How is Labor helping first home buyers?

Labor has helped over 93,000 Australians into home ownership since 2022 through expanded schemes and lower barriers to entry.

Home Guarantee Scheme (50,000 places annually):

• First Home Guarantee: 35,000 places, buy with just 5% deposit

• Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee: 10,000 places (to 30 June 2025)

• Family Home Guarantee: 5,000 places for single parents/guardians (to 30 June 2025)

• Expanded eligibility: permanent residents, friends and siblings can apply jointly, non-first home buyers who haven't owned property in 10 years

Help to Buy (launching December 2025):

• Government contributes 30% for existing homes, 40% for new homes

• Buyers need only 2% deposit minimum

• 40,000 places over 4 years (10,000 annually)

• Income caps: $100,000 singles, $160,000 couples/single parents

• Property price caps: Sydney $1.3M, Brisbane $1M, Melbourne $950K

• Saves buyers approximately $900/month on existing properties, $1,200/month on new builds

HELP Debt Reform (February 2025):

• Banks can now disregard HELP/HECS debt when assessing mortgages

• Could increase borrowing capacity by $23,000 for eligible borrowers

• Removes significant barrier for young Australians with student debt

What is Labor doing about housing supply?

Labor is tackling housing supply through the largest investment in social and affordable housing in Australian history, alongside planning reforms and workforce development.

Housing Australia Future Fund ($10 billion):

• Established 1 November 2023, largest public housing investment in history

• Delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes by mid-2029

• Round 3 (announced 23 November 2025): 21,000+ homes

• Over 5,000 homes completed, 25,000 more in planning/construction

• Supporting around 29,000 jobs annually to June 2029

National Housing Accord:

• Target: 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from 2024

• Commonwealth funding: $350 million for 10,000 affordable homes

• States matching for another 10,000 homes (20,000 total)

• Brings together federal, state, local governments, investors, construction sector

Social Housing Accelerator ($2 billion):

• Rapid funding to states and territories

• Aiming for approximately 4,000 new and refurbished homes

• Funds delivered within two weeks of announcement

Build-to-Rent Legislation:

• Supporting construction of 80,000 new rental homes

• Tax breaks for projects with 50+ dwellings

• 10% must be affordable tenancies, rents capped at 74.9% of market value

• Five-year minimum tenancies, no-fault evictions prohibited

How is Labor addressing planning and approval delays?

Labor has implemented comprehensive planning reforms to speed up housing approvals and reduce red tape.

National Planning Reform Blueprint (August 2023):

• National vision for planning policy across all jurisdictions

• Standardised housing terms across states/territories

• Accelerated development pathways for social and affordable housing

• Streamlined approvals for well-located developments

• Priority for medium and high-density housing near public transport

National Construction Code Pause (24 August 2025):

• Pause on NCC changes until mid-2029 for regulatory stability

• 7-star energy efficiency standards maintained

• Three-year update cycle extended by one year

EPBC Act Strike Team:

• Fast-tracking assessment of 26,000+ homes awaiting approval

• Piloting artificial intelligence to simplify assessments

• New Ministerial guidelines for rapid assessment pathways

Housing Support Program ($1.5 billion):

• Stream 1 ($500M): 80 projects funded for planning capability

• Stream 2 ($450M): Essential infrastructure (roads, water, power, sewage)

• Stream 3 ($1B): 75% for major enabling infrastructure, 25% for social housing

What support is available for renters?

Labor has increased support for renters while working to boost rental supply through multiple initiatives.

Commonwealth Rent Assistance:

• Largest increase in 30 years (15% boost)

• Supporting nearly one million households

Build-to-Rent Program:

• 80,000 new rental homes with stable, long-term tenancies

• Five-year minimum tenancies

• No-fault evictions prohibited

• 10% affordable tenancies with rents capped at 74.9% of market value

National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness:

• $1.779 billion Commonwealth funding for 2024-25

• States and territories must match $400 million in homelessness funding

• Supports crisis accommodation, counselling, advocacy, housing assistance

Crisis and Transitional Accommodation ($1 billion):

• $700 million in grants, $300 million in concessional loans

• Supports women and children experiencing domestic violence

• Supports youth experiencing homelessness

• "Nearly 20 times more funding than previous Coalition government in a decade"

How is Labor addressing foreign investment in housing?

Labor has implemented some of the toughest penalties for vacant foreign-owned properties to ensure homes are available for Australians.

For Foreign Investors Buying Established Homes:

• Application fees tripled (e.g., $84,600 on $1.1M property, up from $28,200)

• Vacancy fees doubled if properties left empty (e.g., $169,200 annual fee)

• Combined sixfold increase in penalties for vacant established dwellings

• Must sell properties when leaving Australia if not permanent residents

Encouraging New Housing Supply:

• Application fees for Build to Rent projects cut to lowest commercial level

• Supports development of long-term rental options

• Enhanced ATO compliance regime to ensure rules are followed

What is Labor doing to build the housing workforce?

Labor has invested heavily in training construction workers to deliver the housing supply Australia needs.

Key Apprenticeship Program:

• 4,675 housing construction apprentices supported in first three months

• Up to $10,000 financial support per apprentice

• Milestone payments: $2,000 at 6, 12, 24, 36 months, plus completion

• Popular trades: 1,700+ carpenters/joiners, 940+ plumbers, 660+ electrical workers

• Nearly 1,500 regional apprentices (almost one-third of total)

Fee-Free TAFE ($90.6M package):

• 20,000 additional Fee-Free TAFE places over two years from January 2025

• 15,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places ($62.4M)

• 5,000 pre-apprenticeship programmes ($26.4M)

• Building on 355,000+ student enrolments to December 2023 (including 24,000 in construction)

Skills Assessment Streamlining ($1.8M):

• Streamline assessments for ~1,900 potential migrants from comparable qualification countries

• Prioritise processing for ~2,600 Trades Recognition Australia assessments

• Addresses 27,900 construction job vacancies (56% above long-run average)

How much has Labor invested in social and affordable housing?

Labor has committed over $32 billion across multiple programs, representing the largest investment in social and affordable housing in Australian history.

Major Investments:

• Housing Australia Future Fund: $10 billion

• Help to Buy: $6.3 billion

• New Home Bonus: $3 billion

• Social Housing Accelerator: $2 billion

• Housing Support Program: $1.5 billion

• National Housing Infrastructure Facility boost: $2 billion

• Crisis and Transitional Accommodation: $1 billion

• National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness: $1.779 billion annually

• NHFIC capacity increase: $2 billion (liability cap from $5.5B to $7.5B)

Delivery Targets:

• 55,000 social and affordable homes by mid-2029

• 40,000 Help to Buy places over 4 years

• 1.2 million homes target through National Housing Accord

What support is available for vulnerable Australians?

Labor has prioritised housing support for those most at risk, including women fleeing violence, older women, First Nations people, and veterans.

Housing Australia Future Fund Allocations:

• 4,000 homes specifically for women fleeing domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness

• $200 million for remote Indigenous housing

• $100 million for crisis housing for women and children

• $30 million for housing and services for veterans

• Round 3 includes $600 million dedicated funding for First Nations housing with 10% First Nations tenancy target

National Agreement Provisions:

• Formal Partnership Bodies for decisions affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

• Recognition of disproportionate housing inequality affecting First Nations people

• Integration of Closing the Gap commitments

Crisis Accommodation ($1 billion):

• Supports women and children experiencing domestic violence

• Supports youth experiencing homelessness

• Funds new construction and conversion of existing buildings

How does Help to Buy work?

Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme where the government contributes towards the purchase price, helping Australians buy with smaller deposits and mortgages.

Government Contribution:

• Up to 40% of purchase price for new homes

• Up to 30% of purchase price for existing homes

• Buyers own the home but share some value with government

Eligibility:

• Australian citizens aged 18+

• Singles: annual taxable income under $100,000

• Couples/single parents: annual taxable income under $160,000

• Minimum 2% deposit required

• Cannot currently own property in Australia or overseas

• Must live in home as principal residence

Property Price Caps (updated 2025 Budget):

• Sydney: $1.3 million

• Brisbane: $1 million

• Melbourne: $950,000

• Other locations with varying caps

Ongoing:

• Homeowners can make voluntary repayments to increase their equity share anytime

• Can make improvements over $20,000 without government benefiting from added value

• Government shares proportionally in gains or losses when home is sold

• Not meant to be lifelong commitment, designed to transition to full ownership

What is the National Housing Accord?

The National Housing Accord (2022) is a comprehensive agreement bringing together federal, state and territory governments, local councils, institutional investors, and the construction sector.

National Target:

• 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from 2024

• Updated at National Cabinet in August 2023 from original 1 million target

Commonwealth Commitments:

• $350 million over five years for 10,000 affordable homes

• $3.5 billion in payments to state, territory and local governments

• Identifying suitable Commonwealth land

• Australian Skills Guarantee extension to housing projects

State and Territory Commitments:

• Expedited zoning, planning and land release

• Identifying opportunities near train stations and TAFE campuses

• Planning reforms with local governments

• Building strong Community Housing Provider sector

Approach:

• No single solution to housing crisis

• Coordinated effort across supply, affordability, planning, workforce development

• "Death by 1,000 cuts" strategy bringing all parties together

How is Labor fixing the migration system's impact on housing?

Labor is implementing comprehensive reforms to fix what the Parkinson Review found was a "broken" migration system requiring a "10-year rebuild."

Parkinson Review Findings:

• Migration system "not fit for purpose" with unclear objectives

• More than 1.8 million temporary migrants with no clear pathway to permanency

• Creating "systemic exploitation" of temporary migrants

• "Deliberate decision to neglect the system" created current challenges

Labor's Reforms:

• Closed COVID concessions driving temporary migration surge

• Stronger English language requirements for international students

• Skills in Demand visa replacing Temporary Skills Shortage visa

• Core Skills Occupation List focusing on construction, cyber security, agriculture, health

Results:

• Net migration reduced from 536,000 (2022-23) to 446,000 (2023-24)

• Further reduction projected for 2024-25

• Permanent migration intake: 185,000 in 2024-25

• International student numbers falling as integrity measures take effect

What is the New Home Bonus?

The New Home Bonus is a $3 billion performance-based incentive program rewarding states and territories that exceed their housing targets.

How It Works:

• States paid $15,000 for each new home built above original targets

• Aims to deliver extra 200,000 homes

• Total national target: 1.2 million homes over five years

• Payments begin in 2028

Design:

• Not divided by population like other funding

• Rewards states that do most to boost housing supply

• Creates competition between states to exceed targets

• Performance-based approach to drive results

Summary:

Labor has taken comprehensive action on housing affordability with over $32 billion invested across multiple programs. The approach recognises no single solution exists, instead requiring coordinated effort across supply, demand, planning reform, workforce development, and support for vulnerable Australians.