Concession or exemption for property in Melbourne’s Capital City Zone 

Key information

This temporary land transfer duty concession and exemption applied to contracts entered into between 21 May 2021 and 30 June 2022. 

The relief applied to properties that met all the following conditions:

• Dutiable value of up to $1 million.
• Residential property with a new home on the land at the time of the transfer.
• Located in the Capital City Zone but outside the City of Melbourne.
• A genuine purchase where the buyer pays for the property (not a gift).

The relief was:

• a 50% concession for new residential properties (contracts entered into between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022)
• a full exemption for new residential properties that remained unsold for 12 months or more after completion (contracts entered into between 21 May 2021 and 30 June 2022).

The 50% concession applied after all other eligible benefits were applied. This includes the first home buyer duty concession, the principal place of residence concession (including any off-the-plan concession) and the pensioner and concession cardholder duty reduction.

The relief does not apply if the transfer qualified for the regional commercial, industrial and extractive industries property concession.

Location within the Capital City Zone

Your property is within the Capital City Zone for this relief if, on this map, it is: 

• in the light-blue shaded zone
• south of the West Gate Freeway
• marked as CCZ1.

You may need to zoom in on the map to see these details. 

If your property is in the City of Melbourne, you may be entitled to the City of Melbourne exemption or concession.

Full exemption for unsold properties

To obtain the exemption, the new residential property must have remained unsold for 12 months or more. You must provide a copy of an occupancy permit for the new home issued at least 12 months before the contract was entered into.

The property had to be a new home and must not have been previously sold or occupied as a residence or for short-term accommodation since the occupancy permit was issued.

Off-the-plan purchases

If the off-the-plan concession was applied, it may reduce the dutiable value of the property to $1 million or less. 

The Capital City Zone relief only applied after the off-the-plan residence requirement was met. At least one purchaser must have used the property as their home for a continuous period of 12 months, starting within 12 months of possession of the property. Duty must have been paid within 30 days of settlement. 

Once the residence requirement is met, you can contact us to apply the relief to your transfer. 

To apply, applicants had to email electroniclodgement@sro.vic.gov.au and include:

• that you are applying for the Capital City Zone duty relief for an off‑the‑plan purchase
• property address and volume and folio
• your name
• SRO reference number (shown on your Duty Statement)
• evidence that you have met the residence requirement, such as utility bills for the relevant 12 months.

Residential property definition

Residential property is land capable of being used solely or primarily for residential purposes and that may lawfully be used in that way.

This means the land must have had a completed home that you could lawfully live in at the time of the transfer. If the land was a mixed-use property (e.g. a milk bar and house), the primary use must have been residential.

New home definition

A ‘new home’ means the same as it does under the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000. The definition includes a newly built home and a land and building package. 

The home cannot have been previously sold or occupied as a place of residence or used for short-term accommodation.

Applying for the relief

You or your representative must have provided information about the transaction when lodging the Digital Duties Form. We use the information disclosed in this form to automatically apply the relief if all eligibility criteria are met. 

Foreign purchasers

Foreign purchasers were also entitled to the relief if the transfer meets the eligibility requirements. However, the relief did not apply to the foreign purchaser additional duty component of the transaction.