Media Release by The Hon Julie Collins MP

Albanese Government action helps 2,000 regional Australians into home ownership

The Albanese Government’s Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee has already helped more than 2,000 Australians into home ownership, just five months after its launch.  

Australians living in regional areas have faced some of the largest drops in housing affordability, making it increasingly hard for locals to save a sufficient deposit. 

The Guarantee allows eligible first home buyers with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent to enter the market and avoid paying lenders’ mortgage insurance, by providing a government guarantee of up to 15 per cent. 

Housing Minister Julie Collins said the Albanese Government delivered the commitment three months early to help more Australians into a home.

“I’m so pleased more than 2,000 regional Australians have already been able to take advantage of the Albanese Government’s new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee,” Minister Collins said. 

“The Guarantee is a great opportunity for regional Australians across the country to get into their own home sooner. 

“We want more Australians to have a safe place to call home, and this is just one way we are already delivering.” 

The Guarantee is just one element of the Albanese Government’s ambitious housing reform agenda. 

Earlier this week the interim National Housing Supply and Affordability Council met for the first time. 

The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 has passed the House of Representatives and will help to establish a permanent, statutory Council later this year once passed by the Parliament. 

The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 also passed the lower house, the first step in creating a $10 billion fund which will build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties in its first five years. 

Minister Collins said she looks forward to working across the Parliament to deliver the Housing Australia Future Fund. 

“The Fund will be the single biggest investment by a Federal Government in social and affordable housing in more than a decade, and will provide a secure pipeline of funding for social and affordable housing,” Minister Collins said.