The Federal Government handed down its 2025-26 Budget last night. It included several measures addressing housing supply and affordability. The key initiatives are summarised below.
Boosting alternative housing construction methods
In an effort to increase housing supply more quickly, the Government announced $54 million in funding to support state and territory governments to boost construction of prefabricated and modular homes.
Housing Minister Claire O'Neil said the Government had a goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years and "to reach that we need to build homes in new ways – using methods like prefab we can build homes up to 50 per cent faster".
Of the $54 million, $49.3 million has been allocated to help state and territory governments accelerate prefabricated and modular home construction.
The remaining $4.7 million will be allocated to developing a voluntary national certification process for offsite construction, which will streamline approvals while maintaining high-quality standards.
The government has also committed $120 million from the National Productivity Fund to incentivise states to remove red tape preventing the uptake of modern methods of construction.
Expanding assistance for first home buyers
The income and price limits for the Federal Government's Help to Buy shared equity scheme will be increased to help more first home buyers enter the market.
The program will see the Government take an equity share of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of new homes and 30 per cent of the purchase price of existing homes. This means eligible first home buyers will benefit from a smaller mortgage and lower repayments.
The share will be repaid over time or when the property is sold.
The scheme's income caps for participants will be increased from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals, and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.
In WA, the property price limit has increased from $600,000 to $850,000 in Perth and from $450,000 to $600,000 for regional areas.
The Help to Buy Scheme is expected to help 10,000 eligible first home buyers per year over four years nationwide buy a home. To qualify, first home buyers need to have saved a deposit of 2 per cent of the purchase price and must be able to pay costs associated with buying a home, including stamp duty, legal fees and bank fees.
It is expected to open for applications later this year.
Limiting purchases by foreign buyers
Foreign buyers will be banned from buying existing dwellings for a two-year period from 1 April 2025, with funds allocated to enforce the ban.
$8.9 million has been provided to target land banking by foreign buyers and ensure vacant land is put to productive use within a reasonable amount of time.
Social and affordable housing
The roll out of the first two rounds of the $10 billion Housing Australia Fund is expected to help deliver about 18,000 social and affordable homes.
Addressing homelessness
$1 billion has been provided to the National Housing Infrastructure Fund to support crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and for youth experiencing – or at particular risk of – homelessness.
The Government will also invest $6.2 million over three years to support leading homelessness organisations.
$9.3 million has been allocated through the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness for the states and territories to combat homelessness, provide crisis support and maintain and repair social housing.
Cost of living – more energy bill relief
From 1 July, every household and about one million small businesses will receive $150 in energy rebates. This will be credited directly to electricity bills in quarterly instalments.
