An Illawarra couple who hoped to claim $7000 from the NSW government when they moved from Horsley to Albion Park have taken the state to court over a rule change that caused them to miss out on the money.
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Phillip and Donna Spargo sold their Horsley home and moved about 10kilometres to Propane Street, Albion Park, believing they would receive a grant under the government’s regional relocation scheme, according to a judgment handed down this week in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The grants program has since been deemed unsuccessful and will be officially axed at the end of this month.
Under the original terms of the scheme, residents from ‘‘metropolitan’’ areas in Wollongong could claim the grant if they moved to any regional area – such as Shellharbour or Kiama.
However, due to criticism that some people were claiming money for moving just a few kilometres into neighbouring areas, the government amended the laws to require grant recipients to move at least 100kilometres.
The changes were passed in October 2013, and came into force on January 1 this year.
The Spargos told the court they exchanged contracts for the Albion Park home on December 16, last year, before completing their purchase on January 17.
The chief commissioner of state revenue received their grant application on January 31, after which the application was refused.
The Spargos claimed these circumstances were unfair and had left them out of pocket, with Mr Spargo saying the application form did not include any reference to the 100kilometres rule and he could not find any mention on the new requirement in online searches.
Thus he bought the new home believing he would receive $7000, the court heard.
But the tribunal upheld the commissioner’s decision, saying the date the sale was completed, January 17, was relevant to the application, and was after the new 100kilometres requirements had come into effect.