The Assistant Treasurer has released draft Corporations Amendment Regulations 2011 which set out additional information requirements that need to be disclosed within periodic statements issued to First Home Saver Account holders. Periodic statements provide account holders with details on the status of their account, including how many years of contribution are still required before they are eligible to access the funds.

Recent changes to the operation of the FHSA to provide more flexibility to account holders were made through the Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 1) Act 2011. Subject to certain qualifying conditions, these changes now allow the account holder to use the money in the account towards their home purchase if they purchased the dwelling prior to meeting the release conditions, rather than only being able to transfer the money into a superannuation and retirement savings account.

These draft amendments amend the existing regulations to provide for reporting requirements in the periodic statement on the number of contributing years remaining on the account even where a dwelling has already been acquired.