Post-Election Changes to First Home Buyer Policy

The Australian federal election has concluded, with Labor remaining in government. Below are its key housing policies and their expected impacts:

1) Labor has pledged to invest A$10 billion in housing construction, comprising A$2 billion in subsidies and A$8 billion in low-interest loans, working with the construction industry to build 100,000 homes for first-home buyers.

2) The First Home Guarantee scheme will be further expanded. Eligible buyers will need to pay as little as a 5% deposit, with the government guaranteeing up to 95% of the loan and waiving lenders mortgage insurance fees of up to A$20,000 to A$30,000. At the same time, the current income caps (previously A$125,000 for singles and A$200,000 for couples) and the annual cap of 50,000 applicants will be removed, and the property price thresholds across the states will be relaxed.

3) Queensland has introduced the First Home New Home Concession, with no residency or price restrictions, waiving all stamp duty entirely. Overseas buyers only need to pay an additional 8% stamp duty.

4) To ease the shortage of skilled tradespeople in the construction industry, Labor will invest A$78 million to help experienced but unlicensed tradespeople gain qualifications through training, boosting the construction workforce.

Despite the ongoing rollout of policies supporting home purchases, the core problem in the Australian property market remains that supply falls short of demand. With federal, state and local governments each acting on their own, issues such as land release, approval processes and labour shortages are difficult to resolve in a coordinated way.