Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum, and I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

The Unlocking Supply of Family Homes Bill 2025 builds on the policy of the former Morrison Government to allow more older Australians to downsize, freeing up housing supply for younger Australians.

The original Coalition measure introduced in 2017-18 allowed older Australians who were downsizing from their family home to contribute the proceeds of that sale into their superannuation accounts, without being subject to the annual contribution caps. The measure currently applies to Australians 55 years who have owned their home for ten years and is limited to a contribution of $300,000 per person (so $600,000 per couple).

The Unlocking Supply of Family Homes Bill 2025 updates the original parameters of the Downsizer Contribution rules. It gives more Australians greater flexibility when contributing the proceeds of the sale of their family home into their superannuation, increasing financial security in retirement for older Australians while also helping unlock housing stock for younger families.

Currently, the dream of owning a home is out of reach for so many young Australians.

One such Australian who feels that is the case, is 27 year old Julia, a lawyer from Melbourne. Julia recently wrote to me, sharing her story about the difficulties she and her husband are having finding a home they can afford so they can start a family.

Her story embodies the quiet desperation felt by so many young people.

Julia and her husband, an electrician, are both in good jobs. They work hard, they contribute to our society. In 2021, Julia bought her first property, a one-bedroom apartment, using a government scheme. But now, Julia and her husband want what many Australians dream of: to start a family.

They need a family home—nothing fancy, just three bedrooms, a backyard for kids to play, a shed, maybe a second bathroom. But despite their two good incomes, they are completely priced out of the market for anything that would be sufficient for family life. Julia knows she can't afford to give her children the same childhood she had, but this goes deeper. Her husband describes it as a "betrayal," and I don't think that's hyperbolic at all. This is not just about luxuries; it's about the very basic right to establish a family home.

Julia, like many, faces the grim reality of mortgage stress. To buy a property close to $1 million, which is pretty well the market rate in Melbourne, would mean repayments are 50-60% of their combined income. This is far beyond the 30% threshold that defines mortgage stress.

Julia explained to me that she won't be able to afford the same kind of school for her children, nor take time off work to raise them when they are little, as she would like to. Her husband would likely have to work six days a week, missing out on precious family time. This is a generation facing a future where hope is a luxury, where simply raising a family is becoming out of reach. Julia asks, "How did we get into a situation where the Australia of my childhood is out of reach for me and my generation?". It's a question this government must answer—but they have failed to do so.

My message to Julia is that the Coalition is on your side. Finding ways to ensure that young people can find a home, afford a home, and buy a home is not just a priority for the Coalition for electoral purposes—for the Liberal Party home ownership is foundational for strong families, strong communities and a strong society. The housing crisis faced in Australia today is a stain on the Labor government who, in opposition, promised cheaper mortgages and more homes, but in government have only delivered fewer homes and more red tape.

I should be very clear; the bill that I am introducing today and the policy it enacts won't solve Labor's housing crisis tomorrow. But it is just one simple lever that can be pulled to help free up more homes for Australian families.

It's a simple incentive to allow older Australians to realise a benefit to moving from a larger family home to a smaller home, suitable to their needs, keeping the stock of housing supply moving and ensuring that unnecessary barriers to downsizing are removed.

This is a very simple Bill. It only does three things.

First, it lowers the minimum age of eligibility from 55 years to 50 years.

Second, it extends the period of time to make a downsizer contribution after settlement from 90 days to 1 year.

Finally, the maximum amount of the contribution is increased from $300,000 to $500,000.

So if this Bill was passed, people who are aged 50 years or over will be able to make a non-concessional contribution of up to $500,000 into their superannuation from the sale of their family home, so long as they have held it for at least 10 years.

Other criteria, as set out in section 292-102 of the Income Tax Assessment Act, remain the same, and include:

As is currently the case, the updated downsizer contribution does not count towards a person's contribution caps. A downsizer contribution is considered a non-concessional contribution (ie, tax has already been paid on funds contributed) but it can be made in addition to other non-concessional and concessional contributions even once the annual caps have been reached.

As is also currently the case, the updated downsizer contribution would continue to count towards a person's transfer balance cap, which limits the total amount of superannuation which a person can transfer into their retirement phase.

This cap applies when a person moves their superannuation savings into the retirement phase and is taken into account when determining a person's eligibility for the age pension. For the 2025-26 financial year, the transfer balance cap was set at $2 million.

This policy is a real win-win. It helps improve the availability of family style homes in the housing stock, which will be so welcomed by the thousands of young Australians wanting to buy a family home. And it will help bolster the retirement savings of older Australians, eventually providing a more comfortable retirement income, if and when they decide to downsize into a smaller home.

At its core, this is a simple policy with a powerful economic logic.

Our housing market is under strain. In just 3 years, the government has presided over the biggest boom in Australia's population growth since the 1950s, while overseeing a historic housing construction collapse.

The housing crisis facing Australia is a fact acknowledged by those opposite. It is why Labor's election platform was centered around the promise to build 1.2 million homes by 2029.

Now this sounds great in theory, but the fact is that the Albanese Government is going to fail to achieve this ambition. Leaked Treasury advice has admitted this.

Since Labor came to power, building construction prices have shot up by over 20% and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data has shown that new home completions in 24/25 fell by over 3,500 compared to 23/24.

So despite all the money that Labor is telling Australians they are pumping into building new homes—$60 billion according to Parliamentary Library analysis—they are actually building fewer houses than the previous Coalition Government.

No wonder our housing market is under strain and young Australians are able to purchase the homes they want.

Young Australians right around the country are working hard and saving diligently, and they are still struggling to find homes that suit their needs and their budgets. At the same time, many older Australians are living in homes that no longer meet their lifestyle or mobility needs but feel financially constrained in making the move.

Downsizer contributions help change that incentive. They give older Australians an accessible, tax-effective way to shift into more suitable housing without sacrificing their long-term retirement income. And when those larger family homes come onto the market, housing supply increases for those who need it most: young families trying to enter the market or move up as their own needs grow.

The Coalition has long championed policies that strengthen retirement incomes while also strengthening economic participation and opportunity. The original downsizer policy has helped tens of thousands of Australians move into more appropriate housing.

In fact, Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data shows that since 2018-19 the total number of individuals who have taken up downsizer contributions is 98,595.

Expanding its parameters will allow it to help thousands more.

This Bill broadens eligibility, streamlines the age requirements, and removes unnecessary administrative hurdles. It takes what was already a good policy and makes it more effective.

Importantly, downsizer contributions do not force anyone to move. They do not interfere with the family home. They simply empower choice. Older Australians get the flexibility and financial confidence to make decisions that suit their lifestyle.

Interestingly, this policy may also assist in closing the gender super gap—a policy area that is a real passion of mine and something that I would love to see closed in my lifetime.

ATO data also shows that the number of females making downsizer contributions has always been larger than the number of males. Currently, 57.6% of all individual contributors are female.

Expanding the parameters will therefore give the opportunity for more women to take up this opportunity earlier on, to help improve their superannuation balance and even their balance to their husbands.

This is the kind of practical reform the housing debate desperately needs: not more bureaucracy, not more grandstanding, but policies that actually move the dial.

The Coalition is the party of home ownership. We want to see all Australians, particularly younger Australians, those like Julia and her husband who I spoke about earlier, realise their dream of home ownership.

As representatives in this place, we simply cannot allow for a situation where Australians believe that the childhood they had is out of reach for their children.

Australia's housing crisis needs constructive, economically responsible solutions that are grounded in evidence, not ideology. This Bill is exactly that.

Retirees deserve a superannuation system that supports the choices they want to make.

Younger Australians deserve a housing market that rewards their effort and aspiration.

Our economy deserves policy settings that make better use of our existing housing stock.

This Bill helps achieve all three.

I commend the Bill to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.