Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Incentivising Pensioners to Downsize) Bill 2022, which amends the Social Security Act 1991 and the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to support pensioners or other eligible income support recipients during the sale and purchase of a new home by extending from 12 to 24 months the existing assets test exemption for principal home sale proceeds which a person intends to use to purchase a new principal home, and applying only the lower below-threshold deeming rate to these asset-test-exempt principal home sale proceeds when calculating deemed income.

Up until recently, the 12-month period was considered to be a reasonable amount of time to build a new principal home or find an existing one. As a measure brought to the last election, the coalition committed to double that period to 24 months. This commitment was to give seniors who are selling in the current property market greater confidence to downsize into something more suitable, while providing greater confidence and certainty in their financial planning. I am pleased to see a bipartisan approach to this policy, particularly as it provides more support and financial incentives for people to downsize their houses in the hope of boosting housing stock for families across the country who are struggling to find housing and break into the real estate market.

We're all aware of the rise in real estate prices all across the country, which has not left the northern Tasmanian region untouched. There have been sharp rises in my electorate that are leaving the dream of the family home increasingly out of reach, with supply and demand a core issue driving up housing costs. Earlier this year I read an article stating that almost 70 per cent of Australians believe that the great Aussie dream of owning a home is over. The Property Council of Australia's data found four out of five aspiring homeowners believe the dream of homeownership is unachievable. Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said the findings were 'incredibly disheartening', and a Finders survey in December found that 39 per cent of Gen Z respondents felt 'extremely negative' about their ability to afford a home, with 23 per cent of respondents across the board expressing the same level of pessimism. Further research has shown that it's harder than ever for first home buyers as they battle against high prices and borrowing barriers, with saving for the standard 20 per cent deposit pushing back the time line for many hoping to break into the housing market for the first time.

In my own electorate of Bass, a number of suburbs were considered some of the fastest growing in the state in the year to May 2022. Regional Tasmanian dwelling prices grew in value by 3.9 per cent in the three months to May, which was one of the fastest rates in the country and much faster than Hobart, where dwelling value increased by just 0.3 per cent over the same period, according to the latest data released by analytics firm CoreLogic. In May, the median house price for Waverley was $432,140, an annual change of 37.9 per cent; for Beaconsfield it was $444,897, an annual change of 35.1 per cent; for St Leonards it was $571,586, a change of 33.7 per cent; and for Trevallyn it was $666,738, an annual change of 33 per cent. The value of units in Launceston and the north-east grew by 4.6 per cent in the quarter, the second-fastest rate in regional Australia, while Launceston house prices grew by 2.6 per cent in the same period. In 2016, the median Launceston house price was $269,000. This July, the median house price was over $600,000.

While this might speak to a decent return for some investors who are identifying Launceston as a hotspot—and I don't begrudge investors looking to set up their future finances—it's creating a significant issue around housing availability and affordability, particularly for family homes. We know that 85 per cent of renters aspire to own their own home due to the security and stability that homeownership offers for both individuals and families. However, even the standard three-bedroom one-bathroom so-called starter home for young couples is becoming increasingly out of reach.

After identifying the increasing challenges that Australians face in securing their first home, the coalition implemented a number of policies to address the issues, resulting in supporting almost 60,000 first home buyers and single-parent families into homeownership through the home guarantee schemes—consisting of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, the New Home Guarantee and the Family Home Guarantee, with a deposit of as little as five per cent or two per cent respectively. Through our $1 billion infrastructure facility, we unlocked 6,900 social, affordable and market dwellings to make housing supply more responsive to demand, and we established the First Home Super Saver Scheme, helping 27,600 first home buyers accelerate their deposit savings through super.

Addressing the housing crisis will require all three levels of government—local, state and federal—to be actively involved in providing solutions. It was the First HomeBuilder's grant, offering a combined grant of $45,000 between the federal and state government, that gave young Tasmanian couple Georgina and Campbell the opportunity to build a new home in 2021. Until the grant, the couple had been saving for five years for a deposit on a house. 'During that time, we have rented for roughly two years and spent the remainder of the time either living with family or house-sitting,' Georgina said. 'We're both thrilled that we were able to receive the two grants,' Campbell continued. 'If we didn't receive the two grants, it would have taken us another two to three years of saving and living with family or house-sitting.'

I also want to take the opportunity to give credit to the Tasmanian Liberal government for providing a helping hand to enable more Tasmanians to own their own home through the new MyHome shared equity program. In partnership with Tassie's own Bank of us, the MyHome program helps people achieve homeownership by reducing the costs of buying a home, by sharing these costs with the Tasmanian government. MyHome shares the upfront costs of owning your own home, which reduces the deposit needed and mortgage repayments—requiring a deposit of just two per cent. The shared equity program also offers a new type of assistance by providing up to $150,000, or 30 per cent in equity, for the purchase price of an existing home. The program's first customer, Emma Attard, utilised the program to purchase an existing, renovated home in the suburb of Youngtown. Without the program, Ms Attard said, buying her first home would have been impossible. For people who want to build their own home, MyHome can provide up to $200,000, or 40 per cent in equity, of the purchase price of a new home or house and land package.

Though certainly not a silver bullet, this program is one way of supporting Tasmanians to achieve homeownership and making the cost of owning a home more affordable. As recognised through this bill, encouraging pensioners to downsize from a family home to something smaller, without being financially penalised, will hopefully free up more housing for those seeking to purchase their first home.

The coalition has a strong record in helping older Australians who want to downsize, freeing up family homes in the market for young families, beginning in the 2017-18 budget, when we first announced that those aged 65 or over could make non-concessional contributions of up to $300,000, from the proceeds of selling their home, into superannuation from 1 July 2018. Additionally, earlier this year, the coalition further enhanced this measure, reducing the eligibility age for making downsizer contributions into superannuation from 65 to 60 years of age. From 1 July 2018 to the end of January 2022, under the coalition, 36,800 individuals contributed $8.9 billion to their superannuation under this measure.

While I do support this bill, addressing housing supply issues and housing affordability over the long term will need long-term strategy commitment and vision from all sides and all levels of government.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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