Legislative Council Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Answers to Questions Cost of Living Concession Cost of Living Concession The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO Legislative Council Cost of Living Concession In reply to the Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO ().22 March 023). The Hon. K.J. MAHER Legislative Council Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Attorney-General Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector Cost of Living Concession The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Treasurer has advised: This government has introduced a number of new measures to address cost-of-living concerns, including doubling the Cost of Living Concession for 2022-23, providing a $100 subsidy to government school parents, caregivers and independent students for the materials and services charge for the 2022 and 2023 school years, as well as providing free public transport for eligible seniors across all times. More than 420,000 South Australian households and 86,000 small businesses will now also be eligible to receive hundreds of dollars in energy bill rebates under an historic agreement between the Malinauskas and Albanese governments to help the most vulnerable withstand rising prices. The Malinauskas government has committed $127.2 million for the National Energy Bill Relief Plan, which will be matched by the commonwealth dollar for dollar. Households eligible under the plan, which include existing energy concession recipients and Family Tax Benefit recipients, will receive rebates of $500, while eligible small businesses will receive rebates of $650. In relation to housing, on 14 February 2023, the Malinauskas government was pleased to announce A Better Housing Future plan, as the immediate response to some of the pressing housing challenges facing South Australia. As part of the package, the government announced the single largest release of residential land in South Australia's history. The plan has begun with rezoning of 235 hectares of land at Hackham—creating the capacity for at least 2,000 homes. In addition, the following sites have been identified for rezoning for residential use: 10,000 lots at Dry Creek; 10,000 lots at Concordia; and 1,700 lots at Sellicks Beach. The plan also includes the 1000 affordable homes Initiative, which is committed to delivering the SA Housing Authority's program to develop 1,000 new affordable homes over the next four years. Already 124 homes have been purchased with approximately 200 expected to be available to homebuyers in 2022-23. More immediate support for homebuyers has been included through changes to HomeStart products to reduce up-front costs. This includes: providing greater access to interest-free loans covering the up-front costs of buying a home (such as stamp duty) by increasing the annual income cap and extending the loan repayment term; providing greater access to finance in the regions by no longer requiring higher up-front deposits for people purchasing homes in regional areas; and reducing the minimum deposit required for a graduate loan from 3 per cent to 2 per cent for established homes. The state government is also working with HomeStart Finance to develop a new 3 per cent low deposit loan product for first home buyers purchasing a newly constructed home or building a new home. The housing plan also includes a number of rent reforms including making residential tenancy bonds more affordable and banning rent bidding. Currently, landlords can claim residential bonds equivalent to maximum six weeks' rent when the weekly rent is $250 or greater, or a maximum four weeks' rent when the weekly rent is below this threshold. The bond threshold will be raised to $800, reducing the up-front costs for tenants by between $500 and $1,600. Landlords will also no longer be able to advertise properties with a rent range, put properties up for rent auction or solicit offers over the advertised price. This reform brings South Australia in line with other jurisdictions which have introduced restrictions on rent bidding. In addition, the state government is working closely with the commonwealth government to increase the supply of affordable housing for rental and purchase for South Australians through the commonwealth government's commitment to housing reform, which includes: The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund that will, together with national accord commitments, build 50,000 social and affordable housing properties nationally in its first five years; this is currently being held up in the Senate by the Coalition and Greens. Help to Buy, a new program to make it cheaper and easier for Australians to own their own home; The Regional First Home Buyer Support Scheme; The Housing Accord, and initial aspirational national target of delivering one million new, well-located homes over five years from 2024; Establishing a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council; and Developing a National Housing and Homelessness Plan. These commitments were recently extended in the 2023-24 commonwealth budget, including: A 15 per cent increase in the maximum rate payable for Commonwealth Rent Assistance; and Measures to support an increase in build-to-rent investment: a reduction in the withholding tax rate from 30 per cent to 15 per cent for fund payments from managed investment trusts attributed to newly constructed build-to-rent developments; and increasing the capital works deduction from 2.5 to 4 per cent per year for newly constructed build-to-rent developments. Further measures to support South Australians getting into a home and cost-of-living relief will be considered as part of the 2023-24 budget.