Providing a secure home for more Australians

All parents want to provide a stable home for their kids. That’s why I’ve been working with the Prime Minister to make it easier for people to find somewhere safe and affordable to call home.

Let me share a letter that shows just how essential this work is.

A woman wrote to me from the home she now shares with her two children, saying it:

“Wouldn’t have been possible without securing the Family Home Guarantee.

It enables single parents to secure home loans and feel as though we are really contributing to raising our children, providing a secure future for ourselves, whilst freeing up the rental market.

It enables those of us that were or are struck in a domestic violent relationship with no way out, to be able to provide that we are worthy and cannot be controlled through fear and suffering.

For me, being able to buy a home not only provides me and my children stability, security, and safety, but an overwhelming sense of pride and self worth.

I did it! I got out. I protected myself and my children and am providing every possible opportunity for us to thrive.

So thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”

I want more people to have the safety and security that this woman and her family now have.

That’s why the Albanese government has expanded our Home Guarantee Scheme, to help more people into homeownership and stability.

Eligibility for all elements of the scheme will be expanded from July 1. For the First Home Guarantee and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, non-first home buyers who haven’t owned a property in Australia in the last ten years will soon be able to access help.

We know how important this change will be for many women – particularly mothers – as they seek to find a place to call home.

We’re also opening up the Family Home Guarantee, expanding it from single natural or adoptive parents with dependants to eligible borrowers who are single legal guardians of children – meaning aunts, uncles and grandparents won’t be denied help that other people caring for children can currently access.

These changes will help more families find safe places to call home, and work alongside our other housing plans.

I’m proud to be part of a government working to deliver more security for Australians who need it most, including our nation’s incredible mothers.

This opinion piece was first published in the Daily Telegraph, 30 May 2023.