The 2012-2013 Commonwealth Budget papers contain an announcement that the Government will amend the GST law to restore access to a reduced input tax credit (RITC) for credit unions who rebrand as ‘banks’, with effect from 1 July 2011.

This measure will reinstate the existing concession by allowing a RITC for acquisitions from an entity wholly owned by credit unions or rebranded credit unions by a credit union or rebranded credit union.

The measure will apply to entities who were approved credit unions by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as at 1 July 2011 and subsequently change their branding to include the title ‘bank’, but otherwise do not change their corporate structure.