Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party was re-elected at the 2025 federal election and has pledged to implement a series of housing policy reforms to address the national housing affordability crisis.
Build 1.2 million new homes
Under the National Housing Accord, the federal government is working with state and local governments, institutional investors and the construction industry to build 1.2 million new homes between 2024 and 2029.
The policy aims to address the housing shortage, especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; to disperse the population to regional cities and relieve pressure on capital cities.
Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF)
The government has established a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which uses annual investment income to build or maintain social and affordable housing. The goal is to build 30,000 social and affordable homes within five years, including:
20,000 social housing units (4,000 of which are for women fleeing domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness)
10,000 affordable rental homes for frontline workers such as police, nurses and cleaners
First-time homebuyer 5% down payment plan
The First Home Guarantee will be expanded to allow all first-time homebuyers to pay only a down payment of 5%, with the government guaranteeing the remaining 15% and waiving the need for lender mortgage insurance (LMI). The scheme will take effect in January 2026 and will remove income restrictions and quota caps. This is expected to lower the entry threshold by approximately 30,000 to 50,000 Australian dollars, making it particularly attractive to low- and middle-income young people and singles.
Help to Buy Shared Ownership Scheme
The Help to Buy scheme will be expanded to allow first-time homebuyers to pay a down payment of just $2%, with the government holding a $30% to $40% stake in the property. The individual income limit will be raised from $90,000 to $100,000, and the house price cap will be increased to cover more properties.
Banning foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes
The government will implement a two-year ban on non-citizens buying existing homes from April 1, 2025, to ease pressure on the housing market.
Crack down on land hoarding
The government has allocated A$8.9 million to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Treasury to crack down on land hoarding by foreign buyers and ensure that idle land is put into use within a reasonable time. This is aimed at the large amount of idle land, which pushes up land prices and slows down housing construction.
Promoting prefabrication and modular construction
The government has invested A$54 million to support the prefabricated and modular housing industry, aiming to speed up housing construction. It also plans to develop a national certification process to simplify the approval process, with the goal of significantly shortening house construction time (from 12-18 months to 6-9 months) and reducing construction costs.
Improving skills training in the construction industry
The government has pledged to train 6,000 skilled workers to support housing construction across the country and invested A$78 million to accelerate related training programs to address the bottleneck of construction labor shortage and avoid supply being constrained by manpower.
Increase support for the homeless
The government is providing $9.3 billion to state and territory governments to tackle homelessness, provide crisis support, and maintain and repair social housing. This includes doubling funding for homelessness services to about $400 million a year.
Comprehensive analysis of policy objectives and expected impacts
Improve housing affordability: By expanding first-time homebuyer support programs, we will lower the barriers to home ownership and help more people realize their dream of homeownership.
Increase housing supply: Alleviate the housing shortage by building 1.2 million new homes and promoting prefabricated construction.
Support vulnerable groups: Provide more social and affordable housing, especially for women, frontline workers and the homeless.
Promote the development of the construction industry: Improve the productivity and efficiency of the construction industry through skills training and technological innovation.
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