The Labor government will increase income and price caps for its Help to Buy scheme as part of the upcoming budget, aiming to provide cost-of-living relief. Under the shared equity scheme, the commonwealth provides first home buyers with a significant percentage of the home’s purchase price. Income caps and property price thresholds are set to rise, aligning with average median house prices in respective regions. The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, stated that these changes are designed to make most first home buyers eligible. The government plans to invest an additional $800 million in the scheme and allocate $54 million towards the construction of prefabricated and modular homes. The Help to Buy bill passed the Senate last year with support from the Greens, who earlier demanded reforms on negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions as a condition for their support but ultimately passed the legislation without these amendments.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/22/changes-in-help-to-buy-housing-scheme-will-make-most-first-home-buyers-eligible-labor-says