Federal budget recap: The biggest announcements affecting brokers

Here’s what the budget 2025–26 has in store for the housing and mortgage industry:

Mortgages

The expansion of Help to Buy will see an extra $800 million invested to lift property price and income caps – now increasing them from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.

The now $6.3 billion allocation will see over 5 million properties fall under its criteria. A total of 40,000 Aussies will be helped through this initiative that will help lower deposits and mortgages.

As previously discussed, the banning of foreign buyers of existing dwellings will come into effect from 1 April. The ATO is receiving $5.7 million to enforce this.

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.

The already announced Home Guarantee Scheme will also be included, with three initiatives announced:

1. First Home Guarantee (FHBG) – Supporting eligible home buyers to buy a home sooner, with a deposit as little as 5 per cent. For FY2024–25, 35,000 places are available.

2. Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) – Supporting eligible regional home buyers to buy a home sooner, in a regional area, with a deposit as little as 5 per cent. For FY24–25, 10,000 places are available.

3. Family Home Guarantee (FHG) – Supporting eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home sooner, with a deposit as little as 2 per cent. For FY24–25, 5,000 places are available.

To be eligible for the schemes, applicants must be 18 years of age or older and can earn no more than $125,000 per year as a single applicant or $200,000 for joint applicants.

They must also be Australian citizens or permanent residents, can’t currently own property, and must be purchasing the home as an owner-occupier, not an investor.

HECS-HELP debt changes are also included that will see borrowers no longer have their student debts mortgage serviceability assessments if it is anticipated that the borrower will be able to pay off their debt.

Regional banking

The major banks have agreed to keep over 800 regional branches open until at least 31 July 2027. This will help support those who rely on these services.

The Bank@Post service will also see increased investment to help support 1,800 regional and remote communities.

SMEs

Also included in the budget is some relief for small businesses. The Energy Bill Relief is being extended for six months to the end of 2025. This will see around 1 million SMEs save $150 in rebates.

Energy efficiency grants for SMEs are also included, with $56.7 million being allocated. This will see up to $25,000 in funding available for over 2,400 businesses across the country that can be used for energy efficiency upgrades.

The hospitality sector in particular is seeing some attention with a pause on the indexation of beer. Manufacturing of alcoholic beverages will see rebates that will reportedly help Aussies save $165 million over the next five years.

Further, the government expects around 1.5 million sole traders to benefit from tax cuts.

In regard to employment, there is $7.1 million being allocated to ASIC to strengthen franchising code. This will be used to combat unfair trading practices.

Cyber security support is also included, with $60 million allocated to strengthen small businesses’ cyber awareness.

This adds to the already announced National Small Business Strategy (in February 2025) in a bid to help support the 2.6 million Australian small businesses through a $640 million allocation.

The initiative aims to:

• Recognise the value of small businesses to economies and communities.

• Acknowledge the roles and responsibilities across different levels of government as well as other providers, delivery organisations, and advocates that support small businesses.

• Outline a framework to facilitate a co-ordinated and cohesive approach to supporting small businesses that puts them at the centre of our decision making.

• Create efficiencies and reduce duplication of effort by embedding a collaborative approach to focus our efforts on supporting small businesses and sharing lessons learned.

Construction

In terms of the construction industry, the Albanese government is establishing the Housing Construction Apprenticeship team as part of a new Key Apprenticeship Program.

The government confirmed that from 1 July 2025, eligible apprentices across housing construction occupations will receive up to $10,000 in financial incentives over the course of their apprenticeships.

According to the government, this will help in addressing the housing shortfall and guarantee that Australia is equipped with the workforce needed to deliver on its oft-described ambitious target of building 1.2 million homes by 2029.

Reacting to the budget’s revelations, PEXA chief economist Julie Toth said: “There is strong demand for housing across Australia, but supply remains a critical issue.

“The Federal Government’s commitment to 1.2 million new homes is ambitious – what we need to see in this Budget is tangible measures that will help accelerate construction.”

Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn described the budget as a “range of sensible, modest measures that look to make inroads in tackling key challenges around labour shortages, infrastructure, and modern methods of construction”.

“Unfortunately, the very businesses who are expected to solve the housing crisis have been left disappointed this evening with minimal support to bring down business costs, incentivise growth, and reduce regulatory barriers,” Wawn said.

Wawn said that while a $150 energy bill deduction “is welcome”, it falls short of the “much-needed support for the 440,00+ small businesses in the building and construction industry”.

“We have heard from the Government in recent weeks that the economy is at its best when it’s powered by business, but the Budget missed the opportunity to make that a reality,” Wawn said.

“We are not going to solve the housing crisis and meet the Housing Accord target without bold reform to reverse construction cost, time and productivity trends.”

Announced prior to the budget, the Albanese government confirmed a boost to its $49.3 million investment to help states and territories “supercharge” prefab and modular home construction by $4.7 million for a total investment of $54 million.

The investment aims to develop a voluntary national certification process for off-site construction in order to streamline approvals and simultaneously ensure that “high-quality standards are met”.

Furthermore, the boost is set to support the federal government’s progress towards its 1.2 million homes target by 2029, a goal that has seen several projections of shortfalls in recent months.

For example, executive director of the Property Council NSW, Katie Stevenson, said while the past two years held “encouraging early momentum with major planning reforms”, more work has been needed to combat continued hurdles in housing delivery.

“We’ve seen genuine progress, including the establishment of the Housing Delivery Authority and the Housing Taskforce, substantial investment in critical infrastructure, and reforms to allow more low and mid-rise housing and transport-oriented development,” Stevenson said.

“But NSW is forecast to fall 185,000 homes short of its National Housing Accord target, and with persistent delays in planning approvals, rising regulatory costs, and mounting government taxes and charges there’s still a long way to go to get back on track.”

Renters

It wasn’t just home owners who saw some attention. Renters received some funding in the form of increasing Rent Assistance maximum rates by 45 per cent for around 1 million households.

The government is also implementing A Better Deal for Renters to 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.

More to come...