Kevin Rudd and wife Therese Rein have emerged as buyers of tennis player Pat Rafter's former pile on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, having paid $17 million in May for the seven-bedroom home.

The former Labor prime minister and Ms Rein acquired the John Burgess-designed home from David Hales, a founder of Noosa-based chain Betty's Burgers, two months ago in a deal first reported by The Australian Financial Review. At that stage, however, the buyers' identity was unknown.