Four ways Coalition wants to boost the odds for first-home buyers 

As the next federal election looms, the Coalition is laser-focused on helping first-home buyers get onto the property ladder, shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar says.  

The opposition wants to put first-home buyers in the spotlight, putting forward housing policies that they say will get Australians into home ownership sooner.  

“From when I was previously housing minister to now being in opposition, we have really focused the vast majority of our policies, and even our rhetoric, towards first-home buyers,” Mr Sukkar told realestate.com.au.  

Under their plan, the Coalition says they will help first-home buyers save for a deposit faster, boost housing supply, cut migration and regulations and make it easier to get a home loan.  

It comes as housing affordability in Australia sits at its worst level on record due to rapid increases in home prices and the higher interest-rate environment.  

Saving for a deposit 

To help people save for a home deposit faster, Mr Sukkar said a Coalition government would allow Australians to access up to $50,000 from their superannuation to buy their first home. 

Buyers would need to return the money initially withdrawn to their super once the house was sold. 

The idea has come under fire though from the super industry and economists who argue that it could drive home prices higher and reduce retirement incomes.  

Federal shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar said the Coalition is focused on helping first-home buyers. Picture: Supplied

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Mr Sukkar said the opposition was also recommitting to the Home Guarantee and the First Home Super Saver schemes to continue helping buyers save for a deposit.  

“We’re very proud of the Home Guarantee scheme, which is the 5% deposit scheme, that I put in place as housing minister and it’s now helping about 40% of first-home buyers,” he said.  

Boosting supply 

To increase Australia’s housing supply, Mr Sukkar said they would invest billions into housing infrastructure to boost home building nationally.  

The Coalition has announced a $5 billion housing infrastructure fund that would pay for civil infrastructure such as water, power and sewerage for housing projects across the country. 

“Now where this differs from anything that’s been done before is that it’s confined to greenfield sites,” Mr Sukkar said.  

“Greenfield sites tend to be dominated by first-time buyers, so it’s really going to support typical first-home buyer stock.”  

Mr Sukkar said another key difference about the infrastructure fund was that it would be open to the private sector, as well as state and local governments.  

“We will hand money to anyone that gets a housing dividend, and we are very confident we’ll deliver at least half-a-million new homes over five years, which is going to drive up supply,” he said.  

Cutting migration and regulations  

The opposition has two areas in mind when it comes to cutting regulations and red tape to improve housing conditions: migration and construction.  

“We’ve made very clear that we’re going to make some pretty significant reductions to migration because the migration settings are completely out of whack with the number of homes that are being built and the availability of housing stock,” Mr Sukkar said.   

The Coalition’s migration plans include reducing permanent migration from 185,000 to 140,000 for the first two years, reducing foreign university student numbers and other migration cuts. 

It’s a move that the Coalition estimates would free up almost 40,000 additional homes in the first year and more than 100,000 homes over five years.  

Additionally, they would introduce a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing existing homes. 

However, over the weekend the Labor government pledged to ban foreign investors from buying established homes for at least two years from April this year, matching the Coalition’s idea first proposed last year.  

Mr Sukkar as the former federal housing minister in 2020. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty

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That said, foreign buyers only accounted for less than 1% of purchases in the past financial year, according to the Australian government. 

On the construction side, the Coalition plans to freeze any further changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) for 10 years in a move that it says will provide certainty and let home builders get on with the job. 

“Every time that the code changes, it piles more cost onto developments and projects, which means fewer projects go ahead,” he said.  

“A 10-year freeze to the National Construction Code gives certainty that builders can scope their project and they’re not going to get stung with additional requirements.”  

The NCC is updated every three years and architects have called the freeze plan an “alarming move” over quality and innovation concerns.  

Getting a home loan 

When it came to plans to help first-time buyers get a home loan, the shadow housing minister remained tight-lipped.  

“We’re going to have more to say on serviceability and access to finance that’s yet to be announced,” he said.  

“But helping first time buyers get access to finance and improve serviceability on their mortgages is going to be the next step.”  

But there have been moves within the Coalition that indicate where the party is heading.  

The next federal election must be held on or before May 17. Picture: Recep Sakar/Anadolu Agency/Getty

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A recent senate inquiry into home lending, led by shadow assistant minister for home ownership Senator Andrew Bragg, found that financial regulators could improve access to housing finance by reducing the serviceability buffer for home loans and other recommendations.   

Such potential changes have been criticised by the Labor government and others, who were concerned that loosening the buffer could see some home buyers take on increased risks.  

Looking ahead, Mr Sukkar said he was focused on boosting first-home buyer numbers and increasing Australia’s housing stock.  

“For me, success will be first-home buyer numbers up, rents down or at the very least plateauing, and the number of home building starts significantly higher,” he said.