Open the door for homebuyers

BREEDING more confidence in the housing market and a big push to reduce costs should be key measures in the Federal Budget next month. Conveyancers from around the country were unanimous in their calls for the government to be more proactive when it comes to housing. AC canvassed the opinion of key conveyancing experts from around the country and found a consensus that the Budget needs to attack housing supply and affordability issues for all Australians.

MATT DUNN Queensland Law Society CEO Matt Dunn would like to see a more targeted approach to foreign sellers, saying current tax rules are creating a burden during property sales. Capital gains tax rules for foreign residents changed in 2025, to reduce the risk of them failing to pay the tax when they sell From housing supply to affordability, property leaders spell out the key issues they hope the government will address in next month’s Federal Budget property in Australia.

Before then, the tax withholding rules only applied to property valued over $750,000. The broadening of the tax means all vendors – including Australian residents – must obtain a clearance certificate from the tax office proving they are not foreign, adding extra time and cost to all involved in property sales, according to Dunn.

“There’s an additional cost and time impost on everybody in order to help the tax office deal with foreign residents selling property,” he said. “It would be really good if they set a threshold for the Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding clearance certificates again, like they had done.” Dunn also championed a more sophisticated approach to deal with inflation, saying the property sector was carrying an unfair share of the burden created by overspending in other parts of the economy. theOPEN DOOR for HOMEBUYERS By MELISSA IARIA BUDGET 2026 SPOTLIGHT CHRISTINE BRADBURY AICWA President REDUCING housing costs, lifting supply and securing the workforce needed to build homes are on the Budget wish list for Christine Bradbury.

Bradbury said measures to cut red tape in the state planning system will lead to faster building approvals and help address housing supply. She is also hoping the Budget tackles rising living costs and contains enticements for older generations to downsize, freeing up homes for young families.

“It costs so much to sell. If you’ve got a couple in their 60s coming to retirement age and they want to get out of their 4x2 home, they’re not going to do it,” Bradbury said. “You’re looking at probably $80,000 in fees just to get from one house to another, which puts a lot of people off.

But it’s not helping the supply of housing for new families.” On the conveyancing front, Bradbury wants to see support for practitioners to deal with expanded Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing laws effective from July. “We’re going through huge changes in the next 12 months with the AML coming out, which is going to cost us a lot more to manage,” she said.

“It’s not just conveyancers – all Tranche 2 eligible companies now need to do more work. It’s not so much outofpocket costs, it’s a time cost. We’re just timepoor in our industry, having all these new requirements on us.” Additionally, support for cybercrime prevention in e-conveyancing would be welcomed.

“Our state regulator says it’s our problem,” Bradbury said. “It’d be nice for the government to take on some of this and maybe help out financially with some form of platform to assist with preventing email compromise.” SHAKILA MACLEAN AIC VIC President WITH interest rates rising and investor costs increasing, Shakila Maclean hopes for Federal Budget measures to support confidence in the property market.

With two official interest rate hikes this year, and another possible in May, Maclean hopes costof-living pressures are addressed. “There’s a lot of financial burden on homeowners, investors and purchasers trying to navigate the high interest rates and holding costs of property,” she said.

“A thoughtful support measure to maintain confidence within the property market and ensure people are able to make sustainable longterm housing decisions would be welcomed. “From a Victorian standpoint, obviously new housing developments need a bit more support with transport and community services to create liveable, connected communities.” Maclean said support for infrastruc - ture will be critical to assist new housing, particularly given Victoria’s strong population growth.

Boosting housing supply is critical but it must be accompanied by targeted measures to improve affordability and support investors facing rising holding costs. “Land tax is really a killer in Victoria at the moment for anyone that’s got property. It’d be great to see reforms around that but our state’s in too much debt to see any of it – that’s just a wish list.” Maclean said any further reforms will need to be carefully balanced to avoid unintended pressure on transaction activity, as well as rents, which are “very high” in Victoria.

“They need to make thoughtful and measured reforms essential to a stable market in Victoria,” she said. Maclean said greater federal support for ARNECC [Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council] is needed, so the regulator is properly equipped to remove interoperability barriers and enable real competition in e-conveyancing.

“From a Victorian standpoint, obviously new housing developments need a bit more support with transport and community services to create liveable, connected communities.”

— Shakila Maclean BUDGET

“I think change the tax for those that own three or four investment properties - but most people own one investment property as part of their retirement plan, either in their own name or through a selfmanaged super fund. “For those that own one or two investment properties, they’re your average Australian middle class, and they should not be penalised for trying to build wealth to be selffunded as a retiree.” JENNIE TONNER AICNSW President HOMEBUYERS must have strong legal protections amidst the push to meet the 1.2 million home target, according to Jennie Tonner.

Tonner is worried corners will be cut in the rush to meet the mid-2029 national housing deadline and wants stronger legislative protection for consumers. “Our biggest concern is that this rush to build homes for people will attract the budget developer and corners will be cut to get them up and ready for people to occupy,” she said.

“We’re concerned we’re going to be left with a whole bunch of Opal Tower or Mascot building unit blocks where people are buying into strata and left with all the defects to fix themselves. “We want to see real legislation at both federal and state level that protects the consumer because it’s still not there.” Tonner is also concerned the Federal Budget will include potential changes to the capital gains tax discount.

Currently, a 50 per cent CGT discount applies for residents who own an asset for at least 12 months. “They’re being very shortsighted and “Our biggest concern is that this rush to build homes for people will attract the budget developer and corners will be cut to get them up and ready for people to occupy.”

— Jennie Tonner MATTHEW KELLY AICSA

President to see a Federal Budget that prioritises housing supply, affordability and supporting infrastructure.

Matthew Kelly said the Budget should prioritise measures that increase housing supply and reduce friction for developers. That means building more homes, better assistance for firsthome buyers and lowto middleincome households and investment in enabling infrastructure including water, sewers and roads.

The Housing Accord target of 1.2 million homes is welcomed but the issue is now implementation, Kelly said. “We need the Budget, with the State Government on the implementation of the Great Adelaide Regional Plan, to help unlock land, accelerate delivery and ensure housing projects are serviced so that conveyancers, developers and buyers are not dealing with delays caused by infrastructure bottlenecks,” he said.

The biggest priority is boosting supply of welllocated homes across different price points, with more greenfield growth and infill sites with sufficient infrastructure. “Housing cannot be delivered at scale unless the enabling infrastructure is there first or, at least, delivered alongside development,” Kelly said.

“There is land that cannot be unlocked due to infrastructure constraints, with existing landowners and developers bearing significant infrastructure development costs.” More social and affordable housing, and diverse housing types, will also help people find the right house for their stage of life.

Kelly also called for measures to reduce cost pressures without inflating prices. This included targeted support for firsthome buyers, assistance helping people into homes they can sustain, and investment that increases supply rather than just boosting demand. BUDGET 2026 SPOTLIGHT AS the Federal Budget looms, the real estate sector is urging the Albanese government to retain existing tax arrangements and ramp up action to boost housing supply.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), the peak body for 85 per cent of real estate firms, has put proposed changes to capital gains tax on its Budget agenda, warning that any changes risk denting alreadysqueezed housing supply. It cautions that there is an increased chance of policy change coming in the May 12 Budget.

“In a market already facing chronic undersupply, any policy changes must be considered in the context of their impact on private investment and the delivery of new housing,” REIA President Jacob Caine said. “The result of reducing the CGT discount or negative gearing will be a reduction in rental property investment.

“This will lead to a contraction in the supply of rental properties putting upward pressure on rents, as fewer investors enter or remain in the market.” In March, the government confirmed DON’T SHUT THE GATE: Fears tax reforms will lock down housing supply Real estate agents are calling on the Federal Budget to retain existing capital gains tax rules and take action to increase housing supply By SAM McKEITH the Budget would deliver tax reform so property investors would want to invest in properties to add to the rental supply and then maintain the investments over the long term.

“We’ve seen a significant decline. If you look at the number of rental bonds held in terms of the number of rental providers in Victoria – and as we know vacancy rates are low,” Balazs said. “So we’re really calling for there to be incentives to add to the rental stock rather than at the moment a tax setting that is often viewed as being a disincentive.” A freeze on new taxes, and any legislation enabling tax changes, was urgently needed given “in the past five years there has been over 130 distinct new reforms in place”.

“The burden on rental providers, on property managers to keep up with all that, is making the situation particularly problematic,” he said. On the west coast, Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) Deputy President Rob Mandanici said national housing issues were amplified in WA due to its unique market dynamics.

He pointed to the state’s large size, reliance on migration and the dominant mining sector. “It is essential the federal government is mindful that broad policy settings can have a more acute impact in WA than on other states or territories,” Mandanici said, highlighting investor taxation settings as a notable example.

Like the national body, the REIWA urged the Labor government to retain existing capital gains tax settings in order to safeguard property investment. “Stable tax settings are essential to maintain investor confidence. Any changes, even relatively modest ones, risk pushing investors out of the market at a time when we remain heavily reliant on them for rental supply,” Mandanici said.

“We know investors are sensitive to change. We know they will leave the market if the legislative environment does not support investment.” Ramping up supply was also high on the state’s wish list, with Mandanici describing bolstering the pipeline as the “greatest challenge facing the WA property market”.

After several years of completions below 20,000, new home completions in WA increased 15.6 per cent in the year to September 2025 to 22,049, according to the REIWA. However, “it remains below the 26,000 required under the National Housing Accord,” Mandanici said, adding that WA had seen several years of strong population growth meaning there was there would be tax changes announced in the Budget, but refused to be drawn on whether reform to the CGT discount was among them.

Chances of Budget action lifted when a parliamentary inquiry last month found the Howard-era settings were helping fuel intergenerational inequality in the property market. Caine said the proposals, led by the Greens, would worsen housing affordability against a backdrop of more rate rises likely on the way from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

“All four major banks are now expecting further rate increases through to at least May, particularly if underlying inflation remains elevated,” he said. An increasing number of economists predict the central bank to raise rates at least twice more this year after hiking by 25 basis points in March, taking the cash rate to 4.10 per cent.

More rate hikes are expected to add to a slowdown in housing market activity, especially in Melbourne and Sydney. Real Estate Institute of Victoria CEO Toby Balazs said the big hope was that Real Estate Institute of Australia President Jacob Caine. BUDGET 2026 SPOTLIGHT April 2026