HomeStart Finance

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:24): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister update the house on how HomeStart is supporting the construction of new dwellings and creating jobs here in South Australia?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:24): I thank the member for Colton for his question, knowing his deep understanding of our economy and what is needed to help grow and stimulate South Australia. I rise to spruik the good work of HomeStart Finance, an august statutory organisation that reports to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, of all things. Very soon upon coming to office and understanding the length and breadth of this portfolio, I was very excited to meet and greet with the head honchos down at HomeStart Finance and to understand the great work that they have been doing and continue to do.

Excitedly—and that is I suppose a perspective term when talking about banking—HomeStart was recently recognised by the World Bank as a leading global innovator in the field of affordable housing finance. The World Bank runs a global housing finance conference biannually and this year undertook a call for papers. HomeStart's submission about its Graduate Loan was awarded first prize by the World Bank, and the organisation's Head of Strategic Development, Andrew Mills, was invited to Washington DC to present on the subject to an audience from over 50 countries during May and June.

HomeStart's Graduate Loan enables customers with a certificate III qualification or higher to purchase a home with a much lower deposit than is otherwise possible and is a unique achievement for South Australia in the field of affordable housing. Over 4,000 households have taken advantage of HomeStart's Graduate Loan to purchase a home in the last 15 years, worth around $1.2 billion of lending. The vast majority would not have otherwise been able to purchase a home.

Importantly, more than 15 years of credit risk data shows the Graduate Loan to be performing at least as well as prime residential mortgages, as measured by Standard and Poor's. This is thought to be due to the inclusion of educational qualifications within the credit criteria, thus the product represents genuine innovation and global thought leadership in the field of affordable housing finance.

It's a credit to South Australia that it's regarded as a leader in this field. Can I extemporise by saying that this Graduate Loan helps those who are seeking to invest in their knowledge and their skills to give them the opportunity to also invest in their own home and invest earlier in home ownership.

It is a fantastic way for us to be able to get the young people—the very people who have been leaving South Australia in droves over the last 16 years—and to try to tie them and keep them in South Australia by giving them an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that they are studying to better themselves and to be able to invest that knowledge in getting credit access to build their first home and own their first home.

At the same time, HomeStart CEO, John Oliver, was invited to the World Bank to share the organisation's experience with shared equity. HomeStart Finance recently redesigned its longstanding shared equity product and in April released a new shared equity option, which means that low and middle income earners in South Australia now have access to more affordable housing options.

With more than a decade of experience, HomeStart is regarded as one of Australia's most experienced shared equity operators and is regularly sought out by others interstate and overseas for advice on how to succeed in this area. The shared equity option is something that we discussed in opposition a lot and the whole shadow cabinet, as well as being led in opposition by the Hon. Michelle Lensink in another place, was really excited to explore this option as a way to unlock credit to be able to help people to get into their own home.

We know that we have a problem in South Australia. We have a housing organisation which has been pillaged over the last 16 years, which is now being reformed under a new housing authority, and this access to a shared equity loan will only help to further affordable housing in South Australia so that we can help those to get into their own home sooner and quicker.

The SPEAKER: The minister's time has expired. The member for Badcoe.