‘Milestone deal’ for 100,000 first homes target

AN $800 million Commonwealth-state deal for 17,000 new homes is a milestone in the promise to provide 100,000 dwellings for first-time buyers, the federal government says. 

The agreement will include almost 7000 homes for first-up owners in Adelaide and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said other jurisdictions were “all very keen to sign up”.

“But we looked at giving credit where credit’s due and the South Australian model works … and it’s going to be rolled out,” he told reporters on Saturday.

“This is the first big commitment – $801 million is a substantial investment … we’re looking at every possible measure we can to make a difference.”

The deal includes a $300 million concessional loan to deliver water infrastructure to Adelaide’s north, where 100,000 litres of sewage a day were being hauled by trucks in 2024 due to connection failures.  

“One of the things that has held expansions back into new land releases is that you don’t have the water and energy infrastructure built,” Mr Albanese said.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said he “couldn’t stress enough” the importance of investing in water.

“We are making the tough decisions to make sure water infrastructure is delivered to the growth corridors,” he said, referencing bill hikes to fund a separate $1.5 billion investment in water and sewer infrastructure.

The political leaders visited the new home of John and Yolanda Tramontano in Munno Para, in Adelaide’s far northern suburbs.

The family moved in just before Christmas and Mr Tramontano said the affordability of the land, first-home owners grant and a range of other programs “have let us live our dream”.

“Our last rental increase was significant, and it really reinforced the fact we’re making the right decision … because it was getting very uncertain, very stressful,” he said.

In December, the federal government pledged $2 billion in grants and $8 billion in concessional loans to deliver up to 100,000 homes reserved for first-home buyers over eight years from 2026-27, as part of its wider target of building 1.2 million new homes by June 2029.

The Tramontano family’s story “speaks precisely to why we are so focused on housing supply in metropolitan Adelaide – we’ve got a housing crisis around the country and if you’re not doing something about supply, you’re not serious”, Mr Malinauskas said.

“John was explaining that this went from a vacant block of land to a slab and a home in the space of five months because the government is playing an active role.”

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show more new homes being built in South Australia than ever, with 14,916 dwellings under construction at the end of September 2025.

The state deal includes a $50 million three-year concessional loan to deliver a new first-homebuyer precinct of 400 residences in Munno Para and another worth $184 million to deliver more than 1700 homes at urban renewal projects across Adelaide.

Urban Development Institute of Australia president Oscar Stanley said the $800m agreement demonstrated the kind of supply-focused reform needed to unlock housing delivery at scale.

“The industry applauds the … measures that create a template for housing creation around Australia and also provide a testbed to fast-track housing which is often held up by planning and enabling infrastructure,” Mr Stanley said.

Meanwhile, a new Productivity Commission report says 41 per cent of people waiting to get into public housing are either homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Analysis by the Australian Council of Social Service shows the government is spending more on tax breaks for property investors than on social housing, homelessness services and rent assistance combined.

Independent senator David Pocock said this “showed just how cooked the Australian housing market is”.

“It is not working for Australians … and we actually need some structural change here, and to look at things like the capital gains tax discount,” he told ABC News.