This matter involved a dispute over whether an applicant for a First Home Owner Grant had satisfied the residence requirement in s12(1) of the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 (Vic) (the Act) – to occupy the property as her principal place of residence (PPR) for a continuous period of at least six months commencing within the relevant period.
The applicant admitted she vacated the premises one week before the expiry of six months, claiming this was an “honest oversight”; and because she had experienced “mortgage stress”. In terms of occupation, there was no evidence of water consumption, nor evidence that electricity or gas were connected to the premises. There was also little indication that the applicant slept at the premises and she conceded she had performed the majority of her domestic tasks at her parents’ premises.
On 30 August 2011, the Tribunal decided in favour of the Commissioner, concluding the applicant did not reside at the premises during the relevant time and did not fulfil the criteria in s12 (1) of the Act.