SA state election 2026: McKell Institute report urges rewarding renters with bonds to attract skilled workers

The left-leaning think tank says its plans for the rental industry need to be an election issue.

Rewarding renters with portable, interest-earning bonds and incentives to encourage multi-year leases is being urged in a policy challenge to Peter Malinauskas.

The McKell Institute think tank, whose work has been considered influential by the Premier, makes the two key recommendations in a report on strategies to attract more innovative, skilled workers to the state.

McKell state director Hannah MacLeod said SA must enhance liveability to be more competitive in attracting talent, saying people looking to relocate wanted “a decent home with security of tenure”.

An estimated 22 per cent of South Australians rent homes, with rates having soared among the fastest in the country from $320 weekly in mid-2018 to $495 weekly this April – an increase of almost 55 per cent.

The Rewarding Renters to Make SA Competitive report, released exclusively to the Sunday Mail, calls for a “portable bond scheme with a renters’ dividend”, held independently and transferred between tenancies.

Renters exiting the scheme would get their bond plus interest – potentially worth $4810 after 15 years on a typical bond.

In the other key recommendation, landlords would get land-tax discounts for offering registered three or five-year leases, giving much greater certainty for tenants than the usual one-year lease.

Hannah MacLeod, executive director SA/NT, McKell Institute. Picture: Supplied

“South Australia is in fierce competition with other states for these valuable workers and business leaders,” Ms MacLeod said.

“We’re asking skilled workers to choose South Australia but offering them a rental market where 73.5 per cent of leases last only 12 months.

“Research shows renters would pay an extra $72 per week for lease security – that’s a clear market signal we’re ignoring.

“The states that win the talent wars will be those that recognise a growing proportion of their workforce rents – many for longer or indefinitely – and create conditions that make renting attractive, not just bearable.”

McKell brands itself as “a progressive research institute” and is considered Labor-leaning, with Mr Malinauskas having for some years cited its research on policy areas including shop trading hours.

Urging the Malinauskas government to commit to the rental plan ahead of March’s state election, Ms MacLeod argued the reforms would give SA a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining skilled workers,

“These practical, low-cost reforms would make South Australia the most attractive state for the modern mobile workforce,” she said.

“When SME leaders and skilled professionals can live here comfortably and securely, they’re more likely to start businesses, create jobs, and contribute to our economic growth.”

Both before and after winning government at the 2022 state election, Mr Malinauskas has repeatedly insisted the state faced a huge challenge to attract and develop skilled workers.