Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

Importantly, it won't just be a leg-up into homeownership with savings for a smaller deposit. Help to Buy will provide long-term relief to Australians who are part of this scheme. It could help eligible homeowners save hundreds every month on a mortgage.

States will need to pass their own legislation for Help to Buy to operate in their states. The state and territory leaders committed to this at National Cabinet in August and, indeed, just last week housing ministers reaffirmed that they want to get this happening. Help to Buy will provide 10,000 places each year for four years, so we will be supporting into homeownership more than 40,000 Australians who otherwise would not have been able to purchase a home. As I said, this will be life-changing for so many Australians, particularly those on low and middle incomes.

Our housing agenda is broader than that, of course, with our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee and the Home Guarantee Scheme, which we have, of course, expanded to include siblings and friends, allowing people who have been out of homeownership for more than a decade to get back into homeownership. Indeed, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme has now helped more than 86,000 people into homeownership since we have been in office. Almost one-third of first home buyers are now entering the market through this scheme. Indeed, our broad housing agenda includes our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

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