Anthony Albanese will pledge $10bn to help build 100,000 new homes nationwide, reserved exclusively for first home buyers, as the centrepiece of Labor’s election campaign launch on Sunday in Perth.
It comes as the Coalition announces a plan for “temporary and targeted” tax relief of up to $1,200 in a return of the low and middle income tax offset brought in under the former Morrison government.
Labor would open up to all first home buyers a program allowing people to secure a home with only a 5% deposit, with the government guaranteeing part of the deposit. It will also announce moves to help buyers avoid pricey mortgage insurance.
The ambitious target comes amid scrutiny of Labor’s existing housing pledges, which have so far delivered only a fraction of homes promised, and forecasts from major housing bodies that the government would not meet its current targets.
Albanese’s headline announcement in Perth will keep pressure on Peter Dutton’s Coalition, which has made housing a central talking point of its campaign in an attempt to win the support of younger people living in outer suburbs.
“I want to help young people and first home buyers achieve the dream of home ownership,” Albanese said.
Dutton has announced a $10bn tax cut measure, which would give Australians who earn up to $144,000 relief of up to $1,200 in the upcoming financial year.
The announcement came before the Liberal party campaign launch in Sydney on Sunday. Dutton described it as a “cost of living tax offset” which, combined with the plan to temporarily halve the fuel excise to 25.4 cents, will “put more money back into the pockets of millions of Australians”.
The opposition is expected to announce changes allowing first home buyers of newly built homes to deduct mortgage repayments from their tax bills, according to the ABC.
The prime minister, meanwhile, will announce the housing policy at Labor’s campaign launch, on his 31st visit to Western Australia since winning office – the same day the Coalition will hold its campaign launch in western Sydney.
The promise of 100,000 new homes would come via agreements with state and territory governments, to be negotiated if Labor wins the 3 May election. Labor would work with state governments to find suitable projects and fast-track land release and planning approvals.
The scheme would not need legislation.
Labor would not put a timeline on when all 100,000 homes would be completed, but said construction would begin in the 2026-27 financial year, with the first residents to move in from 2027-28.
All the homes would be reserved for first home buyers. Labor points to a similar model in South Australia, the government RenewalSA program, which built 208 homes, including 41 for first-time buyers.
States would get $2bn in grants and $8bn in zero investment loans or equity investments.
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, said she wanted “to help young Australians pay off their own mortgage, not someone else’s”.
“Young Australians are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis, and our government is going to step up to give them a fair go at owning their own home,” she said.
The 5% deposit would be offered under the existing First Home Guarantee program, which now has 35,000 places available this financial year. Labor’s new pledge would open this to all first home buyers. The government expects about 80,000 of the 110,000 first home buyers annually to accept the offer.
While buyers would often need as much as a 20% deposit to secure a home without having to take out mortgage insurance, the government program allows buyers to offer a 5% deposit, with up to 15% guaranteed by the commonwealth – thus avoiding the need for insurance. Labor said that would save the average first home buyer about $23,000.
The change would see no caps on income, or caps on places in the program, although buyers would still have to meet home loan eligibility standards.
The property price limits will be raised to the average price in each city: $1.5m in Sydney, $950,000 in Melbourne, $1m in Brisbane, $850,000 in Perth, $900,000 in Adelaide, $700,000 in Hobart, $1m in Canberra and $600,000 in Darwin.
“We have a plan to get more Australians into their own homes; this is in stark contrast to Peter Dutton who wants to cut billions from housing,” Albanese said.
The 100,000 homes promise comes in addition to 36,000 social and affordable homes envisioned under the Housing Australia Future Fund, but as part of the government’s Homes for Australia policy promise of 1.2m new homes by 2029.
The government said other programs to boost construction workforce numbers, as well as lowering inflation and interest rates, would help meet the target.
Labor sources pointed to other associated government programs to build the construction workforce, such as the free Tafe scheme and incentives for apprenticeships, to explain how the government would meet its latest housing targets.
The opposition has continually criticised the government for not meeting its housing promises, pointing to lower housing approval numbers. Government housing promises have appeared in jeopardy for some time, with new home construction well behind targets. The Master Builders Association warned in January that in the year to September 2024, only 165,000 homes began construction, well below the 200,000 required each year to meet the 1.2m promise.
The association’s chief executive, Denita Wawn, cautioned that at this pace only 825,000 homes would be built over the next five years – 350,000 short of the government’s pledge.
The Property Council of Australia released a report in March forecasting the government was 462,000 homes behind the 1.2m target.
