Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 13 November 2025.)

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (12:30): I rise to speak on the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill. This bill will enable the commonwealth government's Help to Buy shared equity homebuyer's scheme operate in South Australia. The bill sounds good in theory, but one must also always look at how things work in practice. The Greens have raised alarm about the potential for such a scheme to allow first-home buyers to put down a minimum deposit of just 2 per cent of the purchase price of a new or established home, locking them into a debt of up to $900,000 in the Adelaide metro area or up to $500,000 outside.

Lower deposits are certainly a welcome initiative, but this is not a long-term solution to the housing crisis. What we really need is the government to develop a suite of policies that take this crisis seriously. That is why the Greens have been calling for an investment in public housing and for developers to step up and play much more of a role. We would move to increase the requirements for public, social and affordable housing in new builds from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. But the government needs to step up and put some money on the table for housing, and it also needs to make the reforms necessary to get our rental market under control. That means, of course, having a rent cap and it means, of course, finally ending the practice of rent bidding in South Australia.

We are in a housing crisis. We also need the federal government to look seriously at negative gearing and at capital gains tax benefits and the massive tax handouts that are providing huge windfalls to investors. Simply trapping first-home owners into a life of debt and luring people in with low deposits is not something that will be a long-term solution to the housing crisis. I urge the government to do better than this and to come to the table with a much more comprehensive housing policy.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:32): I rise to speak on the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill, introduced by the government in the other place last week. We all know that the escalating cost of housing is hurting South Australians, particularly young people and families trying to buy their first home. In South Australia housing affordability continues to be a serious issue. Over the past four years, the average price of a family home in Adelaide has risen by almost 90 per cent.

As at October 2025, Adelaide's median house price is sitting at $862,000—an increase of $71,900 in just 12 months and attracting more than $52,600 in stamp duty. In regional South Australia, the median dwelling price sits at $470,000—up by around $52,000 on last year and attracting around $27,000 in stamp duty. Hence, a Liberal government will scrap stamp duty over the long term and help first-home buyers in the first instance get into their home as a key starting point.

This government is benefiting from absolute record revenue when it comes to stamp duty and other costs associated with housing. Whilst rising house prices deliver benefits for those who already own a home, for many South Australians the dream of home ownership is slipping further and further away.

Traditionally, lenders require deposits of 20 per cent. With the rental market also in crisis, with many completely unaffordable or unavailable, the ability for young people to save for a deposit is certainly impacting on their ability to be able to get into the Australian dream of home ownership. Recent data shows that 35 per cent of home owners struggled to meet their mortgage repayments in September.

The purpose of this bill is to allow South Australia to participate in the commonwealth's Help to Buy scheme, whilst ensuring that our own state-based schemes remain intact and unaffected. Help to Buy is a shared equity model in which the Australian government contributes up to 30 per cent of the purchase price to existing homes and up to 40 per cent for new builds. In return, the government holds the equity share in the property and participates proportionately in any capital gains or losses when the home is sold or the equity share is bought out. If South Australia joins the scheme, an estimated 2,700 places will be made available for South Australian applicants.

This bill amends state legislation to ensure that South Australian participants are treated consistently with other homebuyers for taxation and homebuyer assistance purposes, and it provides the necessary provisions for South Australia to withdraw from the scheme at any time. Importantly, participation in Help to Buy does not restrict South Australia's ability to introduce new homebuyer assistance programs or continue existing ones such as HomeStart's Shared Equity Option or the Housing Trust's Rent to Buy scheme. However, the bill ensures that homebuyers cannot double dip. Only one government may hold equity in a single property.

Whilst eligibility criteria are set by the commonwealth and may not perfectly align with South Australia's market conditions, they have been designed to apply nationally. Current requirements include a minimum 2 per cent deposit, a maximum purchase price of $900,000 in metropolitan Adelaide or $500,000 in regional areas, and income caps of $100,000 for single applicants or $160,000 for joint applicants.

States may opt out of the scheme and, at present, Tasmania is the only jurisdiction not participating. Should a state withdraw, its allocations would be redistributed based on population share. While the policy of government owning equity in a family home raises valid questions, participation in the scheme is entirely voluntary. This bill does not compel anyone to apply. It simply creates legal conditions for those who wish to access Help to Buy.

Finally, the bill ensures South Australia retains the right to expand, amend or abolish its own shared equity schemes and to withdraw from Help to Buy should future commonwealth legislative changes render the scheme unworkable for the state. On that basis, the opposition will be supporting the bill, and I commend the bill to the house.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (12:37): In late 2024, federal parliament passed legislation providing for the commonwealth's Help to Buy homebuyer assistance scheme. Under the scheme, the commonwealth will provide eligible applicants a shared equity contribution of up to 30 per cent of the purchase price for an existing home, or 40 per cent for a new home.

The Help to Buy scheme is scheduled to commence during the 2025-26 period and is expected to operate for four years. It will be administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the commonwealth. A total of 40,000 Help to Buy places over four years will be available nationally, with each participating jurisdiction entitled to at least its population share of available spaces. This means that if South Australia becomes a participating state, a minimum of around 2,700 places would be allocated to South Australian applicants.

The legislation adopts the commonwealth's Help to Buy Act, which is a prerequisite for the commencement of Help to Buy in a state. New South Wales and Victoria recently passed similar legislation, while Western Australia is currently progressing its bill through the parliament. Key provisions of the bill are that:

the bill adopts specific provisions of the commonwealth Help to Buy Act and refers matters relating to the operation of Help to Buy to the commonwealth parliament, pursuant to the Commonwealth Constitution;

the bill includes a safeguard allowing the state to terminate this referral at any time; and

the bill also includes amendments to relevant tax and homebuyer assistance legislation to ensure that Help to Buy participants are treated the same as any other homebuyers when determining their liability for applicable state taxes, and can access the same state-based support such as the First Home Owner Grant.

Implementation in South Australia: participating in Help to Buy would not preclude South Australia from implementing new state-based assistance schemes in the future, nor is it intended to affect existing support. The scheme can operate alongside existing programs offered by HomeStart. As the Help to Buy scheme will be provided through mainstream lenders, it will likely attract a different client market to traditional HomeStart customers.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (12:40): I thank all members for their words of support on this important bill and I look forward to the committee stage.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO: In regard to the extra revenue that would potentially be generated through capital gains from the shared equity, are those gains then allocated back to the individual states or does it go centrally and then it is up to the discretion of the federal government on how it is spent?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I think this answers your question: revenue, in terms of stamp duty, obviously goes to the states; any capital gains tax, my advice is, goes to the federal government.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO: The main reason I ask is, obviously Tasmania is not participating, and then if other states elect not to then they are going to reapportion it across the states that are participating. So I was just keen to understand if that meant that there was a flow-on effect with any of those gains, but appreciate that is more of a federal question.

Why is Tasmania not participating? Obviously, from South Australia's perspective, we are participating, but I am just interested to understand if there is any background on why a state like Tasmania would not participate in the program.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: My advice is that it is not known what Tasmania will do; that is, they have not made a decision yet. That is the advice I have at the moment, that a final decision has not been made by Tasmania.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (2 to 11), schedule and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (12:44): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.