State and Territory Governments will be requested to take a sympathetic approach to the unique circumstances of military service when assessing applications for the First Home Owners Grant.

Commenting on the case of a Gulf War veteran who had been fined by the Northern Territory Government because he could not occupy his home while deployed on short notice for operational service, Minister Assisting the Minister of Defence Mal Brough, said the State and Territory Governments should recognise that sometimes members of the ADF will be posted and may not be able to meet all terms of the grant.

“That simply requires a bit of flexibility and commonsense and I will be writing to the relevant Governments asking them to reconsider their guidelines to account for anybody who may not be able to comply with all rules as a result of their service,” he said.

“The rules are a matter for the respective State and Territory Governments and the arrangements between any home purchaser and those Governments is a matter for those parties alone.

“However, ADF service and operational service often requires short notice postings and some rules relating to owner occupation in those cases may not be achievable.”

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