A number of options are available to assist you with paying your GAIC liability.
Deferral
You may elect to defer your GAIC liability relating to land. This election must be made within three months after the dutiable transaction and prior to the GAIC payment’s due date.
Staged payment
For a subdivision of land or building works, land owners can apply to pay their GAIC liability in stages during the development period. This option is also available to someone who has deferred their GAIC liability and subsequently subdivides or conducts building works in relation to the land.
Approved staged payment arrangements are subject to specific conditions.
Work-in-kind agreements
If you are liable to pay GAIC, you can enter into a work-in-kind agreement with the Minister for Planning. Under this agreement, you agree to provide land and/or works (construction of state infrastructure) instead of a cash payment to meet your GAIC liability.
Learn more about work-in-kind agreements
GAIC Hardship Relief Board
If you are suffering financial hardship from the imposition of the GAIC, you can apply to the GAIC Hardship Relief Board (the Board) for relief. You cannot apply if you have deferred the whole or part of the liability.
The person liable to pay the GAIC must lodge a written application for relief. The application form is available from the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) and must be lodged with the VPA or us. All applications must be made before the day on which the GAIC is due and payable.
Depending on the circumstances, the Board may accept late applications relating to a subdivision or a building permit.
Note: You cannot apply for a reduction or exemption for a deferred GAIC.
In limited circumstances, a vendor may apply to the Board for relief before the settlement of a contract of sale if the contract was entered into before 1 December 2009.
The Board will issue a notice of determination on the relief application, either refusing the application, reducing the liability, exempting the liability or extending the due date for payment. The determination may specify conditions. If you do not meet those conditions, the whole of any unpaid GAIC liability, plus interest, will become due for immediate payment.
Please refer to the Board’s information sheet for more details and examples of hardship relief.
Relief granted for exceptional circumstances
You may apply to the Governor in Council for a reduction of or exemption from your GAIC liability in exceptional circumstances. An application must be made with the Planning Minister before the day on which the GAIC is due and payable. You cannot apply if you have deferred the whole or part of the liability.
In exceptional circumstances, the Governor in Council may, on the Planning Minister's recommendation, grant a reduction of, or exemption from, a person’s GAIC liability. The Governor in Council must also consult the Victorian Planning Authority and the Treasurer.
The Governor in Council will issue a notice of determination stating that either the application is refused, or the GAIC liability is reduced or exempt. The notice may specify conditions in respect of the reduction or exemption. Failure to comply with a condition will cause the whole of any unpaid GAIC liability, plus interest, to become immediately payable.
If a person is granted an exemption from the GAIC liability, a subsequent GAIC event will trigger the GAIC liability for the land unless an appropriate exemption applies to that event.
