Housing minister celebrates throwing thousands into negative equity

Sunday 11 October 2026

It has been a year since the Albanese government introduced its 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers, which lets them buy a home with only a 5% deposit, with taxpayers guaranteeing 15% of the purchase price and avoiding lenders’ mortgage insurance.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil posted a message on social media celebrating that Labor’s 5% deposit scheme had “helped” 100,000 young Australians into the housing market:

“Housing in Australia is really tough”, O’Neil wrote.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.