The Australian 2022/23 Federal Budget is here, and with it comes some big updates and changes, particularly for homeowners.

Building on its success to date, where almost 60,000 Australians have begun their journey to homeownership, the Government is expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme to make available up to 50,000 places each year. This includes a new Regional Home Guarantee open to non-first home buyers, enabling even more Australians to achieve their aspirations of owning a home.

Under the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme, the Government will make available:

• 35,000 guarantees each year, up from the current 10,000, from 1 July 2022 under the First Home Guarantee, to support eligible first homebuyers to purchase a new or existing home with a deposit as low as five per cent;

• 10,000 guarantees each year from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2025 under a new Regional Home Guarantee, to support eligible homebuyers, including non-first home buyers and permanent residents, to purchase or construct a new home in regional areas, subject to the passage of enabling legislation; and

• 5,000 guarantees each year from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025 to expand the Family Home Guarantee announced in last year’s budget. Australia’s first ever specifically targeted single parent family housing scheme supports eligible single parents with children to buy their first home or to re-enter the housing market with a deposit of as little as two per cent.

The Home Guarantee Scheme ensures part of an eligible buyer's home loan is guaranteed by the Government, enabling Australians to buy a home sooner with a smaller deposit and without needing to pay lenders mortgage insurance.

The scheme has particularly supported women and front-line workers, with one in five guarantees issued to essential workers, almost 35 per cent of which were nurses and 34 per cent were teachers.

Of total guarantees issued, 52 per cent of guarantees went to women, well above the market average of 41 per cent women, while 85 per cent of Family Home Guarantees were taken up by single mums.

With the expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme, combined with HomeBuilder, the First Home Super Saver Scheme, and the work of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, the Government is helping more Australians realise the dream of owning their own home.

Reference: https://www.moneyquest.com.au/news/2022-2023-australian-federal-budget-homeowners-small-businesses/