The Victorian Government offering stamp duty discounts and pay out close to $50 billion on other discounts, grants, and projects in a bid to get hundreds of thousands of citizens back to work and breathe new life into a state economy pummeled and hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

Stamp duty will be reduced for people buying a property in Victoria for a limited time, the government has declared, among a suite of measures aimed to get people spending, buying, and building.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has reduced stamp duty for future homeowners by 50%, as the state looks to promote the property market in 2021 and beyond post the pandemic.

The news was well obtained by residents in Victoria, but they did not fare as well as their NSW equivalents, after premier Gladys Berejiklian and accountant Dominic Perrottet announced the ditching of stamp duty on November 18.

This includes a stamp duty concession of up to 50 percent* for residential homes valued at up to $1 million. It is for residential property contracts entered into from 25 November to 30 June 2021.

The relief will be intended at newly built or “off-the-plan” homes, which will obtain a 50% waiver.

Existing homes will be eligible for a 25% waiver.

Properties must cost less than $1 million

A waiver of 25 % will be available on existing properties, while 50 percent will be discounted on new properties.

And the tax relief will only be available for contracts entered from 30 November to 30 June 2021.

First home buyers won’t have to pay lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) — a fee that can cost thousands-of-dollars for applying for a mortgage with a deposit less than 20%, but in exchange, the Victorian government would ensure a proportionate impartiality interest in the property.

Another measure is intended to create more options for renters by lifting the supply of housing. Under the Big Housing Build, a 50 percent land tax discount and an exemption from the Absentee Owner Surcharge are being offered to new developments until 2040.

The VIC government has also expanded the $20,000 First Home Owner Grant for people buying or building a new dream home in Victoria to apply to agreements of sale entered up until 30 June 2021.