Contributing to policy

A significant component of our responsibility to our customers, and all Victorians, is working closely with stakeholders – including the Department of Treasury and Finance, and the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel – to assist in developing the legislation we administer and ensuring the successful implementation of legislative amendments.

Part of our role is developing practical solutions to complex policy problems.

Crafting of legislation involves Cabinet, the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the Department of Treasury and Finance, and State Revenue Office policy experts. Once an Act has been passed by the Parliament, we ensure we are ready to administer it as efficiently as possible for our customers, with an emphasis on implementing systems and processes to make it easier for our customers to comply. 

From the time at which the law applies in Victoria, we begin administering any changes to the law.

We also liaise with inter-jurisdictional colleagues in the areas of harmonisation and collaboration, and manage our statutory responsibilities in relation to freedom of information, privacy, the Charter of Human Rights and Ombudsman issues. 

In 2021-22, notable legislative work included the Windfall Gains Tax and State Taxation and Other Acts Further Amendment Act 2021, to establish a new windfall gains tax in Victoria and introduce changes to several other laws; the State Taxation and Treasury Legislation Amendment Act 2022, which gave effect to changes to duties, land tax, payroll tax and taxation administration laws; and the making of the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Scheme Regulations 2021. 

Amendments in the Windfall Gains Tax and State Taxation and Other Acts Further Amendment Act 2021 

Windfall gains tax 

The Act contains legislative provisions that will establish a windfall gains tax from 1 July 2023. Windfall gains tax will apply to land subject to a government rezoning that results in a significant value uplift to the land. From 1 July 2023, the Act will be renamed the Windfall Gains Tax Act 2021

Duties Act 2000

  • Extended the motor vehicle duty exemption for private vehicles used to transport an incapacitated person to vehicles specially converted for wheelchair access within 12 months of the registration or transfer of the vehicle. 

Gambling Regulation Act 2003

  • Introduced a new point of consumption framework for the taxation of keno from 15 April 2022.

Land Tax Act 2005

  • Removed the land tax exemption for not-for-profit club land from private gender-exclusive and gender-restrictive clubs from the 2022 land tax year. 
  • Introduced land tax benefits for eligible build-to-rent developments from the 2022 land tax year, including a 50% discount in the taxable value of the land and an absentee owner surcharge exemption applying for up to 30 years. 
  • Limited the charities exemption to land both used and occupied by a charity exclusively for charitable purposes from the 2022 land tax year.
  • Restricted the exemption for land leased for outdoor sporting, recreational or cultural activities to land owned by a charity from the 2022 land tax year. 

Taxation Administration Act 1997

  • Confirmed that a taxpayer cannot object to an assessment or decision on grounds relating to emergency tax relief measures.
  • Extended the range of emergency tax relief measures to include offsets of a refund of tax against another liability of a taxpayer.
  • Authorised the Commissioner to recover administrative overpayments that cannot be recovered with standard tax assessment powers.

Essential Services Commission Act 2001, Water Act 1989 and Water Industry Act 1994 

  • Transitioned the price regulation of various water services in the Murray Darling Basin from a Commonwealth-based to State-based legislative framework.

More information about these amendments is on our website.