Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025
Introduction and first reading
Bill introduced, on motion by Hon Samantha Rowe (Parliamentary Secretary), and read a first time.
Second reading speech
Hon Samantha Rowe (Parliamentary Secretary) (12:33 pm): I move:
That the bill be now read a second time.
The Cook Labor government is pleased to introduce the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. Every Western Australian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Across Australia, our housing markets continue to face challenges in meeting the needs of a rapidly growing and ageing population. The Cook Labor government is pulling every lever to unlock residential land and build new housing supply. Over the last four years, we have committed a record $5.8 billion to housing and homelessness measures.
Before I turn to the bill, I would like to outline what our state is doing to increase housing supply and affordable housing opportunities. We are delivering on our election commitments, including establishing our Build to Rent Kickstart Fund and expanding our Keystart shared ownership program to incentivise a diverse range of new housing supply and choice. These commitments complement Keystart's existing home ownership programs that provide targeted support for sole parents, people living with a permanent disability, Aboriginal people and social housing tenants who are ready to make their move into home ownership. Our government has also recently announced an increase in property price limits on Keystart's low-deposit and shared ownership program, giving more Western Australians the opportunity to purchase their own home.
Through our $400 million Housing Enabling Infrastructure Fund, in this budget we announced a $101 million investment in water and power infrastructure across 21 projects to unlock approximately 33,000 residential lots across the state. This is on top of the Infrastructure Development Fund, which will also provide 8,600 new apartments and more than 720 homes across regional Western Australia. We are also continuing our work to unlock residential land and housing options at Metronet precincts, helping people access housing closer to work, education and public transport.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that Western Australians have the opportunity to access the Commonwealth government's Help to Buy shared equity scheme. Our government agreed to support the rollout of Help to Buy at the National Cabinet meeting in August 2023.
In November last year, the Commonwealth's Help to Buy Act 2024 was enacted, establishing a national shared equity scheme to support low-income and middle-income Australians in achieving home ownership. Through Help to Buy, the Commonwealth will provide equity contributions to support eligible low-income to middle-income earners to purchase a new or existing property with only a 2% deposit and without the need to pay lenders mortgage insurance. The Commonwealth will fund up to 30% of an existing home and 40% of a new home, substantially lowering the size of a participant's home loan and mortgage repayments. Help to Buy will support 40,000 participants nationwide over four years.
With the passage of this legislation, Western Australians will have access to 1,000 places per year over four years, helping 4,000 Western Australian households, many of which would not be able to access the property market without government support, to achieve home ownership sooner. Eligible participants include singles who earn up to $100,000 and couples, single parents and families who earn up to $160,000 who will be able to purchase properties below the relevant price cap. The price caps are $850,000 for the Perth metropolitan area and $600,000 for regional Western Australia. Participants must use the property as a principal place of residence and not hold any other property interest.
The primary objective of this bill is to adopt the primary and residual versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act 2024 and to facilitate the referral of legislative powers from the state to the Commonwealth for future amendments. The bill will enable the Commonwealth, through Housing Australia, to establish and administer the Help to Buy scheme in Western Australia. The Commonwealth act will give powers to Housing Australia to enter shared equity arrangements for the Help to Buy scheme.
The bill also includes displacement provisions to ensure that current or potential Western Australian shared equity schemes are not affected. Consequential amendments provide that state taxes and grants, like transfer duty, land tax and the first home owner grant, will remain unaffected by Help to Buy participation.
Information-sharing provisions are included in the bill through a consequential amendment to the Keystart Act 2024 to support Housing Australia in determining a person's eligibility to participate in Help to Buy. This will allow for the disclosure of information and is required to ensure that individuals are not approved to participate in both the state scheme and the Commonwealth Help to Buy scheme.
The proposed act will commence on the day it receives royal assent. Help to Buy is expected to begin later in 2025 following Housing Australia's appointment of participating panel leaders. To receive the first year's allocation of places, WA must pass adopting legislation and become a participating state before 1 March 2026.
Western Australia continues to experience strong economic conditions, with interest rates falling and housing prices continuing to rise. Our focus is on boosting housing supply and choice to ensure that WA remains a competitive place to live and work. While we focus on creating new supply, we believe every Western Australian deserves to have their own home.
The Cook Labor government welcomes the Commonwealth's participation in this space and the contribution that the Help to Buy scheme will make in supporting access to secure and affordable housing and how the scheme will complement existing WA home buying programs.
Pursuant to standing order 126(1), I advise that this bill is not a uniform legislation bill. It does not ratify or give effect to an intergovernmental or multilateral agreement to which the government of the state is a party; nor does this bill, by reason of its subject matter, introduce a uniform scheme or uniform laws throughout the Commonwealth.
I commend the bill to the house and table the explanatory memorandum.
(See paper 461.)
Debate adjourned, pursuant to standing orders.
