Calls to means test first home buyer scheme as couples on $675k get grant

Shadow Minister for Housing Andrew Bragg has called for means testing the government 5 per cent deposit scheme following data that revealed couples earning $675,000 had received government assistance. The Nationals Senator made headlines this week for wanting to deregulate construction codes but he also put forward an idea to ‘means test’ access to the Australian Government 5 per cent Deposit Scheme. The scheme allows first-home buyers to purchase with smaller deposits without needing pricey lender’s mortgage insurance. Previously, the scheme had an income cap in place that meant singles earning over $125,000 and couples with a combined income over $200,000 were ineligible. Shadow Minister for Housing Andrew Bragg. Picture: Lukas Coch Labor reforms last year removed the income caps and experts at the time were worried it could inflate home prices. Mr Bragg said this scenario was playing out. “If you look at all of their detailed housing prices numbers, what you see is persistently high pressures at the entry level in most markets and that’s because of the five per cent deposit scheme having lost its means testing and losing its place caps,” Mr Bragg said on Wednesday. Data from Hou...