must be used in conjunction with the ‘Guidelines for Completing an Investor Application to Transfer an Allocation to another Approved Participant’.
Click on the link below to access the Transfer an Allocation to another Approved Participant form and the relevant guidelines.
This is the step one of the process.
Refer to the Guidelines for completing an Investor Application to Transfer an Allocation to another Approved Participant. Also attached.
Haven; Home Safe’s NRAS team can also provide assistance in completing the form. Please contact the team on
T: 03 9479 0700 (select option 3)
E: nrasadmin@hhs.org.au
Step 2 – the assessment of application by the Department and notification of a proposed transfer
Step 3 -investor nomination
Step 4– Agreement from the nominated approved participant
Step 5 -Decision to transfer the allocation to another approved participant
Please refer to the Attached NRAS Information Sheet – Process for an investor to request a transfer for further details.
We currently have a presence in Metropolitan and in regional Victoria. If your property is in Victoria, give us a call. We are happy to assist you. We think that being in Victoria enables us to be close to your property and service your needs well.
Haven; Home Safe (Loddon Mallee Housing) is the second largest Approved Participant within Victoria with 1,138 incentives and also features in the top 10 for Australia wide list (Source: DSS’s Quarterly Performance Report 31 December 2017). This constitutes 11% of NRAS allocations in Victoria (3% Australia wide).
Within Haven; Home, Safe, we have a dedicated NRAS team comprising of a Program Manager, a Senior Compliance Officer and 5 Compliance Officers with collective NRAS experience/expertise of around 12 years.
Central to our philosophy is our total commitment to investors’ needs. We put people first, especially our investors. We believe it’s what sets us apart.
We have in place robust systems and processes including well documented internal controls framework to achieve this. We do what we say and always make a difference.
At Haven; Home, Safe, it is our mission to ensure that our investors receive their incentives in a timely manner. Our policy is to comply with the “Act” and the “Regulations” and to pass on the incentives to the investors within a 30-day time frame of receiving the incentives.
We build and maintain strong partnerships with the property managers, DSS and the DHHS so that our investors’ needs are consistently met at all times. We have built great relationships with over 40 different property managers.
Since the start of the NRAS program, the number of property managers has increased rapidly due to our flexible approach in allowing our investors to choose their own property managers. We have actively built great relationships with the new property managers as we are fully aware that this is fundamental to our “putting investors first” model.
We do things differently to get the best results. Our holistic and personalised service approach goes beyond mere compliance of the NRAS Regulations to include educational workshops with the property managers to continuously educate them on the rules underpinning NRAS and an on- going communication with our investors which includes an implementation of a user friendly NRAS website.