PM’s super home offer: first buyers to access nest egg

Young Aussies struggling to get into the housing market will for the first time be able to tap their retirement super savings to get onto the property ladder if the Morrison government is re-elected. Poll: Is this a good idea?

Young Australians struggling to get into the housing market will for the first time be able to tap their retirement superannuation savings to get onto the property ladder if the Morrison government is re-elected.

Under the Super Home Buying Scheme, first-home buyers will be able to withdraw up to $50,000 or 40 per cent of their superannuation balance, whichever is lower, to buy a property.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the policy at the official launch of his campaign in Brisbane on Sunday, less than a week out from polling day. The event marked the first time since 2013 the Coalition held its launch in Queensland, highlighting the importance of the state to campaign strategists.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg were deployed to rev up the crowd for Mr Morrison, while former prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard were in the front row.

“This is not a time to put all those gains at risk with a weak Labor leader who over the last 35 days has shown himself to be completely out of his depth,” Mr Frydenberg said.

Mr Morrison ended his rallying cry with a call for voters to stick with the Coalition.

“We’re building a strong economy and a strong future, let’s not turn back now,” Mr Morrison said.

Prime Minister with his family yesterday. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Morrison, after being joined on stage by his family, including his mother Marion, walked through the venue shaking hands with the party faithful to chants of “three more years”.

“A re-elected Coalition government will allow first-home buyers to invest a responsible portion of their own superannuation savings into their first home,” Mr Morrison said.

“This would apply to both new and existing homes and whatever amount is invested will be returned to your super when you sell the home, ­including the share of the capital gain from the sale of that home.”

He said the scheme “gets the balance right” to “transform” a family’s life, but also return the money to the retirement nest egg when sold.

“You can already use your super to purchase an investment property, but not your own home,” he said.

In his speech, Mr Morrison also drew a contrast between his party’s housing policy and the shared equity scheme promised by Labor’s Anthony Albanese at his own campaign launch earlier this month.

Tony Abbott, Janette and John Howard yesterday. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Morrison said: “There is no limit on who can use it, you don’t have to sell it if you get a pay rise, or someone wants to go back to work full-time,” referencing confusion around Labor’s policy.

“There are no complex rules about income thresholds or who gets what.

“When you do an improvement, you don’t have to check with the government every time you go to Bunnings to buy a can of paint,” he said.

Seeking to address the ­mismatch in the housing ­market that sees empty nesters staying in large family homes they cannot afford to sell, Mr Morrison also announced that older Australians would be able to drop $300,000 into their superannuation accounts when they sold and downsized.

“This will increase the opportunity for people to downsize and increase the supply of family housing stock in the market,” he said.

Labor immediately attacked the plan, with ALP campaign spokesman Jason Clare calling it “the last desperate act of a dying government” that would drive up house prices even further.

Housing Minister Michael Sukkar defended the government’s housing policies against claims it would add more heat to the market.

“It’s the best of both worlds – you get the use of your money when you need it to buy a home, but you don’t diminish your super balance because you put it back into super at the end,” he said.

“It’s been calibrated at a level that’s not going to have a material impact (on house prices), but it will help people buy their first home.”

Former Labor PM Paul Keating also came out of retirement to slam the Coalition proposal, calling it a “frontal assault” on the super system, which he helped engineer.

However, observers pointed out that Mr Keating took a similar policy to the 1993 election, with a National Housing Policy that said “Labor will allow all home buyers to fund up to 49 per cent of the deposit for a home from their accumulated savings”.

Originally published as PM’s super home offer: first buyers to access nest egg