8 October 2024

Bills to help first home buyers reintroduced to Parliament

The Albanese Labor Government wants more Australians to own their own home.

That’s why this afternoon, the Government has reintroduced the Help to Buy Bills to Parliament – to bring homeownership back within reach for 40,000 Australian households. The Government is giving the Parliament one last chance to make this scheme a reality because we believe that ordinary Australians should be able to buy their own home.

Through the Help to Buy scheme, the Government will support eligible homebuyers with an equity contribution of up to 40 per cent for new homes and 30 per cent for existing homes.

Homebuyers will need a minimum 2 per cent deposit to participate in the scheme and will have lower ongoing repayments while they participate in the scheme, providing long term relief.

The Help to Buy scheme is just one part of the Albanese Labor Government’s ambitious $32 billion housing agenda to help Australians build, rent and buy. It builds on other significant policies including:

  • supporting the largest investment in social and affordable housing in a decade through just the first round of the Housing Australia Future Fund
  • supporting more than 120,000 first home buyers through the expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme
  • providing relief to renters doing it tough by increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by more than 40 per cent since coming to office in 2022

Quotes attributable to Minister Clare O’Neil:

“We know how difficult it is saving up for your first home. Help to Buy means a smaller deposit to help low and middle income Australians get on the housing ladder sooner.

“Australians expect politicians to stop talking and just get on with delivering solutions and that’s what this legislation is about – putting home ownership back in reach for 40,000 low and middle‑income Australians.

“The Coalition and the Greens are putting politics ahead of progress. Labor wants to make real progress on home ownership for thousands of people struggling to get into their own home.”