FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) – ROUND FIVE
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
If you have a question that is not currently featured below, you can send it to
nras@fahcsia.gov.au. We will only respond to questions that relate to the application process.
Questions regarding ‘Round Five’ projects will not be answered after 12:00pm AEST, Friday
2 August 2013.
FAQs contents
New FAQs
Application and assessment process
Lodging your application
New FAQs
I can’t close the dwelling schedule. How do I do this?
The workbook is designed to ensure correct information is entered into it by ensuring the
dwelling numbers match between the project and dwelling worksheets. Therefore, you need
to update both the project and dwelling worksheets or force close the excel application.
IF YOU ARE JUST VIEWING THE DOCUMENT USE THE ALT +CTRL+DELETE BUTTONS TO FORCE
CLOSE THE E XCEL APPLICATION .
IF YOU WISH TO COMPLETE A DWELLING SCHEDULE, SAVE THE WORKBOOK TO YOUR
COMPUTER:
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ENTER THE REQUIRED FIELDS MARKED * IN THE PROJECT S UMMARY TAB.
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ACCEPT THE UPDATE PROJECT NAME AND NUMBER TO AUTOMATICALLY INSERT “DUMMY
POSTCODE DATA ” WHICH CAN BE CORRECTED LATER IN THE P ROJECT SUMMARY SHEET .
CLICK ON THE DWELLING BREAKDOWN TAB AND THE WARNING SCREEN (SHOWN BELOW )
WILL APPEAR . CLICK ‘Y ES’.
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CLOSE THE WORKSHEET AND CHOOSE OK TO THE WARNING MESSAGE “NUMBER OF
INSERTED ROWS DOESN ’T MATCH NUMBER OF D WELLINGS ”.
CHOOSE “NO” TO UPDATE THE SHEET IF YOU HAVEN ’T ENTERED ANY DWELLING DATA IN
COLUMNS D TO Y. T HIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO CLOSE THE SCHEDULE BY INCLUDING DUMMY
DATA INTO MANDATORY FIELDS WHICH YOU ARE YET TO COMPLETE
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Y OU SHOULD NOW SAVE THE DOCUMENT TO CLOSE THE SCHEDULE.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO UPDATE THIS DATA BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR SCHEDULE.
Application and assessment process
What are the key dates?
Round 5: The broader round opened on 7 May 2013 and will close at 5.00pm AEST,
6 August 2013.
When do dwellings need to be completed?
Successful applicants who have applied under Round 5 must have approved dwellings
completed and available for rent in the 2015-16 financial year.
How many incentives will be allocated?
The call for applications for Round 5 will seek to allocate approximately 10,000 incentives
for dwellings. The actual number allocated will be determined by the quality of applications.
I am planning a residential development. How do I apply?
You should apply under the broader Round 5 if your dwellings will be available for rent in
the 2015-16 financial year. You should download the application package from the broader
Round 5 website and complete the application process before the closing date.
When will I be advised of the outcome of my application once I have submitted it?
Regulation 9 of the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008 provides that
FaHCSIA must make reasonable steps to determine applications and notify applicants of the
results within 6 months after the date applications are received, and, in any case, notify each
applicant of the status of their application by that time.
How does the assessment process work?
On receipt of your application, FaHCSIA will conduct a completeness and compliance check.
Applications that are not deemed to be compliant or complete may not be assessed.
Applications that are complete and compliant will be assessed against the assessment criteria
set out in Set 6, Schedule 1 to the National Rental Affordability Scheme Regulations 2008.
Applications will be assessed against Set 6 (Criteria – subset 1) first. If an application does
not meet any one of the components in that criterion, the application may not be assessed
further. If an application meets all of the components in Set 6 (Criteria – subset 1), it will be
assessed against Set 6 (Criteria – subset 2). State and Territory governments are responsible
for assessing certain components of the assessment criteria. See the Application Guidelines
for further information.
An assessment report, which incorporates input from FaHCSIA, the relevant State/Territory
government and technical advice from any external consultants, will be prepared by
FaHCSIA and provided to the FaHCSIA Decision Maker. The Decision Maker will decide
whether or not to offer Allocation, or Reserved Allocation, of an Incentive to an applicant.
Where do I get the Application Form?
The Application Form and all of the required information is available on the Round Five
website.
Should I be aware of any specific requirements for the broader Round 5?
All offers for Round 5 projects may include a condition that the homes will be available for
rent at the latest by June 2016. Delay in delivery against this timeline is likely to lead to the
withdrawal of the incentive.
There are two financial viability tools. Which tool do I use?
There are two types of financial viability tools to choose from. Please choose the tool that
reflects your business model. If you are:
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constructing or spot purchasing and then renting your NRAS dwellings, you
should use the Construct and Hold Tool You should also use this tool if you are
constructing then renting some NRAS dwellings, and selling other dwellings, in your
development.
selling all dwellings to investors, you should use the Construct and Sell Tool.
Lodging your application
I have downloaded the Application Form. What do I do now?
Save the pdf Application Form to your own computer before completing any fields.
My Application Form won’t submit. What do I do?
 Check that you have saved the completed Application Form to your computer and
make sure that you have saved the form prior to attempting to submit it.
 Check that you have completed all fields in the Application Form. If you did not
complete all fields, an error message will appear directing you to the fields that have
not been completed.
 Make sure that you have a working internet connection.
How do I lodge my Application Form?
Applicants should read the instructions for completing the Application Form, the Dwelling
Schedule and the Financial Viability Tool, and answer all questions. The Application Form,
the Dwelling Schedule and the Financial Viability Tool can be downloaded from the NRAS
Website under the Round Five heading. Applicants should ensure that they have read section
1.4 of these Application Guidelines if they have any questions.
The Applicant should save each of the above documents before completing any questions.
In the Application Form:
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The symbol below indicates where attachments are required. All attachments must be
provided in the format specified. Each attachment cannot exceed 2MB and the
Application Form, including its internal attachments, cannot exceed 20MB.
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The symbol below indicates where additional attachments should be emailed to
nras.assessments@fahcsia.gov.au in accordance with the process described below.
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Applicants should correctly name each attachment as follows:
Receipt Confirmation Number – Applicant Legal Name – Project Number – Attachment
Title
(e.g. 2-5SFT6 – Jane Building – Project No.2 – Development Plan)
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Once Applicants have correctly named each attachment, they should correctly name the
subject line of the email, containing those attachments, as follows:
Receipt Confirmation Number – Applicant Legal Name – Subset Number – Email Title
(e.g. 2-5SFT6 – Jane Building – 1(d)(ii) – Additional Attachments NRAS Round Five)
Applicants should have the completed Application Form, Dwelling Schedule, Financial
Viability Tool and any attachments ready to be submitted.
Note: Application Forms, Dwelling Schedules and Financial Viability Tools will not be
accepted in PDF, handwritten, scanned or faxed format.
The Application Form has the capacity to attach documents internally within it. Applicants
should attach the Dwelling Schedule within the Application Form. Applicants should provide
additional attachments in the Application Form depending on the questions answered.
Applicants should save the Application Form as a draft and check that the Application Form,
including its internal attachments, does not exceed 20MB.
Applicants should submit the Application Form by clicking the ‘Submit Application’ button
in Part 7 of the Application Form. Once the ‘Submit Application’ button is pressed, the
Application Form will be automatically uploaded to FaHCSIA’s IT system. Applicants will
receive an automated-email from FaHCSIA that includes a Receipt Confirmation Number,
which will be used to reference subsequent emails and attachments, as set out below.
Applicants should attach to an email the completed Financial Viability Tool, any attachments
and/or additional information. Applicants should then save the email as a draft and check that
it, including its internal attachments, does not exceed 11MB, because FaHCSIA cannot
accept emails greater than 11MB. Applicants should then send the email to FaHCSIA at:
nras.assessment@fahcsia.gov.au.
Note: Applicants may have to send in more than one email their Financial Viability Tool, any
attachments and/or additional information.
How do I attach the Dwelling Schedule or other supporting documentation to the
Application Form?
The Dwelling Schedule or any other supporting documentation must be attached in the
Application Form. Look for the following icon and press the + button, as shown below:
If none of the above resolves your problem, take a screenshot of the error message and send it
to the NRAS helpdesk via email on nras@fahcsia.gov.au for advice. Our staff will respond as
soon as possible.
How do I remove an attached Dwelling Schedule or supporting document from the
Application Form?
Highlight the document in the window below and press the X button to remove the
attachment as shown in the graphic below:
How do I get my Receipt Confirmation Number for my application? What should I do?
For the Round 5, the Receipt Confirmation Number will be automatically generated when
you upload your application. This may take up to 15 minutes from the time you submit your
application. If you do not get your Receipt Confirmation Number within 24 hours, please
contact nras@fahcsia.gov.au