Tasmanian home buyers risk being locked out of federal Help to Buy scheme
Hundreds of Tasmanians risk missing out on federal home-buying help because the state government has failed to pass crucial legislation by a looming deadline.
Tasmanians aspiring to buy a home risk being locked out of a federal low-deposit mortgage scheme because the state government hasn’t opted in, federal Labor says.
The Albanese government’s Help to Buy Scheme has opened for applications from participants who have saved a minimum two per cent deposit in order to obtain a home loan from participating lenders.
It is intended to support up to 10,000 eligible low- and middle-income home buyers nationwide each year.
But the state government says it is waiting to see how the new scheme operates, saying a similar state scheme is working “incredibly well”.
If the Tasmanian Government doesn’t pass legislation required by March 1 next year, the federal Help to Buy places reserved for this year will be lost and redistributed into a national pool for other states and territories to use.
State parliament is not due to sit again until March 3.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Member for Franklin Julie Collins said scores of Tasmanians were missing out.
“We’re talking literally hundreds of Tasmanians that could be getting their first home sooner through the Help to Buy scheme that the Tasmanian state government is disenfranchising because the state government hasn’t done its job.
“The state government promised back in August, 2023 when it signed an agreement saying they will be part of this national scheme, and they still haven’t done it.
”The fact that state parliament’s not going back to March next year will mean that most likely Tasmanians will miss out on those hundreds of places because the Tasmanian state government didn’t do its job.
“I haven’t heard from the Tasmanian Liberal government any reason that is valid as to why they can’t be part of this national scheme.
Executive Director of the Housing Industry Association Tasmania Benjamin Price said the federal scheme could operate to provide additional options alongside the similar state scheme.
“We’ve seen a real downturn in housing approvals in Tasmania over recent years.
“This is not only hurting our industry, but also hurting vulnerable Tasmanians.
“Supply is the solution to ease the housing constraints across this state and programs like the Help to Buy should be on the table to deliver better housing for Tasmanians.”
Liberal minister Jane Howlett said the equivalent state shared equity scheme was “working incredibly well” and the state would watch to see how the federal program worked in practice.
“We haven’t seen their scheme yet,” she said.
“What we do know is that we’ve had 900 families access their first home through the first home buyers [grant].
“It's working and we will look at what the federal government puts in front of us, and then we’ll analyse it.”
‘A recipe for disaster’: Anger over Battery Point development
