Building more homes for Australians

The National Housing Accord is bringing together all levels of government, industry and investors to unlock supply.

An ambitious national target of 1.2 million new, well‑located homes over 5 years is driving the investment and reforms needed to support housing supply. Nearly 45,000 new homes were completed in the first quarter of the Accord, with the number of new homes to accelerate as the Government’s initiatives take effect.

The Government is supporting a pipeline of 55,000 social and affordable homes through initiatives like the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and the Social Housing Accelerator. Combined, Round 1 of the HAFF and Accord and Round 2 of the HAFF are expected to deliver approximately 18,000 social and affordable homes.

The Government has committed $1.5 billion through the Housing Support Program to state, territory and local governments to fund projects to:

• improve planning capability
• deliver enabling infrastructure such as roads, water and power
• build more social housing.

With the Government also offering $3 billion in incentive payments under the New Homes Bonus, up to $4.5 billion in funding is committed for states and territories to address infrastructure backlogs and deliver new housing.

In this Budget, the Government is investing $54 million to accelerate the uptake of modern methods of construction. The Government has also committed $120 million from the National Productivity Fund to incentivise states and territories to remove red tape preventing the uptake of modern methods of construction, which will help more homes be built faster.

The Government is continuing to work with states and territories on the National Planning Reform Blueprint to build homes faster.

Expanding Help to Buy

The Government is expanding the Help to Buy program to support Australians to buy homes with lower deposits and smaller mortgages. This Budget is committing around $800 million to lift the property price and income caps to make the scheme more accessible.

Under the Help to Buy program, the Government will provide an equity contribution of up to 40 per cent to support eligible home buyers to purchase a home with a lower deposit and a smaller mortgage. Around 40,000 Australian households locked out of the market will be helped into home ownership.

Banning foreign buyers of established homes

The Government will ban foreign buyers from purchasing existing dwellings for two years from 1 April 2025 and will provide the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) $5.7 million to enforce the ban. The Government will also provide $8.9 million to the ATO and Treasury to target land banking by foreign buyers and ensure vacant land in Australia is put to productive use within a reasonable amount of time.

Improving access to housing and homelessness services

The Government is providing $9.3 billion to states and territories to help:

• combat homelessness
• provide crisis support
• maintain and repair social housing.

This includes the doubling of funding for homelessness services to around $400 million a year. This Budget also provides $6.2 million for homelessness research, advocacy and coordination.

An additional $1 billion provided to the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) is also being used to support crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and for youth experiencing – or at particular risk of – homelessness.

Supporting renters

Continuing the Government’s commitment to responsible cost‑of‑living relief, the Government has increased maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 45 per cent for around 1 million households. This is the first back‑to‑back increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance in more than 30 years. The Government is also implementing A Better Deal for Renters to harmonise and strengthen renters’ rights across Australia. This includes a framework on genuine reasonable grounds for eviction and moving towards limiting rental increases to once a year.

The Government has refined the Build to Rent tax concessions announced in the 2023–24 Budget to help increase rental housing supply, including the supply of affordable tenancies, and to provide greater security and stability for renters, including stable 5‑year tenancies. Industry estimates show this will support the construction of around 80,000 new rental homes in Australia over the next decade, including 8,000 affordable homes. These measures will operate in addition to state and territory initiatives to support the Build to Rent sector.

Boosting the construction workforce

The Government is establishing the Housing Construction Apprenticeship stream as part of the new Key Apprenticeship Program.

From 1 July 2025, eligible apprentices in housing construction occupations will receive up to $10,000 in financial incentives over the course of their apprenticeships, encouraging more people into housing construction trades and providing apprentices with cost‑of‑living support. This will assist in addressing shortages and ensure Australia has the workforce needed to deliver our ambitious target of building 1.2 million homes over the next 5 years.

Employers of apprentices in priority occupations may also be eligible for up to $5,000 as a Priority Hiring Incentive, which includes many occupations relevant to housing construction. These current settings for the Priority Hiring Incentive have been extended for an additional 6 months to 31 December 2025.