Queensland stamp duty changes

The Queensland Government has announced a range of new concessions will apply to real estate transactions on or after May 1, instead of July 1 as originally planned.

People buying a first home worth up to $250,000 will pay no stamp duty and no mortgage duty - a saving of $3000.

The amendments will:

• Raise the threshold for the stamp duty rebate from $80,000 to $250,000.

• Raise the First-Home Buyers Mortgage Duty exemption from $100,000 to $250,000.

• Introduce a new incremental rebate system for purchases above $250,000, phasing out the stamp duty rebate at $500,000 instead of $160,000.

Treasurer Mr Mackenroth said legislative amendments would be introduced into Parliament on March 18 and become the second Bill to be debated after the controversial land-clearing reforms.

Mr Mackenroth said the amendments would provide relief to "almost all" first-home purchases and housing prices would be monitored to determine whether the thresholds should be raised.

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2004 Financial Services Forum

Our Financial Services Forum will be held on 17 and 18 June, 2004 at Coogee. Download our early notification flyer.
NRO's can use this to help satisfy their training requirements.
Register to be sent the final conference brochure.

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Can banks grow beyond M&A?
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"Can banks grow beyond M&A?" from McKinsey explores the more complex agenda bank managers now face: boosting productivity and seeking out underserved customers. Such strategies will become critical as electronic payments cannibalize check-processing revenues and nonbank financial specialists continue to lure away the best customers.

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Warning on "wrap loans"
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The Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned consumers to make sure they understand all the implications of buying a home under a 'wrap loan' or 'vendor finance' scheme.

'Wrap loans' happen when a property is purchased by an individual or a company, and they then on-sell it at a profit to people who may not be able to get a loan from a bank.

The 'wrapper' obtains a mortgage from a bank and gets the consumer to repay it through the 'wrapper' at a higher rate - and keeps the difference. Because the consumer does not have a direct relationship with the bank, if things go wrong, the Consumer Credit Code may not apply.

Advertising for these schemes can include phrases like "No deposit? No worries" or "Can't get finance? We can help you".

Under a 'wrap loan' scheme, purchasers do not legally own the property until the final instalment on the loan is paid. "If the consumer misses even one payment on a loan of this type, they can be left with nothing," Fair Trading says.

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Rural/remote banking services report released
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On 15 January 2004, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, published its report ‘Money Matters in the Bush’, on the level of banking and financial services available to people living in rural, regional and remote Australia and its Supplementary Report on ATM fees.

The major recommendations of the report call for:

1. improved customer access to trained bank officers with local knowledge, to overcome the breakdown in the customer/bank relationship;
2. banks to provide more effective education and training programs in the use of new technology, such as internet and telephone banking, especially to ensure older and indigenous Australians have the skills, confidence and motivation to use these technologies;
3. a review of the Rural Transaction Centre Program to enhance its success;
4. financial institutions to make greater use of Australia Post’s Giropost;
5. the introduction of industry standards for electronic banking in remote Australia;
6. the protection against unreasonable differential rural foreign ATM fees in areas where there is only a foreign ATM;
7. the Branch Closure Protocol to incorporate comprehensive community consultation, a community impact statement, six months notice and cost free transfer of accounts into its provisions;
8. improved portability of accounts between financial institutions, especially in the situation of branch closures;
9. measures to be taken to remove unnecessary regulatory impediments that prevent smaller approved deposit taking institutions from expanding into rural areas;
10. a comprehensive program to improve the financial literacy of indigenous Australians in remote areas of Australia;
11. improved consumer protection measures regarding bank account administration for isolated people;
12. the refinement of APRA’s Points of Presence Database and measures taken to ensure proper analysis; and
13. the adaptation to Australia of overseas measures to encourage banks to be more involved as invigorators of the economic life of communities in rural, regional and remote Australia.

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